Alien Sentinel's Mate

by Mina Carter

  God, that felt good.

  “I think they’re happy about that, Lady Vorr,” he chuckled, kissing her forehead.

  A second later, Tarveth jumped on them and almost knocked the wind out of them, his qeraasa bleating softly.

  “Hey.” She smiled, making room for the boy and his alien goat. “How’re you doing, little guy? Is Talli okay?”

  He nodded and then tucked himself in against her, his breathing evening out. She frowned as she looked up at Seren, his smile making her feel all warm and fuzzy instead.

  “Looks like you have another fan, kelarris,” he murmured, kissing her again. “Welcome to the family.”

  19

  An hour later, the Skev had made it to orbit and into the hangar bay of the B’Kaar raider. Gracie wrapped the blanket one of the armored warriors had given her tighter around her shoulders as they were shown to a room aboard.

  “Thank you.” She smiled at the large warrior, some of her previous animosity toward the B’Kaar as a whole ameliorated by the fact they’d put themselves on the line to save the Vorr. “I hope Lord Risyn will be okay.”

  “Thank you, my lady. I’m sure he will be,” the warrior, whose name she hadn’t caught, murmured, bowing his head.

  He didn’t meet her eyes, not with Seren glowering at him from the doorway. Even covered in mud and exhausted, he still looked like war, death and every single horseman combined, ready to do battle to save her.

  She smiled as he retreated from the room and then shot a look at Seren as he barely stood aside to let the guy pass. Even as he had, there had been that alpha male posturing, pissing contest stare thing going on.

  “Did you have to do that?” she demanded as he stalked toward her, snagging her around the waist.

  “Yes. Same as I have to do this,” he replied, his voice deep with the edge of a growl. Her heartrate picked up at the sound, heat rolling through her blood as he backed her up toward the only bed.

  “What? Seren!” she gasped, dropping the blanket to wrap her arms around his shoulders. “Now? Seriously?”

  “Absolutely,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss her. The soft touch made her moan against his lips. “You’re cold. My research on humans indicates you suffer when cold. I need to warm you up.”

  “Your research, huh?” She hid her amusement, as on board with this plan as he was, especially if it meant the pair of them getting naked and getting busy.

  She slid her hand up into his hair, loving the feeling of his strong body and rough satin skin beneath her fingertips. “I mean, yeah, well… we don’t cope well with it. You should always make sure I’m warm.”

  He grinned against her lips, his hands already divesting her of her wet clothing. “Oh, I intend to. Is there anything else I should know about humans? For the purposes of keeping my mate well and happy, of course.”

  She twisted and wriggled to help him get her out of her clothes, only slightly hampering his efforts as she tried to get him out of his. Within a minute they were both naked and he lifted her in his arms, her legs wrapped around his hips and her pussy poised over the broad, thick head of his cock.

  “This,” she breathed as she settled down over him, impaling herself on his long, thick length. Her eyes almost rolled back in her head, her breath stuttering at the feeling. There was big and there was gifted, but with him, she’d hit the jackpot. “Lots and lots of this.”

  He grinned wickedly, holding her close as he bent to graze his fangs over the scar on her neck. “Oh, there will be plenty more of this. I can assure you of that, Lady Vorr. Now be quiet. I have a mate to warm up.”

  And, turning so he could pin her against the wall, Seren set about ensuring neither of them could speak for a while.

  An hour later, they were snuggled on the narrow bed, wrapped in the blankets. Gracie sighed as she rested against Seren’s broad chest sleepily.

  “So, you don’t plan to eat me?”

  “Huh?” She lifted her head to look at him in confusion.

  Seren slid his hand through her hair. It was drying into a rag tag nest of rats’ tails. “Jay said human females can eat their mates when annoyed...”

  She chuckled, closing her eyes to rest back down in contentment. “He said females from Earth.”

  “Yeah, exactly?”

  “He didn’t say human females,” she revealed with a small smile. “He was talking about a damn shark!”

  Seren didn’t sound convinced. “And the females that eat their mates after sex? The ones that males throw their dicks at?”

  Her grin grew wider. “Praying mantis and octopus, not human females. I mean there are some famous cases of women cutting their men’s dicks off, but that’s usually after they’ve cheated. You don’t plan on cheating. Do you?”

  He pulled her closer, his teeth grazing over her scar and making her shiver.

  “Never. I am Vorr and your tovashian. We do not cheat. I am yours and yours alone in this life and all those that follow.”

  Gracie was his, by the laws of the Lathar, his people and now her own. Seren could practically burst with pride as he pulled his mate, now his wife, closer. The wedding had taken place on the loading deck of the B’Kaar ship as it headed back to Earth to rendezvous with the emperor. It was the only place large enough to contain all their guests, hordes of B’Kaar turning out. A Vorr had saved their lord, so they appeared to have adopted the smaller clan in everything but name.

  “I didn’t know you were ordained to perform weddings, Jay.” Gracie smiled at the tall human, resplendent in some form of uniform that looked way too fussy for Seren’s tastes.

