Page 61 of Alien Prince's Claim

I flicked my eyes up to her face to see if she was following me.

She was.

I cleared my throat. “We like to stay as far from them as possible. Most of the time, we can go our entire lives without ever having to deal with them. But sometimes… Sometimes it’s necessary.”

I wet my lips with the tip of my tongue. “You see… You see… We are… You and I… We’re…”

Why was it so difficult to tell her we were fated mates? I wondered.

In Krev culture, finding your fated mate was the most natural thing in the world — in the galaxy, in fact — and something to be celebrated and shouted from the rooftops, not hidden away and concealed.

I realized it was fear motivating me not to speak the truth, to not tell her everything I needed her to know.

After all, humans — as far as I knew — didn’t have fated mates and she might not understand their significance.

Or even if she did, it wouldn’t go as deeply spiritually as it did with the Krev.

“We are… fated mates,” I announced.

She just looked at me.

Then she blinked.

And continued staring.

“That means we’re destined to be together,” I said. “It means when we make love for the first time, we’re joined together in a way few alien species are in the universe. It means… It means we will be together. Forever.”

Emily just frowned. “And don’t I have a say in this?”

I nodded. “Of course you do. It’s just… No one has ever decided not to be with their fated mate before. It’s… sort of a sign we’re a perfect match. And why would anyone decide not to be with their ideal mate?”

Emily cocked her head to one side. “How certain are you of this?”

“Pretty certain,” I said.

“How certain? I mean, I know we get on well and everything but…”

I shook my head. “No. It’s clearer than that. You see, we are all marked.”

I drew up my shirt to reveal the naturally-occurring tattoo at the base of my spine. “This is called the Joisa. It binds us. You have one too, although it will look a little different from mine.”

Emily’s eyes bolted open and she reached back and felt at her skin.

“The Goblars came after you because they know you’re my fated mate,” I said.

“They know?”

I nodded. “They attacked this facility because they were drawn to it. They know we’re fated mates and they will not stop until they have you.”

Emily turned pale. “They won’t stop?”

“Not until they possess you by inserting their—”

Emily raised a hand. “I get it, I get it. You don’t need to draw a picture. Then how do we stop them?”

“I must protect you, keep them from mating with you for twenty hours.”

“Twenty hours? Why?”

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