Alan

 

The look on King Mallik’s face, the look in his eye as he glared at me, well it didn’t take a genius to know that her father didn’t approve of the two of us talking. I heard the undercurrent of worry in Kattlyn’s voice when she asked me to wait and I didn’t like it. Not one little bit.

Everything was so confusing, but after talking to Takkeo, after feeling this uneasiness when she wasn’t around, I decided to find out if there was any truth to it.

As soon as I found her, the uneasy feeling disappeared. The universe had a funny sense of humor. How would I take care of the two of us?

When I spotted Kattlyn coming, I pushed off the wall and stood at full height. The frustrated look marred her beautiful face. She barely slowed as she grabbed my wrist, and I let her lead me outside. But only for so far.

It took every ounce of restraint not to ravish her beautiful body in the forest, giving it the attention she so rightly deserved. The pull toward her strengthened with every meeting, every casual touch. I knew one day I would be unable to hold back.

I nearly lost my mind when she kissed me, even with the little nicks and cuts from her teeth. Oddly enough, my tongue never got sore. My dick strained painfully against my trousers, wanting to take her in every way. I didn’t understand the true mate pull, but I couldn’t deny it either. Not when it left me mindless when she was around.

Hearing that her father had someone picked out for her to mate was almost enough to make me panic. There was no way in hell I’d stand by and watch her mate someone else, but that left me with another bundle of worries. I couldn’t mate Kattlyn, not the Azziarin way. There had to be something we could do.

When the silence grew, she must have decided that I didn’t want to talk about her father’s plans because she changed the subject.

“Tell me about Earth. What did you do there? You said law enforcement, but I’m not sure what that means.”

“There’s not a lot to tell.”

“Not fair! I told you about me.”

“It all seems so unimportant now, but if you insist.” I shrugged. If she wanted to know, I’d tell her. “I worked as an undercover police officer.”

“Police . . .” She scrunched her nose. It was a cute and innocent look that I loved to see on her face.

“I caught bad guys.”

When Kattlyn’s face lit up, I swelled with pride. “An enforcer.”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I concentrated on my job. On Sundays, if I was off duty, I would visit my parents and have lunch with them.” When Kattlyn furrowed her brow, I clarified. “Second meal.”

“Ahh . . .” She smiled.

“Most days were mundane and then one day it all went to hell. I raced to Mom and Dad’s house, but it had already been destroyed. When I spotted their car sitting in the drive, I knew they were dead. I hurried over to Krista’s apartment. She was shell-shocked, watching the destruction from her living room window. I practically had to carry her to the car.”

“The Tureis invasion?”

“Yeah.”

“Our worlds are so different, but so much alike.” She reached over and caressed my hand. “I’m sorry about your mother and father, but I am glad you are here.”

And so was I, but now I had to figure out how to hurdle the next set of problems. Finding a way to make a living. A place to live. Getting her father to accept the two of us. It almost seemed impossible.

Kattlyn touched my cheek. “Hey, where did you go?”

My eyes slid back to hers and I smiled. She was so beautiful. “Nowhere.”

She looked unbelieving but changed the subject. “Shall I show you around now?”

“I think I would like that.” I pushed up from the ground and dusted off the back of my trousers then extended my hand to help her up. This time I was ready for the swell of emotions her touch always elicited.

“Lead the way.”

We walked at a slow pace, our shoulders sometimes bumping together. The pull toward Kattlyn intensified with every step. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to take it slow anymore. Needing to touch her, I held out my hand. My heart fluttered when she grinned and then slipped her hand into mine.

After taking in the beauty of Azziar, with its lavender-colored lakes and odd-colored foliage, I asked the one question that kept bugging me. “How do people earn money here?”

Kattlyn scrunched her nose again. Adorable. “Money?”

“How do you make a living?”

“Earn credits?”

I shrugged. Credits, money, I just needed to know how to support myself.

“We have replicators that can make almost anything we need, plenty of trees to build dwellings, fish in the ocean, animals to hunt.”

“But surely that costs credits.”

“Not really, no. Most people are willing to help.”

“Then why have a market?”

“People enjoy the market. It is useful if you wish to purchase things such as a hover vehicle. Others sell items at the market if they wish to accumulate credits for a trip off planet.”

I stopped mid-step. “Like a vacation on another planet?”

“Well, yes. You need credits for that.”

“That sounds amazing. I never thought I’d see the day where you vacation on another planet.”

Her smile faded. “For some, I suppose.”

“What do you mean?” We started walking again.

“I am the princess of Azziar. After the attack by the Tureis, I have never been allowed off planet.”

“They worry about you.” It wasn’t a question. I understood all too well.

