Page 109 of Melinda's Choice

“Absolutely.”

“Send him my regards, Filonesa. I will speak with him upon my return home. Go in peace.”

“Go in peace, sicortar.”

I make my way out of the temple, still perturbed after witnessing the depth of that evil. I had not thought such people existed on our planet any longer. The encounter has left me not a little worried.

I find my drone and climb aboard, programming it to fly me to the university, where Melinda is giving her lecture. I look at the time dial on my communicator. I should arrive a beat or two into her session. In actual fact, I make it there in half that time, walking into the large auditorium a mere half a beat into her lecture. She pauses and watches me as I make my way to the front and use my sicortar stare to send a young student scurrying away to a different seat. I see my Melinda roll her eyes at this, but sit myself down anyway. Once I am comfortably settled, I nod to her in signal that she may resume her lecture. With a wry smile, she begins again.

The lecture is a repeat of the previous one I attended, though this set of students is a little friendlier than the last, despite some challenging questions being asked. Once again, we end with the video footage of people from her world cooking their different types of cuisines, finally getting to her ex-mate, Wyatt. I grit my teeth as I watch him smile at the camera with twinkling blue eyes. “Hi there, I’m Wyatt Garcia, and in case you’re wondering, I’m Melinda’s other half.”No, you are not!

“Take care and go in peace.” On screen, the video ends, and as before, Melinda is peppered with questions about her handsome mate. With each question, I feel my face grow more and more thunderous. Melinda sees my expression and holds her hand up for everyone to stop. “Just to be clear, Wyatt is no longer my mate, but just a very good friend of mine.”

I allow the students to question her for a beat longer, then stand and make my way to her. Placing a possessive arm around her shoulders, I thank everyone for attending and ask them to show their appreciation. Melinda smiles as she listens to the humming. She addresses them one last time. “Thank you all. It has been an honor and a privilege to speak with you today. Go in peace.”

Th audience chants back, “Go in peace.”

I do not want to linger here a moment longer. Taking her hand in mine, I lead Melinda out, ignoring the thrum of people flocking towards her with questions. I steer her through the crowd and out into the long corridor that leads to the exit. In no time at all, I have her bundled into my drone. A moment later, we are joined by Desimar and Sholinar. As soon as the door closes behind them, I set the drone to start our journey to the air field where we will be boarding the aircraft that will return us home.

I hold Melinda to me, letting my tail wrap around her. “Well done, my love. That was an excellent lecture. I was so proud of the way you fielded those difficult questions.”

She smiles proudly. “Thanks, Kirimor. I think it went well. And yes, there were some tricky questions, but I’ve spent a lifetime learning how to think on my feet. I’m glad it stood me in good stead today.”

“This has been a successful trip, but I am glad to be on our way home now.”

“Yes, me too. I’m exhausted!”

“Then I will let you rest on the journey back, my lovely.”

Soon, we land at the air field and exit the drone, only to climb aboard the large aircraft. Quickly, we find our seats and settle ourselves down. I reach out for a warm scented cloth and clean my Melinda’s hands. I thank Sholinar as he hands me a container of freshly packed food, then feed my hungry girl. As she eats, she asks me about the success of my mission with Melistor. I fill her in on the day’s events, adding, “I will invite Melistor to stay with me for the next moon rotation and train him further. By the end of that time, I believe he will be ready to take over as sicortar.”

“I’m glad,” she says.

“And just as soon as he is officially announced as sicortar, you and I are going to mate. I will not wait a moment later to make you mine.”

“On Earth, it is customary to have an engagement period before one marries.”

I claim her lips in a kiss. “Fortunately, we are not on Earth. Here on Krovatia, there is no such thing as an engagement period. When people want to mate, they mate.”

“Surely you need to pop the question first?”

“Pop the question? I do not understand.”

“On Earth, when a man wants to marry a woman, he gets down on one knee and asks her to be his wife.”

My brows crease. “You want me on my knees, begging you to be my mate?”

“Begging, no. Asking, yes.”

“Very well, my lovely. If that is what you want, that is what I will do, just as soon as we are alone.”

“Not until you are free from your duties as sicortar and worked out new living arrangements.”

I frown. “New arrangements?”

“Well, surely you cannot expect me to live under the same roof as your drashas, even after they stop being your drashas?”

I regard her in consternation. “I had thought you could live with me in my own private quarters.”

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