by Ava Ross
Kral smiled as he entered the living room. “My mate.” No matter how many times he said it, a thrill still shot through her. She had a feeling she’d always feel this way. Pausing, his brow furrowed as he stared at the Happy Birthday banner she’d hung. “What is—”
“Surprise!” Everyone leaped up from behind their hiding spots.
While their friends cheered and clapped, Mila stood and cleared her throat. Damn, her hands were trembling. Sweat had broken out on her spine as the voices died down and everyone turned to her. What if she messed this up?
“Kral?” she said hoarsely.
He tilted his head and narrowed his gaze on her face as if he hoped to figure out what was going on. “Yes?”
Before her nerves failed her, she launched into the song his mother had sung on his birthday. Sereel had taught her, and she’d practiced over the past week.
She sang it in Crakairian.
Pretty bird, silly bird.
Chirping in the morning.
Chee-chee chirped, and a few of the others chuckled.
Mila picked the monkey up as she sang, and the creature wrapped his arms around her neck.
Pretty bird, beautiful bird.
Wakes the youngling without warning.
She knew she’d fumbled the pronunciation of a few of the words, but when Kral turned and rushed from the room, her heart fell. What had she done wrong?
Around her, the cheers died down to dead silence.
Tears stung in Mila’s eyes, and her gaze met Sereel’s, who shrugged.
Mila took off after Kral, rushing from the living room and finding him leaning against the wall in the kitchen.
His hands covered his face.
She stood beside him, trying not to bawl. “I screwed it up, didn’t I?” Her voice came out croaky. Could she go back in time and not sing the song? She’d hurt him. Reminded him of the parents he’d lost. She’d—
“You did everything right,” he said with the weight of the world coming through in his words.
She wiped her eyes, not ashamed to show her feelings. “Then why…”
His hands dropped, and her breath caught to find his eyes glistening.
“You’re crying,” she said.
“Crakairians do not cry.”
“Okay. Then…your eyes are…seeping…something.” Tears. Come on, they were tears.
“Mila.” He gathered her in his arms and held her close. “You…I do not know what to say.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Her heart ached, and her body felt numb. But this wasn’t about her. If he was sad, she wanted to help him. “I can ask everyone to leave. We can—”
“That is not it at all,” he said. Cupping her face, he gave her a lingering kiss. “You have made me very happy.”
Her mood lightened. “Then these are good tears.”
He nodded.
“I’m glad you’re happy.” Her smile grew, and she couldn’t help it. Their ongoing joke came out. “How about your feet?”
Nuzzling her neck, he growled. “Since this is my birthday, I will expect you to emulse my feet tonight.”
“That’s not how it goes. I’m the queen, and you’re my mighty Vikir warrior, eager to kiss my feet and make them happy.”
He bared his fangs, enjoying her teasing.
“I’d like to emulse your entire body,” she said in all seriousness. “But I’ll skip the boodler and use…you know.”
He kissed her again. “About your song…”
“Your mother’s song. I’ve been practicing. I wanted it to be perfect.”
“And it was. You could not have done anything that would make me happier than I was at that moment.” His gaze turned toward the living room. “This party. I didn’t expect anything like it. You said we were having dinner alone tonight.”
“Instead, I invited the entire crew.” She held out her hand. “They wanted to be with you on your special day. Want to join them?”
“Yes, let us go celebrate.”
He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked down the hall and into the living room.
“Surprise,” everyone cheered again, then their laughter filled the room.
All the Earth women, plus the baby in the Crown Prince’s wife, Julia’s arms, formed a line in front of Kral and sang the birthday song.
He bared his fangs all through it and kept wiping his eyes.
Seeping. Sure.
After they’d finished, Kral went around greeting everyone with Mila at his side.
Crown Prince Axil had his arm around Julia. When the baby saw Mila holding Chee-chee, the little girl bared her tiny fangs and kicked her feet. She cooed as her deep auburn naanans fluttered around her head.
Chee-chee leaped from Mila’s arms and into Axil’s. The Crown Prince’s eyebrows lifted and his hands hesitated, but he was soon stroking the monkey’s back. “This…meerdreg. I never believed they could be tamed.”
Mila shrugged. “I believe he tamed me, not the other way around.”
“I cannot believe you are here,” Kral said. “How did you hide your arrival?”
“You can thank Vork for bringing us all here,” Axil said, smiling at the tall Crakairian Commander standing to their side with his mate, Evie.
Evie grinned, and her hand lightly touched her baby bump. “Vork borrowed,” she made air quotes, “a shuttle and picked everyone up for the party. He parked beyond the village, and we all tiptoed here while Josik kept you busy.”
Kral shook his head at Josik, who flashed his fangs. His gaze met Sereel’s, and her blonde naanans flipped up before settling around her shoulders. Mila was convinced they’d be matebonded soon.
