Chapter Two

ARNON

When Father asked me to meet with our scientists, I followed orders. It didn’t matter what I wanted. Even though the rest of my family was having a formal dinner with the Earth President, I would be meeting with the geeks.

We all did what the king requested these days. He had always been a harsh man, but he was worse now than before. The loss of all the women on the planet had affected us all in different ways.

My mother died when I was ten years old. She was one of the first of our species to succumb to the virus and her loss still affected me today. I had pushed the grief inside me into the background, but a hint of the emotion always colored my actions. Her loss had made me reluctant to become close with anyone.

For now, both my father and I had the same goal. We wanted to save our people from destruction. Nothing else mattered. We had been traveling the galaxy for five years, going from planet to planet and testing their women for genetic compatibility.

It sounds callous, but they were all willing. We chose our best young men as representatives of our race. Any women accepted into the project were volunteers. Unfortunately, all of the planets that we had tried until now had disappointing results.

The women could bear our children. The problem was that most of the children were male and completely unnecessary for the preservation of our species. If we were to survive, we needed female babies.

Usually, it would have taken years to determine the cause of the baby gender problem. Our scientists solved it within months. They were highly motivated. A single gene was the culprit preventing us from breeding. Women who had the gene almost always produced male offspring.

The new information changed our quest. Now we needed a plentiful population that was willing to breed with us and didn’t possess the H4T7 gene. With luck, we would find our targets in the women of Earth.

My brothers and I had done some initial reconnaissance before our official arrival on this planet. We tested a hundred women a night for ten days and sent their results back to our laboratories for analysis.

Only a small percentage of the women on Earth had the gene. Even better, the planet was vastly overpopulated and happy to move some of their females off world, which worked out well for us.

I should be happy right now. The end was in sight. But as usual, I was doing the dirty work while my brothers and father got to have all the fun. Maybe it was better this way. They would have to sit through all the boring speeches, but I would come in at the end for dancing and dessert as long as I finished on time.

I stood in front of the doors leading to the area of the starship where our scientists worked. I sighed, hesitating for a moment before I shook my head, put on my best smile and entered the laboratory.

After the meeting, I transported directly back to my hotel room. Our transporter technology was much better than Earth’s. We didn’t need pads, for one thing.

Danin jumped to attention once he saw me materialize. I felt sorry for him. I wondered what he did while I was away. Was he always waiting around my room, hoping I would show up so he could do something?

“How was the meeting, your highness?”

“To tell you the truth, it could be better. The situation might be worse than we thought. I can’t tell you everything before I let my father know.”

Danin frowned but didn’t ask any questions. He merely helped me get ready for the party. As I changed into the Earth outfit, I wrinkled my nose in distaste. The humans liked their clothing tight.

“It’s called a tuxedo.” Danin served as a cultural advisor. “I’m told it’s very fashionable. With any luck, the Earth women will be swooning over you.”

I took a look at my reflection in the mirror. “I wouldn’t call it fashionable at all. I look weird.” I smiled to myself in the glass, testing to see how I looked. “I don’t want just any Earth woman. I have very particular tastes.”

I wanted one with the proper genetics and preferably someone who looked like the woman I kissed last night. My heart beat faster thinking about her. If I was honest with myself, I didn’t want someone who looked like that girl. I wanted her.

“You sound very romantic.”

“Romance has nothing to do with it. We have a duty to save our people. Don’t we?”

Danin gave a long-suffering sigh. “Of course we do, your highness.”

“Just call me Arnon, when we’re alone. You’ve known me since birth.”

“Of course, Arnon. But you must be careful to consider your happiness. I’m sure your father has other things on his mind right now.”

His disapproving look spoke volumes. Danin, ever the idealist, thought we could save ourselves without sacrificing personal fulfillment. My father didn’t agree.

“He’s doing the best he can. You know we’re in an impossible situation,” I whispered.

“The way we’re fixing it is wrong. Nothing you say about extinction or destruction is going to change it.”

I didn’t bother answering. Danin was using an old argument, and neither one of us was going to convince the other.

I brushed off my clothes. “Am I ready?”

“You look very dashing, sir.”

“Let’s get this party started then. I’ll transport from here. Can you pull up safe landing coordinates?”

