Page 16 of A Treat For Her Mates

“Really?” Ohmigod, I hope my voice didn’t sound too hopeful.

“We can try, but there’s a chance we wouldn’t have enough fuel to make it home, because of the problem we had earlier.”

“Are you saying it would be better if you took me with you?”

“It would, from a vehicular safety perspective,” H’Art says like he’s choosing his words carefully.

“Would that be the only reason you’d want me to come? For vehicular safety?” Gah, do I sound desperate?

They look at each other and I swear they are gathering their courage.

“No. That’s not the only reason. We want you to stay with us because we want you to be our mate,” V’Lor sits down beside me and holds my hand. “To live with us, to love with us—”

“To perform the ritual with us.” H’Aart laughs and settles in on the other side.

“For real?” I asked, because this all still feels like a dream.

“For real. Miranda, we love you.” They say it in unison, like they had practiced. But I know it's spontaneous, that it’s true, because I can feel it in every cell of my body, most importantly in my heart.

Chapter 12: H’Aart

“Are you sure you’re alright with this?” V’Lor stares into Miranda’s eyes, searching for a sliver of doubt.

The three of us are crammed into our two-person spaceship bed, wrapped up in a tangle of naked limbs with Miranda in the center.

“And what if I was? Can we turn back?” Miranda asks, a playful lilt in her voice.

“No,” V’Lor and I say in unison.

“Then stop worrying, my love,” she says and kisses him on the nose.

I make a whining noise and she shifts to kiss my nose too. Much better.

“Aren’t you a bit worried? You’re moving to a new planet. Everything is going to be different and foreign in ways that you can’t comprehend,” V’Lor says, stubbornly stuck in his worry loop.

“Is there air I can breathe?” she asks.

“Yes,” he answers.

“Food I can eat?”

“Of course.”

“Will you be there?”

“Always.”

“And you too, H’Aart?”

“I will. Forever.” I squeeze her hip.

“Then we’re perfect.” She draws in closer and holds us to her. Then she jolts as something occurs to her. “Wait, is it illegal for me to be there? Do I need paperwork or something.”

“Technically, yes. But we’ve got that covered.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. Fancy’s mates, have some, ah, connections that were able to create some documents for you.”

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