Page 15 of Royal Mate

15

P aige

I stared at the mirror, blinking like my reflection might change if I focused hard enough.

The woman looking back at me wasn’t me. Not really. Sure, the green eyes and riot of curls were the same—well, not exactly the same. My hair was magically tamed into an intricate up-do, a crown of braids threaded with tiny golden chains and jewels that sparkled under the soft, golden lights of the room. The gown, too, didn’t belong to the me I’d been back on Earth. It was so far from my Trus-T-Kleen uniform it was laughable.

This was the queen’s uniform. Ha!

At least if I looked like this, maybe I could actually get inside Queen’s Castle and try to figure out who murdered my parents. I thought about what Addan’s parents had said. The others too. What they’d hinted at since they had no proof. On Earth, I’d have to sneak about, searching drawers and desks and even laptops for incriminating letters and emails.

I wasn’t a private investigator, and this was space. SPACE.

That meant fancy, complicated computers. Technology I couldn’t even imagine. I’d transported across the galaxy! There had to be some proof in the palace about my parents’ murder and the overthrowing of the royal family. Right?

If Queen Alienor really was guilty, then the information would be in her home. Queen’s Castle. The most protected place on the planet. Which meant the data was safe from people like me who wanted the truth.

I didn’t want to believe my own cousins were killers. I refused to believe it without proof. I needed access. Needed to snoop. Needed to know what happened. Desperately. And I wasn’t getting inside the palace wearing my hot pink work polo and threadbare khaki pants.

The skirt fanned out like something from an old fairy tale, layer upon layer of shimmering gold fabric swirling around me. Light as air and cool like the richest satin. The dark blue bodice was snug, the design simple yet commanding, with intricate, golden embroidery at the neckline. I had no idea my boobs could look so good. The shimmering accents caught the light as I turned slightly, reminding me of stars sparkling against a midnight blue sky.

I’d never, not once in my life, compared my clothes to… anything.

Behind me, Sorcha adjusted the hem of her dress. She was dressed in a deep black gown, fitted through the bodice and waist but with a cascade of gauzy, shimmering fabric that trailed behind her like liquid light. The silver of her hair, left loose to frame her delicate features, glittered with tiny star-shaped pins that matched the silver filigree of her necklace. It was obvious this was normal for her. She didn’t stare at herself as if she was on a makeover show or if someone was impersonating her.

Me? I felt like an impersonator. A very well dressed one.

“You look… incredible,” Sorcha said softly, stepping up beside me. Her smile was kind and open, not a hint of mean girl spirit where she’d tell me the color made me look sallow or it would look better on her. No, she was just downright nice. And she looked like her brother, which was a problem because I spent the night with him getting hard-core railed.

Naughty and nice. This planet was giving me whiplash. And amazing orgasms. And stunning clothes.

“She looks exactly like the queen,” Catriona added, her voice quieter, more wary.

Catriona, standing just behind Sorcha, wore a gown of rich emerald, its elegant lines emphasizing her statuesque frame. The neckline, subtly adorned with jewels, reflected the blue of her piercing eyes. Her silver-white hair was twisted into a sleek chignon, with a single emerald comb holding it in place. She stood with her arms crossed, a faintly guarded expression on her face.

She didn’t mean Queen Alienor. It seemed she meant the queen her entire family wished was still alive and still on the throne. The queen Addan had spent hours this very morning teaching me about. He’d brought me more books and spent hours answering every question I could think of, and some that hadn’t crossed my mind until he was already answering them. It was as if he could read my mind. With all the sex and orgasms he’d been giving me, maybe he could. He seemed to know exactly how to touch me to make me lose my mind.

I swallowed, not seeing any part of my former self in the reflection staring back at me. His sisters were right. I’d seen the portrait of my mother before Addan brought me to their home. I’d thought it was like looking at another person, someone unreachable and perfect. Now, standing here, I felt like I was staring at her ghost. Tears threatened as I felt close to her in this moment. That I was where she wanted me to be, even though she’d sent me in an escape pod to a far-off planet. That I was in the role I was destined to have. To follow in her footsteps. To not only look like her but perhaps rule the planet with her gentle and ordered approach that had been revered and loved by all.

“Wow,” Sorcha said, stepping closer, her silvery hair swishing around her shoulders as she studied me. As if she, too, now truly believed I might be more than some random woman who’d accidentally arrived on her planet. “Paige, have you ever seen yourself like this?”

I shook my head and swallowed hard.

“Not even close,” I admitted. My voice wavered as the seamstress and the ladies responsible for my hair and makeup bowed deeply and left the room. They should be really dang proud of themselves for this transformation. To them, I was the ugly duckling they turned into a well-dressed swan.

