Page 2 of Krin (The Protectorate Warriors Alien Fated Mates #3)

Riley

OLIVIA AND I HAD BEEN hanging out a lot since Grace and Trex were on the Alaran version of a honeymoon.

Together, we had a mid-day meal in the palace’s dining hall. As usual, our discussion centered on my wish to leave Alara.

“Have you given anymore thought to finding work here instead? It would be nice to have another friend on the planet,” said Olivia softly.

I grimaced, giving my head a small shake. We’d been over this many times since we arrived here, after Trex’s father’s death.

Olivia was worried about the future of herself and her baby. I was aware that she had a fear of being alone as a single mother. She kept hinting for me to stick around and work on Alara.

In my heart, I knew I wouldn’t be happy if I stayed. I also decided that a human colony wasn’t the place for me to live. Alara was interesting, but I was itching to explore beyond an alien world. I wanted to see what else was out there, in space.

“Sorry, Liv. I haven’t changed my mind. I don’t think planet life is for me.” I shrugged as I responded. Deciding to leave Alara was a straightforward decision for me.

Given the choice of staying, or leaving on a spaceship, you can bet your ass I was going to seize the opportunity to explore space. In whatever capacity I could.

If I had to be stuck out here with no chance of returning home, then I would make the most of it.

Not that I wanted to return home. My life was far from happy back at Luna base. All I had going for me was my job.

My older brother held a high-ranking position as a pilot in the space force. He consistently brought pride to my parents.

Unfortunately, I was never good enough at anything to impress my parents the way he did. My parents seemed convinced I was destined for failure.

When I turned twenty, they forced me to join the military, saying it would help me get my life together.

The only reason I hadn’t fought them on it was because more than anything, I yearned to see their faces light up for me like they did when they saw my brother.

But that never happened.

It didn’t matter what I did.

I was never good enough for my parents. Add to that the two brief romantic relationships I had that ended badly. It seemed I wasn’t good enough for anyone.

In the past seven years in the military, I concentrated on being good at my job, not caring about getting approval from others any longer.

Turned out I could manage fine by myself. I didn’t need anyone to validate me.

Life wasn’t ideal, but hey, I had a job I enjoyed. And I was good at it.

A few years ago, I applied to work for space force, but they rejected me because ‘the Orisians don’t hire females’ . Words they loved to quote to any woman who dared to apply to work with them.

They believed it was their responsibility to safeguard women from all threats. The idea of women patrolling space among human and Orisian males was something they couldn’t get their purple heads around.

A chuckle escaped my lips. I wonder what people who knew me would say if they found out I was living on an alien planet!

Actually, thinking about it the Alarans had the same policy about women on their ships. Touting their reasoning as keeping females safe .

They didn’t understand that not all women were damsels in need of saving.

Little did Krin and the others know, I did more than just patrol Luna base. The dangers I faced working for our military would shock the pants off these guys.

I ran my fingers through my ponytail, as my thoughts drifted to Krin. Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen the handsome warrior to tell him I wanted to leave on the Chetok with him.

At least not since the coronation where we actively avoided speaking with one another.

Before that, our previous conversation didn’t go well.

In hindsight, I might have overreacted.

Most of the time, Krin appeared unsure about what to say to me. I told myself it was to be expected, given the rarity of females, particularly human ones, on Alara.

Something about Krin made me feel instantly connected to him. Our conversations may have been awkward so far, but I wasn’t ready to give up on being friends.

Who knows, maybe much more than friends?

I tried to understand where he was coming from, but he continued to avoid chatting with me about anything other than his work.

If he felt any attraction towards me, he hid it very well.

So, when Grace or Olivia would ask me what I intended to do with my life, I pretended I wanted to leave to work with a human colony’s military.

Seemed like the simplest answer without revealing my feelings about Krin. Even though I didn’t live on Luna base anymore, I still wanted to be a soldier.

That much was true.

And even though I considered Grace and Olivia to be my closest friends, I found it hard to admit the truth to them.

In the past, I’d found out the hard way that it’s safest to keep your vulnerable side hidden from others.

They would only use it against you, eventually.

I could not bring myself to mention I was irresistibly drawn to Krin. And I was unable to confess the real reason I wanted to leave the planet was because I wanted to be on the Chetok, to be near him.

My heart squeezed, knowing I did not want to let the enticing Alaran Captain walk out of my life.

As I sat staring at my plate of caro , a spicy meat meal, and surbo , a side of savory vegetables, my thoughts raced in a chaotic whirlwind.

My efforts to get on the Chetok seemed to be a total failure. Soon, the ship would have to leave Alara, and I would not be on it. I told myself it was fine since I couldn’t ask to join his crew.

If he said no to me going with him, then what?

It seemed I had no choice but to accept the likelihood of never seeing Krin again. Nibbling the inside of my lip, I felt relieved that I’d concealed my feelings for him.

I really didn’t want Grace and Liv’s pity.

Shame it didn’t change the fact my heart felt crushed right now.

Krin and I barely spoke to one another in all the time I’d known him. We were not in a relationship. Whatever we had was just a creation of my imagination and desires.

Then why did the idea of never seeing Krin again leave me feeling empty? Had I truly not realized that he had already captured a special spot in my heart in the brief time we’d known each other.

There was a painful ache in my chest, as if I had lost something that was never truly mine.

I wondered if I would even get the chance to say goodbye.

A sickening grief filled my heart. It appeared I would have to forget anything I wished I could have had with the gorgeous blue-green alien.

I was going to be stuck on the planet, with no clue what my future might hold. Sure, I was a soldier, but there was no use for me on a planet filled with males who wanted to do nothing more than protect us.

