Rosemary
Rosemary had never been the social butterfly type. Single moms didn't get a lot of evenings free to attend fancy soirées. The scope of her social activities had been limited to Michael's soccer games, the occasional birthday parties and sleepovers, and talking to the other parents after school. The only time she managed to talk to other adults without a herd of children causing a ruckus was at work, and those adults were drinking.
The vehicle Mene sent delivered her to a stately building in the heart of the nearby coastal city. While many surrounding buildings stood tall and shone in the night, constructed of high-tech materials, they reached for the stars in the night sky. The Council building was old. Ancient, almost, with heavy stone and wood construction. The tiled floors gleamed, and her shoes made a satisfying clack with every step. The interior wood paneling glowed under layers of wax and polish. A guard deposited her at the entrance to a large chamber.
She wasn't sure what she had been expecting. A cold, impersonal hall filled with cold, impersonal men—and women, she supposed—making important decisions, perhaps.
The council chambers were downright cozy.
Roughly two dozen people filled the room, a mix of women and men. The majority were older. A few women, slightly younger than the men, mingled. They engaged in conversation as equals, Rosemary noted, and not a single one clung to an arm as an ornament. She also noted that she was the only human in the crowd.
Oran greeted her immediately, and Mene swept her up, ushering her around the room, very much aware that he was showing her off. Part of her, the non-hormonal part of her brain that still functioned, knew he was just making a display of her, like a treasured possession he recently acquired.
The other part of her brain loved being displayed liked a treasure.
Mene introduced her to the council member being honored for decades of service, a venerable Sangrin man with tightly curling horns as white as snow. "So you're the Terran who has stolen away our Enforcer. Oran has been rather tight-lipped about you."
"He hasn't been home for nearly two weeks, so I don't think it's fair to say I stole him away," Rosemary replied. The elder chuckled and introduced her to more people who she wouldn’t be able to remember by the morning.
Mene leaned in and pressed his mouth to her ear. "You chose the right dress," he said. His fingers brushed the vivid red mark on her shoulder. A month old at this point, it still burned an angry red. She shivered.
"Are you cold?"
"The mark is tender to the touch, that's all. I'm fine."
His fingers brushed the spot again, and his chest rumbled with satisfaction when she shivered. "I missed you, mate. You were never far from my thoughts."
"I missed you, too," she said, surprised by the emotion. "I know it's silly—"
"No. It is not silly. It is honest." He stroked her shoulder and arm, his large hand lingering. "I am a creature of instinct with you."
"Really? And what is your instinct telling you right now?"
"It knows you are keeping secrets from me, but it doesn't care. It says to take you away to someplace private and show you how much I missed you, Rosemary."
"Sounds hard."
He pressed her hand to his groin. "Very."
She felt her face grow heated. "Mene, someone could see that."
"That is my intention. I want them to see my delicious mate and how she has inspired me." Something over her shoulder caught his attention. She turned to follow his gaze. A male she did not recognize gestured for Mene to come with a slight toss of his horns. "I am summoned elsewhere, sadly."
"Hurry back," she said, over the rim of her wine glass. The party was nice and all, but what she really wanted was her husband in their bed. Alone. Naked.
She was ready for the next step. She had a glass of wine, true, but not so much as to skew her judgment. She knew what she wanted, and she wanted Mene. Denying her feelings and her desire wasn't helping anyone. So what if they married quickly? The heat between them was real. The pride in Mene's eyes when he introduced her was real. Had to be. Mene didn't seem the acting type. He had nothing but brutal honesty for her, and she appreciated that. He meant what he said and said what he meant.
A familiar feminine figure peeled away from a cluster and made her way to across the room. Rosemary recognized Charin, the woman from the Academy. "How did you do it?"
"What do you mean?'
"Enforcer Rhew. That." Charin nodded toward the mate mark.
Rosemary smiled and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, you know, Terran charms."
Charin planted a hand on a hip. "I'd hate you if I thought you were lying."
"His brother really did marry my sister," Rosemary added hastily, inexplicably feeling the need to explain herself.
"And you just hit it off?"
She snorted. "Good God, no. His other brother kept flirting with me. Mene kept criticizing me. I thought he hated me. Then one day..." She shrugged. "It snuck up on me." It really did. She couldn't pinpoint the moment her feelings changed from constantly annoyed to affectionate for Mene, but they had. The attraction and chemistry between them had been instantaneous. Everything else took time.
"Well, that's a bunch of cyw crap," Charin said. "I've been begging my father for a solid year to bring me to one of these functions, just to catch Mene's eye."
"Oh, I, that sounds terrible."
"It is! The one time I actually got to speak to him, he just ignored me." Charin drained her glass. Setting it down on the nearest surface, she circled Rosemary, giving her form a critical assessment. "Clearly I'm not his type. I didn't think he'd go for the exotic. I assumed he'd want something a bit more homegrown."
"Maybe you weren't compatible?" Rosemary slowly turned in place to keep an eye on the woman.
"Please, I know you're only ninety-seven percent compatible, so that's not the problem."
"That information is confidential." That’s what all the forms Rosemary signed had claimed.
"My father's on the Council." Charin's tone implied Rosemary was naïve. "I can get any information I want, and I very much wanted to find out about you. Your son, sweet as he is, is a complete blabbermouth. He can't stop gushing about how great his new dad is and how awesome and brave his uncles are."
