“Soon, agishi, you will be mine, even as I am yours. We will discover a way to communicate,” he murmured.
His lips caressed her brow and she relaxed into him.
IT WAS ANOTHER THREE weeks before Alisha could get around once more without more than minimal pain. Gorul never parted from her side. During that time, he arrived every morning as usual to bring her breakfast, and then after she’d eaten and he’d combed her hair, which he insisted on doing for her, they would spend some time walking so that she might regain her strength.
She couldn’t help the flush of happiness that she was sitting at his side.
Marissa sat a short distance away, a sour look on her face. Alisha wasn’t surprised by the hostile look. One of the other women, Erika, had made no bones over the fact that Marissa had tried multiple times while Alisha was recovering to attract the attention of the noswal in order to secure a safe and comfortable position in the village. Every time she’d failed, she became angrier toward Alisha. There was little that could be done for it, though.
Alisha wasn’t going to allow her attitude to ruin her first full evening meal with the villagers. She ate everything that Gorul offered. Even as she leaned into him, it didn’t go beyond her notice that several other women were shyly accepting the company of males. They were still skittish and nervous, but more than one woman gave a hesitant, happy smile at the male who courted her.
“Your females are finding a good place,” Gorul murmured in her ear. “They cry a lot sometimes, but they are beginning to smile more. There will be many happy males in my tribe too, it seems.”
Alisha smiled at that. Anything that gave them peace and offered them an opportunity to heal was a gift for them. She still had nightmares from her time in the lab and at the breeding facility that would wake her late in the night, but it seemed to get a tiny bit better day by day.
As the meal ended, the tables were cleared away and she watched as Agraak females and males began to dance around each other to the beat of a wailing music that sparked something within her. It worked up her spine, calling to her as assuredly as the swaying bodies of the females called to their males. Call and answer, challenge and retreat. The females tested the males with their ferocity to prove themselves. Something of their strength and the answering devotion of the males spoke to her. Tears pricked her eyes.
Gorul touched her arm and offered his hand, heat shining in his gaze.
“Would you accept me, agishi? Would you dance, allow me to show all my adoration? Allow me to prove my worth that you may accept my claim.”
Heart fluttering, she nodded her head eagerly and set her hand in his warm grip. With a gentle, effortless tug, he pulled her up to her feet and walked with her into the center of the platform. When he crouched before her, her pulse began to pound with excitement. Alisha allowed the music to wash over her as she beckoned. With every advancement he made, she warned him off aggressively, her fingers hooking into claws as she hissed and snarled. His eyes lit up every time, as he backed away, his clawed feet stepping rhythmically in his dance around her.
As the tempo increased, his movements did too. She barely managed to avoid him in the impassioned frenzy of their dance. As he crept closer, his intoxicating scent hit her, and her thighs slickened with desire. His nostrils flared and he growled, his spines flushing red. Whereas once the sight would have filled her with fear, now she only felt an answering desire pulse within her.
His eyes narrowed and he danced more aggressively, with a sort of careful orchestration that she admired even as she tried to evade it. All too easily he stepped around her defenses and his arms clamped around her. She broke free and attempted to run, a grin on her face but she didn’t get far. He gripped her again and her feet left the platform as she was yanked up against her chest. Surprised laughter erupted out of her as she wound her arms around his neck. Their lips came together in a hungry kiss as he bolted off the platform, her heart singing with joy.
When they ducked within his hut, she knew she was home. When he laid her on the fur- and blanket-covered platform of his bed, she welcomed him eagerly. That night their future began as she yielded to him and found herself in his touch.
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed Frankie’s and Kaede’s story. This novel has been one that originally was supposed to follow directly after the VaDorok but kept being pushed back because there had been other stories to tell first, but I am happy to see it finally released. It did go through a lot of changes for how I first imagined it. In my original version Kaede was a much angrier male who gets roped into fighting with the rebellion instead of a willing participant and was mated to Ayaa in a loveless pairing. When I came back to my preliminary chapters after writing the Vori’s Secret, I decided that I just didn’t like it and so, other than keeping some world building framework, scrapped most of my initial work to start over. This reserved and focused Kaede was a character I quickly fell in love with while I was writing, and a good match for Frankie’s no-nonsense personality.
This book officially wraps up a loose story arc that has been going through the first several books. Next year will have another vague story arc that basically shows Earth’s more underhanded tricks with their manipulation of the Mate Index. I am looking forward to where I am going from here because I will be really get into the original purpose for the Mate Index series...mail order brides.
Those who follow me on Facebook already have head’s up for my release schedule for the first half of the year and know that the next full novel, coming spring 2020 is The Arobi’s Queen. Between now and then there will be two holiday novellas in the Mate Index universe: A Gift for Medif (Dec 2019) and The Lorgor’s Bride (Feb 2020).
For fans of the Mate Index, you will notice that 2020 will not have as many releases from the Mate Index series. I am spacing them out more so that I can offer other kinds of stories, so there may not be more than three or four novels from this series next year. That said I have several one-shots, a triology, another Ragoru novel and new releases for Monsterly Yours also planned that hopefully will give you something more to be excited about.
Thanks for reading!
SJ Sanders
Other Works by S.J. Sanders
The Mate Index
First Contact
The VaDorok
Hearts of Indesh (Valentine Novella)
The Edoka’s Destiny
The Vori’s Mate
A Kiss on Kaidava
The Vori’s Secret
A Mate for Oigr (Halloween Novella)
Heart of the Agraak
A Gift for Medif (coming Christmas)
Monsterly Yours
The Orc Wife
The Troll Bride
Sci-Fi Fairytales
Red: A Dystopian World Alien Romance
Ragoru Romance
White: Emala’s Story (coming Christmas)
Dark Spirits
Havoc of Souls
Shadowed Dreams Erotica
The Lantern
Serpent of the Abyss (coming late November)
About the Author
S.J. Sanders is a writer of Science Fiction and Fantasy Romance. With a love of all things alien and monster she is fascinated with concepts of far off worlds, as well as the lore and legends of various cultures. When not writing, she loves reading, sculpting, painting and travel (especially to exotic destinations). Although born and raised in Alaska, she currently as a resident of Florida with her family and pet lizard.
Readers can follow her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authorsjsanders
Or join her Facebook group S.J. Sanders Unusual Playhouse
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Website: https://sjsandersromance.wordpress.com/
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