8. Gravod

Wrong fucking answer.

"Goodbye, Gravod."

I stood rooted in place while Jess turned and walked to her car. She wouldn't meet my eyes. I could taste her disappointment in the air.

She wasn't going to come back. I watched her fumble for her keys, heard her quiet sobs.

The rustle of animals in the trees faded away. Thylor and Ryoch were long gone, judging by the staleness of their scents. Jess leaving was the real danger.

I was an idiot. My gut roiled while she struggled with the car door, but I still wasn't sure what to say, so I didn't move to stop her. Emotions battered me where I stood.

Our connection went beyond my expectations. I already knew I was physically attracted to her, but after talking to her, laughing with her, I realized it was so much more than that. Her joy was mine, and her sadness caused me pain. I would do anything to prevent her from suffering.

The more we talked, the more I understood why she was my mate. Jess was intelligent and beautiful, feisty and funny. Our interests aligned. When we kissed, the way her body molded to mine, her arousal… I was sure she felt a connection to me too.

My perfect match.

But there were so many things I couldn't tell her. I'd had to reinvent myself here. Spaceship captain wasn't a profession I could openly discuss.

Every half-truth was like a small cut, injuring our chance at a true relationship. Poisoning it. I hated lying to my mate. Eventually, I'd be able to tell her everything.

Except, now she was leaving. Maybe eventually would have to be sooner than I'd planned.

I felt a physical pull on my body, tugging in her direction, as if I were tethered to her. Being apart for a matter of days had been excruciating. I didn't know if I could survive another separation.

Jess finally dropped into the driver's seat and slammed her door. I watched as she took deep breaths before pulling out and driving away. She never looked back.

No.

I ran to my car.

I didn't have a plan, but I couldn't just let her go. Lydaxians were known as the best trackers in five galaxies for a reason. If I followed her, she would never know, and it would give me time to think.

It didn't take long to catch up to her, and I was able to stay well behind. After a few miles, the countryside made way for the city. Her signal came on, and I followed as she turned onto a residential street.

Jess parked in front of her apartment, an end-unit townhouse that overlooked a large park. It was quiet and peaceful. Dark. I pulled over and got out silently, leaving my car hidden behind a line of trees on the side of the road.

Concealed by the shadows, I watched her go to her door. All the lights were out in the unit next to hers. It seemed vacant, and I couldn't sense any life there. No one to hear her crying at her own doorstep but me.

Her muffled weeping carried across the breeze to where I stood near a tree. I gripped the trunk to keep from going to her, until I had chunks of wood crumbling in my hands.

Jess paused with her key in the lock. I let go of the tree, willing myself to calm. She looked around, but I was well hidden. The breeze picked up and she lifted her face, sniffing, as if she was scenting the air. Then she shook her head and went inside, bolting the lock behind her.

Could she scent me?

Tell me what you are…

Somehow, she knew I wasn't human. She could sense that I wasn't as I appeared. Lydaxian shifting was so complete, even medical testing wouldn't reveal any biological differences between us and a human. It could only be because she was my mate.

Fierce protective instincts rose up in me. If I couldn't be with her, I had to watch her, keep her safe. Thoughts of potential dangers had me stalking closer to her apartment.

Dangers like Thylor. He was unpredictable. How far would he go to sabotage a mated pair? Telling her I had another partner was already too far.

Just for that, I was ready to put him in stasis and take the ship up again for one final errand. It was an easy journey to the edge of the solar system. Once we were there, even easier to jettison him in an emergency pod and quickly return to Earth. Maybe he'd survive and get back to Vytaris.

I didn't care. He could fucking figure it out.

And then there was this human…Kevin. He'd betrayed Jess in the past, and now he was tormenting her. Stealing the joy from her work.

That was unacceptable. Kevin needed to disappear.

I frowned. Maybe that was extreme? I'd have to ask Jake.

Right now, both males could harm my mate. I had to keep her in my sights at all times. Even if I could stand to be apart from her, it would put her at risk. Unacceptable.

I crouched behind her car, scouting the perimeter of her apartment. My eyes were suited to the dark, an advantage we had over many other species. As I scanned the area, I pulled out my phone and texted Ryoch.

What is your status?

Then I called Mathol.

"Yes, Captain?"

"You need to stop calling me that." I shook my head. "I'm protecting my mate. Close up the bar for me tonight." It was already ten o'clock. He could handle the place for a couple more hours.

"Yes, Ca— I mean, sure, buddy. No problem."

"Thanks." I hung up, wincing. That was going to take practice.

Still no response from Ryoch. I was looking at my phone when I heard the door open and steps approaching.

"You followed me home."

Mate. Of course she knew. I smiled to myself as I stood, putting the phone in my back pocket. Jess was so close, it was all I could do not to reach for her.

"I did. We need to talk."

I sounded confident, but I didn't feel prepared. Dangerous males, I could handle. Saying the right words to my mate was much, much harder.

Jess frowned, glancing around the parking lot and then back at me. "If I let you in, will you stop lying and answer my questions?"

"I'll do my best."

She squeezed her eyes shut and muttered under her breath. "Why am I doing this?" Then she looked at me and sighed. "Okay. Come inside."

I nodded and followed her to the door, trying in vain to tamp down my body's reaction to being invited into her home. It wasn't an invitation for anything else, but my cock didn't know any better.

I'd allowed my lithis to unfurl when I kissed her before, giving her a tiny dose of sagar in my eagerness to probe her mouth. She'd responded so sweetly, opening to let me in deep. I wanted to do it again. My lithis flooded my mouth with the tangy relaxant, anticipating the need to prepare her body for mating.

When the door closed behind us, I took a few steps inside and then stopped, overwhelmed by her scent. It was everywhere. In the small, tidy living area lined with bookshelves and decorated with colorful artwork. In the kitchen, where I noted a container of ice cream sat opened on the white countertop. And especially coming from the open door to her bedroom. My shaft hardened at the sweet smells coming from that room.

I swallowed down the sagar and focused on her face. Her questioning, annoyed expression. I needed to tell her something, or else she would never give me another chance.

"I know you want answers from me." And I want to give them to you. "Can you feel that you and I have a connection?" If she did, I could work with that.

Jess stared at me in silence, her lips pressed in a thin line. "I feel something, but I don't know what it is. I don't know what you are."

"Where I'm from, a connection like ours is very special."

She threw her hands up in frustration. "Where are you from?"

I sighed. I couldn't keep fighting this. Lying to my mate wasn't in me anymore.

"Vytaris. An advanced planet in the Bor system, located in what you call the Andromeda galaxy."

If her wide eyes and increased heart rate were anything to go by, I'd misjudged her readiness to hear the truth.

Shit.