Page 5 of Rathgar

Surely not…

“You’re free to go.” Soren nods, but I can tell he wants to say something else. “…Good luck.”

Rathgar bows his head. “Thank you, commander.”

“Wait,” Lara cuts in. She glances from me to him, her lips creeping up into a scheming smile. I know that look. “Isn’t your appointment today too, Janie?”

So much for keeping things low-key. “Yeah,” I mumble. “You’ll be able to look after Iris, right?”

“You know I’m happy to. It’s no problem at all. And Ray will be overjoyed to have another little one to play with.” She waves me toward the door. “Go on, take as long as you need.”

“Hmm.” Soren rumbles something deep in his chest, brow furrowed. I can practically see the gears turning in his head. “I was planning to escort Janie to the center myself, but if you have your appointments at the same time…”

Please don’t say it. Please don’t say it.

“Perhaps you could go together.”

The air whooshes out of my lungs. There it was. I couldn’t possibly handle traveling with this big brute. We were too different. He made sure I well knew what he thought of me, and I didn’t want anything to do with him. This could only spell disaster.

Or at best, extreme discomfort.

I open my mouth to protest but Rathgar reacts quicker than I can. “Of course. I’ll make sure nothing happens to her.”

He looks over to me, extending his arm in a surprisingly friendly gesture. “Shall we?”

Yup. I’m totally screwed already. And I haven’t even made it to the center yet.

HOPEFUL

JANIE

If I already had the omega serum running through my veins, there would be a lot better explanation for this.

But I’m sober as can be, and the thought of that big, mean alien warlord holding my baby girl just about has my ovaries exploding.

I huff out a breath and try to focus on the scenery. The checklist of things I’ll need before moving into the cottages. Anything but him.

When Iris’s father left us, I made things work. Lara and I became closer than ever, and we worked our butts off to provide Iris with the best life we could. I had always dreamed of having a large family, but that dream died the day he left. I vowed that I’d never rely on a man again. That I would make it where so many others had failed. That I would be the best darn single mother that I could.

That was before the ISA. That was before my sister found her soulmate in a gruff alien warlord. And that was before I agreed to do the same thing. For Iris’s sake.

Now I’m astride this huge elk-like creature they call an aki, and I’m seated way too close to the growliest alien of them all. The size difference isn’t lost on me — Rathgar’s huge form dwarfs mine, especially with my back pressed up against his chest. One wide hand, large enough to cover my entire stomach, holds the reins while the other ghosts over my hip to stabilize me.

He shouldn’t feel so hot and warm and vital against me. The steady rocking movement of the beast beneath us shouldn’t rub against my privates and make the thoughts even harder to ignore. But it does, and all I can do now is pray he can’t smell me and hope for a short trip.

Lara told me as much as she could about the process before I left. She explained the side effects and how sensitive she got when under the influence of the omega hormones. She also explained how…ahem…needy the alphas get when they smell their mate.

It would be a lie to say I’m not nervous. I can handle myself just fine, but if I want to stay on this planet with Lara I have to ‘contribute’. I just hope it’s worth it, and I’ll have a miraculously wonderful experience just like Lara did.

I don’t want to think about the alternative.

The whole notion of being in ‘heat’ terrifies me. I mean, I remember being a young horny teenager. I jumped into bed with a man who promised me the world and delivered nothing. All because I trusted him and his honeyed words. I can’t go through that again. My heart can’t take it.

So as long as I treat this as simply business, simply a due to be paid, I’ll be fine. I’ll make it through and I’ll go back to my life like nothing ever happened.

No pressure.

Unable to handle the nervous silence any longer, I start talking, hoping that we can change the subject to something lighter. I fill the air with light chatter. Not that Rathgar’s a very good conversationalist, but what can I say? I talk when I’m nervous.

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