Blood pounded in Kendra’s ears, and she thought she was going to faint as black dots danced in her vision. Faron had just rescued her, but she now faced an even greater challenge. His family had made it clear they considered her worthless. Their cold stares and cruel words dug into her and raised her old fears of worthlessness.

She continued to stare up at Faron and saw the turmoil on his face. She didn’t want to force him, but he had to choose. It was either her or this Tolong female.

Kendra blinked slowly, making sure to keep control of the tears in her eyes. She did not want to appear an emotional wreck in front of Faron’s family. They already considered her inferior, and if she caused a scene, it would make things worse.

“Faron, we are all waiting for your answer,” Siblis said.

“You have no reason to pause for thought,” Bartlek said. “You have been ruined in your time away from us. Emotions have tainted you.”

Kendra glared at him. She’d only known Bartlek a few minutes but already longed to slap that smug look off his face. What did he have to gloat about? He was cold, and his eyes were devoid of all emotion other than bitterness.

“Your incomplete form appeals to few on our planet. You must take this opportunity. There is no reason for you to reject it,” Bartlek said.

“Your brother is correct,” Rhodan said. “I do not understand your resistance. It reminds me of when you were young, and you had to be disciplined in order to see sense.”

Kendra swallowed slowly as she saw the indecision play across Faron’s face. She had a good idea of what that discipline had involved. The scars were evident all over Faron’s body.

His family was brutal and cruel, but she recognized Faron’s desire for acceptance. Kendra sensed the war inside him that told him to remain loyal despite everything they’d done. She knew how that felt, how far you let yourself get pushed and taken advantage of in the hope you’d be included and loved, rather than rejected.

“Perhaps I no longer wish to be with him.” Donik spoke for the first time.

“No! The agreement is made. You find the terms acceptable, and you have received your first payment,” Bartlek said swiftly. “You will be joined with my brother by the end of the month. Do not concern yourself with this human.”

Donik’s hard gaze shifted to Kendra. “I am not concerned about my challenger. She is no match for me.”

Kendra glared at her but knew she was right. Donik could crush her in a heartbeat. She was better than her. But Faron had to choose. He had to make the decision.

“This is ridiculous,” Rhodan said. “Dismiss the human and let’s move on.”

Kendra looked at Faron again. She silently willed him to choose her. It was a selfish decision. He would have to give up everything, but she needed him.

Faron shook his head. “I know what I want.”

“That is a relief. Let’s make this agreement final, and we can leave. I have had enough of this station,” Rhodan said.

Kendra flinched as Faron touched her hand. She knew what he would say. He’d chosen Donik. He’d chosen his family over her. Of course, it was the right thing to do. Family means everything to Tolongs. They were nothing if they didn’t have the right social connection.

She could survive this rejection. She was not in love. She would not miss Faron. She repeated the words in her head, willing herself to believe them.

She should have expected this, but it still felt as if someone had shoved a knife in her gut and given it a good, hard twist.

After everything they’d been through, Kendra thought she’d stood a small chance of a future with Faron. Who had she been kidding? She wasn’t even looking for love. She shouldn’t be, anyway. It messed you up. She’d made one mistake and lowered her guard to Faron and was about to be punched in the heart because of it.

It served her right. This was the lesson she needed. A reminder not to love. A reminder of what love did to you when you tried to find it.

Kendra shook her hand out of Faron’s grip and backed to the door. “It doesn’t matter. I barely know Faron. You are his family. He should be with you and his new mate.”

Faron’s eyes widened as she continued to back away. “Wait! I need to explain things to you.”

Kendra punched at the door access blindly until it slid open behind her. “There’s nothing to explain. I don’t know you. I don’t want to be with you. You have one option here. Remain with your family.” She turned and fled out of the room, the tears she’d been holding back finally overflowing.

“Wait! You don’t understand.”

She ignored Faron’s shouts to return as she ran away. She understood just fine. Although Faron appeared conflicted, there was only one outcome. He would join with his Tolong mate and leave with his family. Why would he do anything else? They weren’t a couple. They didn’t love each other.