  “Yeah, well, I’m a man with hidden depths,” he started until she raised her eyebrow. “Okay, the lads and I got drunk one night and decided to marry Jonesy to the regimental goat so I got an online ordination. It’s all legal. I promise!” he protested, backing off with his hands raised at her look.

  She chuckled, settling against Seren’s side with an ease and happiness that made him want to roar with triumph. Far from needing to shield her from the… other side of his nature, the non-Lathar side, she reveled in it. Said everything was alien to her, so his fangs, everything that had set him apart from the Lathar, made no difference to her. It was an acceptance he’d never expected to receive from anyone outside his bloodline and he savored it as the gift it was.

  “Oh, heads up… here’s the hero of the day.” Jay grinned as Cade headed their way, the B’Kaar parting like a sea before him. Seren hid his smile. His little brother wasn’t so little anymore, his frame taller and broader than it had been when he’d first brought Gracie back home.

  “Is it true that you threw that jumped-up gamer boy over your shoulder and ran all the way to your ship?” Jay wanted to know, causing Seren to nearly choke. It was one thing to call the B’Kaar leader derogatory names. It was quite another to do it on the male’s own ship.

  Cade grinned back, not bothering to conceal his fangs. “He was injured. It was the only way to get him to safety quickly. I didn’t know he was their leader at the time. It was my responsibility as temporary khaaitan to ensure all got to safety.”

  His gaze flicked down to the torque of khaaitan back around Seren’s wrist. He’d never see a warrior so eager to give up a position of power and responsibility.

  “Cool move, bro.” Jay held out his clenched fist to the younger alien, who looked confused.

  “Fist bump,” Gracie supplied. “It’s a greeting among human male warriors. And here, this is yours.”

  “Ah!” Cade lifted his fist to bump against Jay’s and was distracted as Gracie threw her wedding bouquet at him. He caught it one handed, trying hard not to crush the blooms against his chest.

  “Oh, that’s it,” Jay crowed as he clapped the younger Vorr on the shoulder. “You’re done for now, friend.”

  The two Vorr shared a confused look.

  “How so?” Seren asked. “Are the blooms poisonous?” If so, how could he have been so stupid and let his woman carry them?

>   Gracie grinned. “Nope, not unless they carry weddingitis, that is.”

  “What?” Confusion filled him. “What on Vorr is weddingitis? Is that a human disease?”

  Her grin was unrestrained and happy. “Yeah, kind of. Cade caught the bouquet. It means he’ll get married… mated next.”

  Understanding filled Cade’s eyes and he roared in triumph, thrusting the bouquet high in the air. “Behold, I am the bouquet catcher! I will gain my mate next!” he bellowed, heading off to do a victory lap of the hangar bay.

  Seren turned as the two humans chuckled.

  Jay leaned in, his arms folded. “Do you think we should tell him it’s not that easy?”

  Gracie grinned back. “Nah, let’s let him figure that out.”

  Seren chuckled and pulled her closer. “You, female of mine, are the sneakiest woman I know.”

  “Yes, Mr. Vorr, and you’d best not forget it.” She lifted on her toes, a smile on her lips as she kissed him. “So, are you finally going to tell me what a tovashian is?”

  His hand slid into her hair, his thumb stroking along her bottom lip gently. The look of love and devotion in his eyes took her breath away.

  “It means sentinel, kelarris. And more… It means I have sworn to protect you in this life and the next, until the universe is nothing more than faded memories and dust, and then my love for you will still shine as brightly as the stars. Forever.”

  She sighed, tears in her eyes as he leaned down to kiss her, sealing his pledge with a soft brush of his lips.

  She’d searched all her life for who she was, where she belonged, and she’d finally found it. She was right where she was meant to be…

  In the arms of her handsome alien sentinel.

  Epilogue

  Three weeks later…

  * * *

  Breaking into the home of the president of Earth was not easy. It shouldn’t be easy, which was kind of the point. But nothing kept a nomad out. Ever. If they wanted in somewhere, they got in.

  Gracie held her breath as the lock gave under her pick, and then she stepped through the door, sliding it shut silently. The room beyond was in darkness, so she paused. Waiting. Getting her bearings.

  “I wondered how long it would take you to get here, Wilson.”

  She didn’t so much as start when a familiar deep voice sounded from the darkness. There was the rustle of clothing and the next moment a light snapped on to reveal Cameron Murphy, president of Earth, sitting in a large leather lounge chair, a tumble of what looked like whiskey in his hand.

  “Buchanan,” she nodded in acknowledgment.

  He inclined his head, watching her with those pale, unnerving eyes. She’d always thought that like this, when he wasn’t wearing any of his personalities, he was like a shark. Any moment those eyes could go black and then whoever was in his sights was done for. He didn’t just kill. He destroyed. And someone had given the mad bastard the nuclear codes for the Terran empire. She didn’t know whether to be more scared for the Lathar… or for Earth.

  “Since we’re using our Sunday best names. What do you want?” he rumbled, lifting the tumbler to take a swallow.

