Page 12 of The Alien Warlord's Fated Mate

“Did you?”

“Mother,” he said, a warning note underscoring the word.

“So like your father,” she murmured. “Rushing headlong into a fray when subtlety would work better.”

At the reminder of his father, the mating instinct withered under an onslaught of shame. “I am not my father,” he reminded her. His father would never have missed in the same situation.

“You are very like your father,” Alara countered harshly. “Honorable to the last. Do not assume the burden of his choices. He would never have asked that of you.”

Her words echoed his own to Nyklan, too closely for his liking, and he found himself voicing his deepest fear. “What if honor is not enough for her?”

“My son, you are a warlord, worthy of any woman the mating instinct chooses for you. Mia is a wise female, is she not? Thus will she learn to love you as you will learn to love her.”

He could find no counter to that, and after a moment, his mother continued.

“Seduce her, my son, but slowly. Give her time to know your heart. Show her who you are.”

He huffed and clicked his teeth together. Had he not been doing exactly that?

“Do you care for her?” Alara asked, her tone surprisingly gentle.

“I could,” he said slowly. “In time. She is an unusual female, as small and curious as a child, intelligent and questing. Strong of spirit.”

“You admire her.”

Mia glanced up and met his gaze, and just as quickly glanced away. His erection, softened by the conversation with his mother, twitched to life. Just one look and the mating instinct surged forward. She had only dared touch him in her sleep, had not stroked his horns or bitten him, and already she affected him so.

He quashed another sigh. “I do. But she is human, and humans are weak. I fear she may not be strong enough to survive our first mating, let alone the mating frenzy.”

“The Fates have given us guidance, my son,” Alara intoned solemnly. “All will be as it should.”

The ancient proverb soothed him in a way that nothing else she said had. Yes, all would be as it should. Mia would accept the mating bond, she would give him many fine sons and daughters, and his people would survive for another generation. By the ashes of his father, who had sacrificed so much, Zoran would accept no other outcome.

“Now,” his mother continued briskly. “Kaelen Drexus has forwarded a proposal requesting that all unmated warriors be given a chance to try the human females.”

“Kaelen Drexus.” Zoran’s upper lip curled, baring his teeth. “If he wanted a human mate, he should not have opposed me at the Warlord Council when the matter was discussed.”

“He has the right,” his mother reminded him. “The Council agreed—”

Zoran clicked his teeth together. “I lead the Council.”

“And thus must you be its greatest champion.”

“You should have taken the seat, Mother.”

“I could not deprive you of such joy.”

His bark of laughter was loud enough to draw Mia’s gaze. She smiled shyly at him from behind a curtain of her silky hair, and the need to touch her rose so swiftly, he took half a step toward her. “I can find my own joy, Mother. We shall speak of Drexus’s plea at another time. Peace be unto you.”

“And unto you.”

Zoran flicked off the call on his wristcom, his gaze yet again seeking his mate.Show her who you are,his mother had counseled. Aye, he should show her the warrior he had become. Thus could he use force to sway her without using force against her.

Decision made, he contacted the other warlords and commanded them to gather in the cargo bay bearing light weaponry, all save Nyklan who had taken watch on the bridge and would not agree to Zoran’s plan anyway. Most agreed eagerly, even those reluctant to accept human mates. Zoran closed off the last call, satisfied, and stalked across the cargo hold. His littleklikahad had enough time with her friends. It was time for another lesson, one she might enjoy learning as much as he’d enjoy teaching her.

Chapter Four

Mia sat on the cargo bay’s chilly floor between Kira and Leona, not far from the other women Zoran and his merry band of warriors had abducted. It had taken a full five minutes for the frenzied welcome to die down. No one had known she’d been abducted, too, and none of them had a clue why they were there beyond what another woman had shared. A diplomat who’d met her warlord during negotiations between the Xeruvians and Earth had dropped by to check on them. Mia added what information she knew. Some greeted the addition with curiosity, others with fear. Thankfully, no one had broken down in hysterics. They were scientists, after all, and largely rational creatures.

---