Page 8 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin (Alien Fated Mates #1)

8

M y tail stood stiff and proud by my shoulder as I walked toward my shower for the second time. “Domineering, self-righteous, arrogant do-gooder,” I grumbled. With Geo far enough away, coherent thought had restored itself.

How dare he insult my dwelling? So what if it wasn’t much to look at? I’d pieced together a somewhat habitable space. Even if it was far from perfect, it belonged to me, and only I could insult it.

I stripped off my jumpsuit, dusted in Tern’s pervasive pink soil, and hung it over the chair that doubled as my towel rack. A shower would help me reset .

The patch of skin Raz had trailed his talon over earlier burned under the lukewarm water, and I scrubbed the offended area raw. I should’ve known better than to run outside half-dressed, but the wall panel had shifted where I’d built my shower, and a cold breeze had been blowing in. When I’d gone outside to fix it, Raz had found me.

Alphas were meant to protect and cherish their omegas. On Lorne, that was the way it worked—in theory. Raz descended from planet Hotner. I didn’t know which clan of Lizzard he belonged to, but my brother had recently led a mission aiding their planet. While there, he’d witnessed many alphas of the third clan misusing their power over weaker omegas. That behavior would be criminal on Lorne…unless you were best friends with the regent.

My tense muscles loosened as I shook out my fur and toweled dry. Would a hot shower have felt a hundred times better? Bless the goddess Sola, yes, but I could live simply if it meant not moving into Raz’s guest room. I’d heeded my brother’s warning about Lizzard alphas and avoided Raz whenever possible. His sway over me was weak. I wasn’t drawn to Raz in any capacity, but I always faltered when he caught me by surprise.

Thick furs lined my nest, lustrous and pearl white. Warm and sumptuous, they called my name. Even my parents would have been proud to have furs like these blanketing their nest.

Wrung out from the previous rotation’s hard labor, followed by a sleepless night nursing Geo and another hijacking from Raz, rest was long overdue. Sleep, however, proved hard to come by. My mind cycled between what I would do about my bully neighbor and what I would do about my partial tether to Geo. Add in the fact that anybody could walk in on me since my dwelling was so poorly secured, and it was no wonder I couldn’t sleep.

I checked the time on my wristport. Ten moons. Bonic might still be awake. Maybe he could help me sort out my head?

“Makee!” One warm greeting from my brother and I relaxed into my nest. No matter if his voice was garbled and broke up through the audio on my wristport .

“How are things on Lorne?”

Usually the epitome of self-control, Bonic’s voice wavered. “Jast is pregnant! Can you believe I’ll be a father?”

My eyes welled with tears, and I choked on my words. “Congratulations.” Why had this happened so soon after my departure? I wanted to be there for Jast for her pregnancy. I yearned for Lorne for the first time since I’d arrived on Tern. “I can picture you and your youngling with traps full of bush-tailed monties already.”

Bonic’s laugh rang through the speaker. “Now I know you didn’t call to ask about Lorne. What is it?”

I bit my lip. “It’s happened again. I feel the tether.” My voice quieted and nearly disappeared.

“There are Lornians on Tern?”

My mental picture of him was clear. Bonic’s eyes would turn inward in confusion, an expression as familiar as the scar near my thumb. He sat behind his glossy black desk, the portrait of our prestigious family line proudly hanging behind him. In the image, we stood shoulder to shoulder.

No, there were no Lornians on Tern, but Raz would have fit perfectly in my parents’ grand living quarters. All show and no substance. My brother’s alpha voice commanded my attention, but with a temporary bond in place, it held much less power over me than usual. “It’s not with the Lizzard, is it? I thought I told you to keep away from him. They’re strong, but easily intimidated. Just shout at him or something.”

Thank the goddess Sola, no, a tether to Raz would be a nightmare. And Bonic was just as aware as me that omegas didn’t shout at people. “Er…it’s with a human.”

“You’re tethered to a…human?”

