Page 30 of Ravenous Alien Mate

“That’s terrible,” she said. “I mean, whathedid was terrible. Not what you did. You were right to capture them. Those poor women.” She moved several steps back and sank onto a sofa, her hands shaking at her sides. She appeared as though she were in shock.

He longed to go to her side, but he needed to verify she hadn’t lied to him just now. He hated that he must check, but he had no choice. After erasing the image of Steven, he pulled up the information Orrsa had sent and began to study it, praying he didn’t find any inconsistencies in Leah’s story.

Though his heart remained heavy, hope filled him when he didn’t find anything to suggest she had told him further lies.

Jav went to Leah, sat next to her and grasped her chin, bringing her gaze to his. “Miranda knew you came from the prison,” he said. “Didn’t she? That is why the women aboard the spaceship didn’t talk to you, and that is what she’d been preparing to say to you in the banquet hall before you caused a distraction by spilling the water pitcher.”

“Yes.” Her bottom lip quivered. “I am sorry for lying to you, Jav. I-I didn’t want you to know about my past. I was so ashamed and I wanted a second chance so badly. Please understand.”

Another tear trickled down her face and he was quick to wipe it away. The sight of her anguish pained his own heart.

“I have come to truly care for you, Jav,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “I-I agreed to the parole board’s terms for early release because I couldn’t bear to spend another night in jail. I felt as though I was losing my mind in that cell. But ever since I came to Mars, ever since I met you, I started to feel whole again. You made me feel safe and you always treated me with kindness. It was wrong of me to lie to you, Jav, and I am so very sorry, but I did care for you. I wasn’t faking any of that. Being sent away from you is my greatest fear.”

“Send you away?” A deep growl tore from his throat. “We will never be parted, Leah. Never.”

He cupped her face and continued wiping at her tears. His chest ached and each breath became a struggle as he imagined life without his sweet mate, the human female he had come to love. Even after learning of her deceit, his devotion for her remained unwavering. He still loved her, and he would still protect her with his life.

“I want to prove your innocence, my sweet mate. Is there anything else you have been keeping from me? The more I know, the more I can help you.”

“This won’t help with our current predicament, but I want to come clean about everything. I-I told you I was an only child, but I had a brother. I’m not sure if he’s alive. We were never close and he never contacted me in prison. Also, the reason I gave you for applying to become a mail order bride was false.”

“I suspected as much,” Jav said, stroking her hair. Her application hadn’t contained any detailed information about her, though it had displayed her status as an ex-prisoner. Orrsa had managed to access the Martian Affairs systems in Zone 12 to provide him with a copy of the application. “Leah, but you must promise to be honest with me from this day forward. No more untruths between us.”

Her eyes glittered under a fresh sheen of tears. “I promise. But what will happen? Miranda has accused me of something very serious and I do not know how to help you prove my innocence.”

Just then, Rem marched back into the room, the other palace guards following him. Jav rose to his feet and growled. “I told you to give me some time alone with my mate,” he growled in Marttiaxoxalian. He stood in front of Leah, prepared to protect her if they tried to take her into their custody. He wouldn’t allow them to lay a finger on her, not even Rem, who had been his friend for many years.

“Search the bedroom first,” Rem called out to the guards. He crossed his arms and stared at Jav as the guards disappeared in the direction of Jav’s bedroom.

“What are you doing?” Jav roared.

Before Rem could answer, one of the guards appeared at his side, holding one of Leah’s dresses. It was the same purple gown she’d been wearing the day he’d claimed her in an alcove, which had occurred on the same day of her private conversation with Miranda in another alcove.

When the guard pulled a mini-blaster from the pocket of the purple dress, Jav’s heart nearly stopped.

“I am sorry, old friend,” Rem said, “but I have no choice. There is physical evidence against your mate. I must take her into custody. She will not be harmed; I give you my word.”

Jav lowered his head and drew in a deep breath, preparing to rush at Rem and the other guards. His head and his horns were much larger than theirs. He was certain he could take all of them down easily. One headbutt to any of their skulls and they would likely be knocked senseless. Leah wasn’t going anywhere with them. He would die before he allowed them to touch her.

She was his. His mate. His love.

“Leave my quarters at once,” Jav said, his voice a menacing rumble. “You know my strength. You know what I am capable of. I don’t wish to hurt you, Rem, but if you take one step forward, I won’t hesitate.”

“Jav,” Leah whispered behind him. “Please, I don’t understand what’s happening. I don’t understand a word of your tongue, and I don’t know how that weapon got in my dress. I swear it’s not mine.”

Jav drew himself up to his full height as he stared down at Rem and the other guards.

“When the fighting starts, my sweet mate, I want you to go hide in the closet. Don’t come out until I call your name.”

Chapter 26

Leah watched in horror as Rem approached. Jav growled and tensed, then lowered his head and flew at Rem. The green Martian guard lowered his own head and the ear splitting sound of their horns crashing in battle soon filled the room.

“Go, Leah! Now!” Jav’s command reached her and she forced herself to her feet, though her legs were trembling so hard she could barely make them move. She couldn’t believe it had come to this, couldn’t believe Jav had to fight his own people. By now, she had surmised that Rem and the other guards wanted to arrest or at least take her into custody. That’s why Jav was fighting for her, because he didn’t wish to let her go.

Beneath her fear, her heart fluttered with the knowledge that Jav still wanted her. He wasn’t handing her over to the guards who’d come to take her away, even though they’d found a freaking weapon in her things. Just as she started to suspect how it had gotten there, a deep male voice called out over the noise of Jav and Rem’s continued fighting.

She paused in the bedroom doorway, clutching onto the wall for support. The sitting room was in disarray, with furniture upturned and smashed to pieces, paintings knocked off the walls, and light fixtures lying broken on the floor, pieces of glass covering the entire area.

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