Page 35 of Alien Protector's Mate

Daaynal frowned, his expression tightening. “What kind of issues?”

S’aad smiled and waved it off. “Nothing that we haven’t been able to handle so far.”

Daaynal speared him with a look. “And none of the human females have been hurt?”

“No. Not at all,” he confirmed as they reached the lab door. The emperor paused. “Perhaps we should continue this discussion in your office, V’Renn. I… wish to discuss my file.”

S’aad’s heart rate spiked, the instinct to say no to the emperor himself right there on the tip of his tongue. Jay was in his lab. But no one said no to the emperor. He barely managed to stop himself from getting between Daaynal and the door as it slid open with a soft hiss, revealing Jay hunched over a console at the back of the room.

The young human looked up at the sound of the door, his eyes widening as he saw the emperor. He scrambled to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair as he backed up.

“Your Majesty,” S’aad said quickly, stepping into the room. “This is Jay, my new assistant. Jay, this is His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Daaynal K’Saan.”

Jay managed an awkward bow, his face pale. “It’s an honor, Your Majesty,” he stammered.

Daaynal’s gaze fixed on Jay. “A human male? How… unexpected.”

S’aad moved in a heartbeat, positioning himself between the little human and the emperor. “Jay is an exceptional individual, Your Majesty. His skills have been invaluable to our research.”

A smile spread across Daaynal’s face. “I see. And how long has your human been working with you?”

He fought to keep his expression neutral when every instinct he had screamed that the emperor was a threat. That he needed to grab Jay and get him out of there. Away from danger. “Jay has just started with us, Your Majesty.”

Daaynal’s smile widened as he glanced over S’aad’s defensive posture and the way he’d positioned himself. “It’s good to see that your line’s oaths haven’t weakened over time. Your protective instincts are clearly as strong as ever.”

S’aad was caught between a rock and a hard place, between his respect for the emperor and his need to protect. He felt Jay trembling slightly beside him, and it took every ounce of his self-control not to reach out and offer comfort.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” He inclined his head. “Now… you wanted me to check your file again?”

Ushering Jay to the other side of the room, he opened the data they had on the emperor and displaced it on screen.

“I’m afraid there is nothing yet, Your Majesty,” he said. “But I’m sure there must be a match out there somewhere for you.”

Daaynal nodded, the look in his green eyes shuttered. “Have you included all the new data from the human penal colonies?”

S’aad tilted his head curiously. “No, not that I know of. I wasn’t aware that we had a new corpus of data.”

“We do,” Daaynal replied, the soft leather of his uniform jacket creaking slightly as he crossed his arms over a chest twice the size of S’aad’s. “President Murphy has given us leave to check all the genetic information on females within the human penal system. If a match is found, he has permitted us to offer them an alternative to any sentence they are serving.”

“Oh. I wasn’t aware of that. That’s… good.” Surprise washed through S’aad. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jay stiffen, shooting the emperor a look from under his lashes. That was odd. Did Jay know something about the human prison system they didn’t. He wasn’t going to ask now, though, in front of the emperor.

“I’ll compile that, add it to the database, and run the algorithms again. It will take some time, though, I’m afraid.”

Daaynal gave a deep grunt, nodding. “I’ve waited this long for my mate, a few more hours or days will be of no consequence. I’m pleased with the progress the program is making. Keep up the good work.”

With a final glance at Jay, the emperor swept out of the office. The tension in the room seemed to leave with him, and S’aad let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

He turned to Jay. “You okay?”

Jay nodded shakily. “I think so. That was… intense. Is he always so…”

“Intimidating?” S’aad supplied, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Terrifying,” Jay corrected, wrapping his arms around himself. “I mean, I know he’s the emperor and all, but… how will any woman react to being matched with someone like that? He’s sooverwhelming.”

S’aad opened his mouth to reassure Jay but paused as his words hit their mark. Jay had a point. The human females he saw on a day-to-day basis would be terrified of someone like the emperor.

“Draanth, you’re right,” he murmured, pacing as his mind raced. “We have enough with the cultural differences, but add in?—”

---