I peered at the menu above the counter.
The translation device embedded in my arm turned the words into meaning.
Someone coughed, clearing their throat behind me.
Disgusting species.
Why my fated mate had to be one of them, I would never understand.
There were far better species for providing strong offspring.
But the bond was an unknown thing and we obeyed it with every breath in our bodies.
The person behind me cleared their throat again and I turned to glare at them.
My expression froze as I took in my fated mate up close.
I blinked in surprise, at her having crept up on me without me noticing.
My mind had wandered again.
I needed to stay focused, otherwise the M’rora could end up sneaking up on me just as easily.
My fated mate gnawed at her bottom lip and shifted her weight from foot to foot.
“Um, hi.”
It suddenly struck me how inefficient our training had been.
We trained to track down our mates but we had very little training when it came to interacting with them.
Perhaps it had been done on purpose.
Developing an emotional connection with the breeder was frowned upon and not encouraged.
“Hi,” I said back to her.
“You’re soaked. If you ask the workers, they might have a towel to give you.”
I peered at my clothes.
I’d forgotten about that.
“Thank you. I will.”
My mate glanced in either direction, searching for something to talk about.
“Do you, uh, come here often?”
“This is my first time.”
She nodded and peered over her shoulder at her friend.
The friend nodded and waved a hand for her to continue.
Were they playing some kind of game on me? I wondered.
My senses went on high alert.
The instant they did, her scent struck me full in the face.
It was a powerful scent that crept over me now, taking control of my reason.
I shook my head of its claws and focused on her.
“Are you meeting someone here?” she said.
“In a way, yes.”
Her shoulders slumped a little and she tore her eyes from mine.
“Oh. Okay. I thought so.”
I cocked my head to one side.
“What did you think?”
“That you were meeting someone.”
Why did I get the feeling she was bitterly disappointed?
Had I insulted her somehow?
Damn backward species!
“Would you like something to drink?” I said.
She thought about the question and nodded.
“Sure. Why not?”
“Next!” the worker behind the counter said.
He was a weedy-looking creature with a long face and wore a wimpy green apron.
He would have been murdered at the very first round of the Shadow’s training program.
What sort of effeminate race was this?
“What can I get you?” he said brightly, his smile faltering beneath my glare.
When I said nothing, the girl stepped forward.
“Caramel macchiato for me. And don’t skimp on the caramel.”
Then the effeminate man looked at me, clearly afraid.
“Regular coffee. Black.”
“That’s seven dollars fifty, please,” the worker said.
I reached into my pocket and extracted a bundle of paper.
I handed it to the worker and his eyes bulged.
He slipped one of the notes free and handed the rest to me.
Then he handed me some round metal coins.
I peered at them in the palm of my hand.
They still use ore to trade with?
I sneered at the worker.
“Please wait at the kiosk and your coffee will be with you shortly,” the worker said.
He looked grateful as he turned to the next customer.
The girl shuffled to one side and I followed her.
As she moved, the band of her heavy item of clothing drew tight over her ass.
It was pleasing and round, and for a moment, I considered slapping it.
It was how many treated their fated mates after they had become breeders.
But this was a new world, a new culture.
I didn’t want to make things more difficult than necessary.
If I carried her out of the shop under my arm, would anyone take notice?
Would they try to stop me?
We stood side by side and I wondered how I would go about kidnapping her.
The place was crowded and I had no idea what the technology level of this species was.
Judging by what I’d seen so far, very low.
I needed to get her alone, I decided.
Then I could hustle her onto my ship and begin the journey back to the Shadow Realm before the M’rora arrived.
Then I noticed movement out the corner of my eye.
“Your friend is trying to communicate with you,” I said.
The girl peered over at her and waved back.
Perhaps these creatures were so backward they communicated with physical signals.
Damn backward species!
“She’s just…” the girl began before looking up at me, and her eyes shifted away again.
“She suggested I should come and talk with you.”
“Why?”
“Because I just split up with my boyfriend. Well, friend.”
Boyfriend?
A shiver twisted the pit of my stomach as if I had passed through the eye of a black hole.
I felt sick.
Why should she dating an inferior species concern me?
“She wanted me to get over him quickly so she suggested I come talk to you, see if you’re single. But you’re not, so that’s it.”
“I am single.”
Her eyes snapped up to mine.
And it was the first time I got a good clear view of her face.
I was taken aback, suddenly surprised by her beauty.
Yes, her eyes were red and the tracks of her tears made furrows down her cheeks, but she was still beautiful, not merely pretty.
There was a strength in her eyes, something that foretold of confidence and stamina.
“What do you mean?” she said. “You said you were meeting someone.”
“I am.”
“A friend?”
“Not yet a friend, but I hope we will become more than that with time.”
“Then who? A date?”
“You could say that. Although, she doesn’t know it yet.”
My head didn’t know what to say, but my instincts apparently did.
I reached for her hand.
It was mostly covered by the sleeve of her baggy clothing.
I placed my other hand on top of it and looked her dead in the eye.
“You. I am here to meet you.”
Her face fell and I could feel her pulse quicken.
Her arm tensed as if she wanted to pull her hand from mine, but she didn’t.
She peered back at me, meeting my eyes the way no opponent in the past had ever managed
