Sweet Alien Savage (Zerconian Warriors Book 4) Read online

  Sweet Alien Savage

  Sadie Carter

  Copyright

  Sadie Carter

  Sweet Alien Savage

  © 2016, Sadie Carter

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

  This story contains explicit sex scenes. R18

  Cover Design: No Sweat Graphics

  Editor: Christie Giraud: EbookEditingPro

  Chapter One

  “Your mission is to go to Zazarn and charm the female Earth ambassador.”

  Koran glanced behind him; certain there must be someone standing behind him because there was no way Dex could be speaking to him.

  But the only other person present was Zoey, Dex’s mate. He had received a summons to Dex and Zoey’s private quarters in the palace. Zoey grimaced then let out a soft burp. Her red-blonde hair lay in a tangled mess around her blotchy, bloated face. Slumped on the sofa, she shifted around, obviously searching for a comfortable position. Her stomach swelled out, stretching her clothing almost to breaking point.

  Please don’t let her clothes rip.

  Two weeks ago Zoey had cried for two whole days. Two days! All because she couldn’t put her shoes on without assistance. A few days before that, she’d burst into tears because the cook hadn’t made enough of her favorite dessert—she’d only had three helpings.

  It had been decades since he’d been around a pregnant female and he couldn’t recall them being so emotional.

  Bursting into tears wouldn’t solve anything. It was a completely illogical reaction.

  But he wouldn’t tell Zoey that. Early on in her pregnancy, he made the mistake of telling her she looked healthy. For some reason, she’d thought he was calling her fat. First she’d cried, then she’d yelled. Then Dex had yelled. It had been a complete mess.

  Now, he steered clear of saying anything about her appearance, her mood, her pregnancy. He tried not to talk to her at all.

  It was safer that way.

  “Are you speaking to me?” Koran asked with confusion.

  Surely not.

  “I’m certainly not talking to Zoey,” Dex replied.

  “Hey! I could do it. I’d do a better job than any of you lot.” Her furry companion, Giz, bounced up and down as if in agreement. Only around a foot tall and covered in fur, he was devoted to Zoey.

  “Of course you would, my own.” Dex’s gaze was filled with warmth as he watched his mate.

  Zerconians only had one true mate. That one person who was the other half of their soul. Before Dex and Zoey mated, no one had realized Zerconians could mate with humans.

  Without their mate, males grew violent and aggressive. Females grew melancholy and faded away.

  Finding out they could mate with Earthers had brought both hope and trepidation to the Zerconians. Now, Dex and Zoey were trying to build a relationship with Earth to increase the possibility of other Zerconians finding their mate.

  “You are not in a position to go anywhere at the moment,” Dex told Zoey.

  Koran didn’t believe that needed to be said; Zoey couldn’t even get off the sofa without help.

  “Because I’m the size of a whale and twice as gassy.” She sniffled.

  Oh stars, was she welling up? Was that a tear slipping down her face or sweat? Koran took a hasty step back, towards the door.

  “Freeze,” Zoey snapped at him. “You’ve got that look on your face.”

  “What look, Your Highness?”

  “Oh, and don’t ‘your highness’ me. You’re staring at me like I’m the Wolf Man and the autumn moon is bright.”

  He gave her a confused look.

  “Sit down, Koran.”

  “I’ll stand.” Could he still make it to the door?

  “Sit!”

  Knowing it wasn’t worth his life to keep arguing, Koran immediately moved to a chair and sat. Dex sent him a look that was part chiding, part frantic as he walked closer to Zoey, placing a hand on her shoulder. Zerconian warriors weren’t given to public displays of affection but Dex had changed since meeting Zoey.

  Males led, females followed. A male set the rules and boundaries. A female listened and obeyed.

  It was the way of things.

  Except Zoey didn’t seem to understand that was the way things were supposed to be. She was impetuous, dramatic and had little respect for tradition and structure.

  Oh, she would never do anything to undermine Dex’s authority. But Dex allowed her far too much freedom. That was why she kept getting herself into trouble. Only eight months ago, she had been kidnapped and sold to a slave trader.

  Trouble followed her like a magnet.

  He would not fall for this weakness called love. His mate would be obedient. His mate would respect the rules he gave her to keep her safe. His mate would be a proper Zerconian female.

  “Sorry,” she apologized. “Didn’t mean to go all psycho on you.”

  He nodded. Agreeing with her was probably the best course of action.

  “Koran, I need you on Zazarn.” Dex’s face was so serious. “Earth has an ambassador permanently located there.”

  “And you want me to charm her? There must be someone else you can send.” He didn’t know how to be charming.

  “Yes, but I need someone I trust implicitly.” Dex moved over to a small side table and picked up his tablet, pressing a button. “Some disturbing propaganda has been distributed about Zerconian intentions towards female Earthers.”

  “What sort of propaganda?” He frowned.

  “This.” Dex touched his handheld, and a holographic image appeared. A male voice provided the commentary.

