Page 28 of Her Alien Delegate (Necia Alien Warriors)

"I am Broma, Commissioner of AsunGor. You are exquisite.

I look forward to sharing our home with you.

" My voice vibrated with a mating call, that I had intended to only use when Violet chose to accept me.

It was unintentional, and probably a result of being so close to her.

I could only hope that the commander did not take offense to a tactic that he would find unsuitable for negotiations.

If Roe-el is to be a brother in my home, I must show him respect.

My ormete lifted from my shoulder, and I quickly guided it as an offering to hide its movement. It was only further proof that I had indeed made the correct decision to board the ship and pursue my mate.

I couldn't take my eyes off the human as she hesitated to touch my ormete braid.

"Your hair is..." I wished to correct her and say hair was a human term, but the way her breathing quickened around me had me distracted, waiting for her to feel the vibration of my ormete with those soft fingers.

She pulled back—to my disappointment—and cleared her throat. "...fascinating, but uh..."

She glanced back to Violet, seeking approval to be interacting with me.

A very diplomatic gesture when faced with the uncertainty of the situation.

It was a sign that she cared deeply for Violet and did not wish to harm her with what I could smell on her as clear attraction to me. The smell was intoxicating.

Even Chief Wren-Kal's nostrils were flaring, and his muscles were straining to hold his position, guarding and watching the situation unfold.

"He's the one I signed a contract with," Violet explained, and I watched as the black-ormete silk shifted with the deflation of her shoulders. It was momentary, before she pepped up and smiled. A smile I knew all too well to tell the difference between happiness and obligation.

"Oh, right!" She chirped, before narrowing her eyes at me like I had done something in need of being reprimanded for.

Even that look quickly adjusted to a widening of her eyes as they darted around the room with panicked anxiety.

"Are you here to take Violet to AsunGor?

" She was a human of many hidden emotions, I thought with curiosity.

Was she upset with me, or excited that I was here?

Then suddenly, a surge of heat shocked through my system as her hands sprung to grasp my own. My ormete caressed the tops of her small hands with a slight glow.

"Please don't take her from me," she pleaded.

My heart swelled, and it was then that I realized my mistake. Violet was indeed important, and she had a lingering smell about her that spoke of close contact with my mate. It was this human's happiness that mattered most to me. I would do what I could to convince Violet to stay with my mate.

"I would never dream of separating you from someone that makes you happy," I assured her. Closing my hands around hers protectively, I lifted them to my cheek to feel the way she had touched me before, when I had no eyes to see her with. "What is your name, beautiful delegate?"

"Evie," she said with ragged breaths.

"I think that's enough, don't you?" Violet demanded. Reluctantly, I pulled away as Violet guided my mate from the room and past the looming presence of Chief Wren-Kal.

"Evie." I enjoyed the way her name flowed off my tongue and then smiled. She was hungry, and she came to this room for a reason. It might not have been for me, but it seemed everyone had not noticed the way she stared at the table with interest, or the way her stomach grumbled for sustenance.

"The food has grown cold," I motioned to the feast, wasted from Commander Roe-el's need to pretend he actually wanted either of the humans to meet with me.

It was clear from the first words Violet spoke that she had only heard of the meeting because of the second in command, Mier-Lo.

That information was curious, but not my priority at the moment.

"Shall we go fetch some more from the synthesizers?" I offered to Evie, and she stopped her strides in the hall.

This was a tricky situation I was in, politically. I had a contract with Violet, and it seemed my worst fear about Chief Wren-Kal was true. I had to navigate this with caution with a bit of misdirection, so it would be too late for them to avoid my new intentions.

"Violet," I addressed formally, "I will endeavor to bond with your sister while you take some time to think about our marriage."

It was not a lie. I did detest lying, but it wasn't entirely truthful, either. Diplomacy wasn't always a straight line.

"You don't have to do this," Violet held my mate protectively. This was a beautiful sight to me.

"Did you claim your mate yet?" Evie whispered, though she knew by the way her eyes assessed everyone, that it wasn't much of a secret with an unGor's hearing.

A small shake of Violet's head confirmed my own suspicions, and then Evie puffed out her chest and took a deep breath. "I'll give you some time. Don't worry, I'll be okay," she said while watching me. Of course, she knew I meant her no harm.

Then she glared, and there was a bite of irritation as she told me, "I already ate, but there is one more place the necia don't seem to show their 'honor' in, besides this room. Care to join me?"

How very diplomatic of her, I thought with interest. But I very much knew she was lying about having eaten, and did not wish for her to go hungry. This was not an ideal state to be trying to convince her to bond with me again.

"Wonderful," I kept my tone neutral, though I wished to express how excited I was to be alone with her. Were we to be alone? I turned to Violet, who had already moved to rejoin Commander Roe-el. "Violet, will you be joining us?"

"Actually, I'm famished," she said seductively to her mate.

Commander Roe-el spoke without taking his eyes from Violet to inform Evie that it was possible to see my ship from the observatory, and she's welcome to take a guard with her as an escort.

It was his not-so-subtle way of reminding me that I would not be alone with Evie.

And Chief Wren-Kal promptly stepped forward to offer his services.

As we exited, I prompted an inquiry into how much he's told my mate about himself. "It is an honor to be escorted by the Chief of Security," I nodded to him, my tone clear that it was unusual for a chief to be reduced to simple escort duty when there was a ship and crew to protect.