I hesitated. “The connection’s weak.” My fingers wove through the fluffy tip of my tail, where I played with it idly. “But I’ve also…healed him.”

Bonic hissed. His disappointment swooshed through me like a spiral of water down a drain. Technically, my father should have been the alpha in the family protecting me, but his disappointment over my omega designation and quick abandonment after learning of it had left that role to Bonic.

“Makee,” Bonic said, voice softer, his judgment tempered.

I swallowed the knot in my throat while my tail enclosed me in a hug. “What do I do now?”

Bonic cleared his throat. His rational demeanor returned along with his strong instincts to care and provide for an omega, especially one related to him. “I need to investigate whether there are cases of Lornians and humans with tethers and determine if a complete bond is possible.” The way his keyboard keys whirred in the background, I could visualize him already delegating tasks to his team. “You’ll be the first to know, Makee. In the meantime, stay away from the human, and the Lizzard too.” He directed his staff in the background to investigate. No matter the time of rotation, there was always someone on duty. “Call me if anything unusual happens. We shall speak again soon.” The dead line hummed in my ear.

I snorted. “Unusual?” My new and improved life occurred on a planet surrounded by species I’d never mingled with. A place where I slept in a slapdash hovel on the good nights and on the bad ones, fended off unknown creatures in the wastelands. And I planned out my days to avoid alpha males. Most days, my credit icon blinked red. I snorted again. “Unusual is my usual.”

My tail wrapped around me tighter. With all his resources, my brother would find out if a full bond with a human was possible.

I forced positive thoughts into my head: a contract with the enforcers, graneth puffs, pale green eyes… I nestled into my furs. Come new week, my accommodations would improve tenfold. With a temporary tether, I didn’t have to think about a true bond yet. And a true bond with a human had to be impossible. No matter how much I longed to touch Geo’s sweet, round stomach. Before sleep took hold, I imagined my head lying on top of it like a pillow.

The graneth puff I’d eaten for breakfast was spread before me on a box deep with crumbs. I’d woken so nervous I couldn’t force any more down. At D’ovey’s bakery, end-of-rotation clearance rates proved irresistible to me most days, and a dozen graneth puffs sat in a greasy bag on the same box. My broken-legged chair wobbled beneath me as I twitched with nerves and elation. Geo would be here any moment. My dwelling’s construction started today.

My tether pulsed—Geo was close. I brushed the crumbs off my jumpsuit, then ran my fingers through my mane, hurriedly braiding it.

Were humans and Lornians even sexually compatible? My tail swayed behind me as the low grumbles and reverberating chuckles of Geo’s Rock Dweller crew approached.

JayJay boomed, “Morning, Makir.” He drank from a travel jar then set it on my workbench.

A couple of Rock Dwellers stood outside, chatting. “Did you see him trying to pull his shirt over his stomach earlier?”

One of them chuckled, the sound like one of my torque drills. “Then he stormed over to JayJay and demanded he feed him only vegetables?”

JayJay’s lips tipped up before he shouted for his crew. “Tino, Sully, get in here.”

“Happy Morning, JayJay.” I nodded and introduced myself to the other Rock Dwellers. My space turned infinitesimal as it filled with their massive gray bodies. Still, the human whose tug zinged through my tether, tickling my awareness, was nowhere to be seen.

“Wonder why boss man wants to throw both crews, JayJay and himself, at this job,” Tino, whose name I’d just learned, said to Sully. Like JayJay, both were large, appeared to be hairless, and had shiny gray heads. Sully peered around my room, eyes skipping from my nest to my crate to the gaps in my wall .

The tether pulled tight just before Geo pushed through my door, his pale green eyes fixed on mine. Now that he was in my line of sight, the tether grew slack. Bonic had told me a complete bond relaxed when mates shared the same space, and long-distance separation physically hurt, especially after the mating ceremony. The tether urged togetherness. Although the zing had dulled, the tension remained weighed down by the intensity of his stare.

