Loka’s insides felt both hot and cold as he walked away from the tiny, intriguing human female. Ever since their first encounter, his compulsion to leave her mating gifts of coal had grown.

He remembered the first time he’d left a piece of coal outside her quarters. He’d debated if it was the right thing to do. He wasn’t looking for a mate. He was immersed in a spatial mapping project of the Milky Way that took up all his time. He barely had a moment to eat. When he slept, it was short and sporadic, his thoughts tangled with the project. Mapping a galaxy was taxing, and this system had a number of curious anomalies and quirks that had him stumped. In addition, he was cultivating a number of bacteria discovered on rock deposits. It was his own personal project, but one he happily dedicated time to.

Still, Heather’s face kept intruding on his thoughts. He enjoyed the way her cheeks flushed whenever she saw him. She had a curious spattering of dots over her nose, and her lips were always slightly curved as if she was on the verge of laughter.

His instinct had taken over, and he’d discovered himself heading to her room to leave her a mating gift.

Loka knew it was a primal thing, the basic part of his brain overriding his logic. He’d taken the coal three times before returning and retrieving it. Finally, he’d given in and left the piece of coal outside her door, uncertain what she would think of such a gift or even if she would know what it meant.

The joy he’d felt the next morning when he’d seen the coal gone had been disproportionate. He shouldn’t care whether this female took his coal. He was not seeking a mate. He was too busy to think of mating and offspring and uniting with his life partner.

Still, he found himself, again and again, taking small pieces of coal, being increasingly brazen each time he left his gifts, secretly hoping she would discover him and a formal mating could begin.

On this occasion, Heather had almost caught him placing the coal outside her place of work. She spent a lot of time there with other females, helping aliens find their breeding mates. He needed to leave her gifts there to show he identified the important areas of her life. Work was obviously a big part of this female’s life, and he had to respect and honor that.

Loka had briefly thought about signing up for My Single Alien when he’d been assigned a posting on the station. It would be a joy and a privilege to have his own female to breed with.

Picars had not had such devastation on their home planet as many had during the intense phase of the intergalactic war, but there had been losses. Fertile females tended to focus on breeding with warriors and nobility.

Picars could easily breed with human females, so the service had been welcomed when licensed by the Council of Representatives. Loka had met several babies from successful pairings through the agency.

He smiled to himself as he strode along the station’s curved corridor. A baby with Heather would be a beautiful one. He could imagine the baby would have her enormous blue eyes and his height.

He stroked a finger absently on a horn. Would the baby have horns? Most hybrid infants took the dominant races genes, and that was never human. Picar babies arrived with tiny nubs on their foreheads, so as not to harm their mother when they were born. The horns grew as they matured.

Loka shook the thought from his head. He was not here to breed. He was here to work with his colleague, Hoan. The Prodigy space station was an ideal central location to do just that. Right next to the wormhole, it was a safe and stable place to conduct their work. The fact it came with the added bonus of the alluring Heather was an attraction, but one he could not let distract him from his true purpose.

He reached his quarters, stepped into the dark room, and let the door slide shut behind him. He leaned his head briefly against the wall, his horns sticking into the surface. This had to stop. He was being side-tracked, and that was a bad thing.

His door alert pinged. Loka slid a hand over the access panel, not certain he wanted company.

Hoan stood on the other side. “Greetings, brother.”

Loka did not move his head. “And to you.”

“You have had a productive evening?”

Loka gestured for Hoan to enter. “Lights on.” The room brightened. “Not all that productive. There was an error in the quantum gauge anomaly we have been mapping.”

“You should see the symbiotic coupling I achieved today.” Hoan rubbed his hands together.

“I’m happy to hear your work was a success. At least one of us had a good day.”

“There’s more to do,” Hoan said. “I can help you with the gauge anomaly in a few days.” He walked to Loka’s desk. Sitting along the back were a dozen pieces of coal Loka had selected from his personal collection.

On the Picar home planet, coal was highly desirable. Pieces went for considerable sums, and females often flaunted their coal gifts to others, displaying the largest and best pieces for others to admire, demonstrating the love and commitment their mate had for them.

Hoan lifted a piece of coal. “This is quite a collection. They are for your future mate?”

Loka strode over and plucked the coal from his fingers. “Something like that. I discovered these myself.” Pride laced his words. He didn’t buy his coal from dealers. He liked to find it. He would happily explore and dig for weeks on his own, excavating lumps of coal. It made it feel more personal when you discovered it for yourself.

Hoan nodded. He selected another piece and turned it over. “Mate gifts are something that occupies us all.”