And find their K’sha, of course.

Asking to work on Alara would likely see me working at a boring job I hated.

THE SOUND OF MY NAME being uttered from behind me suddenly grabbed my attention. With a slight tilt of her head, Olivia flashed a warm smile, and cast a quick glance past me. The deep, resonant quality of his voice sent a surge of excitement coursing through my veins.

In my seat, I twisted around and saw Krin heading towards our table.

His appearance was so enticing that I couldn’t help but lick my lips when I saw him. From his short brown hair to his heavy black boots, every detail of his appearance was striking.

Millions of butterflies were set alight in my stomach.

God, he is gorgeous. I sighed.

His intense gaze left me with a dry throat and a racing heart.

Why is he here?

It suddenly struck me. It was as if a wave of disappointment suddenly engulfed me. He was coming to say goodbye.

Krin stopped right in front of me, and cleared his throat.

I managed to smile, struggling to hold myself together. This close to him made my body experience things I wasn’t used to.

Like previous instances, this time was no different, except that I had a strong desire to burst into tears.

Pull yourself together , my inner voice admonished.

I didn’t want Krin to remember me as a sobbing mess during our last interaction.

He spoke with confidence, yet there was a hint of doubt in his voice. “May I have a word with you?”

With trembling legs, I nodded, then followed him, quickly glancing at Olivia, shrugging my shoulders.

Facing one another, Krin tugged his earlobe before he dropped his hand to his side.

“Trex informed me you requested to leave Alara to be taken to a human colony. If you are still interested in leaving, I... we can take you with us.”

His throat lurched with a hard swallow.

It was clear to me that he was feeling uneasy. At that moment, it didn’t matter why he was asking.

It was a hell yes , from me.

With no hesitation, I eagerly replied, “I would absolutely love that.” I gazed at him.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. My heart filled with a fluttering sense of joy. “Thanks.”

Relief flooded his eyes as he straightened his spine, finally unclenching his hands. We stood frozen, the weight of the tension suffocating the surrounding air.

Overcome with relief and excitement, I foolishly blurted, “Yeah, hey, I was thinking...with my experience as a soldier...maybe there is something...a job, I could do on the Chetok?”

My smile faded when in an instant, Krin’s face turned a paler turquoise. A look of near horror crossed his face as he hesitated, running a hand through his short hair. Then he began to rub the back of his neck.

He cleared his throat again, but his voice still sounded harsher than usual. “It’s not...on Protectorate ships. It is not customary for females to work on Protectorate vessels.”

I knew that, but I had to try. This was an idea I’d given a lot of thought to. If I was allowed on the ship, the next logical step was to find something I was good at, and do it.

Krin seemed annoyed at my question. But he hadn’t exactly said no to the idea of me joining the crew.

Me being... well, me. Instead of accepting his statement I pushed the matter. “What about the Drakkari Protectorate patrol vessels? They are female run ships.”

Ignoring what I said, he spoke in a strained tone. “Be at the space pad at first light. There are two shuttles transporting the crew to the Chetok. We can talk more about this later.”

My head jerked in surprise. What the hell?

He not only refused to answer my question, it seemed like he didn’t care about what I wanted.

Did he think I was a defenseless female, like most Alaran warriors thought?

The unspoken insult got on my nerves right away. I scowled.

“Fine. Whatever.” I glared at him. “Just so you know, I can take care of myself. I don’t need anyone to protect me, big guy,” I snapped. Then spun around, bolting out of the dining hall, leaving Olivia scrambling to catch me.

“What happened?” she whispered.

I scrunched up my face. “Nothing! Forget it!”

Olivia’s hand was on my arm. “Riley, did he offend you with something he said?”

“He asked me if I wanted to leave on the Chetok tomorrow,” I huffed.

Olivia’s brows rose into her hairline. Her mouth formed a perfect ‘O’

“Is that not what you wanted?”

I just shrugged. “Yeah. That’s not the problem.”

Why did I have to speak without thinking? Asking for a job was premature. I completely blew it.

My heart sank straight into my stomach.

How could I ask to stay aboard the ship now? There was no way I could admit I wanted to stay to be near Krin. Not to him, and not when he couldn’t see me as an equal.

I moved my head from side to side, telling myself it would be better if I stayed clear of Krin altogether.

My track record with relationships was pretty terrible if I was being honest with myself.

I don’t know why I bothered getting my hopes up. I was deluded for thinking I could have what Grace had with Trex. Why would Krin ever be interested in me?

I told myself I’d be just fine. I’d managed for a long time on my own well enough.

In fact, things were going well until I was abducted by ugly pig-faced aliens and taken to a slave planet. Stuck in a dirty room with barely any food until this ship full of hot warriors came to my rescue.

My heart squeezed tight.

There was one special warrior who had my mind going wild every single day since I met him. I’d like to say my stupid obsession with the turquoise hunk crept up on me, but in truth I wanted Krin from the moment I saw him.

Okay, it’s possible he hadn’t sensed the same connection I did. But that didn’t change how I felt about him. No matter what I tried to tell myself.

There was no way I could ever admit my feelings for Krin. At least not without ending up being hurt in the process.

As I played with my hair, I decided to hold on to a glimmer of hope that something might still happen between me and the sexy new Captain of the starship Chetok.

The fact he’d asked me to go with him was promising. Wasn’t it?

He may not want me to work on the spaceship, but that wasn’t going to stop me from showing up tomorrow to board a shuttle to the space dock.

Who knows, he might eventually let me join the crew.

Jutting out my chin, I knew what I had to do.

There was no way I was letting the Chetok or Krin go without me.