Page 3 of Alien Protector's Mate

Their friendly greetings stirred something inside him, and appreciation for their open acceptance rolled through him. Making his way through the crowded room, he approached their table. They were all older human females, assigned to help the new mates settle in on the station… Margaret, Judith, and Elena. Their faces lit up as he reached them.

“S’aad, dear! Come and join us.” Margaret patted the empty seat beside her.

“Ladies,” he greeted them with a small bow and then settled into the offered chair. “I hope you don’t mind me intruding on your lunch.”

Judith laughed, a rich, throaty sound. “Nonsense! You know you’re always welcome.”

Elena, sitting next to her, nodded in agreement. “Absolutely. Your company is never an intrusion, S’aad.”

The genuine affection in their voices touched something deep within him. He’d worked on many teams in the past, and successfully, but none of them had ever felt quite as… caring as the group of human women made the LMP offices feel.

“So…” Margaret leaned in. “We heard you had another successful match this morning. Do tell!”

He smiled as he ordered his food at the console set in the middle of the table. “I did, yes. Eliza and Ashaan. They seemed very taken with each other from the start.”

“Oh, how wonderful!” Elena clapped her hands together. “It was love at first sight again, then?”

He chuckled, shaking his head slightly as he sat back in his chair. The cafe was crowded, but he knew from long experience that it wouldn’t take them long to get his food out to him. Hopefully before his stomach started eating itself.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but there was definitely a strong initial attraction. Ashaan could hardly take his eyes off Eliza, or she him.”

“And how did Eliza handle the whole process?” Judith asked, her brow furrowed in concern. “I remember her coming aboard. She was a nervous one.”

His expression softened slightly. “She was nervous at first, yeah. But she handled it really well. We talked through what was happening, but to be honest, I don’t know how much she waslistening to me after Ashaan arrived. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.”

Margaret reached out and patted his hand. “You really do such a great job of putting them at ease. You’re so patient with them, and it really helps for them to see you first since you’re… well.” She waved her hand to indicate his appearance.

His lips quirked. “You mean I’m Lathar?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I forget you are half the time. You’re way less uptight than most of them, and you talk like we do.”

He inclined his head. “Thank you. My translation matrix is a much more advanced model than most warriors have, so it lets me pick up nuances in language?—”

“That and the fact you’ve watched every single human movie in the station database?” Margaret suggested, one eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, it could be that as well.” He ducked his head, chuckling in amusement. A waiter appeared at his elbow with his food, and he thanked the male in an aside before returning his attention to the females around the table.

“But thank you. I just try to do what’s best for everyone involved. These matches are so important, not just for our species but for the individuals themselves. I want to give them the best possible start.”

“And that’s why you’re so good at what you do,” Elena chimed in. “What are you eating there? A burger?”

He nodded and then admitted, “It’s the only thing on the menu I can identify.”

The conversation flowed easily as the four of them ate their food, and then the topic turned to upcoming matches and the challenges they might face.

“We have a particularly tricky case coming up,” he said. “A human female with a traumatic past. We’ll need to be extra careful in how we approach her matching process. I’m glad wehave the profiling now. We didn’t have it when the prince was matched, and that situation could have gone to the seven hells in a heartbeat.”

Even just thinking about what could have happened broke him out in a cold sweat. If Prince Rohn hadn’t taken one look at his new mate and instantly become—what was the human phrase? A cinnamon roll?—then things could have gone very, very badly. He was glad they had more procedures and checks in place now.

Judith leaned forward, a mug of something she called “tea” in her hand. “What do you suggest?”

He frowned as he considered. “I think we’ll need to take things much slower than usual. Perhaps arrange for her to meet her potential match in a more neutral setting first, with chaperones, before we even broach the subject of courting. Building trust will be crucial. I mean, she knows what she’s here for, all the mate potentials do, but we don’t need to be dicks and frighten her. This process needs to happen at her pace.”

The women nodded.

“You aresucha nice young man,” Elena said. “Wise beyond your years, I’d say.”

He couldn’t help his grin. “I’m sorry, ladies, but you’re laboring under a misapprehension. I’m not as young as you think. I’m probably older than all of you put together.”

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