Page 57 of The Alien Warlord's Fated Mate

“I commend your zeal, as does my mate.”

Raelka’s teeth gritted together.

Zoran ignored her. “Tell me what you have discovered of thisvyirkolen.”

Ryven launched into a detailed summary of the creature’s wounds, its size, the strength of its venom.

“You were lucky to survive that scratch,” Ryven said grimly. “If your mate had acted any slower, if she had not been so prompt to inject you with the antivenom, the consequences could have been dire. Thank the Fates we still carry it in our medical kits.”

“Thank the Fates my mate’s curiosity drove her to study the conveyance’s controls, else we might still be stranded on the old fort road.”

Ryven touched the middle fingers of his right hand to his forehead, mouth, and chest, then lifted his hand to the heavens. “The Fates bestowed a great blessing upon you when they led you to her.”

Raelka jumped to her feet. “It is no great blessing to be saddled with a weak little human who can’t even tie hershinsek’ukproperly.”

Zoran stiffened and stared down at the female as Ryven rounded on his sister and hissed a warning to her.

Raelka sniffed and flounced back, her arms once again crossed over her chest.

Ryven bowed low to Zoran. “Apologies, my lord. Raelka stopped by to deliver a message from our parents. I should have dismissed her prior to our meeting.”

“The apology is not yours to make,” Zoran said coldly. “Since Raelka is young and has only just now come of age, I will allow her this one outburst. However, should she speak of my mate or the other humans in such a tone again, I shall have no recourse but to banish her.”

“No!” Raelka gasped.

Ryven’s jaw worked as his teeth ground together. “Perhaps it would be wise to remove her from the science center now, my lord, before she stirs trouble among her betters.”

“Perhaps,” Zoran agreed. “But that decision lies solely with my mate. If Raelka can humble herself before the humans, perhaps Lady Kerus will allow her to remain in her current position.”

Ryven bowed again. “Yes, my lord.”

“Peace be unto you, Ryven.”

“And unto you.”

Zoran pivoted away before his irritation prodded him to render punishment to Ryven’s sister in his mate’s stead.

As the door closed slowly behind him, he heard Ryven hissing another warning at his sister.

“I escaped the burning fever,” Raelka responded savagely. “I may still be fertile. He should have looked first to me for his mate, as should the unmated warriors who betrayed our females by sniffing among the humans for their mates.”

The blunt statement infuriated Zoran. Quietly, he slipped to the side and pressed a hand against the door, holding it slightly open.

“Do not be stupid, brat,” Ryven replied, as coldly as Zoran had earlier. “If you were meant for him or any of the others, you would be mated now. No male’s mating instinct rose for you, Raelka, and none will so long as you behave as a child.”

“But it is not fair! She is a filthy, mewlinghuman, unworthy to be mated to a Xeruvian.” A slap cracked against flesh, and the girl whimpered, “It should have been me.”

“Foolish girl,” Ryven hissed. “You are no more than a grain of sand in Lady Kerus’s shoe. Never shame our family again with your petty hatred.”

Zoran gently closed the door and stalked away. So. The girl had aligned her voice with his opposition. No doubt Mia had already observed the girl’s recalcitrant behavior and taken measures to correct it. He was tempted to interfere, but no. This was his mate’s domain. If Raelka’s behavior became intrusive, he would step in. Until then, Mia must handle the child as she saw fit.

With that decision made, he strode up the stairs to the science center’s main level and sought out his mate among the researchers diligently tackling the many problems his people faced.

Zoran found Mia in her office, discussing various matters with his mother and Jyrak Kael. The entrance remained open. Loath to disturb her, curious as to the work she had chosen to undertake, he hovered just beyond the threshold, listening.

“Your reasoning is clear, my daughter,” Alara said. “Perhaps weshoulddiscard our assumptions and reinvestigate the earthquakes and the infertility plague.”

Zoran stiffened, surprised. Mia had chosen to reopen the investigation into the disasters that had ultimately led to their mating? For what purpose?

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