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“That’s why I prefer to keep them naked,” Otho grunts, securing his keycard, credentials, and drone gear. I ignore him.

“The only human women I’ve interacted with are the ones in the harems,” I growl, remembering visiting more venerable Aurelians on our home world of Colossus, and seeing the dozens or sometimes hundreds of human women they accumulate. “They all seemed to love dresses and the color pink. That’s all I fucking know about them.”

Some Aurelian Warriors our age are already amassing their own harems – a tradition of our species. After one hundred years of service to the Empire have been completed, every surviving warrior is granted huge holdings and wealth; and most use it to attract scores of human females to volunteer and join their harems.

In amassing these communities of women, these Aurelians hope to increase their chances of finding theone– their Fated Mate.

But it is a strategy that failed for a thousand years – which is why Otho, Brennan and I have not followed the same path.

Even after our hundred years of fighting, killing, and conquering in service to our Empire, we’ve still never settled down to grow our own harem. There’s a wanderlust to us three – one that wasn’t quelled by the millions of lightyears we traversed during our years of service.

There’s something else to it, too… Amassing a harem of our own seems trite, and cruel.

Humans live just a fraction of the lifespan of Aurelians, so an Aurelian who forges an emotional connection with a human curses themselves.

They’ll be forced to watch that human grow old and die. Only a Fated Mate, when the Bond is forged, can live as long as her Bonded triad. All other humans wither and die in decades, when we stay young and vibrant for centuries.

To spare ourselves from that grim reality, my Triad and I have spurned the notion of amassing a harem, and have never been with the same woman for longer than a few weeks.

But, as a result, none of us truly knows what goes on in a human woman’s head.

My mind is clear now, and I shove aside the frivolity of human fashion as I walk to our private elevator. It will take me down to the ground floor, where I know a walk in this city will do me well.

But, as I pass the bedroom door, I catch her scent.

My body tenses. I force myself to keep walking forward – despite every instinct urging me to burst through the bedroom door andclaimCarani’s daughter.

She’s a virgin. That alone would drive me wild with lust – her unclaimed, untouched innocence is just aching to be claimed, and the thought of doing so overwhelms me like a drug…

But there’s more to it than that.

I’mdrawnto her. I’m drawn to Carani’s daughter like a doomed starship circling a black hole. I’m pulled by gravity towards my own destruction – and there’s nothing I can do to save myself.

How long can I stand to be near this beautiful, human female before I snap?

7

Natali

The aliens are arguing. I can’t make out the words, but I know they’re talking about me.

The urgency in their tone means something is wrong. Logically, that suggests they’ve realized that taking me back to their hotel room was a bad idea.

Rescue could be on the way – and that scares me.

The Aurelians haven’t hurt me – other than my pride, and the sting of that Aurelian’s huge hand spanking my ass. They haven’t ravished me, either – despite the simmering desire that’s so apparent in each of them.

So far, they’ve done nothing to deserve me willing death upon them.

But if my father figures out where these Aurelians are holding me – and he will – it will inevitably lead to bloodshed. The Aurelians were sloppy in kidnapping me, and if my father sends mercenaries to come and rescue me, I have no doubt that blood will be spilled.

This hotel is in the middle of the capital city. People will die. I myself might get caught in the crossfire – and I can only imagine that my father is so outraged and emotional he hasn’t considered that possibility.

I can only pray that my father exercises prudence. I know him – I know he’ll want to come after the Aurelians. He’s proud, and protective, and impulsive. Impulsivity can get people killed.

At any other time, I might be reassured that Gerard would advise my father to wait – but the leader of the Aurelians told me that Gerard will remain unconscious until tomorrow; and in the absence of his counsel, my father might blindly seize the opportunity to strike.

Kidnappings on Marn aresupposedto go smoothly. It’s illegal, yes, but it’s such an accepted practice that there are rules and protocol regarding how a civilized kidnapping is supposed to take place.