  Koran scowled as an image of several naked females appeared. Looking bruised and emaciated, they were locked up in pens. Their expressions terrified, they stared at the camera beseechingly.

  His protective instincts roused, Koran clenched his hands into fists. “What is this?”

  “Wait,” Dex replied, his voice grim.

  “Females beware! This is your fate on Zerconia. Do not believe the lies. The Zerconians do not want to mate you. They want to imprison and rape you.”

  Into the shot walked a large male, his face turned away from the camera. He approached the females, and they screamed, backing away from him in terror.

  “When you are no longer of any use to them they will kill you.”

  The final image was of a dead woman, her eyes staring lifelessly into the camera, her neck had clearly been snapped.

  The vid ended.

  “Stars! Who created this? Where did it come from? And how could anyone think we would ever treat any female like that?” He clenched his hands together.

  Females were to be protected. They were precious. No Zerconian male would ever hold a female against their will, let alone rape or kill them.

  Dex let out a furious growl. “It is disgusting. As soon as this was brought to my attention, I contacted the Earth Council to reassure them that we would never treat any female this way. Zoey spoke to them as well.”

  “And? Surely they did not believe this? The male in the vid is not even a Zerconian. Do we know who he is?”

  “No.” Zoey shook her head. “And the Earth Council know it’s all lies. But they were much more reserved than they had been previously. Especially about sending an ambassador here.”
<
br />   Koran winced. He didn’t understand Earthers. But he didn’t dislike them. A lot of Zerconians hoped to find their mate among the Earthers.

  The Earth Council could not change their mind.

  “If we could discover who is behind this, it would help reassure them,” Zoey said. “Luckily, this vid hasn’t been widely distributed. We discovered where it originated from and managed to pull it before it did too much damage.”

  “Where did it originate from?” Koran asked.

  “Zazarn.”

  Koran nodded. Now things made sense. “You want me to discover who did this?”

  “Yes,” Dex told him. “But you will have to conduct your investigation in secret. We do not wish to tip the culprit off to the real reason you are there. We must find the guilty person if we are to have any chance of convincing the Earth Council that their females are safe here. We must discover who is trying to prevent our alliance.”

  Koran nodded. “You can trust me. I will find the culprit.”

  “I know,” Dex told him. “While the ambassador knows the truth of your visit, no one else does.”

  “So we came up with a cover for you,” Zoey added, a gleam of delight in her gaze that filled him with dread. “You’re there to discuss Zerconian-Earther relations with the ambassador. You’ll be there to wine and dine and charm.”

  “That’s my cover?” He gaped at Dex. “Why not tell everyone that we’re there to discuss trade or to provide help with training?”

  “Zazarns are a peaceful race, they don’t have warriors to train, as you well know,” Dex told him. “And we have no need to trade with them.”

  “This was the only option left.” Zoey rubbed her hands together gleefully.

  “You are enjoying this?” Koran gave her an incredulous look.

  “I would pay to see you try to be charming. Do you know how to smile? Maybe you better stand in front of a mirror and practice. Ah, no, maybe not. The mirror might crack.”

  Koran folded his arms over his chest with a growl. “I can be diplomatic.”

  She snorted. “You’re as diplomatic as a—”

  “As diplomatic as you are, my own,” Dex interjected gently. “Let Koran be. I have no doubts he will do his best.”

  Koran nodded at his best friend. The man he had guarded for years.

  “Sorry.” Zoey ran her hand over her stomach with a grimace. “I’m just bored. This is the most entertainment I’ve had in weeks. Not like I have soap operas and reality T.V. to occupy me. If you guys had a version of Naked and Afraid, I could be making fun of idiots who get their kit off in the wild. Can you believe there was actually a show where people voluntarily got naked with things like ticks and leeches and other creepy crawlers running rampant? I’d be scared of a leech latching onto my hoo-ha.”

  She shuddered.

  Okay. Koran didn’t understand most of what she’d just said. But that wasn’t uncommon; he was often confused by Zoey’s ramblings.

  “But I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t up to the job, Koran,” she added.

  He nodded. “When do I leave?”

  “Tonight,” Dex told him. “I shall have all the information on the current ambassador to Zazarn sent to your handheld.”

  “I will go and get prepared. How many warriors are coming with me?”

  “I have chosen ten warriors to accompany you. Each of them has indicated an acceptance of having an Earther female as a mate.”

  “Very good.” He turned to leave.

  “Koran?” Dex called out. “Good luck.”

  “Hey, you might find your mate,” Zoey called out. “If you need any tips on how to charm, a woman let me know. Not to be mean, but you can use all the help you can get.”

  “If I find my mate she will not be an Earther. And I will not need your help.”

  Zoey rolled her eyes. “You know what they say? They bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

  “I have no idea what that means. I never fall.”

  “Never say never.”

  ***

  “Mila? Mila, where are you?”

  Mila ran through her sister’s sitting room towards the bedroom. Suddenly, she tripped, flying forward and landing heavily on the floor. “Oomph.”

