Caught Between Two Blue Aliens - Celia Kyle Page 0,51

There is always more to discover,” he explained in a soft voice.

Hiren, on Jenna’s opposite side, took her hand and gave it a light squeeze to get her attention. “Come, we will introduce you to some of the crew.”

Jenna eagerly allowed herself to be introduced to several Drokten officers who served on the bridge of the Avash, those who were tasked with navigation and atmospheric pressurizing. She noted, after a few introductions, that all of them seemed to be split into pairs or groups of three at their respective posts. And two different gorgeous blue-skinned women worked intently at their stations.

“There are females here?” she whispered. She’d never seen a female Drokten before. “I’m surprised,” she continued. “I thought there were so few of your females left that they remained behind on your home world because you didn’t want to expose them to risk.”

“It’s true that most females remain on our home world,” Hiren answered. “But some are here with the fleet. Mainly only unmated Azi and Bahn pairs are on the surface of Earth, though, because they’re trying to find their own Osos possibly within the humans. But having our bonded pairs and triads on our battleships and in war with us is effective because our mind links make communication efficient.”

Jenna’s chest tightened and her mouth suddenly felt very dry. “Wait,” she said slowly. “Does that mean you two can read my mind right now?” Had something changed, maybe because they were now aboard the ship? Oh, hell.

“No, we cannot clearly read your thoughts until we are fully bonded.” Sevith replied. “Right now, we can only pick up emotions and feelings. I was able to send you a few linked messages during the initial rush of our pheromones, when we were forming our initial triad link, but that has faded with time. When we become a true triad, the three of us will become a circular link and we will be able to share not only our feelings but conversation as well.”

“Oh.” She blew out a breath, grateful for the reprieve.

Sevith and Hiren both gave Jenna pointed looks and she knew what they were thinking, even though she couldn’t truly yet read their minds. They planned to correct the bonding issue as soon as possible. It was clear they wanted to drag her off to their quarters, get her naked, and complete the bond to become an official triad.

Immediately.

The back of her neck heated. Thank god she hadn’t yet allowed them to take their relationship any further than the kiss they’d shared earlier. If they’d had sex and were bonded now, they’d already be able to see the betrayal brewing in her mind, the inevitable flip she would pull if she wanted to protect her family from Secretary Wells and his political agenda.

If Hiren and Sevith could read her mind, they would hate what they found there. They would hate her planet. Her people. And worst of all, they might hate her, too.

Fourteen

Pride glowed bright in Sevith’s chest when he’d escorted his Oso around the Avash, showing her the lead battleship at his command and the might of the Drokten empire.

His species had recently conquered the Zignill, the Ratels and the Pycreans. But there were always more enemies to vanquish, more harsh beings who wanted nothing more than to ravage and decimate whole planets for their own gain.

He glanced up at the motto engraved on the wall near intake. We protect ourselves when we protect others. It was the Drokten way.

Sevith was proud of the work they’d done for the humans. Decimating the Zignills was a win-win. They’d helped this primitive species avoid extinction while also cornering and vanquishing one of their historical enemies. A century ago the Zignill had tried to capture the Drokten home world. It was the greatest mistake that species had ever made.

And then his warriors had discovered, by accident, that human females could become Osos, and these females could also breed with Drokten. They didn’t birth pure Drokten, but instead half-human, half-Drokten hybrids. But the main council agreed this was acceptable. Including human genetics into their pure Drokten genome in order to continue their species was a price they were willing to pay in order to continue the species. The new law was clear. Basically, any species the Drokten encountered in their travels that was able to fully bond into a triad was acceptable to breed. No special dispensation was required. This was an emergency situation, and the future of their species depended upon