Chapter 15

Rosemary:

"Do you think you can keep my boy away from me?"

Rosemary turned off the message. She didn't need to hear the rest of it. Vince's demands grew louder. The language had grown from vague threats to legal jargon.

Sugar.

She drummed her fingers on the kitchen table. Time to put on her big girl pants and deal with her problems like an adult.

Rosemary searched for a lawyer, someone who specialized in family law. Interplanetary family law. With a few cold calls, she had an appointment set up in a week at a law office that didn't tell her to get an Earth-based lawyer.

With Michael spending the night at a friend's house, she had the evening to herself and planned to indulge in some mommy-pampering time. She made some mac and cheese, had a steamy book to read, a clay mask for her face, a bubble bath ready to go, and new nail polish for her toes. Presto, the perfect evening.

Her phone chirped. Sighing, she put down her book then perked up when she saw the caller's identity. "You're back!"

"Almost," Mene said. "I am at the Council now."

"When will you be home?" Soon. Please be soon. Mommy pampering was great, but it'd be so much better if she could share the bubble bath with him.

"Not for some time. They insist on standing around and congratulating themselves on doing nothing."

"I have mac and cheese, hot out of the oven."

"You tempt me, female."

"Come home. I miss you."

The line fell silent. "Do you really? Miss me?"

"We swore to be honest with each other, didn't we? So yes, I did."

"Come here. I don't want to wait to see you."

Rosemary shifted in her seat. "Can I? Isn't it like political and stuff?"

"They're honoring an elder member this evening after the session. They'll be drinking and telling fables about their glorious deeds of the past. And I'll have to be here while my gorgeous mate is home all alone, missing me."

"Sounds like torture."

"Meet me here."

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

He growled. Even over the communicator, the sound went straight to her core, lighting her up with anticipation. "I was promised a taste of my mate."

"You'll be working. You won't have time for that," she said, hoping that they would find time for exactly that.

"I've thought of nothing but you, Rosemary Rovelli. Come for me."

She nearly dropped the phone. "Excuse me?"

"I'll send a vehicle for you." He disconnected the call before she could protest.

Rosemary looked down at her nearly painted toes and her bunny print pajama bottoms. She needed to hurry if she was going to make her date.

Mene:

"Is it true you took that Terran as your mate?"

Mene gave a weary sigh and turned to face Nals. He had never been good friends with the male, but as often as their paths crossed, they were more than acquaintances. Reluctant friends, perhaps.

"It is true."

"I find it hard to believe that such an attractive female would agree to mate your ugly ass." A good-natured smile spread across Nals’ face. He jested. Still, Mene wanted to punch him right in his smug, handsome face.

Unaware of the danger he faced, Nals plucked a bite-sized morsel of food off Mene's plate. Mene, himself, had no interest in the food but holding a plate kept the more polite people away from him. They assumed he was too busy consuming food to talk. Nals, of course, had little regard for politeness. “My mate will be joining me this evening."

Inviting Rosemary to the gathering was risky, but he itched to be near his mate. He longed to take her in his arms and claim her fully, but just being near her would have to suffice. With so many Mahdfel present, those attuned to their senses could detect that Mene had not claimed his mate. However, with the visible claim mark on her shoulder, the lack of his scent on his mate could be explained as he had been away from his mate for some time.

He could not wait to get her alone.

Mene knew the moment she entered the room. The air changed.

She stood at the entrance to the Council chambers. She wore a simple black dress. The wide neck displayed his claiming mark brilliantly, and the star pendant he gave her shone a brilliant blue. The cut of the dress highlighted all her soft curves, and the hem stopped just above her knees. As she moved, he caught flashes of her thigh. A dissatisfied rumble started in his chest. He wanted to see more of those luscious thighs but despaired that anyone else would see the same. She was his and his alone. He was a greedy, selfish male and refused to share even the sight of her with another.

"She is lovely," Nals said. A warning growl rumbled in Mene’s chest. He did not like Nals looking at his mate or praising her.

Oran joined her, a hand on her shoulder protectively. He inclined his head to her and spoke, pointing out people in the crowd. Mene stood still, holding his breath, waiting. Finally, she saw him, and her joy blossomed on her face like clouds parting to reveal the sun.

"What do you know? I think she likes you." Nals slapped him on the back. "How did you convince her?"

