Celestial Mates Complete Series Box Set (Books 1-5) (Alien SciFi Romance)

by C. J. Scarlett

  “Stop fetishizing my jūnihitoe. It’s a sacred part of Japanese culture.”

  Placing his hand behind her neck, he pulled her forward. “Rule number 1 for lying is to keep the lies believable, my little dancer. I’ve never seen you act outraged when I peel away the petals to get to your hot, delicious center.” Ora forced himself to refrain from cringing when his words brought gasps from the other women in the room.

  “You’re so funny, sometimes. You keep forgetting they’re here, don’t you?”

  “In my own defense, your beauty makes me blind to the existence of other females. Send them away, I wish to open my treat.”

  Pushing him playfully away, she responded lightly. “Not a chance, I just got it all on. And we were due at the palace an hour ago. Come, your duty awaits, my emperor.”

  Bowing dramatically, he whispered. “Your wish is my command, little dancer.”

  Exiting the craft arm in arm, Ora was surprised to find no one of importance waiting on the landing pad. Maiko didn’t seem fazed in the least. They made their way quickly into the palace to find the Reverend Mother and her Imperial Consort had captured the attention of everyone in the room. Ora was pleased to see the proud warrior standing by his female’s side as she was introduced to high-ranking dignitaries. She was regal and he was the epitome of a protector of old.

  Approaching them, he smiled warmly. “Reverend Mother, Imperial Consort, you both look well.”

  Smiling, he responded smoothly. “You know more than most, a long rest after a glorious battle replenishes the soul as well as the body.”

  Before he could respond, his father stepped forward. “The Imperial Consort has been regaling us with the tale of your victory. It is a story almost too fantastical to credit with being true.”

  Ora winked at the Imperial Consort. “If he has said it, then it must be true for all know that I never exaggerate tales of my greatness.”

  Everyone laughed and his father murmured softly. “It is good to see you returned with your bride safely at your side.” Squeezing his shoulder slightly, his father’s eyes cut to the throne. “Lord Rold will be pleased to see you.”

  Knowing it was his father’s gentle way of asking him to take the throne, he acquiesced. With Maiko still on his arm, he turned and began the long stroll towards the great throne, feeling his destiny lock firmly into place. For once the idea of his whole life being set in stone didn’t terrify him. Glancing curiously at his bride, he found her calm and relaxed. She clearly had no qualms about sitting at his side. A smirk slipped onto his face as he thought of all the long solars they would spend together. Perhaps they would even sneak in an adventure every now and then amongst all the baby making.

  Rold rose to his feet as they approached, as did his lovely singer. Ora was amused by the woman’s overt delight at seeing them coming. His brother had done well to find a female intent on loving him for himself rather than the imperial trappings that came with being wed to one so near the throne.

  He found himself secretly pleased that Maiko took it all in stride, wearing her imperial persona like a cloak of power. Coming from an imperial family herself, she was well aware that ruling was most all duty and very little fun. They were well matched and good at making their own fun.

  Bringing up his free hand to cover hers, he smiled down at the little red heart painted in a slightly darker color on her red lips. The strange pale makeup worn by human females gave her an ethereal quality that really drew the notice of every person in the room.

  His brother greeted him warmly. “We are pleased to see you, my brother.”

  Since teasing Rold was a longstanding source of amusement for him, Ora quipped. “You mean you are pleased to see me alive in one piece after facing such a ruthless and powerful enemy?”

  Rold trilled his amusement. “I heard the Earth princess has proven herself both clever and capable. It is said she…”

  With a wave of his hand, Ora cut him off. “I will not permit you to detract from my victory by doubting my military prowess, though I must admit that I might have been dead several times over if not for her quick thinking.”

  Maiko cleared her throat. “On my world, we simply do not allow members of the imperial family to have a sense of humor. It tends to pop out on all the wrong occasions.”

  Rold smiled at her warmly. “I am pleased you have taken a liking to my coarse brother. I was fearful he would wind up a rambling old man, breeding slin in his spare time.”

  “We have the female equivalent on Earth. We call them crazy cat ladies. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be enough cats to go around these days.”

  Ora beamed at her. “What were you saying about imperials and humor, my little dancer? I must be getting old, because I can’t quite remember.”

  Rold’s mate leaned into his side. “You two are a hoot. I can’t wait for us to settle down into some semblance of a regular routine. The males can spar together, and we can enjoy watching them. Then we can go on vacations together, shop for our guys, give them back rubs and…”

  Maiko smiled at the woman indulgently. “I think I see a pattern emerging here. I’ll give you a hint; it involves idle husband worship.”

  “Krylonian men are absolutely perfect, don’t you think?”

  “Can I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me?”

  Ora couldn’t help but laugh at his lovely Maiko. “You must remember, mate of Rold, that you got the perfect son. Maiko was unfortunate enough to get stuck with the spare.”

  “You know, mate of Rold has a name.”

  Ora replied smugly. “Quiet, mate of Ora, the males are speaking.”

  Knowing this was about the time she usually threatened to take sex away, he waited to see how she would handle his playful jesting.