“I did a good job of convincing you we had a jinjin crop issue,” Josik said, adding to Mila. “I led him around the fields, telling him it was this one…no, the next…and then another, never quite remembering where the problem might lie.”
“Awesome,” Evie said. “That must have been a lot of fun.”
Sereel joined them and reached out to hold the baby. “Can I hold her?”
“You’re sure?” Julia asked, carefully placing the infant in Sereel’s arms. Julia pushed stray hairs off her face. “If she’s too heavy, you just—”
“Not at all,” Sereel said, kissing the baby’s cheek. “You are the sweetest little girl, you little contrea bud.”
The baby squealed, a mix of Crakairian happiness mixed with good old Earth laughter.
Sereel took the child to the sofa, and Josik followed. He sat beside her and had the baby giggling within seclars. The couple bared their fangs at each other, and Sereel’s squeal rang out.
Crown Prince Axil and Vork each took turns exchanging the Crakairian version of bro hugs with Kral.
But when he and Mila moved to speak with a few others, Lily clapped her hands.
“Hey, everyone,” she said with a big grin. Her arm swept toward the table nearby that Mila had set up after Josik stole Kral away, and it contained a mix of Earth and Crakairian foods. Pot luck and Lily had organized it. “If you’ll all grab a plate, it’s time for—”
“Excuse me, Lillian,” Lily’s former protocol droid said. The machine lived with them, which Mila found strange, but they acted as if the droid was family. “I believe it is my place to speak up?”
“You think so, huh?” Lily said with raised eyebrows, but a smile teased across her lips. “You didn’t do it all. I helped.”
“You did,” the droid said somewhat graciously. Its gaze fell on the table. “You made…the vegetation with…drip.”
“Dip.”
The droid tipped its head. “Dip?”
“It’s called veggies and dip. Not drip.”
“I see. I cannot imagine why.” A look of pure puzzlement filled its mechanical face.
Mila’s lips twitched, and she smiled at Thea, another Earth woman and Julia’s best friend, who came over to stand beside her.
“That droid is something else,” Mila said. “Quirky and formal, bu
t a hell of a lot of fun.”
“I’m going to ask my mate, Gaje, to give me a droid for Christmas,” Thea said. “If that’s even possible.”
Gaje came up behind Thea and put his arms around her waist, his fingers stroking across her big belly. Their baby was due any daela. “What do you hope is possible, my love?”
“The droid.”
“What about the TX75 droid?”
“Can I have one?” Thea asked. She turned in Gaje’s arms and rose onto her toes to kiss him. “We can buy one, can’t we?”
“There are many palace droids,” Gaje said, bemused. “Why would we need to buy a protocol droid?”
“This one is a lot of fun.” Thea pouted. “But it was just a thought.”
“Why don’t we ask the palace staff if they have an older TX model they’re decommissioning. We can utilize its services if you would like.”
“Great idea,” Lily said. “Think of it as giving a nice droid a forever home.”
“We’ve got a few youngling draquiers we’ll be seeking homes for soon,” Lily’s sister, Sadie, said, joining them. “If you’re looking to give out some happily ever afters.”
Weld, Sadie’s stepson, came over to her and hopped back and forth on his toes. He might only be eight yaros old, but he was nearly Sadie’s height. “Mom. Mom.”
Sadie tweaked one of the boy’s naanans. “What’s up?”
“The trees. They are up as are we.” He smirked and glanced toward the ceiling. “But I was wondering if I could run across the bridges. If I had my dirt bike…”
She winced. “No way are we bringing a dirt bike here to race across the bridges.” Pausing, she blinked. “Although…”
“No,” Bryk, Sadie’s mate said. He placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “You are welcome to walk, and I stress walk, among the treetops, but you may not run.”
“Awwww,” Weld said. “Please?”
Mila smiled. “I’m sure the other Vikir won’t—”
“Don’t give him any ideas,” Sadie whispered near Mila’s ear. “Or next thing you know, he’ll find a small wildarn and gallop that along the bridges.” She nudged her head toward the door and nodded to Weld. “Go play if you want, but don’t go too far.”
“Ok-ay,” Weld said, dragging his feet toward the door. “Woulda been more fun with a bike.” He left, the front door banging closed behind him.
Mila had worried about feeling alone on Crakair but instead, she had more friends than she’d had back on Earth. Her days were spent running, fulfilling the duties of the clan’s mate, and she knew life would keep getting better.
“Would you like to get something to eat?” she asked Kral. At his nod, she led him to the table overseen by the droid who stirred dishes and tweaked the arrangement of finger sandwiches, making sure they lined up to form a perfect star.
When they reached the end of the table, she moved around him and lifted the cover off the last dish. “Voila!”
Their friends crowded around them with grins on their faces, watching Kral’s reaction.
“You made my favorite dish,” he said. Turning slightly away, he wiped his eyes again.
