by KD Jones
Human females seemed to be compatible. The medical records and DNA samples that SydEL reviewed indicated there would be no problems with human and Katieran breeding compatibility. Also, Ren with both his brothers and members of the Katieran High Council had viewed previously recorded couplings between human males and human females. The anatomy and physiology of the two species were very similar.
Katierans had highly developed eyesight, hearing, taste, and an even greater sense of smell. They typically relied on their senses to help them find their mates.
Ren’s thoughts returned to tonight’s dinner and the many females that had tried to get him to lay with them. They were so strange with their dark pupils and their delicate skin. None of the women had appealed to him. Unfortunately, some of those women were planning to relocate to Katiera. He was going to make every effort to keep his distance from those females.
The limousine stopped right outside of the Skilton Hotel in Oklahoma City, where his people were interviewing applicants for relocation. Those applicants chosen to relocate were called refugees. Ren hoped that his older brother, Prime Commander KydEL, had a better evening than he’d had.
*****
Prime Commander KydEL stood at six foot eight, with broad shoulders, well-muscled arms that were tight against his dark blue uniform, which wrapped around his upper body like a kimono, molding to his muscular physique. He had black hair that was cut very short and dark brown eyes with the gold pupils. He was waiting for Ren at the front door of the hotel.
“Greetings Kyd, how are the interviews going?” Ren asked him as he continued through the double doors of the hotel. Females turned to watch the two men walk past. They were a striking pair. Many of the females were scented with arousal.
“The interviews are almost done. How did it go with the EWG state dinner?” Commander KydEL looked at the pained expression that came across his brother’s face and saw the answer. “That good, huh?”
“I hope I never have to do that again. Those females…” Ren left the rest unsaid. He shook his head, hoping to wipe the memory of the evening from his mind.
Beep … Beep … Beep. The commander’s comm link went off, letting him know one of his lieutenants was trying to reach him. “Go, lieutenant.”
“We have a security breach in the interview room!” The lieutenant sounded out of breath.
“I’m on my way!” He looked at Ren and knew he had heard about the breach. Ren nodded that he was coming too.
The two men turned to run at full speed toward the hotel ballroom that was being used to conduct the interviews. As soon as they burst through the double doors, they both came to a screeching halt. They were unprepared for what met their eyes.
About fifteen Earth females stood cowering against the walls of the interview room. That wasn’t what caught their immediate attention. Near the center of the room were six Earth females standing in a tight circle, with one lone female standing in the center of the protective circle. The female seemed to be swaying slightly.
Katieran warriors surrounded the circle of Earth females, giving commands to the females to calm themselves, to which the Earth females responded by shouting back at the warriors to shove something up… Ren wasn’t exactly up on Earth vernacular. One female, with a brunette braid falling midway down her back and dressed in Earth’s warrior attire, seemed more aggressive. As two Katieran warriors advanced towards her, the female warrior took them both down to the floor.
Ren looked at his brother, who seemed just as shocked as he was.
“By the fiery flames of Kitana, what is happening here?” The commander looked at the nearest lieutenant who was sweating fiercely. “Why are the females acting this way?”
The lieutenant looked at both the Prime Leader and the Prime Commander and hated that he was the one having to explain the situation. “Prime Commander, those seven females came in right at the end of the interview session. The medics had been dismissed, so the females were not given the translators. We tried to explain the interviews were over, but they did not understand without the translators.”
The lieutenant continued, “We noticed right away the female in the middle of the circle was breeding and seemed very sick. We tried to get her to come with us to have the medics check her out. She did not understand and feared us. The female warrior took a protective stance and the other five females joined her and formed a protective circle. The female breeding looks to be in very bad shape.”
Ren could barely make out the female in the circle’s center. She was wearing a large jacket and had covered her head with a hood. But he could smell her. She had the extra hormones associated with breeding. She smelled like the sweetest flowers grown in Katiera’s well-groomed gardens. He liked the way she smelled.
“Warriors, report!” Commander KydEL yelled. All the warriors presented themselves before the Prime Commander. Kyd stared into the light brown eyes of the female warrior before he turned his attention to his warriors. He touched the comm link attached to his ear to call the medics back to the interview room immediately with seven translators.
He assigned each warrior the responsibility of carefully subduing a female while the medics administered the translators. Kyd planned to subdue the female warrior himself, since none of his lieutenants wanted the task. Ren would be responsible for reaching the female breeding and ensure her safety.
All Katierans held the health and safety of females and children to be of the highest importance.
As the medics arrived with the translators, each warrior took a spot in front of a female. Kyd stood in front of the female warrior. His six foot eight towered over her five foot five height. He liked that she was much smaller than he was. He gave her an arrogant smile that made her respond by sticking out her tongue at him. His sex instantly hardened. Damn female.
Ren stood back behind the warriors but kept himself at a slight angle so he could keep his eyes on the female in the center of the circle. The other females were yelling words that didn’t quite translate to Katieran. Ren wasn’t sure that was a good sign.