  He wore just a pair of yoga pants that rode low on his hips, his heavily muscled, scarred torso on display. He was attractive, and once upon a time, she’d have climbed him like a tree if given the opportunity, even though he had more shadows than a forest at midnight.

  Now… she had her own alien bad boy. Her husband. The thought filled her with warmth and happiness, but she didn’t let it distract her from her mission.

  “I’m out.”

  His eyebrow winged up at her blunt statement. “Is that so?”

  She nodded, not moving. Murphy was scary intelligent. Any movement, even a hint of body language, would be analyzed and could give away far more than she wanted to.

  “I see.” Another swallow, that strong throat moving as he watched her. “Do you want your original identity back?”

  She watched him for a moment and then shook her head.

  “Staff Sergeant Charlize Wilson died on Aquilan-four, in an IED incident,” she said firmly. “There was no family at the funeral. Let her stay dead.”

  He nodded, something that could have been understanding flitting briefly through the backs of his eyes. They all joined the nomad program for different reasons. His were his own, as were hers.

  “Noted. So… what’s next for you, Lady Vorr?”

  She chuckled. “Nothing gets past you. Does it, Mr. President?”

  He lifted his glass in salute. “Nothing. Best your new alien buddies learn that lesson and learn it fast.”

  “Oh, I’m sure they already realize that,” she said and with a nod melted back into the darkness the way she’d come.

  Her old life was over. Murphy had been the last link in the chain.

  She was ready to start a new one with her handsome alien husband at her side.

  A year later…

  * * *

  “Do all human babies sleep so much?” Seren frowned, looking down at the quiet little bundle in the cradle next to the bed. He could hear sleeping, contented snuffles but that was it.

  “Yes. Unless you keep staring at him and wake him up again,” Gracie said, burrowing down into the blankets and sighing with contentment. The sound was very like those coming from the crib.

  He shot her a disbelieving look. How she could be so laid back and complacent about things he didn’t know. They’d welcomed their son… their child… just three days ago, and she had slept half the time since then.

  Which, he admitted, she was entitled to. Especially after what she’d been through to birth a half Vorr child. Even the healer had been a little worried given the size of their son compared to his mother. Vorr babies were apparently larger than human babies, but she’d taken the birth in her stride.

  She didn’t know what this child meant, though. What his son meant. The firstborn son of the khaaitan of the Vorr. The first Vorr born to a mated pair in many years. He needed a round-the-clock guard and healers on call in case anything happened to him.

  “You’re doing it again,” Gracie said without opening her eyes. “Come back to sleep. He’s not due a feed for at least an hour yet.”

  “I will shortly. Go back to sleep.”

  He couldn’t sleep, not with such a miracle in the room. A wealth of love filled him as he reached out to tuck the blankets more securely around the little boy. At the touch, the baby’s eyes opened, all sleepy and content as he looked up. Eyes identical to his looked back at him, so wise in the tiny face, and Seren smiled as he stroked the red hair on top of the baby’s head.

  “Kayan,” he breathed. “My son.”

  It was a good name. An old name.

  In the original language of the Vorr it meant one thing…

  …destined for power.

  * * *

  Thank you so much for reading Alien Sentinel’s Mate!

  I hope you loved reading Seren and Gracie’s story.

  * * *

  The next book in the Warrior’s of the Lathar series will be Claimed by the Alien Shifter!

  * * *

  I appreciate your help in spreading the word, including telling friends. Reviews help readers find new books! Please leave a review on your favorite book site!

  Also by Mina Carter

  Alien Mercenary's Heart

  Return to the worlds of the Lathar, as you've never seen them before...

  She wanted a coffee and an easy shift. Instead, she got a smart-alec mercenary and commandos trying to kill her…

  * * *

  Medically discharged from the military over a decade ago, Station Chief Eris Archer just wants a quiet life. But life on a frontier station like Tarantus is never dull. The wild west of space, she’s used to less than scrupulous characters crossing her path.

  * * *

  So when handsome cyborg, Zero, charms her with fantastical tales of being non-human, she takes it with a pinch of salt. When commandos storm
the base, trying to kill her and she ends up with a price on her head, she has to trust him with her life… but can she trust him with her heart?

  * * *

  He doesn’t know where he came from, but he knows one thing… his destiny is with her.

  * * *

  Zero is a mystery, even to himself. Since waking up badly damaged in a wrecked shuttle, he’s made his home with the Warborne, a band of Latharian Mercenaries with a lethal reputation. He lives fast and he expects to die young…

  * * *

  Until he meets her. Eris Archer captures the attention of all his instincts, human and cyborg. Drawn to her like a targeting lock… he wants to get to know her better. But his plans for a date in the station’s brig are foiled by people with guns and they have to get off the station. Fast.

  * * *

  Between murderous commandoes, betrayals and an unexpected rescue mission; can Zero prove to her that he’s all the man, or machine, she’ll ever need...

  GET YOUR COPY NOW

  About the Author

  Mina Carter is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of romance in many genres. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter and a bossy cat.

  * * *

  Connect with Mina online at:

  minacarter.com