Surprised by the protectiveness he felt for this coal, Loka snatched the piece away and set it back on the desk.

Hoan did not seem to notice. “My own mating urge calls to me at times.”

Loka’s brows rose. “You seek a female?”

Hoan pointed at his groin and smiled. “Not consciously. There is a part of me that yearns for one. I awoke the other night covered in my own excretions after a particularly vivid dream involving two female humans. I have not done that since my youth.”

Loka pressed his lips together. He’d had similar dreams, always involving Heather. “You have not thought to relieve yourself? There are available females on the space station. The Enchanted Captain is the place to go if you need some... light relief.”

“We could do that together.” Hoan nodded. “You can be my wing man. I think they call it that.”

“I’m not interested.”

Hoan’s lips tugged down. “Why do you have this collection of mate gifts if you are not thinking of a female in your future?”

“I mean, I’m not thinking about obtaining relief. I do not want a casual female encounter.”

Hoan grinned. “You are thinking of finding a life mate. Do you have someone in mind? Another Picar? I hear many are joining with those of military rank only these days.”

“I have not found a Picar I would like as my life mate.” Loka focused on the coal.

“Then who? I know you have been giving your coal away. Your collection was twice this size when we arrived on Prodigy. I helped you carry it in.”

Hoan was too observant for his own good. It meant he was an excellent scientist but had no filter when it came to more personal matters.

“Nobody you know. She’s not even aware of my interest. As it should be. We are not here to mate.”

“Is it a human?”

Loka looked up swiftly. “What makes you say that?”

“There are a lot of Earthlings on the station. Statistically speaking, it is more likely to be a human than any other alien.”

Loka spent a moment rearranging the pieces of coal. “There is an attraction to someone. Now is not the right time to gather a life mate to my side. We have to complete our mapping program.”

“I understand. A life mate is a bonus but also a distraction. They need certain attentions paid to them.” Hoan pointed to his groin again.

“I do not have time to offer them my personal attention. I need my energies to complete our work.”

“You will need an understanding female,” Hoan said, “someone who has her own project. If she is occupied with her work, she will not mind you dealing with our matters.”

Loka nodded. That was something he did admire about Heather; she was always occupied. She clearly enjoyed the work she did at My Single Alien. When she was happy, she had a delightful laugh that carried out of the office and along the corridor. He’d been drawn to it on numerous occasions. He hoped one day she would laugh for him.

Hoan clicked his horns against Loka’s. “Our time will come, brother. When our work is complete, we will have access to our life mates. We can focus on that. Focus on growing our families.”

“Not until the war is over.” Loka returned the click of horns—it was a gesture of friendship and agreement. “I would not want a life mate drawn into such danger. Nor would I want my children to be put at risk.”

“Then you will need to set up a home away from our planet. Did you hear the latest reports? Two central cities took hits.”

A growl rumbled in Loka’s chest. “I have not heard that. Were the casualties bad?”

“Several thousand. A retaliation is being planned.”

“Do they require our services? Have they found a solution to the instability in the plasma fields?” These were crucial defense shields to protect the home planet from incoming attacks.

“Your genius is not required.” Hoan smiled. “They are making progress.”

“Until they fix that issue, our planet remains vulnerable.” Loka’s thoughts returned to his work on the mapping project. Should he be here when his planet was at war? Was he being selfish with his career choice?

“Our work here is what’s important.” It was as if Hoan could read his thoughts. “We map this galaxy and we might be rewarded with our own piece of space and, you never know, a few agreeable females.”

“I only want one.”

Hoan barked a laugh. “I agree. One would be plenty. But before that, let’s eat.” He walked to Loka’s food replicator. “Two Picar pies.”

“Make mine extra spicy.”

The replicator buzzed and whirred. Nothing came out.

Hoan tapped a knuckle against the replicator. “Is this malfunctioning?”

“It worked fine this morning.” Loka strode over. He peered at the replicator. “Try again. Replicator, two Picar pies.”

The replicator whirred again before a dollop of brown sludge slid out.

“That is not Picar pie,” Hoan said. “It is, well, not edible.”

Loka rubbed a horn. “Let’s go to the cafe. The food there is acceptable.”

“Agreed. Make sure to get your replicator fixed. Brown sludge for breakfast will not be enjoyable.”

“I’ll look at it when I have time,” Loka said. That was his problem. He had no spare time. He needed to complete the mapping project, find himself a stable place to call home, and ensure he had enough resources before he courted his life mate. He needed to stop giving Heather coal. It was only offering her something he couldn’t commit to.

Somehow, Loka didn’t think he’d be able to do that. Heather Roberts had something about her that made his horns ache.