  Before she could answer, Mamoru spoke up in a sarcastic tone of voice. “Mate of my sister, where is the Krylon princess? I wish to speak to her.”

  “I’m certain Lalona is around here somewhere. I doubt they would allow her to come to a gathering such as this.”

  Mamoru’s annoyed expression caught him off guard.

  Rold spoke up. “I am sorry, Lalona is visiting the House of Parvoc. She is testing compatibility with the clan leader’s eldest son. It was a highly organized visit. They even removed all the other females from the house to make way for her.”

  Mamoru’s jaw tightened. “I wish to speak with her, immediately.”

  Maiko’s hand came to rest on the man’s distraught arm. Ora quickly motioned over his most trusted advisor, Trajon. The older male immediately responded. “Please escort the Earth prince to the House of Parvoc to make words with my sister. Ensure he is well received by the clan and that no harm comes to him.” Turning slightly towards the white-haired man, he whispered. “And keep him from doing anything stupid.”

  “As I have served you, so shall I serve the human prince. Your will be done.”

  Ora was distracted from watching them walk out the door by Rold slipping his imperial amulet around his neck. Looking down in awe at the insignia that he’d seen around his father’s neck since he was small child, his heart skipped a beat. Instead of feeling like a chain tethering him to the throne, wearing the obvious mark of power felt natural and right.

  Maiko spoke softly. “You have earned the right to rule, my love. Let it rest easy around your neck.”

  Nodding, he didn’t trust himself to speak. They both walked up the three steps to the set of ancient thrones and sat. Ora grabbed her hand. “You are a symbol of hope for our males, that we might one day renew our race instead of watching it fade into history.”

  “My brother and I will not allow Krylon to fade, rest assured of that. We’ll always be up for an adventure or two if it means protecting our new home world.”

  “Of that I have no doubt.” That set his mind totally at ease. There wasn’t much they couldn’t accomplish when the three teamed up. Hell, he’d even tolerate the clone if it came right down to it.

&nbs
p; Looking around the room for the first time, Ora saw how pleased the gathered dignitaries were to have them sitting in their rightful places. His father was practically bursting with pride. Even the Reverend Mother and her Consort lifted a glass in their honor.

  “Leaning over to Maiko, he impulsively asked. “What do you think about children, my little dancer?”

  She murmured casually as she nodded to the Terillian ambassador. “I tend to think of them as small, bite-sized dragon treats. Why do you ask, my love?”

  His head jerked up to look in her eyes. Instead of maliciousness, he found only humor sparkling in her eyes.

  He couldn’t keep the goofy grin off his face. Oh yes, whatever was going on between the two them would be amazing.

  CHAPTER 21

  ~ KEIKO ~

  MAIKO MUSIC MIX SONG TWENTY-ONE

  Rubbing her temple, she squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to figure out the answer to Shar Jalon’s question. What exactly was causing her bad gut feeling?

  She watched as his medical team loaded the samples into a cryo-stasis hub. Whatever they used to preserve samples in must be similar to dry ice; an eerie white fog slid around the bottom of the hub, spilling out into the air around the edges.

  “You guys are very careful with your biological samples.”

  “These samples are especially rare. I have decided to add them to our sample vault on the Shardon home world. They will be preserved for posterity in case all other forms of reproduction fail for our people.”

  “Are my samples in there?”

  Nodding, he looked away. She gasped, “These pods contain all the samples from me, Maiko, and the Reverend Mother, don’t they?”

  “Do not be alarmed, Keiko. It is just a precaution. The artifacts spoke of your line possessing a rare genetic trait that apparently gets naturally selected out over time. I am tasked with making long-term decisions to extend the longevity of our race. If the artificial intelligence life forms feel your line is important enough to protect through multiple timelines and throughout history, I would be foolish not to hoard whatever samples I can obtain for my people and ensure their safety for all posterity.”

  Holding up both hands in front of her, she shook her head. “I’m not implying otherwise. In fact, feel free to continue to take samples from me if you need to. I honestly don’t mind.”

  “You are generous beyond my words to express. Do you think it is the fact that we are preserving the samples for long-term use that made you feel strange?”

  Sighing, she huffed out an exasperated breath. “I’ve felt strange since I got here. It almost feels like this dimension is somehow vibrating at the wrong frequency or something. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is terribly wrong. Are you sure our scans haven’t picked up anything?”

  Watching them load a hover board with the hubs and transfer them to the shuttle, they sat down for a brief moment.

  “I am sorry, Keiko. Our scans have revealed nothing unusual in the surrounding space. We’ve been meticulous about our search, covering every single parsec thoroughly. If we were using Shardon equipment, I would be inclined to think we might have missed something, but the Krylon ships are extremely advanced.”

  “Okay, maybe it’s just me being crazy after everything I’ve been through.”

  Shar Jalon wrapped his arm tentatively around her shoulders, in a gesture of support. “Do you want to talk about what happened? I wish to be the male you turn to for companionship and comfort.”

  Keiko leaned over and rested her face on the large clone’s chest. Twisting her finger around a tendril of his hair, she spoke. “Maybe if we had known your people when we were attacked by the insectoids, things would have been different. Everyone underestimated the problem until their breeding had gotten out of control. They could procreate faster than anyone believed possible at first. By the time we figured it all out, we were overwhelmed.”