In three…two…one, and right on cue, Geo sucked in his belly and puffed out his chest. Great, now the next sun would be spent torturing myself over what it could mean. His broad shoulders supported a thick neck, and his short-sleeved shirt clung to his muscles in a way that outlined every round bulge.

His blocky pectorals appeared to pulse.

Why did he always suck in his belly?

The small space grew warm, and the scent of summer fields filled my lungs. My thoughts sloshed around like soup.

“Boss man?” JayJay cleared his throat. A grin curled his upper lip as he watched Geo, mesmerized by my swaying tail—stupid, impulsive tail. Geo’s cheeks pinked, and he pushed out his chest even farther before he barked a series of orders without even a hello.

“Clear all this out. We need to pour a solid foundation.” He pointed to the bits of furniture and equipment strewn about. “Tino, work with Makir. Discuss how he built that low wall. See if we can work it into the design. I like it. When you’re done, I want JayJay and Makir together on lamar installation. The rest of you—with me. We’re getting the framework up and a goddamn secure door on this place by the end of the day if it kills me.” He sucked in another gut-holding breath.

Geo pumped out alpha pheromones that wreaked havoc on my mind. Adding a compliment to boot? I was in shambles. Who cared if it had been buried among gruff orders? He’d said he liked my wall. I pressed the heel of my hand over my heart. It took everything in my power to not stand at attention and salute before I scrambled to do what I was told .

“Sully, careful with Makir’s bedding,” Geo snapped. “Never mind, I’ll take care of it.”

Geo stomped over to my nest and proceeded to fold and stack all my pelts and wrap them in a neat bundle with the utmost care. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the scent. The distraction softened his belly, and his relaxed stomach squeezed through the gaps in the sides of his overalls. My heart melted a little. I wanted to squish his soft flesh.

The rotation passed in a whirlwind of activity. It shouldn’t have surprised me what five behemoth Rock Dwellers, a human on a mission and a Lornian could accomplish in such a short time, but it did. They built my walls in Lornian fashion, mixing Tern’s soil, the tall, rain-soaked grass I’d dried and water into sturdy walls. Except, on Lorne, you would never catch sight of a pink wall, and mine were undeniably pink. They interspersed the circular walls with thick split logs, and lamar filled the small, round holes where wall met roof. The lamar honeycombed the entire back wall facing the courtyard, and streams of warm sunlight cascaded through.

I stood in a beam of sunlight with my hands clasped over my chest and lifted my chin. The importance of the moment swelled in my chest.

The dwelling was one hundred percent better than my initial plans and way bigger, but my jaw clenched when unbidden reality cracked my newfound joy. The truth was, I didn’t have enough credits to cover this. My profits from installing lamar windshields for the enforcer’s hoverbikes would not be enough.

Raz’s voice slithered up my spine, startling me from my financial woes. “Hey, hey, Mak.” A chill rolled over each vertebra of my backbone.

“I’ve brought your favorite.” He handed over a jar of hiscus juice, so cold that moisture beaded on the outside. The talons at the ends of his fingers raked through the fur of my hand, and the icy drink spilled when I jerked backward.

“Thank you.” I ducked my head. My submissive nature to alphas repulsed me, but I accepted the cold drink anyway .

Geo had avoided me all rotation. By some miracle, his work always took place outside, even when his crew called him in to deal with a problem, but just then, the tether yanked taut.

Raz wandered across my new floor with a proprietary air. Why he was interested in a Lornian baffled me. I wouldn’t fit in his neat and tidy world any better than in my parents’. His thick tail dragged through the mud and sawdust before leaving a trail across the polished surface.

“This-s-s…is an Intergalactic Federation-funded dwelling?” Dark vertical pupils, encircled in yellow, elongated when they dropped to my floor, widened further at my high walls and turned black when he snapped his scaly neck through the courtyard opening. He’d obviously compared my construction to his dwelling, and his steady low hiss highlighted his displeasure. He was not pleased my rooms already surpassed his in both workmanship and overall design.

