Page 25 of Alien Protector's Mate

As if summoned by his name, Vaarn appeared from the kitchen area, his wide shoulders all but filling the doorway.

“Cousin,” he rumbled with a nod. “We were beginning to think you’d been called away on some emergency.”

S’aad shook his head, offering the box of pastries to Sadie. “No emergency, just an… unexpected encounter. I’ll explain over dinner. I don’t want to delay things anymore, and it smells absolutely wonderful.”

Sadie’s face lit up as she accepted the box and opened it to peek inside.

“These are my favorites…” She looked up at him, her delicate features lit up with pleasure. “Thank you! How did you know?”

He shrugged and then grinned. “A little birdie may have told me.”

He’d picked up the phrase from the human women working with the LMP. He still didn’tquiteunderstand whether Terran birds talked to people or not, but he understood how the phrase was used.

“Well… Thank you.” She grinned. “I’ll just put these away, and then we can eat. Everything’s ready.”

As Sadie bustled into the food prep room, S’aad settled into the comfortable chair opposite his cousin.

“So,” Vaarn began, casting S’aad a sharp look as he crossed to a cabinet and poured them both a drink. Tavkronian brandy by the looks of it. “Still no luck with the mate program? I thought for sure by now you’d have found your match.”

He shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Not yet. It seems the fates have other plans for me.”

Vaarn leaned back, his piercing gaze pinning S’aad. “Don’t knock fate. I count myself fortunate every day that I found Sadie outside the program. It wasn’t what either of us expected, but now I can’t imagine my life any other way.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it,” Sadie chimed in as she returned carrying plates piled with food. S’aad half rose to help her, but she shot him a warning look. “It was all down to stubbornness. I took one look at your handsome cousin here, and that was it. Woman down.”

She winked at Vaarn, who chuckled softly as he reached out to take his mate’s hand. “She’s right. I didn’t stand a chance. She pursued me with a determination I’ve rarely seen outside of battle.”

S’aad watched the couple’s easy affection with a smile and only the tiniest twinge of longing. “You two make it look so effortless,” he murmured.

Sadie perched on the arm of her mate’s chair, her small frame fitting perfectly against his larger one as he wrapped anarm around her waist. “It’s not always easy,” she admitted softly. “But nothing worth having is easy. It’s worth every moment.”

Vaarn nodded, his expression dropping serious as he turned back to S’aad. “For the love of the gods, don’t be a thick-headed draanthic like I was, so focused on duty and protocol that you miss what’s right in front of you. If you see a chance with one of the human women, take it, whether she’s in the program or not.”

He shifted uncomfortably, not used to being put on the spot about his personal life, especially by family. “I know you’re just trying to help, but my duty to the program?—”

“Is absolutely important,” Vaarn interrupted him, his tone softer than normal. “I know that more than anyone, but… S’aad… it shouldn’t come at the cost of your own happiness. You deserve love. Don’t forget that.”

S’aad nodded, offering a polite smile. Wrapped up their own happiness, they’d forgotten that others weren’t so fortunate. Even with the mating program algorithms running constantly, it would take years to test every male who was signed up against the few females who had signed up. And even then, sometimes there were only partial matches. Matches that they’d had to let through, even though they knew there might be a stronger match out there given enough time. It was a closely guarded secret, one that could cause chaos if it got out. And the reason he’d insisted they develop a personality and psych profile matching system alongside the genetic matching. Just so they didn’t mess up completely.

But he couldn’t tell them that. Couldn’t share that knowledge even with his own cousin. If it got out that there was more than one match for each female, it would be… he shuddered mentally, not even wanting to think about it.

“Thank you.” He inclined his head. “Your concern and care for me is appreciated. Now, you must tell me how things are going in engineering. Is Sadie running the place yet?”

“Not quite,” she said with a smile and pushed off from her perch on Vaarn’s chair. “But before you two get too deep into work talk, we should eat.”

His stomach growled loudly as if agreeing with that idea, and Sadie winked at him. “Sounds like someone at least agrees with me. Right this way, I hope you like it.”

Vaarn and S’aad rose and followed her through to the dining area. The table was set with an array of human dishes, some he was familiar with but others that were completely new. It was certainly a lot more varied than the standard fare of a Latharian warrior, that was for sure.

“The food looks wonderful,” S’aad commented as they took their seats. “Though if I’m honest, I have no idea what half of it is.”

Vaarn chuckled, a sound that still surprised S’aad. His cousin had been a grumpydraanthbefore he’d met Sadie.

“You’ll learn,” Vaarn said, his eyes softening as he glanced toward his mate. “Human cuisine is… an adventure.”

“Says the man who literally ate chocolate cake for every meal before meeting me,” Sadie said, serving generous portions onto their plates. “So… what was the unexpected encounter?”

“I came across a young human boy on the station today. Alone, unprotected. He was… in a difficult situation.”

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