The dark skies overhead felt heavy with rain, and the clouds nearly hid the skystalk from view. It was there, though. A tower that climbed all the way to orbit, carrying trade to and from the stars. The solid core of my clan's wealth, and the source of all my problems.

No, that wasn't fair. The real problem was behind me, the flooded bay where the seawall had given way and in one terrible night cost us most of my clan's farmland. If it wasn't for that disaster, Clan Rohar would still have been one of the most powerful clans on the planet. Now we were rich but also vulnerable.

I stood on the wall of the Rohar palace looking up at the gathering storm, then down at the hologram message in my hand. Another proposal. I growled at it, resisting the temptation to throw my comm unit into the sea. At least the limitations of our atmosphere meant that they couldn't see me respond — the message had been delivered by courier, and my reply would travel the same way.

Sometimes I envied the species who lived on planets where messages could zip around the world in moments. Not this time.

"Protector Corvax of Clan Rohar," the message began to play again as I looked at it. "I have the honor of presenting my daughter, Callista, to be your mate."

The archaic formality of Clan Alzer's message hid their predatory designs. It wasn't that I had anything against Callista herself. She was probably a nice enough girl, but her clan's reason for wanting our match was anything but innocent. Just like all the other clans, they wanted the connection our mating would give them to gain control of the skystalk.

In the holographic message, the ruler of Clan Alzer droned on while his daughter smiled at me. I tuned out his words and looked at her, wondering if she knew what her father was willing to do to her life. Oh, if I accepted the proposal I'd treat her honorably, of course, and with Clan Rohar's wealth she wouldn't lack for anything — but the other clans would hate her for taking the place at my side.

I didn't know the girl, but she didn't look as though she were prepared for a life like that. No one could be. And that's why I can't accept her, or any of the others. I gestured at the comm and the hologram vanished.

No. I was better off alone, and the females were better off without me.

"Corvax Rohar," a loud, familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. With a snarl I turned back to face my elders. The clan council looked at me and I could feel the disappointment in their expressions.

The Eldest spoke again, his voice quavering slightly. "Corvax, you know why we're here. You've been avoiding this conversation for months now, and it cannot go on."

He was right, of course. I knew this day would come, but I'd never felt the need to hurry it along. That the clan elders felt differently was no great surprise. They wanted to see me mated before they passed on.

"I have told you, Eldest, I can find no one suitable." I might not have looked as hard as they liked, but it was still true. "I am our clan's Protector, and when I take a mate it will be someone who brings honor to the Rohar."

He sighed and shook his head, leaning against the parapet beside me. The rest of the council waited a respectful distance away, close enough to lend him their numbers but not so close that they intruded on the conversation.

"Corvax, you know that this must be," the Eldest said quietly. "We need new blood in the clan, and we will grow weak if you do not bring it in."

"But there is no one!" I looked out to sea again, eyes settling on the furthest point of the horizon where I could barely make out the spires of the Temmar clan's island home. "No one who isn't looking for the prestige and wealth of our clan, rather than a match of love."

I bared my teeth at that thought. The predators had been circling our clan for years, ever since the collapse of our farms. Every one of them trying to pin me into a mating that would give them access to our power. It felt like every social interaction was a minefield, and one I was ill-prepared to deal with. Even worse, the clans that hunted me weren't above frightening off their competition. Any female I found a genuine connection with would find her clan had made very dangerous enemies.

The Elders looked at me, and I could see that they weren't sympathetic. Of course they wanted what was best for the clan, that was the point of having a council to guide the Protector. That didn't mean that they didn't see the difficulty I was in. It made me wonder what brought them out here to address me.

"Eldest," I said, looking their spokesman in the eye and speaking firmly. "I know that you haven't come out here just to have this argument again. What is it? Have the Perhar been back in touch?"