Since this afternoon, when they’d led me into the bath, they’d all been bowing and acting like I was made from spun glass. They were afraid to meet my eyes or even talk in my presence. If it wouldn't have hurt their feelings, I’d have laughed at the absurdity.

They had no idea who I really was. None. I never felt fragile when I was scrubbing toilets or arguing with my landlord about the broken water heater. It probably took them twice as long as usual because of my rough hands, horrible nails and hair that never once had a hot oil treatment or quality cut.

Standing here looking like a Holiday Barbie didn’t magically turn me into one. Looking like a queen didn’t make me feel like royalty, either.

But none of them knew that. It was clear I was now a visible reminder of a political shift for the entire planet.

Me.

ME.

Catriona straightened and stepped back with a disapproving frown. Her tone shifted. “If you don’t mind a suggestion, princess.”

I gave her a gentle glare.

“Paige,” she corrected. “You’ll need to carry yourself differently now. People will see you as royalty, whether you feel like it or not.”

Was she reading my mind or what? Did it matter? She wasn’t wrong.

“Okay,” I said, wondering specifically what she was talking about.

“If you’d… if–”

“Spit it out,” I said on a laugh. “Do I have a boogie or something?”

She frowned, clearly not knowing what that was. Didn’t Insurians get them? God, if they didn’t, I was going to feel even more out of place.

“Roll your shoulders back.”

I blinked and did as she requested. “That is what you find wrong with me?”

She laughed. “There is nothing wrong with you. But making that small change makes you taller and more… queenly.”

If only that was all it really took.

“And it makes your breasts look spectacular in that dress,” Sorcha added with a grin.

“While you want me to own it, I feel like I’m in a costume,” I admitted. “This outfit on Earth is only seen in fairy tales.”

And I definitely wasn’t in one of those.

This wasn’t me. I curled my toes inside the soft slippers and wished I had my clunky, white leather tennis shoes back. At least in them, if I had to kick someone in the shins, I knew it wouldn’t hurt me. If I tried to kick someone in these, I’d probably break a few toes.

“Then wear it well,” Catriona replied. Her tone wasn’t harsh, but it wasn’t soft, either. “It matters more than you realize. Our family risks much, supporting you.”

Oh, well, if that ominous tone and wording didn’t add unwanted pressure.

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“Catriona, no. We are not talking about politics and war right now.” Sorcha lifted her skirt and fluffed it a bit, admiring herself in the long mirror. “Let’s talk about something else.”

It was as if she could just… fluff her skirt and her problems could be forgotten. Or at least pushed aside. It was clear to me, staring at my own reflection, that good hair products and clothes weren’t going to make any of my thrust-upon-me problems go away. Maybe I was supposed to roll my shoulders back because more issues were going to fall right on them.

“What, instead, do you wish to discuss, sister?” Catriona’s frown deepened, but at least Addan’s super-serious sister wasn’t directing her anger at me.

Sorcha bounced a little on her heels, clapping her hands together. “So, tell us about men on Earth. What are they like?”

“What?” I turned, startled.

“You want to talk about aliens?” Catriona asked, looking appalled.

I bit my lip at how they thought Earth guys were aliens. To them, they were. Since I’d never really had any success dating any of them, maybe they had been for me, too.

“Aren’t you curious?” Sorcha asked her sister, who looked sheepish and actually blushed. “See?!”

Sorcha laughed. “Come on! It’s just us girls, Paige. Tell me—what are Earth men like? Are they tall? Muscled? Handsome? Romantic?”

Romantic? I snorted, then shrugged my rolled back shoulders. “Some, sure. But most? Not so much.”

Sorcha tilted her head, a curious look crossing her face. “What do you do when you find one you like? Do you… claim one for yourself like we do here?”

“Claim a man? No, not really. Or I don’t think so,” I said, confused. “They ask you out. Maybe take you to dinner. Eventually, if they’re serious and a lot of time has passed to get to know each other, they propose. But it’s not… instinctive.”

Sorcha gasped. “They ask you out?”

“They wish to take you places. Do fun things,” I clarified.

“They propose?” she asked next. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. “With words? The males?”

I frowned. “Well, yeah. How else would they do it? I mean, I’ve heard about some grand gestures like putting a ring in a cake or skywriting, but it’s pretty much the same thing.”

Catriona cut in, her tone sharper. “So, you expect a man who’s interested in you to make it clear. To ask you to be his mate?”

