Page 42 of The Alien Warrior's Mate

“Korben let all the other aliens out.” Sara’s voice rose with pride. “He saved them. He saved me.”

“I see.” Ga Eun’s voice took on a thoughtful tinge and her smile waned.

Unease slipped into her heart. “Didn’t he?”

“Where did the other human female go, Sara?” Ga Eun asked instead of giving her a straight answer.

“With Korben’s friend.”

A frown twitched her lips before she covered it with a polite smile. “Let’s discuss these heavy matters later. You must be hungry and tired—”

“Ga Eun…”

“Later,” the other woman said firmly.

Sara nodded. “Fine. Later.”

Her heart trembled at the grave look in Ga Eun’s eyes. Fear had taken a backseat since she’d decided to trust Korben. For the first time in her life, she’d let down her guard and let someone in. She could handle Rulari guards coming after her and evil Uldimar Raiders running her down in forests.

But what she couldn’t survive was a betrayal.

Not from him.

Not from Korben.

Eighteen

Korben

“You are very protective of her,”Rune said with a hint of amusement. His soft chuckle echoed through the wide room filled with chrome and advanced computing technology.

Rune and his mate had converted a fallen Tabithian spaceship into a living quarters and Rune had an entire lab at his disposal. Enthara was lying on the metal desk, eyes flashing black and green symbols as the technician disconnected her wires.

Rune’s zapten, a tall beast called Droden, stood watch over the women, which was the only reason Korben had allowed Ga Eun to whisk Sah-ah out of his sight and into a separate part of the ship.

With a smile, he recalled the fuss Sah-ah had made when Ga Eun asked his permission to take her away from him. Her eyes had narrowed and she’d let loose a string of incoherent words. He needed no translation for the bobbing of her neck and the heat beneath her tone. Sah-ahdid notlike the thought that she needed his permission.

To calm her, Korben simply pulled Sah-ah into his arms and pressed a soft, protective kiss on her temple. He needed no words to express how important she was to him. Ga Eun’s request to take Sah-ah away was not about power. Sah-ah had the freedom to go and do anything she wanted to. In fact, her streak of independence was what he liked most about her.

Ga Eun was simply acknowledging the fact that Sah-ah was his mate and thus her comfort, protection, and well-being were his responsibility all of the time, not just when he felt like it but also when he didn’t.

As he could not explain all that to Sah-ah until his interface was repaired, he’d simply rubbed his thumb over the throbbing pulse at her neck and kissed her temple one more time. She’d melted beneath him, her eyelids fluttering together and anger forgotten. His female was so easy to satisfy that it made his hunger for her more intense.

“Sah-ah,” Rune said. “I am speaking of Sah-ah.”

Korben lifted his head. “I am always alert. My female has a habit of getting into trouble.”

“It is more than that.” The technician rested a hand on his knee. “Your zapten is always focused on her. She was the last directive in Enthara’s code which means that she is a constant thought in your mind.”

“How can I not think of her? Sah-ah is foolishly brave and incredibly stubborn. If I take my eyes off her for a second, she will run straight into danger.”

“Stubbornness is a human trait. My mate is the same way.”

Korben found it strange to hear Rune refer to the human female as a mate. He embraced his feelings for Sah-ah and wanted to shout his feelings to the world. The thought of keeping it a secret from his tribas made no sense to him.

Rune grabbed a tool from his desk and answered as if he heard Korben’s thoughts. “I had to keep it a secret, but it is not because I am ashamed to mate a human. If everyone had known about Ga Eun, those who do not follow Destin would have stopped at nothing to hurt my female. Telling the tribas about my mate was not an option.”

“Are you using a device to read my thoughts now, Rune?” Korben frowned.

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