Clan Perhar were our closest rivals, and the most dangerous. Their large, fertile island provided much of the food that we needed so badly now, and that gave them power over us — power they only wanted to consolidate. I'd rather be mated to a sea serpent than to Alishan Perhar, but her brother the Protector was insistent. Far too insistent.

The Eldest chuckled, looking out to sea in the direction of the Perhar's island. It lay over the horizon but it was always there, a brooding presence in every conversation. "Of course they have, Corvax, but that's not why I'm here. Ashir Perhar is not a man to trust, and his sister even less so. If you and she were mated they would absorb our clan, and not one of us wants that."

I sighed with relief. Though the Elders couldn't push me into a match I didn't want, it was still good to know they didn't intend to try. "What then?"

"There is only one way to end the intrigue around you, Protector," he said, tapping his claws on the stone wall idly. "The Perhar, the Alzer, all the other clans will keep pestering you, keep trying to force you to accept one of them. You must choose a mate, or the intrigue will never die."

"Then let them plot and scheme," I snarled. Of course, it wasn't that simple. As long as the other clans thought they could get my alliance they would push and push. That meant that the bargains I needed to make to rebuild the island would be challenging.

That didn't change my mind, though.

"I know you have good reason for your reluctance, Corvax. That's why we have taken this step for you," the Eldest said, smiling. I felt my whole body tense, wondering what he could be up to. "The clan elders have put together an advert for you on the Celestial Mates agency."

For a moment I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had expected another attempt to reconcile me to one political match or another. Any of them would weaken our clan, perhaps fatally: we might be wealthy but we were few in number. But the Elders had found another solution, and to my surprise they'd managed to make things even worse.

"You cannot be serious," I said, outrage making my voice rise. "You're setting me up with an offworlder I've never even met? Do you even know what species she is?"

The Eldest's eyes sparkled with humor, which did nothing to calm my anger. My lips drew back from my fangs and I growled a challenge, leaning towards him. He held his ground and smiled, knowing that he was safe. We both knew that I wasn't about to attack one of my clan elders.

Still, he was careful not to show his own fangs — provoking a warrior too much would always be dangerous, no matter how much he trusted me.

After a moment I got control of myself and sat back. "You'll just have to cancel the contract," I told him. "I will not be matched with some stranger from another world, someone who knows nothing of our ways."

"Not possible," the Eldest said without a hint of apology. "Do you think I'd have told you about this before I had to? She's arriving tomorrow."

"What?!" I stared at him, too shocked to be angry right away. It took seconds before I felt my rage rising, my blood heating. It must have shown on my face, and this time he couldn't keep his laughter in.

I waited for him to run down, feeling my claws slide in and out. It would be dishonorable to tear his throat out, I reminded myself firmly. No matter how hard he laughs at my expense.

"You and the other Elders arranged for someone to come here to be my mate," I said, trying to make sure I understood the situation. "You sent for her across the stars, and let her travel the boundless lightyears of space, and only when she's about to arrive do you tell me? What would have happened if I'd found someone in the meantime?"

"Oh, Corvax, we knew perfectly well that wasn't going to happen," the Eldest answered. "You've made it quite clear that you don't intend to entertain any of the offers of our neighbors. That's why we had to turn to the Celestial Mates agency for help in the first place."

I threw up my hands and turned away, looking out to sea. The rain was starting, a gray curtain pounding the ocean and hiding the sun. It felt appropriate.

"Fine," I said. "You know I can't leave a stranger stranded at the spaceport, it's too dangerous. I'll go up and meet her, make sure she's safe. After you dragged her from her homeworld, I have to show her that someone in our clan is interested in her wellbeing."

The Eldest smiled and drew a breath to speak. I held up my hand to stop him. "And then I'm putting her straight back on the first ship to wherever she came from. My life isn't something for you and the rest of the Elders to play with."

My voice rose as I spoke, and with the rain falling around me I turned and stalked away fuming. Behind me, I heard the Elders chuckle to each other. Let them think what they want, I'm not going to mate with a stranger from another world.