Page 24 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin (Alien Fated Mates #1)

24

I didn’t recognize the version of Geo standing outside his office this morning, but his unabashed happiness had me smiling to match his, and my heart soared.

“Hey, you, stud muffin, come here and give me some love.” A female human with sleek silver-white hair and a black bangs laughed when Geo scooped her up effortlessly. Her tall boots lifted off the ground, and pink dust floated from his puppy doggies, who pawed at his legs. I couldn’t help but notice the dark smudges under her eyes, but dismissed them. She’d spent the last two weeks on a space shuttle, and maybe it was an everyday look for humans. I only knew one other.

“Quit teasing me, Ging.” Geo’s cheeks glowed as he let Ginger down. Finally letting her go, he swept up his dogs next, and they bathed his face and beard with their little tongues. His eyes sparkled when he turned toward me, and the smile on his face grew even wider, sending my heart into a full gallop.

Ginger’s hips swung as she sashayed toward me. Is this how all Earth females look? A cloud of something flowery enveloped me as she wrapped me in her arms. She was as tactile as an omega, and I immediately liked her. “I don’t know what you’ve done to my friend, Makir, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

She would have had to be blind to not see the hearts in my eyes. If Geo had changed because of me, I’d changed even more so.

I shrugged. “There was nothing to do. He’s always been great.” I might’ve been pushing the truth a little, but making a good impression with the best friend was important.

“What’s a stud muffin?” My lips pursed over the translator’s images—a creature labeled ‘horse’ and what appeared to be some type of handheld bread. Neither reminded me of Geo.

Ginger laughed at the confusion that must have been clear on my face, throwing her head back just as JayJay exited the sono. He stilled with one foot outside and the other planted inside. Geo and I peered at JayJay, who appeared frozen by Ginger’s laughter.

Ginger bent down to pat Charz and Pika, newly released from Geo’s arms. “A stud muffin is a silly expression back on Earth that describes an attractive male with lots of muscles and the good looks to match.” She glanced at JayJay, still in the entryway, then back to me. “Though technically, a stud is the finest male livestock used to breed females and produce strong offspring, and a muffin is a breakfast cake.”

“English is a strange language.” JayJay’s deep voice rumbled. The dogs bounded toward him, and he crouched to greet them.

I tested Ginger’s words. “Hey, stud muffin, come here and give me some love. ”

Geo prowled toward me, his hungry eyes eating me up. His alpha pheromones transformed the lighthearted moment. The muscles in his thighs bunched, drawing the fabric taut, and his strut had my tether zinging as he drew nearer.

The predatory look in his eyes turned my mouth dry, and I gulped. Fragrant warm summer fields mixed with Geo’s fresh-from-the-shower scent engulfed me. I purred as Geo’s cheeks flushed and his calloused hands wrapped around my wrist.

The dogs’ piercing cries alerted me to the new arrivals, and I dragged my gaze away from Geo’s and over my shoulder. Bonic and Jast were currently mesmerized by Charz and Pika’s exuberant greeting.

Bonic brushed pink paw prints from his shins. “Enough of that, brother of mine.” He glanced at where I still had my hands cinched in Geo’s shirt. “Or else we will never make it on this adventure you and Geo have planned.” Bonic’s announcement caused Geo’s cheeks to flush further.

Jast and Ginger stood to the side, smiling like fools.

Geo brushed the inside of my wrist, and his calloused thumb sent sparks through my body. I raised my eyebrow at him and forced myself to step away.

“Happy morning, brother.” I rushed to my brother and Jast’s side and wrapped my tail around their already joined ones.

“This is Ginger, Geo’s friend visiting from Earth”— I gestured to them—“and JayJay, Geo’s foreman.”

Geo ushered Bonic and Jast toward the warehouse after greetings were exchanged. “Sully has loaned you his hoverbike for the day,” he said. Sully and his family waved from the doorway. They’d come to the sono to visit their friends for the rotation.

Sully’s younglings ran out to play with Pika and Charz, and laughter rang through the air.

“Are you sure you don’t mind watching them for the day?” Geo asked Sully for what must have been the fifth time .

“You will be lucky if you get your puppy doggies back, Geo. Now go have your picnic.” Sully gazed at Charz and Pika as they jumped in and out of the laps of his younglings, a fond expression on his face.

