Page 15 of Her Alien Prince
And the worst of it was that I was comforted every time.
Trent's tone became serious to match my mood. "I aim for the same, sustaining estrelds and krelins. As much as I want to reassure you there won't be hardships to come, I can't."
"What are you saying?"
"There is a bigger war brewing, and the reason why my queen is so desperate to speed along uniting our planets. Estreldez will have to defend itself, whether it's with Krelis or not. Warships are coming, and they aren't ours."
I believed him.
"How much time?"
"Before the trill come, or before other planets start making moves?"
A long silence filled the air, and I braced myself for the crushing reality I feared would come with an answer.
"Either?"
Trent stared out the window and sighed. "None. Both of those are already happening. I must unite our planets, and then lead my warships to battle, defending our homes."
"Together," I added.
"Together," he agreed.
I didn't know why I trusted what he was saying, but there was no reason for him to lie about war. If anything, he had every reason to lie to me about any danger at all. Any sane person hearing about such things would believe the only war would be coming from Krelis, and him telling me about this should make me run in the opposite direction. Which was exactly why I didn't, and why I believed him.
"Then for the sake of both our planets," I paused, my chest tight with what I was agreeing to, "I hope you can convince Luan to work with you." Politics weren't up to me, and he had the approval of Almder to seek Luan as a mate, but my throat became coarse speaking of such things. I couldn’t even bring myself to say mate with him. Was it possible that they could simply work together, prove to the krelins and estrelds alike that they could bring peace with their mutual efforts… without mating? I didn't like the idea and it had nothing to do with him being a krelin.
And everything to do with how he made me feel, being this close. My skin tingled with the slight breeze his wings made, and our kiss was still fresh on my mind.
CHAPTER SIX
Trent
THE TRIP BACKto Estreldez was thick with an uncomfortable silence after Mabel told me she accepted what I had to do for our planets. Mating with the Jewel of Estreldez, future Almder, and Queen of Krelis, was what I knew needed to happen. But my face had turned to stone, unsatisfied with the ease with which she dismissed the issue. I should have been pleased that she wasn't upset with me, but I was seething inside that she was not more chagrined by the prospect of another female having claim to me.
I was already thinking of ways that I could fool my hive into accepting Luan as queen without actually mating with her. Groaning, I knew that would only be temporary. If she wasn’t mated with me the hive would seek another queen as soon as one presented itself. All our efforts of merging Krelis and Estreldez would fizzle.
It was for the best, when I had probably imagined the connection I felt with Mabel, but everything in me didn't want to give up on that briefest of feelings when our lips touched, and I tasted her nectar. I would have to find a way to forget about her, to move on, for the sake of our planets. Rid her from my mind and refocus on why I was here. Luan. I needed to mate with the Almder's daughter.
Further rising my ire, I watched as Mabel left the shuttle as soon as we docked, without so much as a goodbye, she disappeared down the corridors in the direction of the palace. Leaving me to return and pace my arranged living quarters, unable to refocus on anything except for her. The only image in my mind was her black hair scattered about my bed cushions, and her legs spread for me, offering the feast of her delicious juices as she called out my name. It was fantasy, I knew, but it didn't stop me from imagining how it would feel to plunge my hard cock within her welcoming heat, and knot inside of her until every nerve of her body felt only me.
Only me, I repeated, as my hand reached down to adjust my length within my pants, just in time for my doors to slide open to an angry estreld. I couldn't blame him; I did leave him snoozing on the shuttle. He had a double dose of my musk, and even though he stirred on the trip back, he stayed knocked out for longer than I had anticipated. This time he was prepared with an air filtration mask, with two tiny cylinders following the line of his jaw that processed and analyzed the oxygen as he breathed in. It would surely make for speaking with him entertaining, as often times people sounded muffled when wearing them.
"What did you do with Mabel?" he asked with venom as the door slid closed behind him, his shoulders heaving.
I lifted a brow, my hand sliding over to my side from where I had fixed my cock's positioning, his eyes followed my movement. If I had done anything with Mabel, I wouldn’t be so unsatisfied at the moment, but I doubted his question had anything to do with my own spiraling thoughts of ravaging her.
"She was headed towards the main palace from the transport deck last I saw her," I replied in a bored tone.
He groaned his frustration, having not received the answer he was looking for. "That isn't what I was asking. I know where she is. I want to know what you did."
This piqued my interest. Did he know that I licked her juices from my fingers? I grinned over at him, pleased with the idea. Bringing my fingers up to my lips, I could still smell her on me. By estreld standards, Gaven was an attractive mate prospect. He was well fed, muscles toned, and he displayed many loh jewels along his arms. His green skin would even be considered alluring to even a krelin warrior, being much more vibrant than what a krelin would have.
His green skin reminded me of Mabel's eyes, and I grew increasingly irritated that this male shared anything with her at all, even if only in coloring. Though, I suspected there was more between them than the jeweled pigment with his current reaction to my interest.
"You'll have to be a bit more specific," I replied, not feeling in the mood to be generous with any information towards this male. Gaven was showing too much involvement for my taste.
"She won't speak with me," he reluctantly ground out. "I don't know what you've done, but I know you have no intention of giving her what she deserves. I will warn you only once, you will keep your distance."
