Page 13 of Her Alien Delegate
"Cancel bounty and violation," Ter-ak ordered BOD without any change to his tone. He was unworried about the reaction the AI was giving. "Command override initiated, clearance in accordance with trill mating rights of palace officials. This human is my mate, and my poison will not harm her once I mark her."
"Trill mating rituals accepted, contract confirmed with your ID. Please proceed to mark your mate before the poison can harm the Earthling."
"No," I objected, but my voice was nothing more than a gasp as I felt my knees give way, my back sliding down the wall.
Ter-ak towered over me, his tail grazed the floor, closing in toward my feet. This wasn't how I imagined bonding with an alien mate, and I closed my eyes, not wanting to accept it, but knowing what was coming.
His tail lifted my chin up, and I opened my eyes to him glaring at me, having removed the resin from his eyes. "Look at me when I give you my mark. Mates are not prey, human; they face their bonded."
Then I watched in horror as blood poured out of his mouth. Ter-ak's throat had grey ropes wrapped around it with sharp bones piercing into his soft flesh not covered by scales.
"Where I come from," a deep voice whispered, "a female has the right to kill anyone who tries to force their way into her delegation."
"Bounty fulfilled," BOD's announcement echoed in my mind. "Please insert both female and trill into the lav station for health scans."
Ter-ak's body was tossed to the side, and a large grey alien sniffed the air and then crouched down, cocking his head to the side as if listening for my breathing. His eyes were covered in a black sap that looked like plastic wax. His silvery grey hair was braided in ropes that fell over his shoulder, adorned withsharp bones, carved into unique shapes. He had a bone pierced through his ear pointed towards me.
"I don't smell blood from you, but it is best to be safe and have you scanned by the AI," he said while offering me his hand.
"Ter-ak?"
"If that is the trill's name, then he should be fine after he hibernates. They are a rather resilient species. I do apologize if you had wanted to mate with him. I had fully intended on being your only suitor, but the AI had told me while I was on my way that you were in need of assistance. To my surprise the bounty was the same room I was heading to. Shall we?"
It was strange hearing the translation in my implant sound so formal when his voice was deep and throaty.
"Thank you," I whispered and watched as a shiver started in his offered hand and seemed to travel up to his shoulder, making him stretch out his neck.
"What a pleasant sound you make," he admitted when my hand slipped into his. I blushed; not that he could see that. "Are you able to lead me to where the lav station is? I can request our host to dissolve the sap from my eyes, but I fear I'd be in breach of contract and another bounty will be sent for me this time."
"Oh," I tried to scramble from the floor, but my legs were heavy and I tumbled into his arms. "Sorry." I tried to push away, but his arms wrapped around me as his chin rubbed through my hair. He breathed in deeply with a groan, before swooping me up to carry me.
"You can be my eyes, and I can be your legs," he said while I felt his chest puff out a bit under his cloak.
"Behind you," I whispered. "The lav station. Y-you take five steps to the right and it's beside the bed." Right, he couldn't see the bed, or anything. I was about to explain further, but noticed his steps were much larger than mine, and I had to squeak for him to stop. I needed to do it one step at a time. "You have toopen the door first. Here, let me." I unwrapped one arm from around his neck to press my hand on the scanner to open the door.
The lav station was open, and with one step at a time, the large alien placed me gently inside. The door slid shut around me, lasers scanned over me, and something shot out to pricked me on the back of my arm.
"Hey?" I clipped as I rubbed my arm.
"Trill poison detected. Please retrieve the trill for antidote," BOD requested.
I heard the alien grunt outside the lav station. "There are two ways to cure trill poisoning. Take the mate mark, or drink their venom. The mate mark is simply a way of retrieving the venom. Which do you prefer?" he asked me.
"I can just drink venom and be cured?" Then I remembered that he couldn't see. "But your eyes?"
"I can easily find the trill by his blood. It will be my honor to prove my usefulness, little mate."
"Mate?" I squeaked, but he was already gone to retrieve the venom.
Chapter six
Broma
My skin hummed just thinking about the little human's touch along my ormete as she clung to my neck. A smile plastered on my face as I felt the trill's teeth scrape across my hand as I dug into its mouth, searching for the venom sack.At the roof of its mouth, I felt one of them had already been depleted in preparation for mating. Carefully, I extracted the hardened capsul with a sharpened nail claw. I'd give it to my little mate first. Normally, a warrior would simply pop the sack into their mouth and consume it, but perhaps the AI here could synthesize a few antidotes from one sack. My nose crinkled at what I would have to do if the AI couldn't. The other venom sack was dispersed in his teeth to mark a mate. If I had to be marked by that trill, I would kill him before he could ever claim to be my mate.
Returning to the lav station, I lifted the hardened sack in my palm, and a mechanical tube suctioned it up.
"You're hurt," her beautiful sound translated into the earpiece I wore.