“Ginger, you’re with JayJay,” Geo said, and soon the hoverbikes were loaded with supplies.

I waved at Janny where he leaned against one of Makir’s loaner bikes in the distance, nearby but never intruding.

“Why does he have a mask dangling around his neck?” Geo asked Bonic.

“Janny’s an unmated alpha and an unmated omega in heat could trigger his rut. Wearing a mask is the best way to avoid messy conflicts. If he were a beta he wouldn’t require one—they’re less affected by alpha and omega pheromones.”

I scuffed the ground with my toe. Guilt plagued me. All those nights Geo and I had chatted after swimming lessons, and I hadn’t bothered to explain even the most basic nature of my people. I just hadn’t wanted him to view me as some helpless omega. Now he had to suffer through a youngling crash course from my brother.

“So if I wear a mask around Makir, I’ll be able to control myself?”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that.” Bonic tried to hide his smile but lost it when he looked at a giggling Jast. “You wouldn’t want that anyways.”

Hadn’t I shown Geo how much I loved it when he lost control? I knew just the way to ease him past his fixation, but my plans would have to wait. Ginger stopped at the hoverbike beside me, where JayJay strapped on supplies.

“You want me in front or in back, stud muffin?” Ginger tossed her hair over her shoulder. JayJay, usually the first to crack a joke, sat on his bike, frozen. Ginger ignored his lack of response and swung her leg over in front of him. “You’re so big. I’m going to ride in front so I can see, ’kay?” When she turned back and patted JayJay’s leg, his hands clenched as if he didn’t know what to do with them.

Geo climbed on behind me. “What’s that about?”

“I’m getting the impression there’s a lot we don’t know about JayJay.” I engaged the ignition, waiting until everyone hovered near me, and then we flew toward the rocky outcrop. The sun warmed my face, and graneth grass mixed with other wispy yellow and green vegetation dotted the pink soil that whizzed by.

Any jitters over a monster lurking under the ground were erased as Geo’s arms wrapped around me. D’irk was convinced daylight would keep the sun-sensitive bastard at bay, and that was enough for me.

I parked my hoverbike next to JayJay’s. He already leaned into the glassy ebony rocks, chanting in his low voice as he pressed a hand to the hot surface.

“Distant cousin?” Ginger teased JayJay. Strands of her hair ran over the back of his hand, disturbing his meditation. He stumbled as she turned to grab a backpack.

Geo approached JayJay. “Everything okay?”

“Ya ya, boss man.” JayJay ducked his large bald head.

My eyes darted to where Ginger rifled through her bag out of earshot, and I passed Geo his water container before I asked JayJay, “Are you sure?”

“Bish, I’ve never met an Earth female before, is all.” His rasping voice was a soft rumble.

“Well, she is something else.” Geo smiled and tapped his friend on the elbow in a gesture of comfort.

Jast and Ginger admired the leg coverings I’d made for everyone as I passed out thick mantu hide gloves. Ginger oohed and ahhed over their quality and snapped a picture with her device before she laced them. As the group hiked through the jagged ebony shards of the rocky outcrop, Bonic hovered protectively over Jast.

Janny shadowed them, slipping on his mask now that he was nearer to me.

Jast slapped Bonic’s hands away from her. “I’m no fragile flower, Bonic. I can walk on my own.” She huffed. “Alphas, honestly.”

“Say it again, girlfriend.” Ginger tapped her knuckles to Jast’s, Jast looped her elbow through Ginger’s and they walked off, leaving Bonic trailing after them.

The full sun beamed through the glass-like rock, sending silver sabers of light into the sky. Stumbling across the hot spring with the enforcers on our full moon hunt had been a stroke of pure luck. The entrance was better guarded than the High Hold of Lorne.

“Makir…” Bonic’s deep alpha voice reverberated through my spine. “How much farther?” Jast was back at his side, and the tip of his tail rested on her belly.

I dipped my head involuntarily, and Geo inserted himself, blocking me from my brother.

“We’re past the worst.” Geo answered for me, his voice deeper than usual, unknowingly clashing with Bonic’s. “We’ll go down from here.” He tried to ease the tension coursing through me from my brother’s overprotectiveness, but my emotions see-sawed like a toy balanced on a string.

