The Commander's Fated Mate

by Lily Anton

  Ezon was actually surprised by his brother’s reprimand. It was good he was not taking Caleza’s actions lightly.

  “I know,” she mumbled, eyes lowering to the ground.

  “You’re lucky that human was there,” Nelo reminded her. “There are not many of her kind that would have come to help you.”

  She looked up at that, a small smile on her face as she nodded. “That is true. I thanked her multiple times and then gave her a tour. We watched your sparring match with Tanni, Ezon.”

  He shifted uncomfortably as the weight of both their gazes settled on him.

  “I believe she was hoping you’d win.”

  Ezon’s eyes flickered silver, the casual comment causing his heart to beat rapidly in his chest as he focused his gaze on the younger Debir.

  The need to all but interrogate her was held back in Nelo’s presence. Had the human female been impressed?

  “And how do you know this, exactly?”

  “It just looked that way. Especially when it was over…” Caleza’s mouth twitched as if wanting to say more, her eyes shining in a way he did not appreciate.

  Nelo hummed in interest. “Why? What happened when it was over?”

  Ezon all but bristled now. “Nothing happened. She was there and then she was gone.”

  His sour tone washed away whatever amusement the other two were feeling at his expense, although as most young do, it was brushed off easily by Caleza.

  “Anyways, she promised we could keep in touch and gave me her number. Can I get approval to contact her via my comm link?”

  Any interactions with humans was strictly monitored and receiving approval for such things required a complex series of reviews and consensus.

  “I will see what I can do, but,” Nelo cautioned, trying not to grin at her obvious excitement. “I cannot promise anything.”

  “Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome. Now tell me, where is she now? I need to coordinate her exit.”

  “I have left her in the medical sector’s waiting area. Blue Quadrant. She is waiting for her clothes to be returned to her.”

  Nelo nodded, urging her to run along to her mother.

  “Oh, Caleza,” he called out, remembering something. “What is her name?”

  Ezon stopped breathing, his body tensing at the question. He had already had such lurid thoughts about her without knowing her name…

  He did not want to think about how much worse it would be if he--

  “Leila!” Caleza offered up like it wasn’t the most damning piece of information he had been given. “Her name is Leila! You’ll like her! And she said to thank you if I saw you but you’re going to see her so I guess she can tell you in person now!”

  Leila…

  Her name twisted around his heart and squeezed, leaving him undone. He wished he didn’t know, because now he’d have a name to whisper when he took himself in hand again.

  He was a fool to think otherwise.

  “--lly not waiting too long. Ezon?”

  Nelo shook him from his thoughts, his brother’s look of concern more pronounced than it had been before.

  “Yes?” He had no idea what he had missed.

  “Ezon, what in Holy Waters is wrong with you? I am worried for you.”

  “I am fine!”

  His shout echoed around him, humans and Debirs alike jumping at the sound as they all turned towards him.

  “I am fine,” he repeated quietly this time, unwilling to look at Nelo as they made their way to the elevator. He knew his outburst would not be ignored for long, his brother waiting until they were in the elevator to pounce.

  “Something is wrong. Do not tell me there isn’t.” Nelo’s eyes had darkened, shining emeralds now dark with purpose as his tone brokered no room for argument.

  Ezon looked down at his feet, the action only increasing his brother’s worry.

  “...do you not trust me?”

  He hated when his brother spoke like that...as if Ezon could trust anyone more than he did his own blood.

  “It is...complicated.”

  Nelo said nothing, waiting with uncharacteristic patience that just made it all the more worse.

  “I--”

  The elevator slowed, doors opening as they reached their intended floor, several people waiting for them to exit so they could enter.

  A quick glance at his brother’s face showed that this conversation was far from over.

  What was he supposed to say exactly? He barely understood what was happening.

  “Commander Ezon, Security Chief Nelo…” Opho appeared before them, holding a neatly folded pile of clothes in one hand, and a pair of boots in the other. Considering their size, they were obviously human.

  “Opho. I take it all is well,” Nelo spoke for the both of them, neither of them having the energy to argue with him for the hundreth time about just using their names.

  “Yes. Certainly a busy and rather exciting day. Leila was fascinating.”

  Considering Opho’s almost unhealthy fascination with all things medical, Ezon doubted he was referring to her personality.