The Commander let out a loud shrill whistle, which was the signal for the warriors to move. As one, the warriors surged forward, each one grabbing hold of a female and dragging her away from the circle. The warriors wrapped their arms carefully, but tightly, around each female, holding their arms down by their sides.
Ren held his hands up non-threateningly as he approached the frail female. He could smell her panic. She only stood about five foot three. She shivered and looked very pale. She looked up at him as he neared and turned in an attempt to run, but she lost her footing. She started to fall.
Ren acted quickly as he rushed forward to catch the female in his arms. The hood fell off her head to reveal long, red hair. It was as flaming red as Katiera’s second sun. Beautiful hair. He lifted her easily into his arms and pulled her gently against his chest. She looked into his eyes and his breath caught. She had light green eyes. They were a shade lighter than the Waters of Katiera, and just as beautiful.
The female struggled to get free, which was pointless, he was too strong. It was all too much for the weakened female. She soon fell unconscious in his arms. Worry for the female’s well-being consumed him. He yelled for the medics.
He carried the unconscious female down the hallway, following the medics. They led him to the room that they were using as a temporary Medic Room to conduct medical exams on the refugees.
The female’s intoxicating scent was playing havoc with Ren’s body. He pressed his nose against her neck for a deeper smell. She smelled so good to him. He growled when one of the medics attempted to take the female from him. What was wrong with him? He had never been possessive over a female before. He barely knew this female, yet her scent was bringing out protective instincts Ren didn’t know he had. He knew he had to put some space between them immediately, for everyone’s safety. Nothing was more dangerous than a Katieran male going into protective mode over his mate.
Ren reluctantly le
ft the weakened female in the temporary medic room. He instructed the lead medic to inform him when the female had recovered. He then went up to his hotel suite to shower and change. He hoped that by washing his body of the female’s scent and putting distance between them, the urges he felt would fade away. It didn’t work. Ren still found himself obsessing over the human female with the lovely red hair and green eyes.
Dressed now in casual Katieran robes, Ren walked into the sitting area of the suite. He found his brother Kyd, still dressed in his military attire, sprawled out on his small couch. He frowned at his brother as he took the chair opposite him. He was irritated about his attraction to the human female and did not want to have to deal with company right now.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be questioning the human females about what happened in the interview room?” Ren asked his brother.
Kyd closed his eyes. “I got kicked out of the room by Lindsey.”
Lindsey Carreli was the Katieran Legal Advisor for Earth Relations. Ren had hired the Earth female a year ago when they started trade negotiations with the EWG. She had seven years of Earth law experience and two years of working directly with the EWG. She was also a beautiful female.
Ren laughed as he imagined the tall, slim, brown-haired female tossing his brother out of the room. “Lindsey is a good female. You should consider her for your mate.”
“I would, except for the fact she has her sights set on you. I question her taste,” Kyd responded with his eyes still closed.
Ren was shocked. He looked over at his brother to make sure that Kyd was speaking the truth. “Are you sure?”
Kyd smirked as he opened his eyes to stare back at his younger brother. “I take it that you didn’t know she had feelings for you.”
Ren shook his head. “No, I didn’t. She’s lovely and smart. But …” Ren was interrupted when a soft knock sounded at the suite’s door.
Ren stood up and walked across the room to open the door. Lindsey stood on the other side. She gave him a flirty smile. This only confirmed what his brother just told him. He didn’t know what to do.
“Come in, Miss Carreli.”
The attractive female walked through the door. Her golden brown hair pulled up and secured tightly on top of her head. She wore a silky, blue top with short sleeves and a pencil skirt that ended two inches above her knees, leaving a nice view of her legs. As she walked, her hips swung side to side in an inviting manner.
Ren smelled her arousal and frowned as he turned to close the door.
Kyd sat up and made room on the couch for Lindsey to sit beside him. “Did you miss me after I left?” he asked, giving her a sexy wink.
Lindsey rolled her eyes at him. “Oh yeah, I missed having to play referee between you and G.I. Jane downstairs.” She turned to Ren and said, “I deserve a raise just for having to deal with all the crap your brother causes.” Noticing that Ren didn’t catch her joke the way she intended, she added, “I’m just joking about the Commander. I don’t need a raise.”
Ren smiled, understanding the joke was about his brother causing trouble. He felt he could relate. “Tell me what you found out from the Earth females involved.”
Lindsey got right down to business. “After I made the Commander leave the room where we were questioning the women, I found out the brunette in fatigues, the one I called G.I. Jane, is actually Captain Jaxon Malone. She’s an active Air Force captain and a member of the military exchange team that will be going to Katiera for training,” Lindsey paused as Commander KydEL sighed heavily and made some kind of remark that didn’t make it through her translator.
She continued with her report. “Captain Malone says that she had convinced her friend, the redhead, to come with her and apply for relocation to Katiera. The redhead’s name is Cassandra Anne Tomlin. She is twenty-five years old. She’d been working as a legal assistant up until six months ago. She quit her job and then went missing.”
