Page 5 of Alien Prince Fake Fiancé

“Honestly, we’re not sure what they know and what they don’t at this point. Apparently, humans have been a hot commodity on the Blood Market for a long time. Some speciesare blood drinkers and ours is a rare, illegal treat, especially now that we’ve joined the Intergalactic Trade community and are being protected by Caldor.”

Shivering from a sudden chill, Ashlyn rubbed her arms. “Well, that’s not disturbing at all,” she said, her tone oozing with sarcasm.

“I know, right? There’s a bounty out for any human they can get their hands on, which makes it hard to tell if they want us for our blood or for any newly discovered abilities humans may have.”

Ashlyn knew Dagan and the others were very protective of their mates. Hiding them from evil, power-hungry bad guys seemed like a smart move, either way. And, since Sasha’s forehead sparkled with glowing diamond-like crystals, her transformation into something not completely human, in particular, was impossible to miss. “Ugh. I’m really starting to hate those Council people.”

“Me, too.” Rachel pulled a small box from her pocket and handed it to Ashlyn. “Here.”

“Uh…Okay. What is it?” Ashlyn cautiously opened the lid. Inside were what looked suspiciously like slimy mushrooms. “Gross. Definitely not what I was expecting.”

“Eat one.”

“Looks disgusting. No thanks.” Ashlyn snapped the lid closed and tried to hand it back, but Rachel just shook her head.

“Just eat it. I had one yesterday. They’re not that bad.”

“Then you can have the rest. What are they?”

“It’s some weird mushroom or bacteria or something. We got it from Cappra. There’s a compound in them that affects the brain so you can understand alien languages instead of having to use electronic devices, like the Caldorians have to use. It’s really rare, though, because it’s so hard to grow, so they don’t sell itto offworlders. Cam had to use several back channels to get our hands on it.”

“And you’re giving one to me? Wow. Thanks, Rach.” How cool would it be if she could understand any and every language instantly?

“We have enough for two or three more people, but we’re saving it. For now, it’s you, me, and Sasha.”

Ashlyn grinned and opened the tiny box again. She’d declined getting one of the Caldorian communication devices because while she didn’t mind wearing the earpiece, she didn’t want a microscopic voice descrambler embedded in her voice box. “It’s not going to do anything weird, is it? No unintended side effects?”

Rachel shook her head in the negative. “Cam says I have a sexy accent now, which is one of the ways they can tell the difference between an artificial translator and something natural, like the mushrooms, but nothing besides that.”

“Sexy accent? Bonus.” She’d always been a sucker for a guy with a sexy accent, and whenever she’d traveled abroad, she got a lot of attention whenshewas considered the one with the accent. A quick peek under her lashes confirmed what she already knew.Hewas still watching.

Would he think she had a sexy accent? She was from Earth. Maybe to him, she already did. He was absolutely the most perfectly made male specimen she’d ever seen. Would his voice live up to the rest of him?Accent or not,he probably has exotic women lining up at his door. All he’d have to do is crook his finger and they would come running.

Rachel grinned knowingly. “Definitely a bonus.”

Ashlyn took out one of the slimy mushrooms and popped it into her mouth before she could talk herself out of it, swallowing the chunk of disgusting, bitter food as quickly as she could,trying not to gag. “Yuck! I think that’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten.”

“Still worth it.”

“Definitely. So, keep going. I know you. There’s a silver lining somewhere, right?”

“Yes. Luck is on our side. No one from Cappra met Juliette. No one still alive, anyway. I would do this if I could, but I can’t.” Rachel frowned, her mood turning serious as her gaze locked onto her beautiful baby boy.

“No, way. You have a family. Cam would never allow you to be in that kind of danger and neither would I.” Ashlyn’s protective instincts flared to life. She might be a dancer instead of a warrior, and a disorganized flake half the time, but no one messed with her sister. Especially not some asshole, power-hungry aliens. Not happening.

She bit her lip thoughtfully. “So, send someone who can claim the seat for her, make public appearances, and so on. I get it. Don’t you want a law enforcement agent or a woman with military training?”

“Dagan can’t tell anyone in the Earth governments what’s going on here. Or the military. Can you imagine the internal grab for power that would cause on Earth? They’d fight over who to send for the next hundred years and we don’t have that much time. This has to happen now, or the Council seat will revert back to the Ubrions.”

“You have a point there. No military or government.”

“Also, you wouldn’t be a stand-in for Juliette in any way, shape or form. You’d be the real deal, at least temporarily. She doesn’t want to claim the seat.Ever.She doesn’t want it to revert back to the Ubrions, either. They are scumbags. Cutthroats. Murderers. Traffickers. Worse than the most vile drug cartel you could imagine. They were major players in the Blood Market. They had a whole setup going, and if another Ubrion takes over,it won’t be long before they find a way to start it up again. They were using their seat on the Council as a shield. High profile, they could go wherever they wanted to go, whenever they wanted to go, and no one asked any questions. Cam told me that if anyone did ask, or challenged them, they ended up dead.”

“Cutthroat murderers and traffickers? If we’re going to be challenging for their position, are they going to try to kill us, too?” Ashlyn’s heartbeat picked up a notch. Her sister had told her this would be dangerous, hadn’t she? “I’m a dancer. I barely passed High School civics. I hate politics. Are you sure you want me and not someone who knows a little karate? Jiu jitsu?”

“You’re smart, you're brave and you hate bullies. You always do what’s right. Always. It’s like fairness is in your DNA.” Rachel tilted her head and smiled, her eyes shining with love, trust, and complete faith in her older sister. “A lot of other worlds hate the Ubrion family, too, by the way. Dagan told me they’ve held onto power for centuries. This is like a once in a millennium opportunity to get rid of them for good and Caldor will gain a lot of power in the process. No other planet has two seats on the Council. This has never happened before.”

Fuck.“Rach, you’re killing me.”

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