  Luckily, the floor was covered with a soft, luxurious carpet, so she barely felt the impact on her hands and knees, which had taken all her weight. Turning, she glared at the coffee table which had tripped her up. She swore it had moved. Wasn’t it usually three inches to the right?

  “Mila, where are you?” Aline entered the sitting room, the irritation in her voice clear. “Did you trip over the coffee table again? We’ve been here five months. How can you still be falling over furniture?”

  Mila pulled herself up with a grimace. “I don’t know. I think the cleaning staff must have moved it.”

  Aline waved her hand through the air. “Nonsense. I never trip up. The coffee table is in the same place it always is. Come on, hurry up. This isn’t the time for you to be clumsy.”

  Unfortunately, there was never a good time for her to be clumsy. Sometimes, it felt like things leaped out to trip her up.

  Maybe she should get her eyes tested. But it wasn’t as though she couldn’t see things. She just didn’t seem to be able to avoid them.

  “So what was so important that I had to rush over?” Mila asked.

  Walking into Aline’s bedroom, she paused at the extreme neatness she encountered. It was kind of unnatural. How could anyone be this tidy? Everything had its place, from her clothes to her jewelry to her hairbrush and Lord forbid if anyone moved anything. Aline even grouped her clothes and shoes by color.

  The only things out of place were the three dresses lying on the bed.

  “Bit messy today,” Mila joked.

  “Yes,” Aline replied seriously. “My apologies. I find myself rather flustered at the thought of these Zerconians arriving.”

  Flustered? Aline? She never got flustered.

  “Um, why?” Mila asked, perching on the edge of an armchair. After years of living with her sister, she knew better than to sit on the bed and rumple it up.

  Aline gave her an incredulous look. “Because this could be the break I’ve been looking for. The promotion I’m worthy of rather than being stuck on this tiny, inconsequential planet doing meaningless tasks. This place is beneath me. I need to be somewhere that will challenge me, somewhere I can make a mark, a difference.”

  Yeah, right, Mila thought skeptically. When had Aline ever cared about making a difference? Personally, Mila loved Zazarn. The locals were sweet and welcoming, and there was zero crime.

  “I deserve better than this. After how long and hard I have worked for the Earth Council, they keep giving me these meaningless assignments. It’s because I’m a woman, you know.”

  Personally, Mila wondered if it was because Aline had pissed too many councilors off. She didn’t exactly have the warmest personality. They’d probably sent her here because it was very hard to insult the Zazarn.

  Unlike the last assignment she’d had, where Aline had managed to alienate not just the ruling couple but their vast and extended family as well. “Earth doesn’t have an ambassador on Zerconia,” Mila stated. Zerconia had only opened its borders to visitors a few months ago. “Do you know that the Zerconians believe in soul mates? That there is only one mate for each of them?”

  The concept was a foreign one. Her father was on his fifth, no wait, sixth wife. Mila was pretty sure she had received an invitation to their wedding.

  Aline snorted. “Probably a load of bullshit to help them get laid. No one remains loyal to their partner forever.”

  “There are couples here who have been married for years.”

  Aline rolled her eyes. “Stop being so naïve, Mila. One or both of them probably had a bit of a fling on the side, and their partner simply never found out. Just look at Dad, how many times did he cheat and one of his wives took him back?”

  Mila’s mother had taken him back twi
ce—until he’d moved on to wife number three. Her mother had never remarried. She’d become a shadow of herself, pining for a man who didn’t want her. Mila swore she would never let herself get into that state. Love didn’t exist, and she wouldn’t make the mistake of buying into that propaganda. “So you think that all that taking a mate forever stuff is something the Zerconians made up?”

  “Of course. It makes it sound all romantic, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Imagine if I could secure the assignment as ambassador to Zerconia? The Zerconians are a rich and powerful race. If I can win over this Commander Al’a, then I might just get the ear of the Crown Prince himself. The Earth Council cannot refuse the Crown Prince if he insists on having me as his ambassador.”

  “Right. You know that they’re a patriarchal society right? They might not agree to a female ambassador.”

  Aline snorted. “Time for them to change their ideas then.”

  Mila shook her head. Like they’d just change how they’d lived their lives for thousands of years because it didn’t suit Aline.

  But then that was her sister. Self-serving. Completely caught up in her own wants and needs.

  Why do I stay with her?

  Oh yeah, because she’s family.

  “I’ve decided to seduce him,” Aline stated.

  “Uh, sorry, what?”

  “That’s why I need help choosing a dress. I need something sexy, but not desperate.”

  “Seduce him? Are you serious? You don’t even know him.”

  “What does that matter? The idea is to fuck him not marry him. I just need to get Commander Al’a on side. Apparently he is very good friends with the Crown Prince.”

  “You’ve researched him.”

  “Of course.”

  “You didn’t ask me to help.” Which was surprising. Mila usually did all the background research.

  Aline picked up a red dress and turning to the mirror, held it up against her body. “I don’t need you for everything, Mila. Besides, I couldn’t be bothered listening to your lecture about how this was a bad idea…blah, blah, blah.”