Kendra had allowed herself to become embroiled in the nonsense of their dates, thinking something could come of it. The only outcome was the misery and heartbreak she now experienced.

She swiped the tears from her cheeks as her heartbreak was replaced with anger. She wasn’t to blame for this, but she knew who was. It was time for them to pay.

Kendra slowed to a fast walk, her hands bunching into fists as she arrived outside the office of My Single Alien. She stomped in to discover Sinead, Nell, and Ivy.

“We need to talk,” she spat at Ivy.

“It’s nice to see you’re alive. You sure got that Rolon riled up.”

Kendra grabbed the collar of Ivy’s jumpsuit and yanked her to her feet. “You have explaining to do.”

Ivy’s eyes narrowed. “Take your hands off me.”

She glanced at Sinead and Nell, who stared at them with wide eyes. “Not in here.” She dragged Ivy into Vegas’s empty office and slid the door shut behind them before pushing Ivy away. “You got me into this mess.”

Ivy straightened her jumpsuit and glared at her. “I’ll admit there was a small problem with your date, but as I can see for myself, you’re fine.”

Kendra sucked in a breath. “I am not fine.”

Ivy crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t see any problems. Sinead told me she got to you in time. And we have a new Rolon client.”

“I wouldn’t be involved in any of this if I hadn’t sat in on the speed dating. I’d never have met Faron, and if you hadn’t twisted my arm, I’d never have gone on more dates with him.”

“It was a few dates. Don’t tell me you’re in love. Nobody falls that fast. I—”

“Stop talking,” Kendra growled at her. “You know nothing about me.”

The smirk faded on Ivy’s face. “You’re into this Tolong?”

“That’s not important. You risked my safety to get publicity for My Single Alien. I should never have dated that Rolon when I was fertile.”

Ivy shrugged. “First, the speed dating was your idea. You didn’t have enough women on the night, so you had no choice but to sit in. Second, you could have ignored Faron and not kissed him. You aren’t blameless in this.”

Kendra scowled at her. “It wouldn’t have progressed if you hadn’t forced the issue. I wouldn’t have gotten to know Faron, and I wouldn’t have just confronted his family and heard how inferior I am.”

Ivy’s mouth opened, but she didn’t speak for several seconds. “You’ve already met the family? He moves fast.”

“He’s a Tolong. They do when it comes to finding a mate.”

“His family didn’t take to you?”

“No! They’ve found Faron somebody else.” Kendra’s chest felt tight as she recalled the conflict on Faron’s face when she’d asked him to choose. “They consider me less than ideal. So does he.”

Ivy tilted her head. “How do you feel about that?”

Kendra threw her hands up in exasperation. “Hacked off. It should never have come to this. I didn’t go on that speed date looking for anything, let alone a mate.”

“Hold up, Little Miss Innocent. You did encourage Faron on your dates. You have to admit you are into him.”

Kendra squeezed her eyes shut for a second. “I didn’t realize my feelings for Faron were real. I don’t want them to be. This is too hard.”

Ivy quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, my stars! You’ve fallen for your gorgeous alien.”

“No! I mean I don’t know. He’s rude and abrasive, and he’s told me repeatedly that I’m not right for him. He’s not right for me.”

“Yet, he keeps coming back. And you keep finding reasons that mean you are right together, or you could be if you both stopped messing around the edges of your feelings.”

“We aren’t meant to be. Faron’s about genetic compatibility and having dozens of kids to show off his social value. He cares nothing about feelings.” Kendra knew that wasn’t completely true, not anymore, but it was still important to him. Important enough for him to reject her.

“Maybe he didn’t before he met you.” Ivy settled a hip against the desk. “It’s a funny thing when a human couples with an alien. We do something to them. They change us, as well, but I think the pairings are successful because of the differences between us.”

Kendra let out a long, slow breath. “Like you and Karn?”

“Exactly like us. I’ve helped to curb his darker side.”

“And what’s he done to you?”

