Page 16 of Tara's Warriors

They did, and Phin nearly fell out of his chair when he realized that, once they mated Tara—and he was determined they would—he would have not only a daughter, but a granddaughter.

Because of the curse of the Hive, Kadothian Warriors only had male children. He’d of course assumed, like a fool, that Tara had a son and grandson. Of course it was not unheard of for Kadothian families to have female children. Some adopted, some were brought into the family, like Lacey and Jillian would be as children birthed by their Matriarch. Many cultures in the Bel’Tan galaxy did not require mating or marriage to have children.

“Phin?” Jaz asked in a concerned voice. “You okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I am going to have a daughter and a granddaughter.” He cleared his throat as his voice broke before he looked at a sad Karwin. “Wearegoing to have a daughter and a granddaughter.”

“But Tara said no,” Karwin reminded him as his shoulders sagged. “You did not see her. She was very upset and firm in her rejection.”

“Guys,” Jaz said in a gentle voice. “Don’t give up hope yet. All is not lost, as they say. You just need to realize a few things about Earth women, and approach this from a different angle the next time you see her.”

“But I am forbidden from seeking her out for a year,” Karwin said, faint hints of hope coloring his emotions.

Jaz waved her hand, the gold and orange bead bracelets sparkling on her slender wrist. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll get special permission for you to override parts of the courtship rules. You didn’t do anything wrong. You just misunderstood the way some women’s minds work. See, on Earth, an older woman being with a younger man goes against most regional norms—you know, the social rules they consider normal. A woman can be shamed and judged for choosing to date a much younger man.”

“But she is not older than us,” Karwin quickly protested. “I am almost the Earth equivalent of three hundred years old, as is Phin.”

“Butshedoesn’t know that. All she knows is a seriously younger looking handsome man came into her place of business and asked her on a date in front of her whole town. Even though I grew up in the city, I can imagine what her life was like growing up and living in the same community her whole life. From what I’ve read in her file, she seems to be very active in her town, volunteering and helping out wherever she can.” Jaz nodded, her gaze distant as her pupils enlarged slightly when she accessed her data implant. “Yep, she’s a good woman. Hasn’t had an easy life—losing her husband so early then having to help her daughter raise Jillian because the no-good birth father bailed on them.”

Xentix must have seen their confused expressions because he said, “The birth father denied paternity and wanted nothing to do with his offspring. In essence, he abandoned them.”

Fury surged through his link from Karwin, mixing with his own. They shared a look with each other, mentally promising that they would find this piece of human waste and destroy him. Only the lowest of the low abandoned their children.

“Hold up,” Jaz said with a stern frown. “I can’t read your minds, but I can tell you’re thinking about kicking that loser’s ass. Don’t. First, because y’all will get in trouble for breaking the interference mandate, and second, because he actually did you a favor. From what our intelligence says, Lacey doesn’t have a husband or boyfriend. She’s unattached, which will make it easier for you to talk her into coming to Kadothia with you. ‘Cause I can guarantee that Tara will not be leaving her daughter and grandchild behind. Letting her know that her babies can come with her to Kadothia should help with getting her to accept your bond.”

Karwin looked down at the floor, the guilt obvious on his face. “A task made all the harder by my bungling of the situation.”

“Do not blame yourself,” Phin soothed. “You found ouralyah. I do not fault you for wanting to claim her as quickly as possible, especially if she is as entrancing as you say. Perhaps things are not as bad as you think they are. Perhaps you misread the situation.”

Karwin stared at him, then shook his head. “No, she was offended that I even asked her. Also, I could sense the shock and unease of the people around us. Clearly, I did something very wrong.”

Jaz tapped her golden and orange tinted lips with a long, crimson fingernail. “Were there a lot of people there watching you?”

Karwin nodded, his gaze distant. “Yes, there were. I was not very aware of anything but Tara, but I do recall great interest in us. I thought that was normal for your world, the staring. Humans seem to do it wherever we go.”

Laughing softly, Jaz shook her head. Her dark eyes flashed with merriment. “Oh, I bet people stare wherever you go. Y’all don’t understand how good looking you are to the average Earth woman, or how intimidating to the average Earth man. You draw attention to yourselves by just being yourself.”

“But I disguised myself.” Karwin gestured to his face where his nose had been altered to appear more human, and his hair darkened to one color. “I was assured I would blend in.”

Jaz sighed. “If I had a cookie for every time I have to have this conversation with a Warrior…look, you do look human. You just look like an incredibly attractive human. Despite how modest and repressive human cultures are about sex, humans as a whole love it. We’re very sexual creatures, and seeing men as attractive as you just naturally invites attention.”

“Should we appear less perfect?” Phin asked. “Would that help?”

“No.” Jaz leaned forward slightly, the black, swirling bondmarks of her three husbands glinting like fresh ink on her chest. “But you should appear older, like human males around her age. A little bit of gray hair, a few wrinkles, maybe some laugh lines. Don’t worry ‘bout changing your body—plenty of fit human males out there—but you definitely want to give your faces and hair some age so next time you meet her, so she sees you as potential suitors, not as children.”

“I do not look like a child,” Karwin huffed.

“To Tara, you do. Don’t forget, you appear to be a human in your early twenties to my eyes. From what I pulled up on Tara on my data file, she has a daughter who is in her early twenties. She looks at you and sees someone her kid’s age, which no doubt makes her feel like a cougar.”

“A cougar?” Phin asked as he went through the definition of the earth animal on his mental implant. “Like the feline?”

Xentix shook his head. “It is also slang in certain parts of the United States for an older woman who ‘hunts’ down younger men.”

“How odd,” Phin replied.

Clapping her hands, Jaz said, “Back to the subject at hand. We need to figure out how you guys should approach Tara the next time you see her. Let’s take a look at her public profile and figure out the best plan of attack.”

“Why would we attack her?” Karwin asked, his anger mixing with Phin’s instinctive need to protect hisalyahfrom any type of harm.

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