"You are lucky," he agreed. "The Mave He-el has two chiefs, as I am only temporarily assisting this ship until we reach Necias Prime."

She knows he will be returning to his previous title planet side, but does she know who he is?

He continued, seeing my curiosity, "Chief Ther-ol will remain on ship when we arrive, and I will stay with my mate as the second to my king."

His mate? "You are mated then?" I asked Evie with false pleasantry. It was difficult to keep my tone soft with her when I was feeling threatened by the warrior walking too close to her.

She huffed out with her own annoyance... at me?

"You're one to ask me that," she mumbled under her breath.

I had to speak carefully with Wren-Kal present.

If he catches on to me wanting Evie instead of Violet, then it would be more difficult for me to do what Violet and Roe-el are currently doing to break our contract.

Claiming tribal law was a tricky game. Though I didn't mind Violet ending our contract, but it wasn't something I could easily let go of without putting AsunGor's reputation at risk.

"I believe you'll feel more comfortable with my purpose for tracking this ship down once I tell you a story," I began.

"I thought the unGor didn't tell their own stories; they had to be earned," she said with a lift of her brow in challenge.

"Most correct, Evie of Earth." I made sure to have her association still be that of her home planet and watched as the chief's jaw twitched in irritation.

To him, he would prefer to have her associated with Necias Prime, and if he were mated with her already, then he would have corrected me.

This was good news. "The only stories I may tell are those of other honored warriors, and those of shared experiences.

Often, an unGor will remind a mate of the scars they've earned to prove their devotion. "

"Some scars will never be seen on your skin, Commissioner," she replied prettily enough, but there was a sharpness I felt dig deep.

I pressed on. "Mating scars are ones an unGor may boast to others without diminishing the experience—as many mating scars are not a public affair. I lifted my hand to show off the scraps of trill teeth around my wrist and fingers.

"This scar was earned saving my mate from a trill's poison.

I dug my fist into the trill's mouth and pulled out its enzyme sack from behind its teeth.

They use those enzymes to make their food safe to eat even after they poison their meat.

Believe it or not, the trill may be resistant to their own poison, but it's more of a tolerance built up since their youth, and they still need the enzymes to break down the poison enough not to get sick themselves. "

"I'd think the trill would want that information kept a secret," Evie said conspiratorially.

"It is not a widely known fact," I agreed. "Speaking of this around a trill would certainly give them reason to make you their next meal."

"This is not what I was told about how to cure trill poison," Chief interjected, relishing an opportunity to prove me wrong on something, but I was hoping he would try to make me look dishonorable in front of Evie.

"Ah, yes. You're probably referring to eating a trill's heart. If the sacks are damaged or have already been used up, then yes. The best you can do is eat their heart to absorb as much of their antibodies against the poison as you can. It's a rather lethal option, if you ask me."

The chief closed his mouth, not wishing to fall into another one of my traps, because I was enjoying the way Evie gave him a shocked look of disgust before she finally gave me the honor of her gaze. In those eyes I saw a kindness and understanding.

"You could have killed the trill by eating his heart to counteract the poison from your wound..." She added quickly after a moment of reflection, "In the story about saving your mate?"

"My mate did not wish for the trill to die," I explained. "I also have my belief that she did not wish for me to have more difficulties negotiating with the trill in the future either."

"You keep calling her your mate but left her to join the necia in your absence," she pointed out, and it was a clever statement that Chief Wren-Kal would not be certain wasn't about Violet. It was also very telling of why she had left me if she thought I had abandoned her first.

"Circumstances prevented me from claiming my mate earlier."

"Circumstances?" she questioned, wanting more information that I couldn't provide.

"I'm unable to discuss them at this time," I regretted to say.

"Of course you aren't," she snapped, and I heard her stomach grumble once more.

"As lovely as watching the stars from the observatory sounds, I must admit that I didn't have a single bite of the food from earlier. I prefer to eat after everyone else has had their fill, but now I'm certain waiting longer is not an option. Shall we grab a quick bite from my room's dispensary?"

"Your room has a dispensary?" she questioned in disbelief.

I nodded and proceeded to walk in the direction of the diplomatic suite. Every larger ship like this one had a room larger than even the commander's quarters for an occasion of having to host someone of my title and honor.

I was surprised, after hearing Chief Wren-Kal hadn't taken the position from Ther-Ol, that the diplomatic suite was available. Someone of his rank could have easily requested it for himself.

"I advise against returning to his room," Wren-Kal spoke up.

"He does not like the fact that it's the only room he's not allowed to enter without permission from the commander of the ship.

As he does not have the commander's code, and the new protocols mean the code changes every time it's used once, that means he can't hack the room without informing the commander of his misuse of power, damaging his honor," I explained.

Wren-Kal growled, and his eyes turned black. That was a troubling sign of him potentially rutting soon. The necia were a volatile species when their instincts took over. They were supposed to be taking medication to prevent such instances, but I had a feeling he wasn't taking his anymore.

"You could just invite him in," she suggested, and I smiled between them both.

"The chief is well aware the invite was for you alone. He will surely keep watch outside the door to make sure I don't abscond with you to my ship."

"Would you do that?" she asked with wide eyes.

I chuckled. "Do you want me to?" I replied smoothly.

Her cheeks blushed pink, and I took that as a sign that it wasn't off the table of options. How interesting.

But first we had to take care of that hunger making her stomach threaten her with a roar loud enough to echo down the hall.