Page 12 of Her Alien Delegate (Necia Alien Warriors)

Chapter seven

Evie

H e was here to find a trill mate, and I'd been responsible for him killing a trill diplomat.

My lower jaw trembled at what it would mean for both of us to be found with Ter-ak's body. The palace would be furious.

"Will they punish you for harming Ter-ak?" I held my body to comfort myself, the chill from fighting off the poison still coursing through my veins. It was selfish, but I knew whatever they would do to punish him would be much worse for me and I needed to know if I would die because of this.

"Ter-ak? Is that his name? I had not expected him to have given you his name.

That was presumptuous of me. I believe I've heard his name as one of the trill I was supposed to meet with at the palace later.

If he is wise, he will not wish to mention this incident when we meet again.

You are the only one who needs to know what this scar will remember for us.

If he decides differently, all it does is add to my reputation. "

I breathed a sigh of relief. Ter-ak wasn't dead; not if he was still speaking of him as if he would see him again. But then a chill traveled up my spin.

"Will he..." I couldn't bring myself to ask what would happen when he wakes.

"Wake again? Yes, the trill are a resilient species. They hibernate and come back time and time again from near death instances. I could sever his head to make sure he doesn't heal, if you are afraid of him?"

"No," I squeaked.

"That is a relief. It would be more difficult to bargain with the palace after knowing I have killed a diplomat of theirs, though I am under no obligation to disclose my actions while in the Blue District."

"You mean to bargain for a mate," I mumbled, feeling oddly jealous of another woman that would have a better match than the one I found lying in the other room. I wasn't a diplomat, or even under the protection of my contract anymore.

"Among other things," he agreed. "The trill are very attached to their contracts, and they have many resources, including control over Earthling trade and customs. It is rare to find a human outside trill protection."

"Me," I gasped, wondering if I should be backing away from this large, yet strangely alluring alien.

His hair had braids that glowed silver, and skin that looked like granite rock that twinkled in the light.

It would have been nice to see his eyes, since his voice was even and deep.

I didn't really know what was going on in his head.

"Is there another?" he teased, and my worries evaporated.

A boldness came over me as I leaned in once more to whisper, "What kind of skills will you show your mate to earn her approval?"

There was something empowering about knowing he couldn't see me, and if he tried to hurt me the AI, BOD, would send a contract out to kill him.

"Is that an invitation?" His normally even voice vibrated with a growl that made me shiver.

Fuck, he was so attractive, and the adrenaline of nearly being forced to mate with someone by poisoning was heightening my fear of knowing I may die tomorrow with regrets.

The Blue District was about having experiences and yet he was still asking for my permission.

My body heated all over and I absently stroked his jaw line with my free hand.

"Show me," I pleaded quietly. Show me what it means to be a cherished mate. Show me what it means to earned, not taken.

The strands of his hair floated in the air, and I gasped as one braid gently stroked across the back of my hand that held his cheek.

Glowing silver, his hair twined around my wrist, tugging at me to come closer.

And I silently obeyed, crawling into his lap, where his arms wrapped around me and lifted me up.

I stared at his features around the black sap molded to his eyes. There were fine grey lines, one darker on his chin that despite the smoothness of his skin, made me think these were scars as I ran my finger over the larger one in particular.

"Will you tell me about them?"

"Once I've earned the right to boast and have removed the fear that my failures would tarnish your thoughts."

I stifled a giggle at the ridiculousness of this large man being afraid of anything after easily taking down a trill like Ter-ak.

We stood at the sliding door out of the lavatory when he chuffed. Oh, right , I thought, at realizing he couldn't see anything. I pressed my hand to the wall, and the door slid open, but it wasn't to the room. The hallway was clear and I saw that this was actually a second entrance to the room.

"A new room has been procured; please proceed to the end of the hall where your scent can be masked before continuing," BOD addressed through the intercom.

"To your right," I whispered, seeing the floor light up towards what appeared to be an elevator.