Great. Mene had a crazy, wannabe girlfriend stalker.
Charin gave her a critical look, sweeping down to feet. "You and Mene? A love match? I don't see it."
With that announcement, she turned and walked away, nose in the air.
Well. So that happened.
"I see it," a masculine voice said behind her.
Rosemary jumped. Her hand fluttered to her throat. She recognized the man as an instructor at the Academy. "Oh, Nals. You snuck up on me."
"To train the next generation of warriors to be stealthy, I must be a master." A grin stretched across his face, feral and hungry.
She didn't like his expression at all.
His eyes darted down to the star pendant, and he casually stretched out a hand. Rosemary stepped back, just out of reach.
"A lot of Academy staff here tonight," she said, desperately reaching for a neutral topic.
He ignored her diversion. "You are a female of singular charm. Do you find it warm in here? Let us step outside for fresh air." He took her by the elbow and ushered her out to a balcony before she could protest.
The spring evening was cool and damp. Her dress was no match against the chill. She shivered. Without a word, Nals took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulder.
"I must admit, I'm surprised that he mated you," he said.
"People are full of surprises, I guess."
"It is surprising, considering the way Mene has railed against having a mate picked for him. He never wanted a mate selected by his parents or from random chance from the Bride Registry. He always said he had so few choices in his life, finding a mate was the one thing he could choose. You know, of course, that he has rejected previous brides before, right? Two, I believe, from the Registry."
"I did not know.” Discomfort shifted inside her. Mene rejected two previous matches?
"Oh, you wouldn't believe how we gossiped about that. On two separate occasions, two females, both gorgeous by anyone's standards, arrived on the base. On two separate occasions, he sent them packing. Didn't even take the time to give them a good sniff." Nals eyes shone as he recounted the story. "By the way, I caught your scent at the Academy, long before you made it into my classroom. Delightful. Sweet and refreshing, like a glass of cold water on a hot day. Has he ever told you what your scent is like? It's unique, you know, for each female, and there is nothing as irresistible as a compatible female."
"He hasn't mentioned—"
"You were introduced by his mother, yes?"
"Yes. I mean no. No." Rosemary struggled to process the information Nals just dumped on her. Mene refused to have his mate chosen for him. He had rejected two other women before her. Then, finally, understanding that Nals wanted to upset her. "My sister married his brother. That's how we met."
"So no one forced his hand?"
"No," she lied. Tani told him to marry her, to satisfy the Ministry and the Bride Registry.
"Gave him an ultimatum? Threatened him?"
"Do you think I'm in any position to threaten Mene? That anyone is?"
Nals’ gaze swept over her, stripping away her defenses. At length, he said, "No. I don't suppose anyone could threaten the Enforcer and live. Did you promise him some reward for mating you?"
"Why do you care so much? What business is it of yours?"
"Because I've known Mene Rhew since we were barely old enough to scratch our own horns, and he's not acting like himself."
"Maybe he is, and you've never noticed."
Nals laughed, low and wicked, like a man who knew a secret. Her secret. "He's not my friend, but he is a brother in my clan. I know him." That grin came back, accompanied by a knowing look in his eye. "Better than you, I figure."
Rosemary sniffed and adjusted the jacket over her shoulders. She regretted being drawn out to the balcony, alone with Nals. "I don't know what you mean. I should go."
Rosemary moved to leave by Nals stepped to block her path.
"Come now, you insult both of us. Mene paraded you around all evening but only introduced you to the non-Mahdfel. We both know why." Nals leaned in, nose in her hair, and breathed deep.
Because a Mahdfel would be able to smell the truth, just as Nals did. She and Mene were fake. "He's been away."
"He's covered you in his scent, but it's not enough. Not if you know what to look for. The bite is a nice touch. Very convincing, if savage. Did he hurt you?" His fingers brushed against her hair. She flinched back.
"What do you want?"
"Just trying to solve a mystery. Why turn away those perfectly delightful females but claim you? Do not misunderstand me, you have your charms." He tugged on the front of his jacket by the lapels, adjusting it over her frame, but he did not release the fabric. "But he hasn't really claimed you, has he?"
"Let me go."
"Is he waiting for a real male to show him how it's done?"
"Back off," she warned. She ducked down to slip out of the jacket and backed away quickly. Years working a bar, she knew how to get out of a hold from patrons who thought they could intimidate the lady bartender. Usually, she followed it up with a bottle to the side of the head. "Go before I call for help."
"Rosemary, don't be like that. I'm not the sort to sniff after another male's mate, but seeing as how he hasn't claimed you—"
Rosemary backed up, her heart in her throat. Nals advanced.
A rough pair of hands grabbed Nals and pulled him away. "She said to leave."
Nals held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Just having a friendly conversation."
Mene’s top lip curled in a snarl. He grabbed the man by the tunic with both hands and pinned him with his gaze. "If you plan to challenge me, now is your best opportunity. I am exhausted from a long mission. My reflexes are slow, and I will tire quickly."
Nals held his gaze for a long moment before looking away. "No. I have the information I needed."
Mene released Nals with a shove. The other man looked nonplussed. He dusted off his shirt and tossed his jacket over one shoulder.
"Congratulations on your mating, when it happens. Truly."