Caught Between Two Blue Aliens - Celia Kyle Page 0,9

open for hunting mates at some human party.

But she became pregnant with and birthed their offspring. Didn’t she? Hiren reminded him. A very healthy half-human, half-Drokten female offspring, at that. She’s fully mated to Drogta and Pellz and part of their triad. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t like an Oso like that.

Sevith rolled his eyes. Yes, it would be amazing to have an Oso who could possibly birth daughters, which would then continue their species. This was true.

When the Drokten landed on Earth to stop the Zignill from laying waste to the planet and all its inhabitants, the last thing any of their warriors had been expecting was to find a mate. And yet, that was precisely what had happened. Drokten mating rituals typically involved three: one fertile female and two males, an Azi and a Bahn. Despite the fact that there was one healthy, happy Drokten-human pregnancy, Sevith wasn’t convinced human females could easily become Osos. Maybe those two males had found the only female with a mind/body Oso connection on the entire planet.

Besides, this isn’t just some dinner party, Hiren reminded him. This is the first human attempt to adhere to the accords. They’re trying to help us out by bringing in a group of unmated females to one location who have all shown interest in becoming an Oso. We should at the very least look like we want to find our mate tonight.

I pretend for no one.

We aren’t pretending. We need to seek this female out and see if this means something.

Yes, it was true, this one particular female was quite tantalizing. But…You’re too trusting, Sevith said dismissively. He’d been around humans long enough now to realize they were all very different from each other. While one human could be trusted implicitly, the very next one you met could be a murderer. It was most annoying. It made it difficult to know who amongst them to trust. These are humans we’re talking about. Any women they present to us tonight are very likely to be trained operatives with orders to spy on us—or worse—not true offerings.

Even if that is true, Hiren went on, we would know who amongst them is our true Oso. If it’s a human, she would find us so irresistible and spill all her commanding officers’ secrets. We’d have an informant and a mate on our hands.

I think you put too much faith in your charms, Sevith turned and gave his Bahn a challenging smile.

Well, I am charming.

Sevith could have thought of a dozen reasons to protest, but he smiled, giving a single nod. Fine then, he conceded amicably. And I see that female we’ve been watching is walking over here right now. Let’s see what the humans have to offer.

She is? Hiren turned to look. You’re right. This is highly unusual.

The female that had caught their eye had been exclusively on the other side of the room. But now she was marching straight for them. Did she sense them, as they had sensed her?

You talk to her first. I don’t want to frighten her, Sevith said.

Good idea.

Sevith moved and leaned behind a nearby pillar. It was best if Hiren made first contact. His Bahn was good at speaking to the humans. They liked Hiren and listened to him. Sevith knew he tended to scare them off. He would still be able to hear every word the two said because his Bahn would keep their mind link open.

The human they’d been watching was carrying a tray of that awful human food. She wound her way through the crowd and stopped right in front of Hiren.

And a cacophony of sensations came with her, blasting over their link. Sevith blinked and realized his usually dignified expression was cracking and a smile threatened to creep across his face.

Do you feel that too? Hiren questioned.

Yes.

He couldn’t help but stare. Who was she? This female was everything he’d imagined when the prospect of entertaining prospective human mates was brought before him. The many shades of human hair color, or lack thereof, were all utterly foreign to the Drokten. This woman’s soft colorless locks were no exception. She was tall, too, and sturdy. No Drokten would feel shame in giving her a second glance, and that made it all the more intriguing that she had been weaving her way through the crowd of warriors and dignitaries to get to them, specifically.

It was a sign of boldness. Sevith had to wonder if she had any idea of the ranks and renown