“Yes.” I hesitated, catching the weight of her question. “Why do you two look like I said puppies on Earth have two heads? Isn’t that normal dating practice here?”

“For you, maybe.” Catriona’s eyes narrowed slightly, studying me. “For us, Resonance speaks louder than words.”

“Resonance?” I asked, feeling a prickle of unease. Addan’s father introduced himself as Fiona’s Resonant.

I was about to find out what that meant. Was it an alien thing?

“Resonance,” Catriona repeated. “When an Insuri female is in the presence of her perfect mate, her body reacts. It’s… undeniable. The pull, the desire. That’s how we know who we belong to. Once Resonance happens, there’s no turning back. The bond must be honored. Denying it can cause physical pain.”

I froze. When I first arrived on Insuri… when I’d been on my knees beneath Addan’s desk.

Am I your Resonant? Is this a claiming?

He’d asked me that, but I’d been too overwhelmed by transporting and being shot at to understand his question. I’d ignored it because of being so horny for his big cock.

Oh shit. The ache I’d felt since meeting Addan… the way my body reacted to his presence…the way I couldn’t stop thinking about him…couldn’t stop wanting him. His touch. His kiss. His cock inside me.

Even now, my mouth watered, and my pussy clenched in want.

“Wait,” I said slowly, my pulse quickening. “You’re saying…your bodies decide for you?”

“It’s not just physical,” Catriona said, her voice softer now. As if she dreamed about meeting her Resonant since she was a little girl. To find her Prince Charming. “It’s deeper. Resonance means you’ve found the one who completes you. It’s rare. Not everyone experiences it.”

“I want that,” Sorcha whispered to herself.

“Which is why the royals have the rule about taking a mate if you haven’t found your Resonant by a certain age,” Catriona clarified.

Sorcha shrugged, oblivious to the undercurrent passing between me and her sister. To my roiling thoughts.

“And some of us have.” Catriona’s gaze met mine, sharp and knowing, and I felt the heat creep up my neck. My heart pounded as memories of Addan filled my mind—his mouth on my pussy, his scent driving me crazy, the way his gaze seemed to pierce straight through me. The fact that no matter how many freaking orgasms I had, it was never enough. I always wanted more.

Not from just anyone, though. I wasn’t running around the place looking at every guy with a dick like I wanted them to fuck me. Because I didn’t. I only wanted one man. One alien. Naked. Inside me. Addan consumed my thoughts. My dreams. Everything.

Oh, no.

I knew exactly what she was saying.

Did Addan know he was mine? Was that why he asked me if I was “claiming him”? Did he want me to claim him? Or was he simply doing his duty, as all males on Insuri did, and giving me what he thought I needed because he was a good little soldier? Like he had the night before, trying to gently fuck the queen. As if.

Was he doing it because any guy I asked on this planet would “service” any female in need of a good orgasm? God, he’d used that word.

Service. We’d even argued about it. He’d even insisted that I order him to make me stop thinking last night. He had. Holy shit. I could barely walk when I woke up this morning. But was he doing it because he wanted me? Or because it was his job? Ugh!

Sorcha tilted her head. “Are you all right, Paige? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I forced a laugh, shaking my head. “I’m fine. Just… it’s a lot to take in.”

Catriona didn’t look convinced. Her gaze lingered on my face, as if she could see the truth I was trying desperately to hide. Perhaps she even knew.

“Well,” Sorcha said cheerfully, oblivious to the tension. “I am hopeful of finding my Resonant. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be at the dinner tonight? We’re hosting quite a few of your mother’s allies who’ve come from all reaches of the planet. Many have already arrived.”

“Wait—already?” I asked, blinking. “How many are here?”

“Lady Kaelthra of the Zyr Council,” Sorcha said brightly, ticking the names off on her fingers. “And her mate, Lord Zyren. Oh! And Lord Lorient—that’s your uncle—and his wife, Lady Iressa. There are a few others, but I don’t remember all their names. But they’re unmated. Or their sons are. Most of them brought the whole family. I think everyone is curious about you.”

I stared at her, not interested in unmated males. I had a betrothed I hated and a general in my bed last night who was most likely my Resonant. I had more males than I could handle.

Except I definitely handled Addan the night before.

“They’re all here?” What the hell was the Zyr Council? It sounded like something out of a sci-fi TV show. God, it wasn’t fiction, it was real.

“Yes,” Catriona said. Her tone was more serious, the caution returning. “Time is of the essence. Your arrival will only remain a secret for so long now. There are spies everywhere, Paige. If we don’t act quickly, Queen Alienor will learn about you before we’re ready.”

Act quickly doing what?