“Why would she just take off like that, when she obviously knew she was breeding and would need special care?” Ren wanted to yell at the female for putting herself in danger.
“Captain Malone refused to answer any questions pertaining to Miss Tomlin’s pregnancy. However, I did some digging and found out that Miss Tomlin did not apply for a special license.” Lindsey pulled her digital tablet out to verify the facts she had entered earlier.
Both men looked confused, but it was Kyd, who asked, “What does this special license mean?”
“One of the things the EWG implemented in an attempt to control the population problem was to require special licenses for all pregnancies. No license means that you are guilty of an unauthorized pregnancy. You can resolve the issue with a government-mandated abortion. If you do not consent to the abortion, you are then arrested and may still be subject to a government-mandated abortion. Anyone aware of a woman with an unauthorized pregnancy is required to turn them over to the EWG or they could face serious charges for aiding a criminal.”
Neither of the men said anything as they thought about this.
Lindsey continued to relay the information she had gathered. “I had a friend of mine check the databases for special licenses; Miss Tomlin is not registered.”
Ren cleared his throat, “So … she has broken the EWG law and is now a wanted criminal?” He ran a hand through his dark hair. His stomach turned at the thought of being forced to hand the female over to the EWG.
Lindsey shook her head, “That’s what has me confused. Miss Tomlin was never reported to the EWG for being in violation. If I had to take a guess, I would say the father of the child is someone with political connections and wants to contain the situation.”
Kyd’s comm link beeped. He stood and walked into the dining area to answer the call. “Commander KydEL here.”
Ren sighed. “What can we do for the female that won’t leave us in any kind of violation with the EWG?” Personally, he didn’t care one bit about what the EWG said. However, he was the Prime Leader of the Katieran Nation and had to act in the best interest of his people.
“The Katieran Nation can offer Miss Tomlin political asylum,” Lindsey offered.
“What is this political sylum?” Ren asked leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
“Political asylum. It’s a type of protection and safe passage that a nation can offer to refugees.” Lindsey added, “The EWG can do nothing if Miss Tomlin accepts the offer of asylum.”
“Do it. Offer Miss Tomlin this A-sylum. Is there anything else that needs to be done?” Ren could already see his beautiful, redheaded goddess standing under the twin suns of his home planet. He was imagining the way the bright red strands of her glorious hair would stand out and sparkle. Her ivory skin would shine with health and happiness. He couldn’t wait to get her home. Wait a minute. She wasn’t his. What was he thinking?
Lindsey looked at Ren and had a sinking feeling. He seemed way too protective of Miss Tomlin. She saw her chances to win Ren for herself diminishing by the second. Nevertheless, she was a professional and would do her job no matter what her personal feelings were.
“Miss Tomlin needs to get off the planet … immediately. Tonight, if possible. The longer she remains on Earth, the greater the chance the EWG will discover her presence.”
“I understand. I was planning to leave in a couple of hours in my personal shuttle to join our transport ship orbiting the planet. I will take the female with me. Is there any official paperwork required for this A-sylum?” Ren reached for his own digital tablet on the table beside his chair to make changes to his flight plan. A 3D image of the flight plan came on the display.
“The official paperwork will take a little time for me to draw up and then it has to be submitted to the EWG. Miss Tomlin’s situation is one that cannot wait for the ‘red tape’ to be cleared. With your permission, I can verbally offer her political asylum by the authority of the Katieran Nation. As long as I have two witnesses present to testify that Miss Tomlin accepted the offer
of her own free will, that is all that is required at this time. I can later have the official papers drawn up and submitted after Miss Tomlin is aboard the transport ship.” Lindsey put away her tablet.
Ren nodded his agreement. He then stood, indicating the meeting was over. “Thank you so much, Miss Carreli, for the great job you’ve done for us here.” Ren waited for Lindsey to stand and walked her to the door. “Would you do one more thing for me regarding this matter?”
“Of course, what do you need?” She gave him a gentle smile.
“The male. I want to know the name of the male who abandoned Miss Tomlin and her young.” Ren could not help but sound angry. It was unacceptable to him, about the treatment of this delicate female.
“I will do my best, Prime Leader.” Lindsey walked through the open door. She hoped that this Miss Tomlin was deserving of Ren’s attention. It was rare to find a man of worth. And Ren was very much a man of worth.
Excerpt from Prime Commander
Katieran Prime Book Two
By KD Jones
Prologue
It hadn’t occurred to Jaxon where the Commander was headed until she walked out onto the same balcony from earlier that evening. She looked around nervously, making sure they weren’t interrupting something, but Kat and SydEL were gone. The Commander waited for her by the railing.
She walked up to him and crossed her arms over her chest. “What the hell is this all about?” she demanded.
“What in Kitana are you doing letting that Kiljorn put his hands all over you?” he yelled at her.
“I can do whatever I want with whomever I want to do it with!” She stood her ground as he took a step toward her.
“He is not the male for you,” the Commander grumbled.
“Oh really? Just who is the right—” She was suddenly cut off by strong, firm, male lips claiming hers.
