"We have successfully entered the wormhole, Harbinger," the bridge reported.

"Any complications?" Zar asked.

"No, sir."

Zar shut the comm link, looking around in the room. The joy of being with Ashley had temporarily blinded him to the mood of the ship. He didn't need to ask whether by that point every warrior aboard the Foront knew about his decision to let the Terran females go.

Soon or later, the harbinger knew he had to deal with the issue. It still didn't concern him as much as Zar considered it a distraction from what was truly important.

He'd finally found her, he'd found his fated mate. Ashley hadn't come back from the shower, but the bedroom still carried her presence. Zar grinned, thinking of how soon he would make the little Terran his for real.

Her desire was obvious to her, but he'd chosen not to push it. The reasons for that escaped him. When Ashley had been so close to cumming that her pussy was practically begging for his cock, Zar had known he could push it. If he'd asked her per their deal whether she wanted him to fuck her, she would have said yes, he was sure of that.

Why hadn't he, then?

Footsteps alerted him to Ashley's return. He turned, stopping dead in his tracks when his eyes fell upon her.

His fated looked positively stunning. Dressed in a light, almost transparent dark green dress – his colors, of course – that perfectly matched her chestnut brown hair and sparkling eyes. The generous cleavage of the dress gave him a nice view of her perfect, soft breasts. Zar ached to touch them again, pull them back into his mouth and hear the sounds Ashley made when she was in pleasure.

The fire in her eyes said that she wasn't so hot on him anymore.

"Is something wrong?" Zar asked, feigning blissful ignorance.

"When you said you'd find me clothes, I imagined it would be something a normal human being wore," Ashley said, looking at him sharply. "This is a... glorified bikini sewn together by a spider web. Even I could rip it! How could anyone wear this thing without tearing it?"

Seeing the look on his face, Ashley frowned even more and rolled her eyes.

"Of course," she said. "Silly me. It's meant to be ripped, isn't it?"

"That can be arranged," Zar allowed.

"Pass. I'm not wearing this. Find me something to wear that isn't going to fall apart when I sit down."

"I might," the harbinger said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Luminos isn't a warm world. You will certainly need a wardrobe fitting your station and I don't plan on sending you out dressed like that. Your body belongs to me and I don't want other warriors seeing what's mine.

"Until then, I'm not forcing you to wear it. You can go naked if you want."

Ashley stared him down, but Zar wasn't going to budge that easily, fated mate or not. The female was fierce and tough, he had to admit that. It didn't save her from the inevitable.

"This is what I expect you to wear when we're at home on Luminos," he gestured, "or here aboard the Foront. You should get used to that."

"I hope you have a lot of patience, because that's not going to happen," Ashley said, covering her breasts from him.

"That's what all of you say," Zar noted.

There was a curious light in Ashley's eyes then. She looked at him with genuine interest for a second.

"All fated mates or previous fateds of yours?" she asked.

Jealous?

He didn't say it out loud. Zar guessed he'd pushed the female to the breaking point in that day already. He would much rather have her be happy, especially since he didn't believe her resistance to him would last, not even for a second.

"All mates," Zar said, gesturing for her to follow. "I have not been bonded before."

There, he was certain he saw relief in Ashley's gorgeous stormy eyes. The female followed him quietly, still trying to cover her amazing body from his gaze. He allowed it, knowing he would have it all sooner or later.

Zar led her to his resting room. Ashley almost gasped when her bare feet touched the lush carpet on the floor. He took note of that. Perhaps she really was cold. He'd turned the heat off when he no longer needed it to tease her out of her heavy coat.

"What is this thing made of?" Ashley asked, crouching down to brush her hand against the carpet. "It feels like I'm walking on soft sand, but it looks more like grass."

"It's the hide of the Fermanoli," Zar said, taking a seat behind a table laden with food and cold drinks. "They are beasts that dwell in the darkest reaches of Luminos. Very dangerous, very hard to find, but incredibly valuable. The fur of the Fermanoli keeps us warm during the long night."

Ashley stood, looking at the cover suspiciously.

"Did you – did you kill this one?" she asked, glancing at him before taking the seat opposite of him.