  “It must have been terrifying to be attacked and have no way to defend yourself.”

  Wrapping her arms around his torso, she burrowed deeper into his masculine warmth. “It was horrible to hear people screaming as they were hurt… eaten rather. I know that I should want to go back and help my people, but I don’t. I feel such guilt about my lack of courage.”

  Pulling her closer, he tucked her head protectively under his chin. “Do not berate yourself about not wanting to return to a battle you can never win. You were brave in this timeline, always doing what you could to make sure we closed down the anomaly. I’m not sure we could have been able to do it without you.”

  “This was easy. No one was trying to kill me.”

  “Only warriors crave battle, Keiko. Without fighting skills, it’s better to remove yourself. Otherwise you are merely a distraction.”

  Looking up at him, she saw the truth of his words. “What if they need me?”

  “Warriors need little beside a bold enemy and the opportunity to concentrate on the fight. It is fundamentally what makes us warriors.”

  “You are a warrior?”

  Before he could explain, the ship went into lockdown. They both scrambled to their feet. The bay doors slammed shut, locking them inside. Shar Jalon tried to raise the captain on the holographic interface but all he got was strange tones over and over again. A disembodied voice came through the interface. “The mothers must be protected.”

  Shar Jalon took a step closer to the screen. “It is one of the artifacts. It must have somehow uploaded itself to our ship’s computer system prior to the explosion.” Speaking up, he stated. “Please state the nature of the threat.”

  Rather than speech, an image jumped onto the screen. It showed one of the cloning bays with men webbed into every nook and cranny. Each had what could only be described as a nest of eggs imbedded into their torso, pulsating and gross.

  Keiko fell to her knees. “Not again. This can’t be happening again.”

  Shar Jalon kneeled beside her. “They are insectoids?”

  Nodding, she tried to get her head straight. She’d spent her life unsuccessfully fighting them. Now they were here to gobble up a new dimension, on this very ship. Standing, a cold realization settled in the pit of her stomach. No one on this ship would survive this battle. That certainty of dying somehow snatched away her fear.

  She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

  Shar Jalon, however, wasn’t at a loss for words. “That must be the biological that escaped. It made it to our ship and all this while we’ve been scanning for external threats. They have been right here.”

  “One mother must be sacrificed so the remaining may live. Initiate self-destruct sequence. Begin countdown immediately.”

  Cursing under his breath, Shar Jalon stalked over to a bank of lockers running along the wall. “The Krylon have no self-destruct program on their ships. I doubt they could wrap their mind around such.”

  “Then we contact the other ships and have them fire on us. We can’t allow anyone to escape who might be contaminated with their eggs. That’s how it always gets started.”

  “The artifact is not working properly. Perhaps the insectoids are interfering with the ship’s systems. I do not think they will let us get a communication out.”

  Grabbing a gun, she stated flatly. “Then we kill as many as possible before they kill us; there ain’t nobody getting off this magical mystery ride.”

  “I do not understand your Earth humor. It is distracting.”

  “Whatever you say. Mind if I ask why you’re blue?”

  Shaking his head again, he continued to stick weapons in all the indiscreet and unimaginable places on his body. Keiko waited for him to wedge one in his butt crack but he didn’t.

  “Most things on the Shardon home world are some shade of blue. It is natural that we are as well. No more distracting questions. We must concentrate on the battle at hand.”

  Keiko responded testily. “I was actually talking about anything other than insectoids, lest I have a full-blown panic attack.
”

  “In that case, continue.”

  “If you’ve been relying upon cloning for generations, why not make yourselves all the color of the rainbow?”

  “What is this rainbow?”

  “It’s an optical illusion on my home world.”

  “I do not think that clones would want to look like fake things.”

  “That’s not what I meant… you know what? Just forget it.”

  Turning to her, the huge man looked twice as large loaded down with weapons. “I believe our chances are good because many of the insectoids are in the pupa stage.”

  “Freaking great, let’s get going.”

  “You are staying.”

  “The hell I am. I may have run from a fight I couldn’t win, but you said we had a chance this time. That’s never happened for me before, so don’t even think of leaving me behind. I won’t let these things get to my sisters.”

  “You consider Maiko and the Reverend Mother your sisters?”

  “Closer than sisters, they almost feel like another me. I know that doesn’t make much sense.”

  “It does. In fact, it is how clones feel about each other if we come from the same batch. There is a physical tie that borders on something psychic.”

  Keiko sucked in a stuttering breath as tears stung the back of her eyes. “I never thought anyone would understand that.”

  “I am your male. Of course, I understand such things.”

  “Wait, you’re my what?”

  “Your male.”

  “How did you get to be my male?”

  “I am the only one who understands you. Those were your words, were they not?”

  “Yea, I just didn’t think they would get me a sexy clone for a husband. I mean husband is what you are referring to, right?”

  Nodding succinctly, he spoke with pride. “You have chosen your mate well, Keiko. I am a brutally efficient warrior, an effective leader, and I understand the need for human women to take the lead in courting rituals.”