Page 75 of The Alien Warrior's Mate

“You want me to hide that you’re mine?” Anger glittered in his tone. She could feel his hard pecs knocking into the back of her arm. “You are my mate.”

“All I am is a human you can ship off to the Heronas.” She snarled at him. “If you want my trust back, Korben,earnit.”

He went silent, and she glared into the distance as they flew away.

Thirty

Korben

Sah-ah remainedstiff and silent in his arms for the duration of the journey. He struggled to respect her space, wishing only to wrap his hands around her and feel her closeness. Korben longed to have her melting into him as usual and smiling at him with those bright eyes.

Instead, all he felt from her was anger—a mixture of betrayal and pain that was so great it seemed to have been festering for many, many years. He’d tapped into a fury that stemmed from deep hurt. It was a scar that had not healed and a wound that he’d agitated with his actions.

His arm kept brushing against the side of her chest and, every so often, she would rest against him when she grew tired. He savored those moments, but they ended all too quickly and she was back to being furious again.

Enthara coasted beneath him, purring silently and vibrating with ten times the power. Rune had super-charged the machine. A trip that would have taken him several hours took only one when they travelled at warp speed.

He saw the landscape thicken with greenery and spotted the familiar roof of the tribas hideout. Adjusting his weight, he landed the machine softly.

As soon as they touched the ground, Sah-ah hurled herself off Enthara’s back. She stormed across the clearing without looking back.

Korben gritted his teeth. He hated the distance between them, but the words that would explain everything lodged in his throat. They had two sun rotations left in the deadline. He had no other plan but to hand over the humans for Clavas’s life.

As much as hedidn’twant to consider this course, it would be a lie to say that he wouldn’t. They were under desperate circumstances, and he would do anything to protect his brother. Just as he would do anything to protect Sah-ah.

The door of the dwelling burst open and a pale-skinned woman strode out. Korben recognized her as the female who had been sold first at the beluda. Back then, she’d been bruised and defeated. Today, her bruises were gone—no doubt Lans had offered her the pulp just as he’d done to Sah-ah. She wore the same tunic, but her hair lay in a small nest on her head and only soft tendrils fell down her face.

Sah-ah started running. Throwing her arms wide, she greeted the female with a warm hug. Eema patted Sah-ah’s back, her expression somber but her eyes soft. Another female ran outside and joined them. She had tan skin, big brown eyes, and thick hair.

Sah-ah accepted the new human into the huddle as if they were long-lost sisters. He heard footsteps and saw Lans and Tiegan approaching. Lans dipped his head and his braids dangled down to his shoulder blade. He slapped his birthmark twice.

Tiegan was leaner and taller than them both with a sharp, chiseled face. He was quiet and reserved, rarely speaking more than two words at a time.

Korben returned Lans’ greeting, but his eyes lingered on Sah-ah.

“You keep looking at the female,” Lans said, always observant. “Did she try to kill you too?”

“Yes,” Korben said plainly. “But it was deserved. I did not tell her everything before I mated her.”

“You what?” Lans choked.

Tiegan tilted his head. “Did you really claim her, or did you just indulge in her heat?”

Korben lifted his shoulder and showed them his birthmark.

Lan’s jaw dropped. “It looks… exactly like the dark human.”

“Yes.” Korben considered telling them about Rune and Ga Eun’s brood but decided to keep it private. He trusted both Lans and Tiegan with his lives, but Rune wanted to remain in hiding and he would respect that.

Lans stared in astonishment. “Canwe mate with humans? I thought the mark would only appear if we mated our females.”

“Humans are females too, aren’t they?” Korben snapped. Reaching into his pocket, he handed Tiegan the neural connectors and the drill he had gotten from Rune. “These will allow you to understand them. For some reason, our interface gets jammed on the human language.”

Tiegan grunted and stared at the neural connectors like they were his enemies.

“Is there a problem?”

Lans lifted both shoulders. “His female is rather chatty.”

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