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Jaryk awakened to find his wife leaning over him, her hair attractively mussed from sleep and a night of hot loving, her gaze soft, her smile satisfied.

The sight of her got him hard. I’m a lucky man. “What are you doing?”

“Reveling in happiness,” she replied.

“You, too?” He pulled her down and kissed her.

“I thought you’d never wake up.” She smoothed her hands over his chest and lower to grasp his cock.

“Next time, wake me up.” He whispered some naughty suggestions against her ear.

They proceeded to act out some of them, ending up gasping and replete in each other’s arms.

“Thank you for being in my life—for giving me a chance to fix our marriage.” He pressed his lips to her damp temple.

“You don’t give up on the person who makes your heart sing.”

“We should go away together.”

“What do you mean?”

“We should get away from the palace for a few weeks. See more of Kaldor. Just the two of us—plus the bodyguards, but they’ll maintain a discreet distance.”

“You mean like a honeymoon?”

“I’m not familiar with the word.”

“On Earth, couples typically take a vacation right after the marriage to bond and celebrate.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.”

“I would love that!”

“I’ll have it arranged. We’ll leave tomorrow.”

“Don’t you have public engagements scheduled?”

“My staff can reschedule, cancel, or get Falkor to fill in. I’m the prince,” he said in an imperious tone. “I can do that.”

“What if the king has something for you to do?”

“He will have to adjust.” His father’s latest stunt had been the wake-up call.

No more would he dance to his father’s tune.

He would continue to perform his duty to the kingdom with due diligence, but, going forward, he intended to take charge of his life.

He had a wife to consider now. His father might not like Kismet, but Jaryk would not allow him to disrespect her.

“Last night went better than I expected,” she said. “Everyone seemed happy for us.”

“They did,” he agreed. The king and queen had announced their marriage—of course, by then most people had already guessed—and then they spent hours accepting the congratulations and well wishes of the guests.

Charday had been gone when they returned to the ballroom. Falkor had whispered in his ear that he’d sent her packing—for which Jaryk was grateful. His younger brother could be a huge pain in the ass, but he always had his back. And, if not for him, he wouldn’t have met his cosmic mate .

“Even the king seemed…more…accepting,” she said.

“Resigned, anyway. Which reminds me, I intend to have a word with him this morning.”

“Don’t get yourself thrown into the dungeon.”

“I would gladly spend time in a dungeon for you—except we don’t have one. And he can’t punish me by dispatching me on a mind-numbingly boring assignment because I’ll be on my honeymoon with my beautiful wife.”

* * * *

“Relay to His Majesty that his son wishes to speak to him,” Jaryk told his father’s personal secretary.

“Do you have an appointment, Your Highness?”

“Just tell him.”

“I will see if he is receiving.” The secretary departed.

Jaryk paced the parlor where his parents received family members. The Kaldoran monarchy maintained a certain formality even with family. It didn’t matter if you were the king’s son—you still needed an appointment. If the king refused to see him, he would force the issue.

Several minutes later, the door opened, and his mother entered.

“I asked to see Father.”

“I figured you would confront him, and I needed to see you first.”

“This is between me and him. He crossed the line last night.”

“Do you love Kismet?”

“Of course, I love her! That’s why I’m so furious.”

“Up until last night, you’d seemed rather ambivalent,” she said.

“Perhaps at first. But I quickly came to realize she is the love I’ve been seeking. I’m proud to claim her as my wife. I want the whole world to know of my devotion to her. I wish for there to be no rumors or speculation about my love for her.”

“Excellent. I’m very pleased. She’s a lovely woman—much better suited to you than Alia or Charday. Her heart is honest and pure. She doesn’t care about being royal—perhaps, she even wishes you weren’t a prince.”

“You wanted me to marry a noblewoman.”

“A woman of class . I want you to be happy. We both wished for you to marry a woman of quality who will love you. You and Kismet are meant for each other.”

He arched his eyebrows. “How do you know that?”

“Mother’s intuition. I just needed you to realize it.”

“I do realize it.”

“Now you do. Before? I tried to open your eyes…so I invited Charday to the ball.”

His jaw dropped. “ You invited Charday?”

“Your father is quite angry with me. Despite what you think, how he has acted, he has come to realize that Kismet is perfect for you, and despite his goals for the kingdom, he wishes you to be happy.

“I figured if you saw Kismet and Charday together, you would recognize the gem from the fake.”

“I already knew!” He gaped at his mother. Who was this woman? What had happened to his rational, measured maternal parent? No wonder Falkor does stupid stuff. The nut doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“I’d hoped so, but I wasn’t sure.”

“You caused Kismet a lot of pain—and you used Charday.”

“I am truly sorry about the former. About the latter?” She shrugged.

“Charday never cared for you—she sought the title of princess and, later, queen. That was our primary objection. Everyone could see her true character except you, so we tried to arrange the marriage to Alia. It would have been advantageous to the kingdom, but we also wished to save you from your folly.”

He still didn’t know quite what to say.

“Can you forgive me?”

“I guess I have to—you’re my mother. Your intentions were good—I guess.” He hugged her.

“I would like to apologize to Kismet.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“You two will have dinner with your father and me tonight,” she stated.

“I will ask my wife if she wishes to have dinner,” he said. “Lewen will send our reply.”

Jaryk left, shaking his head. Family! If he didn’t love them, they’d probably drive him insane. Wait until Kismet hears about this.

* * * *

Queen Myka watched her son leave. Her little ploy had been risky, but it had achieved the desired effect. There was nothing quite like the right wife to turn a boy into a man.

She knew her sons, what they longed for, what motivated them, how much they loved each other.

Her sons still bickered like schoolboys, but those two would do anything for one another.

More than any of them, Falkor had not wanted Jaryk to marry Charday; he’d been the first to see her for what she was—a title-seeker.

Myka had colluded with Falkor to get Jaryk to join Cosmic Mates. She only wished for her older son to know he had options.

The instant she’d met Kismet at the wedding ceremony, she’d been thrilled to recognize her son’s soulmate.

But Jaryk had viewed the marriage as a stopgap.

So, she’d sent Charday an invitation to the ball.

Maybe it hadn’t been necessary, but everyone had seen Jaryk’s grand gesture—running after Kismet.

There would never be any conjecture about how much he loved his human wife.

One son married—one more to go.

Karma was perfect for Falkor. He just needed a little nudge to realize it.

* * * *

Thank you for reading Alien Heir (Cosmic Mates 7) .

Of course, Falkor and Karma are next! Get ready for Alien Spare (Cosmic Mates 8) .