Page 47 of A Darkside Interlude

“I will arrange to facilitate their release. Do not be so tense, Iskar. In your position, I would have done the same, or worse.” His expression darkened. “When one is mated, all reason disappears.”

“Hm.” Iskar remembered the madness of Mating Fever. The sheer intensity of his feelings for Mari had caught him by surprise. “It was… unexpected.” But good. The best thing that has ever happened to me.

The headaches were gone now—they’d abated as soon as he’d made love to Mari—but he was still filled with simmering tension.

He wondered if that feeling would ever go away.

“The Stern clan has always been opposed to our presence on Earth. Apparently, we have competing interests. I believe we have already encountered—and fought—the various arms of their operations on Earth. I have no doubt they will attempt some sort of retaliation in future.” The General seemed completely unfazed. “Irritating, but manageable. Some humans tend to overestimate their capabilities.”

“My actions were reckless,” Iskar admitted. In hindsight, he realized he’d committed an outrageous breach of protocol. It was so out of character; he always did things by the book. “I should have consulted you on how to proceed. I should have approached the situation with better planning, more discretion… I will accept any disciplinary measu—”

The General waved his hand dismissively. “Iskar, relax.”

Relax? Once again, Akkadian proved that he was an impossible man to predict.

“Who am I to deny you your most fundamental needs? You went after your mate.” He shrugged. “It is impossible for me to stand in the way of that. Having said that, I would rather avoid such chaos in future. I want you to streamline this process for our men.”

“Sir?” Iskar blinked, not quite understanding the General’s intentions.

“You are not the first to fall, Commander, and it is inevitable that there will be others. I want you to put together a team. Consult with the human women and set up a program.”

“A program…”

“We will help our men to find their mates, on our terms. Controlled chaos, if you will. It will minimize the potential for such incidents in future.”

“That is reasonable.” The part of Iskar that craved law and order jumped on the idea. “In truth, it is necessary if we are to exist in this place.”

“Indeed.” The General looked up.

On a high walkway above, two women appeared. One was the General’s wife, Abbey.

Iskar’s gaze was instantly drawn to the other.

His mate.

She wore a deep red kashkan; it was a gift from Iskar, and to his delight, she loved it. As he’d predicted, it suited her perfectly. Her long, talented fingers peeked out from voluminous sleeves, and her narrow waist was highlighted by a wide cream-colored sash. The fine silken material draped beautifully over her curves, accentuating all the right places.

Iskar’s cock stirred. He couldn’t wait to undress her and claim her again and again.

The women looked down. Abbey was pointing to something and talking animatedly. Mari smiled. They couldn’t see Iskar and the General, who were both concealed beneath a thick canopy of foliage.

General Akkadian followed the direction of Iskar’s gaze. As his eyes landed on his mate, his face did an incredible thing.

It softened.

For Iskar, who had only known the General as a hard, ruthless, and enigmatic leader, it was a revelation.

“Finding and claiming a mate is essential to the future of our bloodline,” Akkadian said quietly, never once taking his eyes off his mate. “We could simply abduct humans and institute mass-breeding, but that would go against our very nature. I believe the intense protectiveness we feel towards our mates and offspring is no coincidence. It is key to our survival in the Universe.”

“And that is why Kythia had to fall.” Another piece of the puzzle fell into place. “The old Imperial ways were killing our true nature.” His father had told him as much. Wise old man. At the time, a much younger Iskar had dismissed his words as the ravings of a bitter old military grunt.

Now, it was all starting to make sense.

As Iskar observed his mate from the shadows, a strange emotion overcame him. She is mine. Where Mari was concerned, he would never be entirely rational.

Madness.

And it was glorious.

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