Page 15 of Jewel of the Alien Bandit
I should have sensed them enter the room. Having them sneak up on me like that only confirmed my suspicions that I couldn’t afford to spend more time with the intoxicating estreld female.
I had to grab the jewel and leave.
“You know the rules, Loric, one-on-one time is not to be interrupted.” She was already standing and pressing forward towards the male who now gave me the death stare. So much for frenemies, it was straight enemies with how he caught me touching her, though he didn’t know the half of it. My cock twitched, remembering the feel of her clenching around my fingers. I shoved my hand in my pocket hoping he didn’t have the same scent receptors that I did.
“You’re being summoned for one of those one-on-ones in the garden.” Loric didn’t appear pleased with telling her about this. “Almder has made it perfectly clear that she wishes for you to stay with him for as long as possible to be polite, and you can return for the dance.”
Her tiny fists bunched up revealing what she thought about this arrangement.
“Are you forfeiting your own time?” She asked through gritted teeth.
“No, in exchange for delaying our own time, Almder has granted us early leave from the dance to the royal grotto.”
Luan waved her hand dismissively. “It’s unlike her to meddle with the ceremony like this.”
“Things are strained with Krelis, and you’ve expressed an interest to her many times that you wish to build more diplomatic relations. This is your chance to prove to her that you can do what you’ve been pushing for. Talk with the krelin and figure out what the hive wants. Find a better agreement between our planets.”
I suppressed scoffing at the very idea of reasoning with a krelin. His display earlier told us exactly what his intentions were with Luan. If she wasn’t careful with this meeting she’d be bargained to be his mate, and when you mate with the hive you become connected with them. He’d take her back to Krelis, and she’d be stashed away with the rest of the females on that planet. Brainwashed, the lot of them. The idea of Luan becoming one of them had me inching closer to her protectively.
Would she be better off if I stole her away for myself? No, at least with the hive she’d be safe. The life of an outlaw wasn’t meant for her, though she’d give a bounty hunter a run for their credits with those impressive wings of hers.
She seemed to be considering what Loric had to say, and nodded. “I’ll speak with him.” She was firm in her decision, andshe emphasized that it would only be speaking, which settled relief to my tense muscles. It shouldn’t matter to me that she might be with another male since I wasn’t claiming her myself, but it did bother me.
And before I could protest, she was sweeping out the door, and Loric stood between us preventing my instincts to follow.
Loric watched me with those sharp blue eyes of his before he spoke, “There are different releases of our mating loh that you may not be aware of. There is sexual attraction, and then there is fated mates. She’s found her mate this cycle, and if it isn’t you then you must step aside.”
“You care about her,” I surmised.
“I love her,” he corrected.
“Does that make you her fated mate?” My jaw tightened even asking. I meant for the question to come out as a challenge, but there was worry at his answer that I hoped wasn’t noticeable.
“A female estreld chooses her fated mate. It’s a feeling that builds within the mate the more contact they have with her mating loh.”
That explained why I was feeling such possessiveness. I smiled understanding that my feelings were not my own, they were hers pooling out of her mating loh. That means as long as I avoided her while her mating loh were out, I could leave here without going insane for not stealing her away with me.
“Like an infection,” I clarified to myself. Once I left this planet I would be fine. It was such an intense feeling I almost mistook her for my Shol mate, that was something completely different than whatever toxic radiation her loh put off.
He squeezed my shoulder, as if giving me reassurance, despite potentially being in the way of him mating with Luan.
“It is a gift to be bonded with Luan in not merely her bed, but her very soul. After our one-on-one in the grotto I will know whether she has chosen me or not.”
A flair of jealousy heated through me, and I took a step forward prepared to launch at him before reason stopped me. This was all part of the virus I told myself, I just needed to get off planet with the jewel to be back to normal. My fists flexed, and though I prevented myself from attacking him for even thinking about doing things with Luan in the grotto, I couldn’t ease the tension in my muscles.
I wanted to say he could have her, but the words would not leave my tongue.
“Whether you are compatible with her or not will not sway me from pursuing her as a mate. She is the first to have stirred my own mating loh. I’ve been waiting for her to join the ceremony for many cycles. You understand, don’t you, outlaw?”
My mouth dried as he seemed to pinpoint my secrets with a glance alone. He didn’t call me bounty hunter. I nodded, but kept my face neutral.
Without meaning to, my competitive side surfaced. “If you were certain you were her true mate, then you wouldn’t have any need to assert yourself. You don’t want me to be chosen.”
Loric smiled at me, his manner schooled from years of training, he was a diplomat if ever I saw one. Calculating his next move. “I’m sure you have thought of what you would offer Luan if she were to choose you. Perhaps a plan to stay on Estreldez to raise your offspring together, and use your connections to create new treaties for the continued prosperity of the clan.”
The bastard hit low with his words. Offspring, being land bound to this planet, and knowingly mocking the fact that my outlaw history would bring more problems than it would solve. All humor fell from my features, and I knew I had met my match in manipulation tactics. He saw right through me, and might have already known I was messing with him from the beginning. He was not someone to eat up my bullshit without a fight. And his blows were direct hits.
I had no intention of breeding an offspring that would be left behind like my own old man did to me. And I certainly didn’t have any desire to be stuck on this planet. And as reluctant as I was to admit I felt something for the blasted female, I didn’t want to bring her more trouble.
