Page 21 of The Alien's Captive Bride

Azlun took a bite of the meat, pleasantly surprised by the taste. “It was an elective, actually. Right between ‘Advanced Diplomatic Smiling’ and ‘Alien Etiquette: Which Fork to Use When You Have Six Hands.’”

Venus nearly choked on her food, caught between laughter and surprise. “Did you just make a joke? Alert the media! The stoic prince has a sense of humor.”

“I’ll have you know I’m hilarious,” Azlun deadpanned. “It’s just that most of my jokes are in Tharvian. They don’t translate well.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Venus grinned, leaning back on her elbows. The firelight danced across her features, softening the sharp edges of her face. “So, tell me about your family. What’s it like growing up with all brothers? I bet you had some wild parties.”

Azlun snorted. “Hardly. My idea of rebellion was sneaking extra dessert after state dinners.”

“Ooh, living dangerously. I’m impressed.”

“Well, we can’t all be daredevils like you and your sisters,” Azlun retorted, but there was no heat in his words. “Speaking of which, I believe you promised me some stories.”

Venus’s eyes lit up. “Oh, where do I even start? Okay, picture this: me, Raelee, and Mila, squeezed into Raelee’s sports car—which, by the way, goes from zero to ‘oh shit’ in about two seconds flat...”

She launched into a tale of high-speed chases and narrow escapes, her hands gesticulating wildly as she described how they’d managed to lose both the paparazzi and their security detail on a cross-country road trip. Azlun found himself leaning in, captivated by the way her whole face came alive as she spoke.

“...and then Mila says, ‘I think we lost them!’ Right as we crest this hill and see about five police cars waiting for us,” Venus said, barely containing her laughter. “I swear, I thought Dad was going to burst a blood vessel when he found out. We were grounded for a month, but it was so worth it.”

Azlun shook his head, chuckling. “I can’t even imagine. The most trouble my brothers and I ever got into was during our hunting trips with our father.”

“Oh? Do tell, Your Highness. I want to hear all about baby Azlun’s wild adventures.”

Azlun’s lips curved into a smile as the memories surfaced. “Well, there was this one time on the moons of Centauri Prime...”

He told her about the competition between him and his brothers, each trying to outdo the others with their hunting prowess. As he spoke, he found himself relaxing, the formal mask of princehood slipping away.

“...so there I am, covered in alien mud, trying to explain to my father why I’m holding the tentacle of a Centaurian squid-beast instead of the prized horn of a thunder-buck,” Azlun finished, grinning at the memory.

Venus was doubled over with laughter. “Oh my god,” she gasped between giggles. “Please tell me there are pictures.”

“If there are, they’ve been destroyed for the sake of royal dignity,” Azlun replied solemnly, though his eyes twinkled with delight.

As their laughter faded, a comfortable silence fell between them. Azlun stared into the fire, feeling more relaxed than he had in years. With Venus, there was no need for the careful diplomacy he usually employed. She challenged him, teased him, and somehow made him feel more like himself than he had in a long time.

“Venus,” he said softly, turning to face her. The firelight flickered in his dark, golden-tinted eyes, highlighting the seriousness of his expression. “I need to tell you something.”

She met his gaze, her blue eyes curious and a little wary. “What is it? You’re not about to tell me you’re actually a tentacled alien in disguise, are you? Because I gotta say, that might be a deal-breaker.”

Azlun chuckled, shaking his head. “No tentacles, I promise. It’s just... when we first met, this marriage felt like a duty. Something I had to do for the good of our people. But now...”

He paused, searching for the right words. “Now, it’s more than that.You’remore than that. I’ve grown to care for you, Venus. Deeply. And I want you to know that if I ask you to marry me, it won’t be out of duty or political necessity. It will be because I want to spend my life with you—tentacles or no tentacles.”

Venus’s eyes widened, her lips parting in surprise. For a moment, she was speechless, and Azlun felt a flicker ofuncertainty. Had he misread the situation? Was he moving too fast?

But then Venus smiled, a genuine, radiant smile that made his breath catch in his throat. “Azlun,” she said softly, reaching out to take his hand. “I think I might be falling in love with you too. And not just because you’re my knight in shining alien armor.”

Relief and joy flooded through Azlun. He leaned in, cupping Venus’s face with his free hand, and kissed her. It was a kiss full of promise and a future they would build together—not as political allies, but as partners in every sense of the word.

As they broke apart, Azlun rested his forehead against Venus’s, a smile on his lips. “We should probably get some rest,” he murmured. “We’ve got a long journey ahead of us tomorrow.”

Venus nodded but made no move to pull away. “Just a few more minutes,” she said, snuggling closer to him. “I want to make sure this isn’t some weird hallucination brought on by alien atmosphere exposure.”

Azlun chuckled, wrapping his arm around her. “If it is, then we’re both hallucinating.”

As the fire crackled and the alien night stretched out around them, filled with the soft glow of bioluminescent flora and the distant calls of strange creatures, Azlun felt a sense of peace wash over him. Whatever challenges lay ahead—be they political intrigue, interstellar conflict, or simply figuring out how to blend their two very different cultures—he knew they would face them together.

And really, he thought as he looked down at Venus’s face peaceful in the firelight, that was the greatest adventure of all.

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