“It makes me angry that my family treats me like I’m breakable. Two sets of rules, one for me and one for my brothers.”

I smirked on the inside. Things were not so different here. Krista used to get angry all the time thinking that our parents treated the two of us differently. Growing up, I had a later curfew and always got to do more. They protected Krista from the bad boys.

“What would you like to do?”

“Honestly?”

“Yes. What do you want?”

Her mouth spread wide, her face lit with happiness. “No one has ever asked me that before. They always told me what to do.”

“I’m asking.”

“I don’t know. I like it when I visit my brother.”

I smiled; she had five. “Which one?”

“Risshi. I’ll have to introduce you.”

“Okay.” But I wasn’t in a hurry. Most of her brothers had a domineeringly arrogant attitude. All but Takkeo and Kollin. And I suspected Kollin treated me differently because of Krista.

Faint talking, the murmurs of many voices, could be heard in the distance. When we stepped into a clearing, I looked down the hill at stalls and people milling around.

“It is crowded today.” Kattlyn grinned. Obviously, she enjoyed the market. “Let’s go.” She tugged on my hand as we headed down the small slope.

People wandered from stall to stall, some dressed in plain long dresses, some wearing the traditional black uniform.

I glanced around, taking in what was for sale. Everything looked unique, creative. Gems of every color, bolts of brightly colored cloth, food items, trinkets. At least they looked like trinkets.

As we neared one stall, I zeroed in on a crystal that sparkled like a diamond. Silver metals, precious and shiny. Kattlyn tugged me over to a stall that sold food.

“I just love the sabitians. They taste amazing.” She picked up the green oblong fruit and sniffed.

“Are you getting some?”

“Of course.” She bit into the green fleshy fruit. Juice traced her lips and started a slow drizzle down her chin. Without thinking, I reached up and wiped it away with my thumb.

Her smile faded, her eyes darkened with desire. My dick grew hard. Locked in a lust-filled haze, I nearly lost myself.

“Kattlyn?” a deep male voice rumbled behind us.

Reluctantly, I tore my gaze from hers and locked on to a tall Azziarin male heading our way. He was muscled, but not as much as her brothers. Angry eyes momentarily locked with mine.

“Kattlyn, what are you doing here?”

“Jussin. I was just showing Alan around.” I watched with confusion as Kattlyn forced a smile.

“You should not be here.” His voice was authoritative as he stood with his arms folded across his chest.

Kattlyn’s shoulders and neck stiffened at his tone, but she never offered a rebuttal. Who was he to her?

The encounter was strained, awkward. Feeling like an outsider, I stood quietly as I glanced at the others at the market. Some looked on with interest, others ignored the scene.

“Oh my God!” I spun around when I heard the squeal behind us. A redheaded woman came bounding up, stopping right in front of me. “Oh my God!” she repeated, throwing her arms around my neck and almost jumping up and down. “I never thought I’d see a man again!”

My eyes shot to Kattlyn, who was staring rigidly at this new woman. Her hands were balled into fists, while Jussin stood with an amused smirk on his smug face.

Carefully, I untangled the woman’s arms from around my neck.

“I’m Susan,” she gushed. “When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here a couple of days.”

I heard Jussin talk to Kattlyn in low tones, but I couldn’t understand what he said for Susan’s relentless chatter.

“We need to get together.” She grinned. Leaning in close, she whispered, “Most of these men don’t believe in monogamous relationships. Can you believe that? And it’s one sided. They can screw around but I can’t. What the hell’s up with that?” She threw her arms in the air. “Anyways, I’m staying with my friend, Mandy, right now. Where are you staying?”

“With my sister.”

“Your sister’s here too? Awesome!” Susan glanced around, obviously looking for something or someone. “I have to go, but really, we should get together.” She smiled. “I’ll come find you.”

What? Did she think we would hook up because we were both human? What a ludicrous idea.

“Ah, okay,” I finally said when the silence grew awkward.

“Great. I can show you around.”

“I am showing him around,” Kattlyn interjected with a steely note in her voice.

“Kattlyn . . .” Jussin warned.

What the hell was going on? I watched them all as I stood silent with my arms crossed, surrounded by the three of them. An odd uncomfortable feeling took hold of me when Kattlyn shifted from foot to foot.

She eventually smiled at me. “Ready to go?”

One silent nod later, and the two of us walked away. My neck burned with the weight of the other two staring after us. When we were far enough away, I tilted my head slightly in Kattlyn’s direction and asked, “What was that about?”

“Nothing.”

“Kattlyn . . .”

“That was the one my father has picked for me.”

That made more sense and anger burned inside me. Had I’d known I would have . . . What? What could I do? I gritted my teeth as we headed back to the castle. What a fucked-up situation I was in.