“Certainly, your highness.”

“Transport.” I closed my eyes, only to open them again immediately when I heard a voice next to me.

“You!” The woman sounded like she knew me, but that was impossible. I didn’t have any friends on Earth.

Either Danin’s idea of safe coordinates differed significantly from mine, or the woman moved a moment before I materialized. It made me nervous to realize that I might have appeared inside her body, killing us both.

I finally looked at her face and felt my breath falter. It was the girl from last night.

She was blonde with long, slightly curly hair that she had pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. A riot of curls spilled out of it and fell around her face. She had almond-shaped eyes and a sweet face with a pointed chin. And she wore an elegant red dress that clung to her curvy body and was all kinds of sexy, with plump, scarlet lips matching the exact shade of the dress.

I hadn’t been close to a woman in years, and now I had been within touching distance of a beautiful one twice in the past twenty-four hours. I wasn’t a candidate for the experiments. They were considered beneath a crown prince. I ended up just like all the other men on our starships who were searching for compatible women. I practiced forced abstinence and took care of my needs by myself.

Our culture honored women with a reverence that bordered on religion. We weren’t supposed to use them to relieve sexual tension. A man didn’t fuck a woman who wasn’t his wife. It was taboo.

Let’s just say that I was intimately acquainted with my right hand, or my left sometimes, for variety. The scent and heat of a woman standing only a few inches away from me were making my head spin, and my cock stand at attention.

“I thought you were a dream.”

I swallowed and wondered what I should do. I hadn’t erased her memory from my mind. At the time, I didn’t want her to forget me, but I didn’t think I was going to see her again. Now she was standing directly in front of me.

I was an idiot.

There was no way for me to act on my attraction. It was simply impossible for me to be with this woman in any way, shape, or form. I was the crown prince, and custom required me to marry whoever my father told me to. I had no idea who this woman was or any knowledge of her genetic markers. I had a mission to save my planet.

I had to fix this, somehow. Maybe I could pretend nothing happened last night. I tilted my head, staring at her like I had never seen her before.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” My hands wanted to touch her body, but my voice sounded cold as I stepped away. “I don’t believe we’ve met. It’s my first time on Earth.”

She stared at me for a moment and then her eyes narrowed. “Say whatever you want.” Her eyes bored into me. “I know what I saw last night. I never forget a face.”

Maybe pretending nothing happened wasn’t going to work. I felt conflicted. On the one hand, I loved that she remembered the kiss. From the blush on her cheeks, I guessed she had enjoyed it as much as me. On the other hand, I wasn’t supposed to know her. I made sure to prevent my despair from showing on my face.

I decided to answer her using a distant tone and formal speech. “I’m not playing around, and I won’t be here for long. You won’t need to remember me.”

She searched my eyes for a moment longer as if looking for something. I kept my gaze frosty. She finally dismissed me.

“It’s a shame,” she said. “I would have liked to play with you.”

“That sounds completely inappropriate, Miss...”

“Lynch. Jayne Lynch. I assure you, what I had in mind would definitely be inappropriate.”

She grinned. The hint of a promise in her eyes made my heart skip a beat, though I didn’t show any sign of how she affected me. Before she left, she leaned to whisper one thing to me.

“Don’t worry.” Her breath felt hot in my ear, and I felt my cock harden more in spite of myself. “Your secret’s safe with me.” Jayne pulled back so she could look me in the eyes. I noted that they were a fascinating turquoise color. “You’re my angel.”

She stepped back, and I willed myself not to let my dismay show. She knew about my wings. Ayrie and I had made no attempt to conceal them because everyone always had their memory wiped. But I hadn’t followed the procedure last night. Now she had information about us. It was something that we were supposed to keep secret. It could stop the negotiations and spoil everything my family had worked for.

Her knowledge could ruin everything, and I had no idea what she was going to do with it.

JAYNE

He was real, and he was right in front of me.

“Excuse me.” There was no hint of recognition in the eyes of the handsome angel from my dreams. He pushed past me to leave the coatroom, just like a regular person.

I stood stunned for a moment, trying to put my thoughts together. Had I imagined everything? Maybe I hadn’t seen him in my bedroom last night. Maybe I hadn’t seen him just now.