  “Did you know while the optimum fertility rage for a human female is within their twenties, females can continue to reproduce well after that? Although, she appeared displeased when I informed her that her fertility levels were surprisingly high for her age. I’ve been doing so much research since then. There’s so many things we still don’t know. I must speak with my colleagues overseeing the Human/Debir Initiative...” he added the last bit as an afterthought.

  Ezon in the meantime, was choking on air, coughing as he tried to get air back into his lungs, Nelo looking at him in concern before his attention went back to Opho.

  “Yes, that’s uh...definitely fascinating Opho,” Nelo assured, not sounding very fascinated by it at all. “Caleza mentioned she was waiting in Blue Quadrant?”

  “Ah yes, she should still be there. I was just going there now.”

  He could not meet her.

  He would not.

  “As we’re heading to her now, allow me to take those with me,” Nelo offered, pointing to the human articles of clothing.

  Do not accept, do not accept. Please do not-

  “Of course. She has been medically cleared to leave so all is set on that end.”

  With Nelo now in possession of her clothing, they watched Opho leave and it was then he decided a tactical retreat was best, no matter how odd it would seem.

  A skilled fighter knew to pick their battles when they could afford to.

  “Don’t you dare take one more step.”

  He grimaced at the command, reluctantly pausing. He almost wished he had one of those asinine meetings scheduled. At this point he would have much rather preferred being seated beside Atens once more, watching the inept human male from earlier make a fool of himself.

  “Leila.”

  At her name, Ezon spun around, wondering how he had not heard her approach, only to find Nelo practically surrounded by a miasma of smugness.

  “I believe I understand.”

  “Nelo-” he warned, watching his brother step towards him and hold out the human’s clothing for him to take.

  “I am not Security Chief due to my good looks, brother. I miss nothing.”

  “Nelo-”

  “Go to her. I will join you later.”

  And just like that he was left alone with his thoughts...and with her clothing.

  ‘I am Ezon, First of House Delae, Commander of Debiraan’s Exploration Forces, Recipient of the Azurite Trident of Spirit. I do not fear confrontation or battles yet to come. Holy waters guide me to my purpose and I alone will know that purpose…’

  He repeated it in his mind like a mantra, taking step after step towards his destination, rolling back his shoulders and keeping his head held high until he stood there, her back to him as she stared out the windows, enjoying the scenery below.

  She was but a human female: foreign yet harmless and completely oblivious
to how she had filled his thoughts and made him question everything.

  Despite not even facing his direction, his main cock stirred at the sight of her seated there.

  Holy Waters truly guide him...

  “Leila...”

  Her name left his lips of their own accord, as if he needed to hear himself say it to make this real. To make her real.

  He watched as she turned and looked at him, her eyes widening at seeing him standing there.

  Just like his brother, he missed nothing, observing her gaze quickly travel over his body before settling on his own.

  Perhaps she was frightened of him. Most humans were.

  The thought that she could possibly feel that way about him was...bothersome.

  “Hello.”

  His fingers itched to touch her; they were so close and yet still too far apart and he did not know how to explain to her what this was, what was happening.

  “Did I frighten you?”

  He wished he did not need to ask, but he was well aware of how she must feel as he all but loomed over her, regardless of the few feet that separated them.

  She blinked in obvious surprise at the question, somehow looking apologetic. “No, not at all. I was just not expecting to see you here. I’m sorry if I made you think otherwise.”

  Her ability to respond with grace and poise pleased something within him. She was not being truthful, but she was not lying to him either.

  Silence fell between them as he tried to get his tongue to work properly and say something more substantive...

  How was she feeling?

  Had she enjoyed her time at the embassy?

  Did she think about having his hands on her body?

  Did she feel him Calling out for her?

  “How did you find the sparring match?”

  Not the best question he could ask, but not the worst either, all things considered.

  She took a step towards him, close enough that he could smell the floral notes on her skin from her time with Opho and the slight earthiness from the Lavena-scented water when she had watched him with Caleza by her side.

  His feet brought him closer to her, his head lowered as if her answer would be a secret only meant for him.

  “You were amazing…”

  Her quiet words sent a thrum of satisfaction through him; a pleased expression on his lips as her eyes widened in realization of what she’d just said.

  “I just meant that, it was nice to watch...in general. Not you specifically,” she hastened to add, only to huff and rub her forehead, eyes closing with the movement. “I...Apologies, it has been a long day and I have clearly lost the ability to speak properly.”