“I…” Damn, she hoped it tasted okay. She’d gotten the recipe from one of the Elders, who’d made it many times with Kral’s mom. But what if Mila hadn’t gotten the spices right?
Kral dished up a big serving. Noticing everyone staring, he bared his fangs. “I cannot thank you all enough for coming here today to celebrate my day.”
“I hope it’s a special day,” Mila said, leaning against his arm.
“It cannot get better.”
“Sure it will,” Lily said. “We’ve got a wildarn-shaped piñata to crack open!”
Kral leaned close to Mila. “What is a piñata?”
“A paper mache creature stuffed with candy. Weld is going to love it.”
“Why would one wish to stuff a creature with candy?”
She grinned. “So you can whack it with a stick and break it.”
“And this is a joyful birthday tradition on Earth?” He sounded pained, and she wondered if he pictured them whacking a real wildarn. Nope. No way. Only a fake one.
“You get first hit,” she teased.
“I…look forward to it.”
She watched while he popped a bite of the special dish into his mouth. When he closed his eyes and didn’t open them back up, she worried he hated it. Grinding up various kinds of bark and combining them into the perfect combination hadn’t been easy. She’d made the dish seven times before the snooty Elder pronounced it acceptable.
“Mila,” he said. He lowered his plate onto a table and took both her hands, turning her to face him. “You, my mate, are the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Awww,” Lily said. She snuggled into her mate, Jorg. “They’re so cute together.” They kissed, and Mila was glad all over again that her friend was safe.
“The dish is okay?” she asked.
“It is as good as my mother used to make.”
Her heart stung. Hell, her eyes stung. She was going to bawl in front of their friends, and that wouldn’t do.
“I want to show you your birthday present,” she said, tugging him to the door. She called out over her shoulder. “Everyone? We’ll be back in a few. Feel welcome to enjoy the food and drink and…wait for us for the piñata!”
Out in the hall, she pulled a strip of supple leather from her pocket. “You’re going to have to bend down while I put this on.”
He studied the leather. “What will you do with that?”
“Blindfold you.” She winked.
“What will you do to me while I am blindfolded?” His eyes sparkled.
Her voice deepened. “What would you like me to do to you while you’re blindfolded?”
He growled near her ear. “Many things.”
“Later,” she said in a husky voice. “Definitely later.” She had so many lovely ideas, and she’d try them all out with Kral.
He bent down, and she tied the band over his eyes. She led him down the hall and through the kitchen. He’d built a small deck off the room, and Mila had spent every second she had to make Kral his gift.
Her dad always said good things come in threes, and she was determined to prove it today.
The song.
The favorite dish.
And…
Tugging him close, she turned him around to stand beside her. “You trust me?”
“Always.” He said it without hesitation, and her damn eyes filled with tears all over again.
“Then take a leap of faith.”
He chuckled. “Off the edge of our deck?”
“No, dude. Take a leap with me.”
“Lead, my mate, and I will follow.”
She tugged him backward and into the hammock.
As he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck, she grinned.
One kick off the post mounted on the deck, and they swayed, secure in their future together.
If you’ve enjoyed Kral, would
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So few people do.
I’ll love you forever!!!
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Amazon
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Look for WULF, Book 5 in the
Mail-Order Brides of Crakair Series,
on Amazon.
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If you’d like to read a sneak peek of both AXIL and WULF, turn the
page …
About the Author
Ava Ross fell for men with unusual features when she first watched Star Wars, where alien creatures have gone mainstream. She lives in New England with her husband (who is sadly not an alien, though he is still cute in his own way), her kids, and a few assorted pets.
Books by Ava
MAIL-ORDER BRIDES OF CRAKAIR
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AXIL (Axil & Julia), Book 0, a novella
VORK (Vork & Evie), Book 1
BRYK (Bryk & Sadie), Book 2
JORG (Jorg & Lily), Book 3
KRAL (Kral & Mila), Book 4
WULF (Wulf & Taylor), Book 5
LYEL (Lyel & Isi), Book 6
Here
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STOLEN & SEDUCED ANTHOLOGY
GAJE (Gaje & Thea), Book 0.5, a novella
set in the Crakairian world
Find it here.
WULF
He’s a rough Vikir alien warrior.
She’s a mostly proper librarian.
Can a green-scaled alien and
an Earthling woman find love together
in the stars?
* * *
After she’s kidnapped by blue-skinned aliens, Taylor escapes and bails from the space station in a shuttle she has no clue how to drive. She crash lands on a nearby planet made up mostly of jungle. Once she finds her way off the planet, she’s determined to return to Earth. Until Wulf, her Crakairian “mate” comes to her rescue. He says he won’t fight her if she wants to return home, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to change her mind. He’s gruff and scaly and much too tempting. And his kisses? If she could keep her hands off him, she might be able to think straight. But with jungle creatures trying to eat them, going home might not be an option.