The weight of her words settled over me. This wasn’t just a dinner. It was a strategy meeting. Every lord and lady sitting at that table tonight would be assessing me, deciding whether I was worth fighting for. Worth committing treason for.

The thought made my chest tighten and made me roll my shoulders back even more.

No wonder they wanted me to look exactly like my mother. I could be her twin in this dress. The hair. I looked almost exactly the way my mother did in that portrait.

Was I just a pawn to the Natosi family? A clone to get the people to accept a replacement queen? Or, an even more terrifying thought, were these people—Addan’s people, his family—responsible for my parents' deaths, for overthrowing hundreds of years of my family’s rule? Was I blind to their true intentions because all I could think about was the way Addan’s dick made me forget my own name?

I’d always heard that men thought with their “little head”. What if I was thinking with my vag instead of my brain? What if I was, right now, surrounded by traitors who wanted to use me to take control of the planet?

The only way I was going to find out the truth was to get inside Queen’s Castle and find cold, hard evidence about who murdered my mother. Just because Addan gave me mind-numbing orgasms didn’t mean his family, or their so-called allies, were innocent. I knew nothing about this planet. I’d just arrived. And, of the little time I’d been here, most of it had been spent in Addan’s bed. Or on top of his desk. Or on the floor. Up against the wall…

Jeeeez. I really was a horny wench.

A soft chime echoed through the room, and Catriona straightened, rolling her own shoulders back, brushing invisible wrinkles from her gown. “It’s time for dinner. Everyone will be waiting.”

I glanced at myself in the mirror one last time. The girl staring back at me looked regal, composed… powerful. But inside, my thoughts were anything but. Besides my I-now-rule-the-planet problems, I now had a guy issue. A double guy issue.

I was marrying a prince in a few days. Not Addan.

Yet Addan was my Resonant. Or at least, I thought he was. That was the only explanation that could explain why my body was in a constant state of arousal. Why all I could think about was getting him naked and inside me.

But what if his family really were the bad guys? They’d been so kind to me. So welcoming. But in truth, I knew nothing about them. Not really. I couldn’t tell Addan until I knew for sure. What if I claimed him and then discovered his mother was the traitor?

No. God, no. If I found out Queen Alienor was evil, and that Addan’s family was telling the truth, then I could tell him. But I had no way of knowing who was lying. Not yet.

Not until I figured out how to get into the palace and find the answers I needed about my mother’s murder. If Alienor was a traitor, and she suspected I was going to betray her, Addan’s life—my life—could be in danger. No way would she want to lose a queen for a daughter-in-law. She probably wanted to make sure the future heir to the throne was her grandchild. Her family line. She wouldn’t want to lose the power of being royal because I decided to claim a random general instead of her precious son. As long as she believed I would go through with the wedding, I should be safe. Trusted. I should be able to get inside the castle and access the security feeds that General Niemini and the others had been talking about. Figure out what the hell happened on this planet all those years ago. Figure out who betrayed my family and left a baby girl for dead.

Gah! I wasn’t cut out for all this royal intrigue. I felt like I was on a soap opera. What was I going to do if Addan’s family were the traitors? Marry the prince? Marry the guy my mother chose for me when I was born? Walk away from the man I was falling in love with?

If Addan was part of the plot to destroy my family—and now me—would I have any other choice? Great sex was great sex, but I would never be able to forgive him if he had anything to do with my parents’ deaths. He was older than me. I wasn’t sure of his exact age, but he was definitely alive—and probably already in the military—when I was born.

Dammit! No.

I didn’t want him to be one of the bad guys. But an entire planet was depending on me to be smart. To think with something other than my lady dick. And the truth was, I didn’t know anything about anyone on this planet. Hell, if I hadn’t seen my mother’s portrait with my own eyes, I probably wouldn’t believe them about that either.

So, I couldn’t tell anyone Addan was mine. But that meant walking into the dining room and pretending I didn’t know he’d activated my resonance when all I wanted to do was push back his chair, straddle him, and then fuck him while he was eating his soup. Pretending I didn’t want him–and that fun fantasy–as much as I wanted to breathe. Pretending I wasn’t his.

How could I pretend? How could I ignore a physical need that was so… potent?

The thought made my chest ache, but I straightened my shoulders–again–and forced a calm expression onto my face.

As we walked down the gilded halls toward the dining room, my heart pounded. I wasn’t sure what scared me more—facing Addan in my new form or keeping this insane secret from him. He was mine. But… I needed to know if it was Queen Alienor, or Addan’s mother, who murdered my parents. Or, an even more disturbing possibility, an unknown enemy. Someone I had yet to meet.