Page 8 of Possessive Alien Mate

He stalked after her, realizing he must apologize and try to make things right between them. Still naked, he hurried down the steps as he searched for her. He followed her sweet flowery scent and found her trying to push open the front door. When it failed to open, she moved to the nearest window, but it didn’t budge either. She was wearing the yellow dress again, though in her haste to get dressed, it looked as though she’d put it on backwards.

He cleared his throat and waited for her to look at him. When she turned, her eyes went wide and she quickly looked away. “Jesus, Rem. Put some clothes on.”

He glanced down at himself. His cock was still hard and bobbed slightly with his movements. “I left my clothing upstairs.” He reached out a hand to her. “Come, Tyra. We are going back upstairs.” He wanted her back in his bedroom, where he could hopefully make a proper apology and then they could pick up where they’d left off. He still longed to make her his, to claim her as his mate.

She shook her head back and forth. Tears glimmered in her eyes and she blinked rapidly as she made another futile attempt to open the window. “Fuck!” she said, slamming a hand against the reinforced glass.

“Tyra,” he said, “I am sorry.” The apology felt strange on his tongue, as strange as the one he’d issued in the forest after grabbing her too hard. Before these instances, he couldn’t remember the last time he had apologized to anyone for anything. Perhaps when he was a child, or a young warrior. Gods. No wonder Jav was his only friend.

She exhaled a shuddering breath and stared at him, her expression wary as she remained pressed to the wall near the window. She made no move to step closer and he didn’t invade her space. He cursed his jealousy and the Marttiaxoxalian female who had caused him to harbor such distrust in his heart. Tyra didn’t look as though she accepted his apology. How could he mend the rift between them?

“I-I was wrong to react the way I did, my sweet mate. Please know that I am sorry.” He reached out his hand again, holding his breath and hoping she would take it.

“Rem, could we perhaps talk and get to know one another better before…” Her voice trailed off and her cheeks reddened. “Before we, um, go back upstairs.” She met his gaze and his heart clenched at the fear reflecting in her dark eyes. Fear he had caused.

“Yes, Tyra,” he answered without hesitation. He certainly wouldn’t force her to go back upstairs with him, not until she was comfortable doing so, anyway. How could he calm her? How could he erase the worry that glimmered in the depths of her eyes? He was vastly inexperienced with females. It had been many years since he’d spent more than a short moment speaking to one, let alone engaged in a full conversation. Suddenly, he felt woefully unprepared to accept a mate into his life. And yet, he couldn’t fathom letting Tyra go.

He still felt possessive of her, still ached to claim her as his forever.

After a tense moment, she finally stepped forward and reached out to take his hand. When their fingers touched, warmth flowed through him, a river of emotion that couldn’t be tamed.

Why was he drawn to Tyra unlike any other female?

As he pulled her closer, he experienced an emotion he hadn’t felt in ages, one that startled him to the very depths of his being. Hope.

He gathered her closer and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to his chest as he stroked one hand through her hair. She shuddered against him but made no move to return his embrace. He couldn’t blame her, after the way he’d acted.

Her stomach abruptly grumbled, and he eagerly latched onto this distraction. He pulled back to stare down at her, still caressing his fingers through her soft tresses. He placed a finger beneath her chin, reveling in the silkiness of her skin. Were all human females so soft and delicate? Gods, he wanted to undress her again and run his hands all over her body. He wanted to examine every little part of her. He inhaled a deep breath, attempting to calm the desire that was rushing through him, and gave Tyra a brief smile.

“Come, my sweet mate, and I will get you settled in the sitting room while I prepare an early midday meal. It sounds as though you’re hungry.”

“I-I could eat. Thank you. That sounds nice.”

He guided her through the lower level of his house, to the sitting room that faced the forest area around the palace. Though he lived in the center of the city, there was plenty of greenery, with small wooded areas in between clusters of houses. His house, in particular, wasn’t situated near any others, as most of the palace guards lived within the walls of the royal estate. As he recalled how much Tyra had enjoyed the walk from the landing platform, he was now glad for the remote feel of his home. He was also thankful that the large window in the living room showed a splendid view of the flowering trees and other greenery.

“Wow, it doesn’t feel like we’re in a city.” She walked to the window. “Are Marttiaxoxalian cities usually designed this way? With little forests in between all the houses and buildings?”

“This is our only city at the moment,” he said, “though there are a few smaller settlements in more rural areas on Mars. But, yes, before we were forced to leave Marttiaxoxalia, most of our large cities were designed this way. Even our most populated cities were not very similar to your cities on Earth.”

“Oh?” She turned to face him, and the late morning sun spilling into the room bathed over her long locks, drawing his attention to the lighter strands in her otherwise dark hair. “Have you been to Earth, then?”

He stared at her, unsure of how to answer. Of course, he’d been to Earth, and he’d killed many human soldiers during the short time he’d spent on the planet. Didn’t she realize most Marttiaxoxalian males, aside from the very youngest of them, had battled Earth during the war?

“Yes, I’ve been to Earth.”

“When? And what part of the planet?”

“I was stationed in North America during the war,” he said. “Though the occasional mission took me to other locations on your planet, depending on where my unit was needed most during the fighting.”

She paled. “You fought in the war.” She forced a strange looking smile and shook her head briefly. “Of course, you fought in the war. Silly me. It’s just that twenty years have passed since then, and I am too young to remember the war, that it sometimes feels as though it happened a hundred years or more before I was born. I’ve heard stories about it, and I’ve seen some videos of the battles, but it’s difficult to grasp it as a more recent event when I didn’t witness any of the fighting with my own eyes.” She shrugged. “I never experienced what life on Earth was like before the war. This reality is the only one I know, unlike the generation before mine. My father used to tell me I was lucky in this regard, claiming that I was born at precisely the right time in history, for I would never yearn for the old days as his generation and that of his parents’ were doomed to forever do.” She paused and flushed as she met his gaze. “Sorry, I guess I’m rambling.” She tried to turn back to the window, but Rem caught her in his arms, unable to resist touching her yet again.

“You are unlike any female I’ve ever met,” he found himself saying, though perhaps this was because he rarely interacted with females. Tyra’s very presence, including her rambling, brought a much-needed lightness to his home. His house felt more open, the walls no longer closing in upon him. As he cupped her face and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, he realized for the first time what was currently missing from his abode—the pervasive sense of loneliness that usually blanketed the entire place.

“Is that a compliment?” Tyra asked, her face flushing yet again.

“Yes, my sweet mate, it is.” He ran his hands down her arms and then guided her to sit near the window on a long plush sofa. “You can wait here. I’ll return shortly with our midday meal. I’ll be certain to put some clothes on first.”

“Thank you, Rem,” she replied, blushing.

---