"She did not need to be convinced." She didn't have a lot of options, true, but he did not grovel or beg. He made his case, pointed out the logic of their mating, and she agreed. Everyone benefited. He got a mate of his choosing. She got a husband she knew and remained in the life she made on Sangrin. Win-win, as Terrans said.

"Did you promise her credits? A position? I can think of a few positions I'd put her in." Nals growled in a manner that suggested Mene needed to beat him.

Because this was a social function and the entirety of the Council, both Sangrin and Mahdfel, were present, Mene refrained. He would rectify the situation later, and Nals would regret his lewdness. "Perhaps she likes my company,” Mene said.

"No one likes your company," Nals replied.

“Perhaps she likes my personality."

Nals laughed, not even bothering to hide it. "I forgot how humorous you are, Enforcer."

"Go now. I must collect my mate."

The annoying male snatched a morsel off his plate, shoved it in his mouth with a grin and gave a quick bow. "As you say."

Mene tossed the plate of half-eaten food on the nearest surface and marched toward Rosemary. Her smile widened. He felt all eyes in the room watching them. All evening he had ignored the whispers discussing him and his mysterious, sudden mating. No doubt he would find Nals at the heart of those rumors. The male frustrated him, but his gossip -mongering would work to Mene's benefit.

He intended to leave no doubt in anyone's mind that his mating was valid and complete.

"Mene, I'm so—"

He swept his mate into an embrace, dipping her backward. He claimed her mouth, devouring it and her. She was his. There would be no doubt. She melted in his embrace, responding to his touch with enthusiasm. His awareness of their audience vanished, and his world narrowed to just them, to their hearts beating, their tongues tangling and their breaths merging.

She was right there with him, matching his ardor and passion, not caring who saw. She was his true mate. He knew it with certainty. She might try to deny their connection, but her body knew its mate. She craved his touch, but her heart denied him. It kept secrets. Soon he would convince her stubborn heart and win her completely.

"Oh, wow," she whispered, eyes hooded and voice thick with lust. Her swollen lips, the color of crushed berries, tempted him to kiss her all over again. Or better yet, to find a secluded corner.

"I missed you," he said. "An hour away from you is too long."

That pretty pink blush crept over her face, urging him to find privacy. His mate needed him as surely as he needed her.

A hand brushed his sleeve, shattering the moment. Oran held two glasses of wine and offered one to Rosemary. "Son, let us show off your pretty mate and inspire some jealousy."

Rosemary:

Rosemary had never been the social butterfly type. Single moms didn't get a lot of evenings free to attend fancy soirées. The scope of her social activities had been limited to Michael's soccer games, the occasional birthday parties and sleepovers, and talking to the other parents after school. The only time she managed to talk to other adults without a herd of children causing a ruckus was at work, and those adults were drinking.

The vehicle Mene sent delivered her to a stately building in the heart of the nearby coastal city. While many surrounding buildings stood tall and shone in the night, constructed of high-tech materials, they reached for the stars in the night sky. The Council building was old. Ancient, almost, with heavy stone and wood construction. The tiled floors gleamed, and her shoes made a satisfying clack with every step. The interior wood paneling glowed under layers of wax and polish. A guard deposited her at the entrance to a large chamber.

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting. A cold, impersonal hall filled with cold, impersonal men—and women, she supposed—making important decisions, perhaps.

The council chambers were downright cozy.

Roughly two dozen people filled the room, a mix of women and men. The majority were older. A few women, slightly younger than the men, mingled. They engaged in conversation as equals, Rosemary noted, and not a single one clung to an arm as an ornament. She also noted that she was the only human in the crowd.

Oran greeted her immediately, and Mene swept her up, ushering her around the room, very much aware that he was showing her off. Part of her, the non-hormonal part of her brain that still functioned, knew he was just making a display of her, like a treasured possession he recently acquired.

The other part of her brain loved being displayed liked a treasure.

Mene introduced her to the council member being honored for decades of service, a venerable Sangrin man with tightly curling horns as white as snow. "So you're the Terran who has stolen away our Enforcer. Oran has been rather tight-lipped about you."

"He hasn't been home for nearly two weeks, so I don't think it's fair to say I stole him away," Rosemary replied. The elder chuckled and introduced her to more people who she wouldn’t be able to remember by the morning.