  Another step forward and Ezon was bending at the waist, his face inches from hers. He could smell her now, her body betraying her desire to remain so formal.

  He would relish making her come undone beneath him.

  As if only a spectator in his own body, he could not stop his fingers from reaching out to her, his movements slow as she froze in place, stiffening as he caressed her cheek with an intimacy he could not yet justify.

  ‘Mine.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  LEILA

  S

  he had been honest when she’d said she wasn’t frightened of him, but now she most definitely was.

  She watched, unable to do anything as he leaned towards her, fingers reaching out and caressing her cheek.

  His touch burned through her, sucking up all the air in the room and leaving her breathless. This sort of stuff was for fairy tales and romance novels, not real life. Not her life.

  She was no swooning maiden, which meant…

  As if a flip had been switched back on, Leila reached out to grab her things from his other hand.

  “Thank you for bringing me my clothes and for your hospitality.”

  Side-stepping away from him, she didn’t dare look back as she hurried towards the medical room she’d been in earlier as it was the only place she could think to go.

  They must have poisoned her or this whole thing was some sort of elaborate alien experiment being conducted at her expense.

  She did not know him, he did not know her, and yet she felt like there was somethi--

  “Sorry! So sorry,” Leila repeated quickly, not knowing who she had accidentally run into while her thoughts were a panicked mess.

  A large hand gently wrapped around her arm to steady her.

  “No harm done.” The pleasant tone had her looking up, emerald green eyes sparkling in amusement over a backdrop of pitch black skin.

  All day she had been wanting to thank him for coming to her rescue - for carrying her back to the embassy and getting her medical treatment. She had planned on expressing her appreciation for their kind hospitality in the face of hatred from many of her species…

  But now? Now she needed to get away.

  Something must have shown on her face as his eyes darkened and he took a moment to truly look her over.

  “What is wrong?” he asked, Leila noting how his tone walked the line between caring and concerned while his gaze now sweeped the perimeter, searching for possible threats around them.

  “Nothing. Nothing. I just...i have to go. I have to just…” she stepped away, desperate to not cause a scene as a few people walked by.

  “I was coming by to see about coordinating transportation to take you back to your residence...” he trailed off shaking his head as he eyed what she carried in her arms. “I see you were going to go get changed. Allow me.”

  He guided her down the hallway, her nerves still shot as she followed him to a private room halfway down the corridor.

  ‘He is gorgeous,’ her mind pointed out unwelcomingly. Although she knew it was trying to make a point; this was the emerald eyed Debir that had insisted he carry her in his arms and brought her here.

  If her body’s response to the gray skinned Debir had been considered shocking, then she would have expected to experience the same type of response with the male in front of her now.

  Instead, he was a surprisingly calming presence as he gestured inside the private room without taking any steps to walk into it with her.

  “I’ll just wait here. Take your time,” he insisted, shooting her a smile before closing the door to afford her some much needed privacy.

  As soon as the door had shut, Leila had dropped her clothes on the floor, plopping down in the nearest chair and forced herself to take deep breaths, counting to four with each inhale and exhale.

  The last time she remembered feeling so out of it had been when the Debir had shown up on Earth, much to everyone’s shock and terror. Suddenly the age old question of whether there was life elsewhere in the universe had been answered.

  “Fuck this,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

  Lifting her head, she searched the room for some sort of weapon. Unfortunately, there didn’t appear to be anything...not even any drawers to open to look through; just a lounge chair and two standard ones on either side, a large burgundy rug beneath them. If there was a way to fashion a weapon out of a rug, she certainly didn’t know how to MacGyver it into being.

  Mustering up enough sense to get up and pick her clothes up off the ground, she was pleased to find everything was there.

  While it had taken Caleza’s help to get her into this elaborate dress, getting out of it proved much easier an endeavor as she reached behind her back and pulled at one end of the fabric tied behind her back, the knot easily giving way as she hurriedly unwrapped herself from its confines.

  Her breasts now freed from their wrappings settled lower on her chest, their nipples puckering in response to the cooler air. It left her feeling exposed, her eyes darting to the door as if it would open in that very moment.

  “Thank fuck.” She had spotted her bra, neatly folded between her blazer and blouse, quickly setting to work.

  Leila almost felt normal again as she pulled up her jeans, throwing on her dark colored blouse
and not bothering to tuck it before working on her shoes, zipping up the black leather of her equestrian boots and finally donning her blazer.