Page 47 of Alien Protector's Mate

“And this is a problem because…” Vaarn prompted, his tone carefully neutral.

S’aad felt a surge of frustration, his grip tightening on the water bottle until the plastic creaked in protest.

“Because he’s human, Vaarn. Because he’s young and vulnerable, and I’m… I’m supposed to be protecting him, not…” He trailed off, unable to voice the thoughts tormenting him.

Vaarn’s expression softened, understanding dawning. “And you’re falling for him?” he finished gently. “I get it. I mean, Ireallyget it. Humans are… mesmerizing. Infuriating at times but utterly mesmerizing.”

S’aad nodded, feeling a weight lift from his chest.

“It’s not just that,” he continued, the words tumbling out now that he’d started. “What if I find my match? What then? I can’t… I can’t start something with Jay knowing it might end up hurting him.”

Vaarn was quiet for a moment, frowning in thought. When he spoke, his voice was measured, careful. “S’aad, have you considered that maybe… maybe Jay could be your match?”

The suggestion hit him like a laser bolt, sending a jolt through his system. He shook his head, trying to clear thesudden fog of confusion and hope that threatened to overwhelm him.

“No… That’s impossible,” he managed. “Jay’s male. The matching system isn’t set up for that.”

“Why not?” Vaarn shrugged. “It’s just genetics and personality profiles. Isn’t it? Maybe it’s only set up that way because you don’t have any human males in the system?”

“We don’t—” S’aad paused, the edge of a memory stalling his brain. “Actually, we do.”

Vaarn arched an eyebrow, inviting him to continue.

“Early on, when the program was in development, one of the matches was picked up because a human male’s DNA was in the system,” he said. “We only had a small corpus of data on humans at that point, so we used what we had, and it picked up a match.”

“Between a human male and a warrior?” Vaarn asked in surprise. “I didn’t think there had been any same-sex matches.”

S’aad shook his head. “It was only a partial match, but it led us to pair the warrior with the human male’s mother. So it does work… you’re right. We just don’t have the data because we’ve never looked at it that way before. But… the program is set up for matches that will result in offspring?—”

Silence fell between them at the undeniable truth. Even if there were matches between males out there, they would do the Lathar no good. They needed females to birth the next generation of warriors and save the species from extinction.

Then S’aad noticed Vaarn’s odd expression. “What?”

“It might be nothing,” his cousin said. “But Sadie mentioned something interesting the other day. She said something was ‘different’ about Jay, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.”

S’aad’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing.

“Different? Different how?” he demanded, a sudden surge of protectiveness flaring in his chest. The thought of anyone, evenSadie, scrutinizing Jay too closely made him uncomfortable in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

Vaarn held up his hands in surrender. “Easy, cousin. I don’t think she meant anything by it. Just that something about Jay was odd. She didn’t elaborate more than that because Ollie was fussing, and she felt ill again.”

“I see,” he said and then frowned. “Sadie’s feeling ill again?”

Vaarn nodded as he slung his towel over a broad shoulder and picked up his water bottle. They were both pushing time before their duty shift, so training was done for the day. “Yeah, it’s been on and off for a week now.”

He inclined his head thoughtfully. “I think it might be wise for you to book her in at the medical center. Get her checked out.”

Vaarn’s brows snapped together, worry filling his eyes. “Why? Do you think she might be ill with something? I swear… I tell her to say away from that damn market! Half the draanthic in there haven’t had all their shots.”

“No, I don’t think she’s ill.” He grinned, clapping a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “I think you two might be about to make me an uncle again…”

15

“Are you feeling alright, Jay?” S’aad asked her as they walked to the lab the next morning. “You seem a… little distracted this morning.”

Jade swallowed hard, his deep voice making heat bloom in her lower stomach as she recalled him groaning her name the night before. She forced herself to look up at him. “I’m fine,” she managed, her voice sounding strained even to her own ears. “I just… didn’t sleep well.”

His brow furrowed, and he reached out as if to place a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, and he pulled back, hurt flashing across his face for a moment before he shuttered his expression. “If you’re not feeling well, perhaps you should take the day off. I can manage on my own today.”

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