"Of course," Zar said. "I wouldn't show another man's trophies in my quarters. I have its horns and fangs in my trophy room. And a scar on my right thigh to remind me of him."

"I take it that this Fermanoli didn't want to be a carpet, then," Ashley said, smiling just a little.

Zar laughed, nodding.

"He didn't," he admitted, gesturing to the table. "I had these brought to you. After the night you've had, you must be hungry. I don't plan on starving you."

Ashley looked around. He could practically see her gulp, taking in the treats that had been laid out for her.

"Okay," she said, seeming to come to a decision. "I won't starve myself either then."

She reached for the food and Zar watched her eat in silence, simply admiring his new fated.

There was no way to describe how being in the same room as her felt. For all the trouble she'd already caused him – and he didn't doubt there would be more – Zar wouldn't have exchanged her for anyone. In a way, he admired her spirit and drive, the relentless need she felt to resist him. Every step of the way, she'd fought him, only giving in when he'd made it clear he wasn't going to suffer that anymore.

She was the perfect match for him, whether she liked it or not.

"You said "the long night"," Ashley remarked. "What did you mean by that?"

Zar considered. Nayanors weren't in the habit of relaying information about their home world, but they were already in the wormhole. There was nowhere for Ashley to run anymore and she had to know that as well as he did. Besides, once they got back home, she would see for herself anyway. There was no harm in preparing her.

"Luminos is a rough planet," Zar said, pouring himself strong wine, offering a chalice to Ashley too. "Careful. It packs a punch for Terrans the first time, I'm told."

She gave him a hard look, took a sip and coughed so hard the dress really did seem close to tearing. Zar waited until she could breathe in and out again.

"Gods," Ashley whispered. "This tastes like someone dipped pepper in honey and then decided it was too much and washed off the honey. Is this what you drink?"

"You'll get used to it," Zar said. "It helps. As I said, Luminos isn't kind to life. Any life, not even Nayanors, much less those who aren't born there."

"How kind of you to subject us to that then," Ashley cut in before stopping herself.

Zar ignored that, going on.

"Most of the year, Luminos is tolerable. As with any world, there are places where you can live very comfortably. There are warm valleys and stormy islands, everything you can think of. Then, for a month every year, the long night comes. The whole planet is swept up in a storm that covers the sky and hides the sun from us. Half of Luminos is uninhabitable during that time. People flee to strongholds and underground, but nowhere is safe.

"Every year, there is a chance that the storm will truly wipe us off the face of the planet. That is why there are always ships roaming the galaxy, to make sure that Nayanors aren't lost to history if that should ever happen."

Ashley was listening carefully, her eyes full of wonder.

"Can't the people flee from the storm to space, then?" she said. "I've seen this ship. It's not a Palian hive carrier, but it's far beyond anything Terra has."

"Some do," Zar agreed. "The powerful, the wealthy. But that's only a fraction. How do you transport the population of an entire world off the planet and keep them alive for a month?"

Ashley nodded. She was taking small bites of her food when she looked up sharply and asked:

"That is why you raid? People die during the storm and you need to replenish the population."

"Yes."

She looked positively furious, shaking her pretty little head.

"That is a terrible answer to the problem!" she exclaimed. "My earlier argument stays, by the way. Women would come to you if you asked them, even with the long night. Why don't you build huge stations instead of raid ships to help people who are already on your world? You could even ask the Union for help! Palians would figure something out..."

Zar raised a hand.

"That's enough," he said roughly and Ashley recoiled at once. "I told you, it's not that simple. The raiding began out of necessity when there were no more daughters born on Luminos and our numbers dropped. Now it's something more. It's a warrior's way and a tradition of my people. We do not need the help of others. Why would we, when we can take everything we need?"

Ashley opened and closed her mouth, searching for words.

"That's a horrible excuse," she just said at last, her voice sad.

"It's life," Zar stated, standing. "You will soon learn to accept some harsh truths. And we'll see how you fare with the first long night. It shouldn't be long now. After seeing one, you will beg me to let us live on the Foront all year long."

"You imagine I'll do a lot of begging," Ashley said, looking him straight in the eye. "You'll be sorely disappointed."

"We'll see," Zar said, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Another question for you. No lies, remember?"

"I remember, damn you," Ashley answered.

"Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?"