Instead, he took a left. "The right," I repeated and tapped his shoulder in the direction.

"You have no reason to hide your scent when with me.

Only others in isolation are allowed on my floor.

Anyone looking for you will not be able to find you if you allow me to take you.

Tell the AI that you will join my isolation unit.

" He paused and sighed at my hesitation.

"I will not force you. You may follow the AI to the room provided and I will submit a new request to see you. "

He started to lower me to the ground, and my arms tightened around his neck. I didn't want to let him go. I nodded into his chest.

"Under Blue District bylaws, you will be required to purchase the human's contract with the facility. Do you accept the terms?"

When he didn't answer, I waited until he whispered into my hair, "The AI is asking for your permission to end your contract with them, and I will be responsible for paying the credits to sever the contract.

Trillume is full of contract law, but you have not entered any contract with me by agreeing to sever the Blue District's right-to-work contract. "

"I agree," I squeaked.

"Understood. Proceed to the isolation units on the next floor."

But the elevator was on the other side, wasn't it?

One of the doors that looked like any other room opened and led to another hallway with more room doors.

He stopped, and I watched as his hair seemed to lift like an invisible breeze controlled it.

Then he turned and walked down the hall but stopped again when another door opened to an elevator.

The whole facility was like a maze; any of the doors could have been a room, another hallway, or an elevator.

They all looked the same on the outside, aside from the light above the door that was red, blue, or gold.

The same blue light glowed along recessed under lighting, and every door looked like any other.

My finger kept tracing the black design on his shoulder, wondering what this scar represented for him. It seemed to avoid the muscle that flexed as he held me in his arms.

"Every unGor saves that spot for their mate to mark. It is a bad omen for our species to scar that area before mating."

"Oh," I gasped and snapped my finger back, not realizing I was doing something offensive to his species. I wasn't his mate, after all.

He wasn't in the Blue District to find a mate , I thought logically. He was a diplomat looking for a trill mate, not a human.

"I will procure the proper contracts for mating and return to AsunGor for the delegate ceremony," he explained, and this tightness in my chest clamped down.

"Of course," I said absently with a nod. My contract was traded with a necia warrior waiting for me to make the next ship off Trillume.

"Can you tell me about the unGor?" I added after an awkward silence. Not that the knowledge would help me with what my future held, but it didn't hurt to pretend for a night.

"A diplomatic answer would be to say we are excellent strategists and have valuable resources that many species have use for, but most of all, our ships are faster than even the best trill enforcers."

"And the nondiplomatic?" I asked curiously.

"Many unGors are used as bounty hunters, and though necia are known as the warriors of the Trillume Galaxy, the unGor are the enforcers of diplomacy due to our unmatched speed in both our ships and our skills."

"That's how you snuck up on Ter-ak," I mused.

He was able to do all that while blinded by sap.

It was impressive, and yet he moved so purposefully through the hallways.

Each step was so measured and smooth; if I were watching from behind him, I wouldn't have guessed he couldn't see.

Secretly, as we rode up in the elevator, I stuck my tongue out at him.

His braids twitched, but I couldn't be certain it was related.

"Have your airways been obstructed from the poison?" he questioned with urgency as his arms squeezed a bit tighter around me.

I wheezed from his hold, slightly coughing on my own words, "No. I stuck my tongue out at you."

"Great moons," he growled and eased his hold on me while rolling his shoulders to ease the tension built up in his muscles.

Curious on if he could actually see me, I stuck my tongue out again, and this time he stopped breathing. The door opened on the elevator, but he remained still as a rock. He could have been mistaken for a statue.

"Tell me." He finally said with forced measure, "BOD, did she display her tongue to me again?"

"I'm right here," I pouted at him asking the AI.

"Confirmed," BOD replied. "The human has displayed her tongue to you twice now."

"According to the treaty agreement between AsunGor and Trillume, section ninety—" he stopped, like he was thinking of which article he was referring to but couldn't remember.

"Tongue displays are referenced in your treaty?" I wondered out loud.