Page 14 of Alien Wants A Wife

“Hey.” Briar raises a hand to catch John Smith’s attention. “Can we have a moment, just us women together? You know, to get our heads around everything that’s happened.”

Mayhaps I am not the only one confused by what is happening here. Lydia asked me many questions she surely should have known the answers to. Harlee has fallen silent and is keeping papers secret. Briar is confronting John Smith as if she does not wish to be here. As if she is not excited to be meeting her potential Mate.

“No.” And the Drah’os Male grabs hold of her dress, yanking it down, exposing another inch of her smooth collarbone.

“Oh, very classy!” She shoves at his shoulder, but he does not release her.

“Do not touch her,” Sorin growls before anybody else can react, sounding much more like Killan than himself. He leaps onto the table, and I stare as my usually reserved brother walks over the tabletop and jumps down at the other side, landing beside John Smith.

“I’m fine,” Briar assures him, acting as though she really has met Sorin before. “Don’t get yourself into trouble because of me.”

I glare. What is happening? Why did Sorin not tell me of his earlier meeting?

More importantly, why did Sorin not invite me to go with him to meet one of the Females?

Nothing about this moment feels how I imagined it would. Nothing about this moment feels like it is the beginning of the rest of our lives. This catastrophic mess is not anything like the other first meetings of the previous seasons of LOVE GALAXY I watched.

Or had those episodes been lies?

“Get back over there.” The Drah’os Male dismisses Sorin’s completely un-Sorin display of temper and gestures for him to cross back to the table’s opposite side. “We need continuity.”

“Or else our audience will realize LOVE GALAXY is staged.” Briar’s voice drips with contempt.

“It is not.” I stand. “LOVE GALAXY is real. And how come you two have already met?” I direct that last accusation at Sorin, straightening my shoulders until I am standing to my full height, determined not to let my brother’s superior size intimidate me. I have fought with Killan many times, and Killan is larger even than Sorin. “You did not tell me.”

I might be the youngest, but I will not be daunted.

Everyone stares at me.

A heavy silence fills the air.

“It is real,” I reiterate stubbornly.Isn’t it?

“Exactly,” John Smith agrees, glancing from one person to the next as though daring anyone else to contradict him. Briar opens her mouth to respond, but John Smith continues. “Start fromhi,” he tells her.“Introduce yourself to the group and then take your seat at the table. Followed by some light banter and flirting.”

“Introduction, sit, light banter,” she repeats. “And then we’ll get a break?”

“Sure. Whatever.” He backs up a few steps, moving out of the cameras’ direct line of sight. “Action!”

I return to my seat. Continuity must be maintained.

“Hi,” Briar says, acting as though she had not been arguing with John Smith a moment earlier. “I’m Briar Chapman. I’m a Human from Earth. I’ve been working as an advisor for nearly a decade, with a degree in political science and lots of experience in charity fundraising. From the moment I first found out that I was going to have the opportunity to potentially meet my husband on live TV, I… well, I guess I was a bit discombobulated. It felt like getting hit over the back of the head with a paperweight.”

I feel similarly. My eyes are stinging with the beginnings of a headache, and a storm of emotions roils around my stomach. I want to simultaneously chase John Smith out of our home and question the Females about every aspect of their lives. I want to crush the cameras in my hands until they are nothing but broken pieces, but I do not want to waste any time getting to know our guests.

One of these Females might be my future Mate.

That last thought has excitement muting my more rebellious feelings, and I lean forward, watching their faces closely.

“So you are unmated?” Sorin asks.

“Un-what?” Briar blinks.

Lydia has her mouth ajar.

Harlee’s eyes are wide, her dark pupils expanded.

“Mated,” Sorin repeats, stiffly.

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