Page 88 of The Alien Warrior's Mate

Enthara lowered her head so Sara could mount her, and she clung tight to the zapten’s handles so she didn’t fall off. Sara didn’t know what had happened on the mission, but she trusted her connection to Korben more than his connection to the zapten.

Her mate was in trouble and she wouldn’t stop until she had him back safe.

Thirty-Four

Korben

He rode Utara,Clavas’s zapten. The landscape below him shifted and blurred in a whir of red rocks and desert sand. For the first time in his life, Korben’s mind was not completely focused on the mission before him.

The stakes were high.

Higher than they’d ever been.

And yet thoughts of Sah-ah dipped and weaved through his consciousness. Images of her smile blotted his vision and made his chest fill with urgency. He carried her in his heras, memories of holding her close late at night, the music of her sweet sighs as she caressed his cheek, the purpose she’d brought to his life.

After banishing the secrets between them, Korben had truly given her all of him. Now, he was putting her life in his hands.

Because Korben knew what was about to happen.

They were walking into a trap.

Both Lans and Tiegan knew this as well as he. The Heronas were not known for their integrity. Whatever they had in mind, it would spell the disaster of every Plutonian he knew.

Which was why he needed Sah-ah to be ready.

To be strong.

The way he knew she was.

The way she had to be.

If anything happened to her…

Korben had wrestled with the plan for a long while, wishing he could cart his female from the war room and leave her out of their discussions. But Sah-ah had remained by his side, throwing her ideas into the ring and listening keenly to their strategies.

Many times, he’d wanted to lock her up and keep her in the cabin where she would be safe, but he knew the success of this mission hinged on following the plan. Even if that plan made him want to run away with Sah-ah and never look back.

He could never leave his brother. Clavas meant the world to Korben. He would not be able to live with himself if he turned his back on what mattered to him.

Everything will be fine.

He set Utara on the ground and faced the Heronas squad. The Heronas were tall creatures with small eyes and a long neck. Their torsos were so thin that it seemed they had no bones. Their color was a light, unbroken green. On their faces, they wore thick black masks.

Korben exchanged a puzzled look with Lans and Tiegan. The Heronas had never worn gas masks before. Why were they walking into battle with it now? Was their secret weapon some kind of toxic gas?

“Are you sure about this, Korben,” Lans said, staring at the Heronas. “Something does not feel right.”

“Stick to the plan.” He nodded at Tiegan who subtly pressed a button on his interface. A projection of Sah-ah’s image appeared behind his zapten.

For a second, his breath caught in his throat. His mate’s projection looked so real. Her dark skin. Her thick, curly hair. Her body of dangerous curves and dips. He pushed away the longing that ached in his heras and led the projection forward.

“Korben,” Ziag strode to the front of his troops, “you only managed to bringonehuman?”

“Handing this one female over to you goes against the honor of our species, Ziag,” Korben growled.

“Honor is worth more to you than your brother’s life?”

“Obviously not.” Korben nodded at the projection. “She’s here, isn’t she?”

---