Heartless: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance Novel (Interstellar Brides® Program: Primal Mates Book 1) by Grace Goodwin

Author:Grace Goodwin [Goodwin, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-02T18:30:00+00:00

12

Willow

My outburst drew the attention of the Atlans, who turned as a group to watch the interaction. I knew enough about them to know that if Oberon threatened me in any way, he wouldn’t live to regret it. But why was he doing this to me?

I should want to slap him across his handsome face. So why had my heart done a silly little flip in my chest? Was I completely insane? I’d been sitting her about to cry over Zarren, and now I was swooning with Oberon? Next level. Really. I had to get myself together. “I do not want a mate. I just got rid of one.”

Oberon placed the ribbon in my open palm and closed my fingers around it. “I am not claiming you as my mate. I am offering you the protection of the Arcas family. You are young, beautiful, and unmated. Were you a Prillon female, your family would protect you until the day you chose to remove your collar and announce to the world that you were seeking a worthy mate. You do not have a Prillon family to protect you. Nor an Atlan family. Under Coalition law, you are unclaimed and unprotected. Any of these males could stake a claim on you, Willow. They could take you away from me for thirty days, and I would not have the right to stop them.”

He was right. I’d lived on Prillon Prime for over a year. I knew their laws. Hell, I’d read the laws governing mating in general, and the bride matching protocols in detail. Every word.

An Interstellar Bride could reject her match at any time. But a normal Prillon female walking down the street? They were protected by their families until they were ready to find a mate. When that happened, they would remove the collar themselves and wait, mingle, meet people. If a warrior was interested, he would claim her and put his mating collar around her neck. After that, he had thirty days to win her over. Seduce her. Make her fall in love.

During the thirty days, the warrior fought to win her heart. If he failed, she would move on at the end of the thirty days and meet a new potential mate. Repeat, ad nauseum, until she was settled and happy.

I wasn’t wearing a collar. I didn’t have a mate or a family to protect me.

God. I might as well have a target on my back.

A shudder of ice-cold dread ran the length of my spine. I’d been lucky, so far, that the shirtless warriors on this ship had, up to this point, tried to get my attention before staking their claim. Judging by the concerned look in Oberon’s eyes, my grace period was running out.

“I—thank you. I haven’t been thinking clearly since we escaped.” As far as I was concerned, getting away from Helion before I’d fallen completely in love with him, qualified as an escape.

“May I?” Oberon held out his hand once more, this time so that I could give the collar back to him.

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