“He’s red. With horns,” one said.
Phares shook his head. Had these females never seen humanoids different from themselves?
Re-lee merely grinned. “Yes, gentlemen. While this is not how I like to introduce couples, I love that you found each other. Come, let’s go back to the offices and discuss things.”
Phares shook his head. “I need to return—”
Erzo put his hand on his shoulder. “Listen. I got a call from Fwan. Everything is stable. He is ordering us—you specifically—to stay. At least for now.”
Phares wanted to argue about why Fwan didn’t reach out to him, but he knew the answer.
Phares would have ignored him and returned anyway.
He glanced at Jana.
So that was his mate, huh?
Well, this could be interesting.
At least he could see what this was all about.
6
"So, wait. These are our mates," Tori said. She gestured toward the aliens that stood across the room from them. "These non-humans are our mates."
Maybe Jana was losing her mind because all she could think about were those dances where the boys stood on one side and the girls on the other, and they just stared at each other.
This time, though, there was an even number.
Girls to aliens.
Re-lee raised her eyebrow. "Humanoid. All two-legged bipedals are humanoid. Males are males, females are females, and gender-fluid are whom they present as. But all are humanoid."
"Sorry," Tori said, but she didn't sound that sorry. "This is my first alien abduction."
Re-lee sighed. "This is not an abduction."
"If you don't want to be here, go home," the red one said.
“Maybe I will,” she said.
Polly put her hand on Tori’s shoulder. “Listen, we need to figure this out. Don’t get all carried away yet, okay?”
Tori jerked out of her arms. “I’ll do what I want.”
The red one snorted and shook his head. And Jana heard him mutter something about this being stupid.
She was too distracted by how Barney kept looking at her to focus on the red one.
Phares. His name was Phares.
But he'd always be Barney to her.
Regardless of who he was, he was not from her world, and no matter what Re-lee said, they couldn't possibly be compatible.
If every part of him was in proportion to his body, he'd never work with her. They wouldn't fit together.
Maybe he knew that, and that’s why he kept looking at her like that.