Ivy pursed her lips. “Perhaps he’s helped shave off a sharp edge or two.”

“You have sharp edges?” Kendra had never heard Ivy say a negative thing about herself. Ivy was all about super confidence. She envied her for that. But this was a new side to Ivy, a side she didn’t dislike.

Ivy lifted her chin. “Don’t let anybody else know I said that. It’s not a bad thing. Some differences complement others. It sounds like you’ve brought out new feelings in your guy. He’ll be having a hard time dealing with them. We all know how uptight some aliens can be. They spend years ignoring emotional lures, like hot, single women looking for everlasting love. They follow the sensible path, whether that’s what to eat for dinner or how many children to have. Faron will be feeling things he’s not felt since he was a kid. That will be screwing with his head.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” The fight faded from Kendra. “I’ve made his decision for him. I told him to choose his family and the mate they’d found for him.”

Ivy snorted softly. “I bet you feel amazing about that.”

Kendra could barely swallow; her throat felt so tight. “It feels like somebody’s ripped my heart out and burned it in front of me.”

Ivy whistled out air. “You’ve got it bad for this guy.”

She shrugged. “It felt good to be wanted.”

Ivy nodded. “Especially by somebody who understands you. Listen, I get it. You’re into each other. For all your differences, you want him. So, what are you going to do about that?”

Kendra didn’t want Faron. She needed him. She couldn’t imagine not seeing him around the station, striding about with that scowl on his face. She wanted to sit in his lap whenever she liked and let him feed her. She wanted to know there was a future where they had a family together. He’d be a great father. But she’d let it all go. She’d told him she didn’t want him. She was too late.

“For stars’ sake,” Ivy said. “Even I’m feeling sorry for you watching that conflict go on inside your head. Go tell Faron you’ve changed your mind.”

Kendra swiped a hand across her cheek. “The deal will be done by now. He’ll be joined with this other female.”

“Even Tolongs don’t move that fast.”

Kendra tilted her head as she stared at Ivy. “Why are you helping me?” Ivy always looked out for herself and her family first.

Ivy shrugged again. “Call it a sort of apology. I didn’t mean for things to go wrong with the Rolon. I should have checked to make sure you weren’t fertile, but the odds were in my favor, and Diadora wanted things to move quickly. Maybe I pushed you into one or two PR stunts to get the public salivating about our services.”

Kendra blinked in surprise. She’d never expected an actual apology from Ivy. “And that’s coming to an end now? No more dates. No more filming.”

Ivy sighed dramatically. “You’re killing me. The public loves you for some weird reason.”

“I’m done with it. I’ve been messed around too much. This ends now.”

Ivy huffed out a breath. “How about we do a pre-recorded interview with you and Faron so that everybody knows how the story ends?”

“You mean they want to see me with a broken heart and him with another woman? Nobody wants to see that ending.” Kendra definitely didn’t want to see that car crash aired for everyone to stare at and pity her.

“You’re such a loser. You have a real love story. You’re right in the middle of it. You’re the one who has to act to get the ending right. You get a chance to decide how your true love story will end. Will you get the hot, moody alien who is crazy about you, or will you let some misunderstandings end something that could be heart-stoppingly amazing? That’s what the public wants to see. That’s what I want to talk to you and Faron about, but only if you pull your finger out and go get your man.”

Kendra’s heart ached at the possibility of claiming Faron. Would he want her now? She’d rejected him in front of his family, and they were waiting to scoop him up and take him away from her and join him with this other woman.

She should move on and not risk the rejection. That was the right thing to do. Life with Faron would never be easy. Could she really live with someone so stubborn? Someone who fought with his emotions and always tried to find reason when sometimes there was none to be found?

Kendra bit her lip. She didn’t want easy. She needed someone who was loyal and honest in her life. Someone who would always be there for her, standing by her side but also challenging her when old fears took over and made her shrink from her potential.

“So, what’s it going to be, loser?” Ivy asked. “Will you let yourself have a broken heart and play the victim, or will you grab love by the throat and hang on for the best ride of your life?”