Honestly, I had no idea how many credits I would owe for all the extra features Geo had built into my new place, but I wouldn’t change one thing. The smell of warm summer fields drifted my way, and I immediately relaxed. Geo’s arm brushed mine, his presence solid at my side.

“Raz. It seems we meet again.” Geo’s words welcomed, but his tone did not. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Makir has agreed to be my lamar supplier. We have arranged to use his dwelling to showcase lamar.” His thick arm was so close to me that his shoulder brushed against my jumpsuit. I looked down and found his hands bunched into fists.

Raz hissed. “An arrangement, you s-s-say?”

Geo’s fists squeezed tighter, and I could have sworn his chest muscles pulsed. The heat in the room grew, and my jumpsuit stuck to my body.

“Yes.” His voice was so low it rattled in my tightening groin. “The Intergalactic Federation Building Authority has approved Makir’s dwelling as a showhome.”

It had ?

Clouds stirred above, visible through my roofless walls. Then a slow drizzle started, and I shrank into my collar. My shoulders drooped. It took so long for my fur to dry.

“Hmmm, you can’t sleep here tonight.” Raz switched tactics, his glare softening as he eyed the weather worsening overhead. The clouds darkened to an ominous brown.

“I welcome you to s-s-spend the night with me.”

My body drew tight at his exuberant invitation, and I didn’t dare look at Geo. If I were an alpha, I would tell Raz to shove it. Heat radiated off Geo in waves.

“In my s-s-second room, of course,” Raz tacked on.

Is he deliberately baiting Geo?

“Makir,” Geo growled, his emphasis on the ‘r’ at the end of my name buzzing in the pit of my stomach, hot and eager, “has already agreed to bunk with me tonight.” Geo’s face flushed red.

I have?

When JayJay chuckled, I surfaced from the dense fog I’d been in. Five Rock Dwellers stood, riveted by the scene in front of them. I’d forgotten anyone else was here.

“I-I meant bunk with the crew,” Geo stammered, sucking in a belly-holding breath.

Lornian omegas eased the tension in the room. They didn’t cause it. I licked my lips. The time to put my charms into effect had arrived. Raz could do nothing to me in Geo’s presence, not to mention the wall of giants who also had my back.

“Thanks so much for the hiscus juice, Raz.” I finished the jar and passed it back to him. The sweetness on my tongue matched my honeyed words. “I appreciate your offer and concern for my well-being.” I hoped my friendly smile didn’t go too far.

I walked toward the empty space where my door would soon be. Would Raz follow? When I looked over my shoulder, he was right where I wanted him, but Geo’s stern gaze was not. “Staying with the Rock Dweller crew makes the most sense. That way, we can plan everything out for tomorrow. I hope you understand.” I spread my hands open in front of my stomach and shrugged. “Oh, and by the way, D’ovey mentioned he needs another order of graneth at your earliest convenience.” With a smile and distraction, I peacefully ushered Raz out, no harm done.

Geo scratched his beard and toed at the construction debris beside me. “What’s everyone doing standing around lollygagging?” He stormed outside. “Get back to work.”

“Lollygagging, boss man?” JayJay’s snicker mimicked a tree falling, its thud like an echo through a canyon. He trailed after his grumpy boss.

In the distance, I heard Geo’s voice. “Lingering, loitering, hanging around and not minding your own goddamn business.” His anger had ebbed, and through my lack of a doorway I saw Geo bump his shoulder into JayJay’s ribcage, teasing his much larger foreman.

I’d observed how he interacted with his crew today: patient, kind, efficient and with good leadership. Was that his usual self? They got along surprisingly well, and he seemed like a good boss.

Why was he an entirely different beast in my presence?

My long tail coiled around my waist, and I spent a brutal sun wondering what would happen if I ran my finger down his sternum and over his belly. Would his stomach soften and relax under my touch, or would his chest expand more? What would a night so close to Geo mean for our tether? Bonic had told me to stay away, but the light rain had already matted my fur, and I didn’t have a roof. One night surely wouldn’t hurt.