“Blant, Ginger, get away from there.” JayJay pulled Ginger away from the cliff that plummeted to the plateau below.

“Relax.” She placed her hands on her hips and pointedly fixed her eyes on JayJay, then Bonic and finally Geo. “What is it with you men today?! I’m on another planet for the first time, and you think I’m not going to take advantage of this amazing vista?” Ginger continued muttering while JayJay shadowed her steps along the precipice like an elite protector on Lorne.

We wound down the trail to the plateau—Geo’s palm on the small of my back, JayJay on Ginger’s heels and Jast fighting against being carried. Janny was unnoticeable.

I needed to get some food into this crowd.

“This is the perfect spot for our picnic.” I sighed happily. A warm breeze invited us to rest on the short grass cropped by the herds of mantu grazing in the distance. I spread out a red blanket and placed the graneth buns and roast mantu on it along with a jar of something called ‘dill pickles’ that Geo insisted on and the horrid smelling ‘cheese’ that Ginger had brought. Geo added a large skin bag of hiscus juice, and Jast set down a mysterious box.

Bonic’s long legs stretched out in front of him, and the food before us quickly disappeared. “We may have to take some mantu back to Lorne with us. And imagine a family nest lined with linobee fur. What do you think, Jast? ”

“Jast, what’s in the box?” I interrupted. Curious, my tail whipped out, and Geo gathered it around his wrist, sending shivers deep into my belly.

She leaned forward from her cross-legged position and picked up the white package, giving it a little shake. “Ah, this?”

Geo laughed as she teased, and I nodded vigorously. She cleared her throat with a flourish. “I thought you might be missing a little something from Lorne.” She lifted the lid and passed the parcel to me.

I sucked in a breath as my mouth watered. “Zilnas? Bless the goddess Sola, Jast. You’re officially my favorite sister-in-law ever!”

“I’m your only sister-in-law, Makir. Now pass them around.” The tip of her tail vibrated happily.

“Absolutely not. These are mine. They can have the…cheese.” I unwrapped my tail from Geo’s wrist and hugged the box to me before popping three in my mouth, humming at the delicious sizzle.

Geo pulled me to his side a moment later, his voice gruff in my ear. “Stop it with the purring, or we’ll need a private moment in the cave.”

Zilna and a private moment in the cave sounded perfect to me, but we hadn’t even arrived at the hot spring yet, so I stopped.

“Makir?” Ginger’s fingers wiggled toward the box in question.

With a mock huff, I passed the treat around. “If you must.” I leaned into Geo for a kiss and then popped one into his mouth when he least expected it.

His lips turned down in an adorable frown as he crunched through it. “These are…interesting.”

“What is it?” Ginger poked the half-eaten snack in her palm.

“It’s fermented zilna rolled in a rota coating,” Bonic replied, one corner of his mouth turned up. “The better question is, what is zilna?”

I’d been present many times when Bonic had gifted this treat to foreign dignitaries. His typical decorum was replaced by the carefully concealed amusement he found in their varied, often disgusted expressions when he explained what the small brown balls were .

“Okay, hot shot, I’ll bite.” Ginger still chewed on hers, and by the way her nose twitched back and forth, she was undecided whether she liked it or not. “What’s a zilna?”

Jast elbowed her husband as he sucked in a dramatic breath. Bonic grinned, the pleasure he took in drawing out the punchline evident. “Zilna, my lovely Earthlings and Rock Dweller, are the larvae of a hard-shelled black insect, a real blanting pest. The larvae are fermented in salt and their own juices and then covered in rota, which I’ve been told is similar to chocolate on Earth and cava on Yagras.” Bonic pointed his chin in Ginger’s and then JayJay’s direction.

“Welp.” Ginger swallowed. “I like to say I’ll try anything once, and that was my once.” She laughed.

JayJay could not keep his eyes off her. His treat melted on his fingers.

“What do you think, King Kong?” Ginger asked JayJay.

Rota dripped from JayJay’s fingers into his lap. Woodskies swooped in the sky overhead, and the lowing of mantu filled the plateau. I leaned into Geo’s side, my cheeks tight from the grin I held back as I waited for JayJay’s response. Ginger smoothed her hand over her leg coverings. Jast cleared her throat.