Mene leaned in and pressed his mouth to her ear. "You chose the right dress," he said. His fingers brushed the vivid red mark on her shoulder. A month old at this point, it still burned an angry red. She shivered.

"Are you cold?"

"The mark is tender to the touch, that's all. I'm fine."

His fingers brushed the spot again, and his chest rumbled with satisfaction when she shivered. "I missed you, mate. You were never far from my thoughts."

"I missed you, too," she said, surprised by the emotion. "I know it's silly—"

"No. It is not silly. It is honest." He stroked her shoulder and arm, his large hand lingering. "I am a creature of instinct with you."

"Really? And what is your instinct telling you right now?"

"It knows you are keeping secrets from me, but it doesn't care. It says to take you away to someplace private and show you how much I missed you, Rosemary."

"Sounds hard."

He pressed her hand to his groin. "Very."

She felt her face grow heated. "Mene, someone could see that."

"That is my intention. I want them to see my delicious mate and how she has inspired me." Something over her shoulder caught his attention. She turned to follow his gaze. A male she did not recognize gestured for Mene to come with a slight toss of his horns. "I am summoned elsewhere, sadly."

"Hurry back," she said, over the rim of her wine glass. The party was nice and all, but what she really wanted was her husband in their bed. Alone. Naked.

She was ready for the next step. She had a glass of wine, true, but not so much as to skew her judgment. She knew what she wanted, and she wanted Mene. Denying her feelings and her desire wasn't helping anyone. So what if they married quickly? The heat between them was real. The pride in Mene's eyes when he introduced her was real. Had to be. Mene didn't seem the acting type. He had nothing but brutal honesty for her, and she appreciated that. He meant what he said and said what he meant.

A familiar feminine figure peeled away from a cluster and made her way to across the room. Rosemary recognized Charin, the woman from the Academy. "How did you do it?"

"What do you mean?'

"Enforcer Rhew. That." Charin nodded toward the mate mark.

Rosemary smiled and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, you know, Terran charms."

Charin planted a hand on a hip. "I'd hate you if I thought you were lying."

"His brother really did marry my sister," Rosemary added hastily, inexplicably feeling the need to explain herself.

"And you just hit it off?"

She snorted. "Good God, no. His other brother kept flirting with me. Mene kept criticizing me. I thought he hated me. Then one day..." She shrugged. "It snuck up on me." It really did. She couldn't pinpoint the moment her feelings changed from constantly annoyed to affectionate for Mene, but they had. The attraction and chemistry between them had been instantaneous. Everything else took time.

"Well, that's a bunch of cyw crap," Charin said. "I've been begging my father for a solid year to bring me to one of these functions, just to catch Mene's eye."

"Oh, I, that sounds terrible."

"It is! The one time I actually got to speak to him, he just ignored me." Charin drained her glass. Setting it down on the nearest surface, she circled Rosemary, giving her form a critical assessment. "Clearly I'm not his type. I didn't think he'd go for the exotic. I assumed he'd want something a bit more homegrown."

"Maybe you weren't compatible?" Rosemary slowly turned in place to keep an eye on the woman.

"Please, I know you're only ninety-seven percent compatible, so that's not the problem."

"That information is confidential." That’s what all the forms Rosemary signed had claimed.

"My father's on the Council." Charin's tone implied Rosemary was naïve. "I can get any information I want, and I very much wanted to find out about you. Your son, sweet as he is, is a complete blabbermouth. He can't stop gushing about how great his new dad is and how awesome and brave his uncles are."

Great. Mene had a crazy, wannabe girlfriend stalker.

Charin gave her a critical look, sweeping down to feet. "You and Mene? A love match? I don't see it."

With that announcement, she turned and walked away, nose in the air.

Well. So that happened.

"I see it," a masculine voice said behind her.

Rosemary jumped. Her hand fluttered to her throat. She recognized the man as an instructor at the Academy. "Oh, Nals. You snuck up on me."

"To train the next generation of warriors to be stealthy, I must be a master." A grin stretched across his face, feral and hungry.

She didn't like his expression at all.

His eyes darted down to the star pendant, and he casually stretched out a hand. Rosemary stepped back, just out of reach.

"A lot of Academy staff here tonight," she said, desperately reaching for a neutral topic.

He ignored her diversion. "You are a female of singular charm. Do you find it warm in here? Let us step outside for fresh air." He took her by the elbow and ushered her out to a balcony before she could protest.

