Page 18 of Sevan

“No. You don’t understand. I have to get to Christian.” Lorelei’s blue eyes stayed glued to her stomach.

“Why?”

One of the men stood quickly and came to her. He stared at her stomach in awe. “Devi, the legends are true.”

“What legends?”

The man looked at Sevan with nothing short of wonder in his eyes. “The ones that speak of the powerful beings who are to be given great signs when the time comes for them to reproduce the next line of leaders.” He pointed at Lorelei’s stomach. “The symbols stand for fertility. When brought out as they are now, it means now is the time she is most fertile. Her body thirsts for the seed of her mate.”

Sevan let the man’s words sink in. “Why in the hell are you trying to get to Christian?”

She looked at him as if he was insane. Since the thought he might be had crossed his mind, he let it go. “Captain—”

“Call me Sevan, Lorelei. I think we’re way past pleasantries.”

“Fine. Sevan, I need to get to him so he can assure the coming of the next line of leaders. It’s not something that should require an explanation.”

Instantly, it felt as though Sevan had been kicked in the chest. The idea of Lorelei running to another man to give her a child not only sickened him, it infuriated him. “You will not let any other man touch you! You are mine. I have spent six months loving you, and I am not about to let you lie with another man.”

The two men gasped and stared at him with wide eyes.

Lorelei shook her head. “Don’t give him that look. He’s not my mate. He can’t be my mate.”

One of the men moved behind Sevan and touched his upper right shoulder blade. “Look, Devi. He carries you on him.”

“Huh?” he and Lorelei said.

Turning his head, Sevan strained to see what the man was pointing at. It was his tattoo of a woman with a black panther painted on her leg, lying cuddled with a lion. “How is my tattoo a symbol of Lorelei?”

Lorelei lunged at him, twisting him around fast and making a noise that was a cross between a yelp and a cry. “Bollocks. Get the Chieftain now. Tell him he’ll need to perform a bond-breaking ceremony immediately. Sevan cannot be permitted to stay on our planet any longer than necessary, and I’m not about to allow him to remain bonded to me any longer than required.”

“Bonded?” Sevan asked.

“Would you stop asking so many questions? I’m trying to fix this.”

“Hey, lady, don’t start yelling at me because I don’t understand your lingo for soul mate heaven here. I’m just trying to get by. You know, friendly alien relations.”

Lorelei snorted. “Bloody hell, if I’m an alien, what are you? Oh, I know. A lower life form.”

“A lower life form? Is that why you keep saying ‘human’ like it’s a dirty word? Do you think you’re better than us?” Sevan asked, his anger with her growing but somehow channeling into the need for sex. “I saw your little magik trick in the corridor, Lorelei. You may be gifted, but you aren’t the only one with special qualities, honey.”

“Are you trying to tell me something, Sevan?” Lorelei arched a brow. “I’m all ears. Are you ready to tell me why in my dreams I just knew something was different about you, that there was something more? When you bit me, it was with the teeth of a shifter, not a man. Yet, when you set foot on my planet, I sense nothing more than human in you one second but could have sworn I caught scent of something more in the next breath. How is that?”

“Because I told you once already, Lorelei, I am not full-blooded. I carry a small bit of lion DNA in me. I don’t know how the hell I shifted in the dream. But I can tell you this. From the moment I entered your atmosphere, the beast I carry in me has wanted out. It’s wanted to destroy Christian for daring to touch you, and it’s wanted to fuck you as bad as I have. So you can check that holier-than-thou attitude at the door, sweetheart.”

The men exchanged knowing looks and smiled. “It’s good to see that you and your mate love one another.”

Sevan stared at the men, unsure if he wanted to shoot them or hug them for bringing the love word up.

Lorelei shook her head, sending black tendrils cascading over her shoulders. “We are not mates and we are not in love. We only just met and he’s leaving very shortly.” She pushed past him fast, nearly knocking him over.

She’s really fucking strong.

Rushing up behind her, Sevan turned her to face him and stared into her blue eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Do you mean to tell me that by claiming you in the dream, I’ve claimed you in real life? Are we husband and wife?”

She let out a soft laugh. “All evidence is proving that theory, though I personally think it’s ridiculous. If you were able to claim me successfully in a dream, why is it that I didn’t end up with child? It’s not as if we didn’t join enough. Bloody hell, I’ve lost track of the number of times we spent the night banging away.”

Walking into her, Sevan forced her against the hallway wall, pinning her in place so he could speak to her without fear of her running. He didn’t have all the answers, but he did know that he loved her, and that the beast he carried within craved what she provided. Denying it wasn’t an option. “I’ll admit I’m a little lost here. I don’t have all that great knowledge of the dream plane things like you do. I do, however, know that you are in no way, shape or form allowing another man to touch you.”

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