“What?” Startled by JayJay’s overloud voice, the woodskie that pecked in the grass near us took flight. He’d finally realized Ginger had asked him a question.

“The zilna…” She pointed to his pants, now smeared in rota. “Do you like it?”

He placed it in his mouth and licked his thumb. “I—it’s fine.”

“It’s blanting better than dill pickles.” Bonic’s reply had everyone smiling, and the picnic was packed away.

“I liked the pickle,” Jast said, smiling at Geo.

When Geo replied, his gushy smile filled me with joy. “It’s universal—pregnant women and construction workers galaxy-wide love pickles.”

“So, hot springs or trapping linobees?” I asked the group at large.

“I can’t be with you in that hot spring, Makir. You smell too damn good.” Geo’s whisper thickened with lust as he nibbled the tip of my ear. “I’m going to try and redeem myself with the High Commander of the Elite Protectors of the High Hold of Lorne. Now that’s a mouthful.”

My shoulders rolled in as Geo’s lips straightened into a tight line. Blant, he’s still upset I didn’t tell him about my royal lineage. I dropped my gaze in response to his displeasure.

At my reaction, he smoothed his calloused hand down my tail and smacked my ass. Then, he gave me a cheeky wink that ignited like wildfire in my groin before he strutted toward my brother.

“Ah…that would be hot spring all the way for this little lady.” Ginger folded the blanket and placed it in her backpack.

“For this little lady too,” Jast chimed in.

“Hot springs.” JayJay’s baritone voice carried a distinct reverence as he focused on the cave’s entrance.

Bonic nodded at Janny and motioned for him to follow Jast.

“All right, alphas, enjoy your trapping, and we’ll see you back here in”—I checked my wristport—“about two suns.” I brushed my lips over Geo’s before he left with my brother.

Though the light was dim, my keen eyesight tracked JayJay as he trailed his blocky fingers down the curved cavern wall leading us to the hot springs, his jaw slack. Janny remained at the entrance, his hulking shadow looming. The air grew hot and thick, weighed down with moisture and sulfur. JayJay’s somber attitude quieted the girls, and my mind turned to Bonic’s words.

“ You have done very well for yourself. But I wish every rotation for your return to Lorne. ” My hovery was performing well. I had a beautiful dwelling. It appeared I could trade my linobee designs for enough mantu to never go hungry again. But, most importantly… My breath caught in my throat.

“I’ve found my mate.” My quiet voice cracked like thunder in the dark, steamy tunnel. I had no desire to return to Lorne.

“Of course you have, Makir. I’m certain the grand omega would sanction your union.” Jast reached for my elbow and wrapped her velvety hand around it. Her tail twisted around mine in a soothing gesture omegas practiced with close family. One I hadn’t known I’d missed. My heart swelled.

I revered the grand omega, but with or without her blessing, I was certain Geo was my true mate.

The grand omega had been kinder to me as a youngling than my mother. The only thing omega about my mother was her ability to birth younglings, and even then, she was affronted by the submission that required. I’d rarely been touched growing up, and it went light-years in explaining how starved for affection I was and how badly that had worked out for me.

We walked deeper into the cave. “It feels so real now that I’ve said it aloud.”

“Well, it’s real to anyone who cares to see.” Her tail squeezed.

“But he’s not Lornian…” Whenever I thought I’d finally accepted it, the disbelief that my mate could be from off-planet surfaced again. Geo had sent me Dr. Ten’s report findings. The evidence of compatibility was undeniable, but doubts lingered.

“Wow!” Ginger caught up to us, slipped off her leg coverings and shoes and dipped her pale toe into the spring. Her gaze was locked on JayJay’s shoulders as he moved silently through the water. My lips twitched. Was she exclaiming over the hot spring or JayJay?

“Bless the goddess Sola.” Jast’s tail squeezed mine again as she scanned the chamber.

With no risk of drowning this time, my gaze caught on the long silvery ribbons draping the thick air and reflecting off the water. Sunlight beamed through the pinprick holes in the cave’s ceiling .

JayJay sank into the deep pool before us. He hadn’t made a peep the entire way down, but now a low vibrato resonated from his chest, and he swam through the water and into another chamber without a backward glance.