I was pretty sure he was right in front of me both times, though.

He had recognized me first. I had seen it in his eyes. And there was a taste of the lust and longing from last night, too. I felt it when our eyes met for the first time.

Something else was there, too. It was a deep, haunting sadness.

Maybe I had imagined the last part. I put my hand to my lips, remembering the heat of his touch against me.

It was the same man from last night. Who was he? And more importantly, what had he been doing in my bedroom?

I was only in the coatroom because it was cold at dinner. Once I retrieved my shawl and ran into the guy from my dream, I went into the bathroom to fix myself before going back to the table with my family. As I approached, I saw that they were standing and following the President’s aide.

Mom spoke with me immediately. “There you are, Jaynie. The President has summoned us.” She pushed her hair back behind her ears a couple of times, which I knew was a nervous motion for her. I doubted anyone else noticed.

I couldn’t believe the President had asked to speak with us specifically. High-rollers packed the room. I guessed there were over a hundred famous and influential people here, all assembled to welcome the alien dignitaries. It was easy to feel special, but that would put me into the trap of overestimating my importance. The President didn’t need to talk to me or my father. My mother was the special person tonight. She was the one who had an infrastructure in place all over the world to help the aliens with their problem.

The scope of the situation hit me all of a sudden. How was my mom going to handle all this new business? She had good people working for her, but the proposal sounded like more than anything TerraMates had ever done before.

We followed the aide into a smaller, cozier area where there were couches and comfortable chairs. The President sat in an armchair at the focal point of the room. It was natural to ignore everyone else when she spoke. Her presence demanded attention.

“Welcome,” the President said. “Please sit down. Let me introduce you to His Royal Highness, Crindol Madellan — King of Auxem.”

I turned toward the older alien with gray in his hair and nodded my head. He didn’t smile at me, and his eyes seemed cold.

“These are his sons, the princes Ayrie, Anders, Avren, Allex, and the crown prince, Arnon.” The crown prince was facing away from me and speaking with someone else. He turned back as he was introduced and had a charming smile on his face. “Meet the Lynches.”

His smile only faltered for a moment, but I noticed it, especially since my heartbeat had kicked into high gear. I recognized the names. Arnon and Ayrie were the angels’ names from my dream. They were uncommon enough for me to remember them easily. I could recall everything about their nighttime visit with perfect clarity.

“Nice to meet you,” he said to the room in general, as everyone else murmured pleasantries.

So the dream man was the crown prince of Auxem? Then what had he been doing poking around my bedroom?

His gaze lingered on me for only a moment, but I recognized the plea in them. He thought I was going to say something about him being an angel. It seemed like they weren’t telling anyone about their wings and I wondered why. I gave my head a shake and saw his shoulders relax a fraction of an inch. I wasn’t going to tell anyone about his stupid secret. What difference did it make if they had wings or not?

Lots of descendants of the Great Race had adaptations, like Vandwans, who could breathe underwater, or the people from Biyaha, like my father, with their strangely colored genitals. All aliens were different from humans. Why was he worried about people finding out?

I followed my mother and sat down beside her on the couch. My father perched on the arm. Now that the introductions were over, we all waited for the President to explain what she wanted.

“Perhaps you should start, your majesty,” the President said, motioning to the King of Auxem.

“I am sorry to arrive here unannounced, but our planet is facing an extinction-level event.” Now that I was looking at him closely, his face was haggard and exhausted. He had been fighting a battle for a long time and was in danger of losing.

“We understand you’ve lost all your women, and we are sorry for your loss.” The President’s eyes were full of compassion.

The King nodded. “Unfortunately, that is not the worst news. Arnon, will you give us the latest update?”

Arnon started speaking. He sounded relaxed and confident. “Previously, our scientists determined that our men were not affected by the virus.”

“Has something changed?” The President sounded concerned.

“We were wrong. The fertility of all men, including the last generation born on our planet, has decreased by eighty percent.”

Mom spoke up. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“If we don’t start reproducing soon, we might never be able to again. Our species will die a slow death.”

Would the angels go extinct? I glanced over at Crown Prince Arnon. He looked at me steadily, no expression on his gorgeous face with those intense brown eyes.

I didn’t know what I could do, but I wasn’t going to let that happen.