The spring evening was cool and damp. Her dress was no match against the chill. She shivered. Without a word, Nals took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulder.

"I must admit, I'm surprised that he mated you," he said.

"People are full of surprises, I guess."

"It is surprising, considering the way Mene has railed against having a mate picked for him. He never wanted a mate selected by his parents or from random chance from the Bride Registry. He always said he had so few choices in his life, finding a mate was the one thing he could choose. You know, of course, that he has rejected previous brides before, right? Two, I believe, from the Registry."

"I did not know.” Discomfort shifted inside her. Mene rejected two previous matches?

"Oh, you wouldn't believe how we gossiped about that. On two separate occasions, two females, both gorgeous by anyone's standards, arrived on the base. On two separate occasions, he sent them packing. Didn't even take the time to give them a good sniff." Nals eyes shone as he recounted the story. "By the way, I caught your scent at the Academy, long before you made it into my classroom. Delightful. Sweet and refreshing, like a glass of cold water on a hot day. Has he ever told you what your scent is like? It's unique, you know, for each female, and there is nothing as irresistible as a compatible female."

"He hasn't mentioned—"

"You were introduced by his mother, yes?"

"Yes. I mean no. No." Rosemary struggled to process the information Nals just dumped on her. Mene refused to have his mate chosen for him. He had rejected two other women before her. Then, finally, understanding that Nals wanted to upset her. "My sister married his brother. That's how we met."

"So no one forced his hand?"

"No," she lied. Tani told him to marry her, to satisfy the Ministry and the Bride Registry.

"Gave him an ultimatum? Threatened him?"

"Do you think I'm in any position to threaten Mene? That anyone is?"

Nals’ gaze swept over her, stripping away her defenses. At length, he said, "No. I don't suppose anyone could threaten the Enforcer and live. Did you promise him some reward for mating you?"

"Why do you care so much? What business is it of yours?"

"Because I've known Mene Rhew since we were barely old enough to scratch our own horns, and he's not acting like himself."

"Maybe he is, and you've never noticed."

Nals laughed, low and wicked, like a man who knew a secret. Her secret. "He's not my friend, but he is a brother in my clan. I know him.” That grin came back, accompanied by a knowing look in his eye. "Better than you, I figure."

Rosemary sniffed and adjusted the jacket over her shoulders. She regretted being drawn out to the balcony, alone with Nals. "I don't know what you mean. I should go."

Rosemary moved to leave by Nals stepped to block her path.

"Come now, you insult both of us. Mene paraded you around all evening but only introduced you to the non-Mahdfel. We both know why." Nals leaned in, nose in her hair, and breathed deep.

Because a Mahdfel would be able to smell the truth, just as Nals did. She and Mene were fake. "He's been away."

"He's covered you in his scent, but it's not enough. Not if you know what to look for. The bite is a nice touch. Very convincing, if savage. Did he hurt you?" His fingers brushed against her hair. She flinched back.

"What do you want?"

"Just trying to solve a mystery. Why turn away those perfectly delightful females but claim you? Do not misunderstand me, you have your charms." He tugged on the front of his jacket by the lapels, adjusting it over her frame, but he did not release the fabric. "But he hasn't really claimed you, has he?"

"Let me go."

"Is he waiting for a real male to show him how it's done?"

"Back off," she warned. She ducked down to slip out of the jacket and backed away quickly. Years working a bar, she knew how to get out of a hold from patrons who thought they could intimidate the lady bartender. Usually, she followed it up with a bottle to the side of the head. "Go before I call for help."

"Rosemary, don't be like that. I'm not the sort to sniff after another male's mate, but seeing as how he hasn't claimed you—"

Rosemary backed up, her heart in her throat. Nals advanced.

A rough pair of hands grabbed Nals and pulled him away. "She said to leave."

Nals held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Just having a friendly conversation."

Mene’s top lip curled in a snarl. He grabbed the man by the tunic with both hands and pinned him with his gaze. "If you plan to challenge me, now is your best opportunity. I am exhausted from a long mission. My reflexes are slow, and I will tire quickly."

Nals held his gaze for a long moment before looking away. "No. I have the information I needed."

Mene released Nals with a shove. The other man looked nonplussed. He dusted off his shirt and tossed his jacket over one shoulder.

"Congratulations on your mating, when it happens. Truly."