“Is he okay?” Ginger asked, folding and piling her clothes neatly on a rock beside her. “Do you think we should follow him?”

“He mentioned that the energy here reminds him of a sacred place his ancestors on Yagras went to for guidance. I think we should give him some space,” I said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. His humming is so beautiful and soulful.” Ginger walked into the warm water as if drawn toward JayJay. “It reminds me of the Tibetan Monks’ horn back home.”

I shrugged, but now wasn’t the time to address language confusion.

“I’m not surprised by his connection—this is a special place. The goddess feels closer. Thank you for bringing us here.” Jast took in the moisture that condensed on the stalagmites overhead, and the heavy beads that plipped into the pool with a slow drip, drip, drip, as mesmerizing as the center of a flame.

Ginger’s attention turned to Jast as she reached for her hand. “Oh my God, look at your swimsuit. Come back out of the water for a moment.” She plucked at the shimmery fabric of Jast’s suit. “What is this? I must take a picture.”

I chuckled as Ginger marveled over Jast’s swimwear.

All was quiet except for the soft lap of water and JayJay’s distant chanting as the three of us floated on our backs.

Ginger broke the silence. “So…what does being a mate mean to you, Makir?” She swam toward the wall, and I guided her and Jast to a stone shelf where we rested, submerged to our waists in healing waters.

As if she sensed my difficulty gathering words, Jast took the lead. “For Lornians, true mates are rare. When the bond is complete, it allows the free exchange of thoughts and emotions through a mental tether.” The slow current swirled water around us. “One of the first external signs is the shift in eye color.”

I swam toward the pool’s center and trod water—something I would never have been able to do without Geo’s help .

“I did everything in my power to remove myself from alphas. Who the blant would’ve guessed I might be compatible with a different species?” My voice rose in frustration, and I kicked the water beneath me as if I were fending off the giant ringa from home.

Ginger’s forehead furrowed. “You don’t want to be Geo’s mate?”

“He doesn’t know what it means to be mated to an omega. His erratic behavior is driving him crazy.” My tail slashed through the water before my voice grew soft. “In no time, he’ll tire of servicing me every full moon.”

“So, tell him,” she implored.

“He won’t want to complete the bond with me.” I sighed. Then, deflated, I said, “I’m broken.”

“Now, there won’t be any talk like that.” Jast pulled me back beside her onto the bench. “There is more to an omega than the ability to bear young.” She turned to Ginger. “Geo’s behavior will settle as soon as they are fully bonded. All partially bonded Lornians are a nightmare.”

“You can have children?” Ginger gasped, ignoring the comment about Geo’s behavior normalizing.

“No.” I hung my head, defeated.

Jast wrapped her tail around my shoulder and pulled my hand onto her hard stomach. “Makir was attacked by an alpha in his last heat on Lorne. The encounter left him…barren.”

Her unborn youngling stirred under my palm and drew me out of my head. “I felt it.” I stared at her distended stomach in wonder and held my hand over the wiggling mass. “Jast, you’ll be an amazing mother. My brother is so incredibly fortunate to have found his true mate.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Jast said easily. “The youngling loves this water.” Jast had both hands on her belly as she leaned against the cave wall, the perfect picture of contentment.

JayJay’s deep rumble pulled me back to the real world. “It’s been almost two suns.” He tapped his wristport with a gray knuckle. “Let’s return. ”

Jast, the only one smart enough to have brought a towel, loaned it to Ginger while I shook off. JayJay worked his wet limbs into his clothes before we followed him up the sloping tunnel.

Ginger fell into step beside me, her stance rigid. “Makir, I’m sorry if I was insensitive. I was so blown away that a man could bear children that I didn’t listen to what Jast was saying.” She nudged my shoulder. “I’m sorry that was taken from you.” Her hand cupped mine. “He won’t care, you know.”

I met her soft eyes squinting in the dark, searching for the truth.

“He won’t care that you can’t have kids,” she repeated quietly with a little smile. “Gay men on Earth can’t have children with each other. If they want to be parents, they adopt, and most don’t bother because it’s so complicated.” Ginger dropped back to walk with Jast.

He won’t care , I thought to myself over and over again. Her words took root in my mind, and I reached for the tether between Geo and me.