Ulfar (Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency #4)

12. Meeting His Mount

MEETING HIS MOUNT

ULFAR

T he next few days pass easily. We’re getting more comfortable with each other, but there’s still something simmering beneath the surface that I can’t quite name. Every time I try to ask her about her past or her planet, she freezes up. Shuts down. I know everyone’s entitled to their secrets, but the alpha part of me wants to find whatever it is that’s hurting her and fix it so that she’ll never be sad again.

If I do that, I know I risk coming on too strong. My heart yearns for this to be more than just a contracted deal, but I am still not sure if she feels the same way. That’s why I come up with a plan: a little trip for the both of us, away from the prying eyes of the ISA. When we have time alone to chat and truly be together, I’ll open up to her.

And I can only hope that she will as well.

“Sarah?” I call into the bedroom while I finish cooking the Earth breakfast she loves so much—bacon and round, fluffy discs called pancakes. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

“Just a minute!” she calls back.

As I plate up the food, she steps out of the bedroom wearing only my robe and a towel around her hair. The robe is comically large on her, nearly falling off her shoulders and pooling at her ankles, but I don’t mind. It pleases me to see her wearing my things. And besides, the way it’s hanging open displays a delicious amount of skin that almost makes me forget all about breakfast.

“This looks amazing,” she says earnestly, pulling up a chair at the bar seating. I slide the plate over to her and she digs in with gusto, letting out a happy hum. “Mmmm, this is so good! It tastes just like the bacon back on Earth, how did you do it?”

I chuckle to myself. She doesn’t need to know the trouble I went through to have it specially imported. “I have my ways. Now eat up, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” She raises an eyebrow, a bit of syrup from the pancake still smeared on her lip. I want to lean forward and kiss her, just to lick that sweet nectar away. I don’t want to interrupt her meal, though. It’s considered very rude among my people. I don’t know about hers, but I’ll have to put my horny impulses on hold for a bit longer.

“How do you feel about going on a trip?”

Sarah’s eyes widen. “A trip? Where?”

“Don’t worry, we won’t be going too far. It’s one of my favorite spots. I’d love to take you there. There’s a lovely grotto, giant mushrooms that nearly touch the sky, and the best views this side of the galaxy.”

She thinks to herself for a few moments while she finishes eating, and I don’t miss the way her cheeks flush at the idea. After taking the final bite of her pancake, she looks back up at me. “Is it safe?”

I almost laugh but manage to catch myself in time. Leaning forward, I place my hand on her chin and lift it up to face me. “Do you need a big, strong man to come with you?”

With a gasp she swats my hand away, but the tone of her voice is nothing but playful. “You know what I mean, silly. I just meant...” She gestures at the cottage. “Away from here. Thought we had to stay put as per the Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency regulations.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already made the arrangements.” Which is to say I checked to see if we were going to get in trouble or not. I didn’t find anything, but better to ask forgiveness than permission, right? What they don’t know won’t hurt them.

A soft, easy smile spreads its way across Sarah’s face. I want to see her smile like that for the rest of my life, if she’ll let me. “That sounds really beautiful,” she says softly. “But how long will we be gone?”

She’s still worried. How cute. “A few days, a weekend at most.”

I circle around so that I’m standing behind her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and leaning my head down to hers. “You don’t have to worry about anything when you’re with me, Sarah. I hope you know that.” I take one of her hands in my own and link our fingers before bringing it to my lips in a soft kiss. “I will always take care of you. That is my duty not only as an alpha, but as a man and as a citizen of this great planet.”

Sarah leans her head back into mine. She lets out a sigh and I feel her muscles relax. That’s a good thing. She no longer tenses up when I make those promises like she used to, and maybe one day soon she’ll open up to me completely.

“I never wanted to leave, you know.”

It’s an unexpected turn, but I keep my tone even so as not to spook her. “Your home world?”

Sarah nods. “It’s...complicated. But let’s just say I had to help my father, and signing a contract with the ISA was the best way to do that.”

“Hmm.” My protective instincts are on full alert, but that’s not what she needs right now. I run my hands through her thick, beautiful hair. Up her soft arms. “Get up,” I say at last. “I want to show you something.”

I lead her out of the cottage and over to the stable area, where our large mounts reside. I’ve been here hundreds of times before, but Sarah looks like she’s seen a ghost. I keep a steadying hand on her back.

“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I’ve got you.”

“What are those things?” She whispers. “They’re so...b-big.”

I can’t help but chuckle at that. “Everything is big for you Earth humans.”

And I do mean everything.

“These are our mounts. They are called aki in our native tongue, and we bond with them as children. We grow up together. Share our triumphs, our fears, our battles. They are an extension of ourselves, in some ways.” Our mounts were more than transportation to all of us.

Sarah’s jaw still hasn’t closed from the shock, but she relaxes a little in my hold. “Like a best friend?”

“Something like that. Enebris has been with me through it all, and will be until the day I die.”

“Enebris.” Sarah tries to repeat what I said, but her human tongue is not equipped for such sounds. Still, it sounds adorable to hear her try. “Is that his name?”

“Her,” I correct her, and point out the one closest to us, in the front stall. “See that one there? That’s her. Want to go say hello?”

I fully expect her to say no, but she takes a step forward, no longer braced against my body. Sarah looks at me over her shoulder and nods. “I want to meet her.”

“She wants to meet you too. Come here, don’t be nervous.”

Sarah approaches the aki carefully, holding one hand out as far as she can. I’m at Enebris’s side, patting her flank and neck as Sarah approaches.

When Sarah’s only inches away, Enebris lets out a huff, stomping her hoof and shaking her mane. Sarah lets out a strangled yelp and flinches backward before I can call out to her. “It’s okay! She’s saying hello. Got a little excited, is all.”

“O-oh.” Again, I think she’s going to call it quits and ask to go back to the cottage. But I’m learning that she’s a lot stronger than she looks, and I’ll be damned if that doesn’t make me want her even more. Sarah takes one step forward, and then another. I see her suck in a deep breath, then her fingers brush Enebris’s mane.

Enebris reacts in kind, tilting her head against Sarah’s hand. She gains confidence quickly, moving her hand up and down in gentle strokes. “She’s beautiful.” Sarah smiles up at me.

“She likes you,” I reply.

“How can you tell?”

She’s no longer the scared omega I met on the first day at the ISA center. Again and again she surprises me with her tenacity and wit, not to mention her seemingly boundless kindness. I wonder if I’ll ever get used to it.

“Let’s just say I know Enebris like the back of my hand, and she is a very good judge of character.”

Sarah beams at the praise, and I step out of the stall to join her at her side. “Shall we go back to the cottage? Or do you have anywhere else you’d like to go first?”

She thinks for a moment before answering. “Do you have a library here?”

I shake my head. “I’m sorry, but the closest physical library is in the capital city. Most people read digitally these days. But I can take you some time, if you’d like.”

The brief disappointment gives way to a peaceful sort of hope I so rarely see from her. “I’d like that.”

And as we walk hand in hand back to the cottage, I can’t help but notice the way the sunlight filters through the trees and falls on Sarah’s face, lighting up every curve and angle just for me.

It’s funny. Not long ago I would have—no, did laugh at alphas that went all ga-ga over their chosen omegas. Then it happened to me. And you know what? I wouldn’t want it any other way.