"If you choose. Whatever you wish it to be." He tapped a sequence that made the wall fade from transparent at the top to opaque at the bottom. "I have used this setting before, in my room, for sunlight when I wake."
"Thanks, I may try that."
She pressed on the control panel a few times, adjusting the opacity until it was something she liked, and turned to look at him.
Their gazes met.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised her hand.
"This is probably not how this should go," she said. "But I appreciate your care to make me as comfortable as possible."
"I do not want you to think I am a red-horned monster."
She smiled. "I don't."
He started to walk out of the room.
"Not yet, anyway," she said.
* * *
Sleep did not come easilyto Khalzin under the best circumstances. He had not been able to sleep the last few nights, preparing for the arrival of the Galactic Alliance's ship and the inevitable new mate he would be getting.
If one had told him yesterday, he would have been happy about the Coalition's decree, he would have called them crazy. He had no desire to find a partner.
But now that he had met Janae, he wanted nothing more than to protect her and keep her safe for all his life.
It was an immediate connection.
One he had not expected.
Of course, it was known that when a Kantenan met their mate, a strong bond only grew stronger in time as they aged together. But the instant connection was a hard explanation.
It had only been stated that he would "know" when it happened.
Was it perfect?
No. Nothing was. Some bonds were natural and strong, but the partners did not flourish. It had happened in the past on rare occasions that Kantenans left the system to live and would bond with another humanoid, but the ones who chose that path stayed away from Kantenan.
For most Kantenans, life meant staying on the homeworld.
But like all of them, Khalzin had made a life for himself on his world and had expected he would find a mate from one of the females from his planet.
Janae was not like anyone he'd known before, however. She was timid and a little shy. Nervous and untrusting, he guessed that had to do with her upbringing. Yet she was a beauty, and he did enjoy spending time with her and talking.
He hoped that they would make a good pairing.
It didn't matter what he was going to do, honestly.
She would be his mate.
If Courtship took years, then so be it.
She would be his, no matter what.
He stretched on his bed, hoping to get some sleep, but it would not come.
His mind kept dancing around everything that had happened.
