Chapter 13
Alanna
The hotel offered to the contact party was very close to the UN building.
Which was a shame. Alanna had never been to Geneva, and she wanted to see more of it.
But the short car ride to the private garage and private elevator into the hotel – specifically designed for dignitaries and those who needed advanced security – offered her very little.
Oh, well. Later. Apparently, they were going to be doing a tour of Earth’s greatest hits as every world leader tried to show off to the aliens. She was going to be seeing more in the coming weeks than she ever could have imagined.
And the hotel was hardly something to scoff at anyway.
Luxurious, high class, and secure. It had clearly been built from the ground up for the express purpose of serving exclusive clientele.
The contact party had been offered the entire top floor of the hotel – which could be blocked off by security on all emergency exits easily.
Every room up there had been prepared, just in case, and the manager of the hotel – a strait-laced, professional woman who hadn’t even blinked at the aliens walking towards her out of the elevator and who had an aura that was equal parts strength of steel and fluidity of water – asked them how they wanted to be roomed before taking them there herself.
Of course, the mated pairs roomed together.
Atem and Peony were given one of the finest suites – because they were all suites with full kitchens and a common area, like the hotel was more of an apartment than a temporary place to stay.
Tuvo, by his own request, had a room beyond everyone else’s, putting himself between them and the emergency exit – the stairwell, he had determined, was the most likely place for an attack to come from.
Hattie, by her own request, had a room furthest from Tuvo’s – though she hadn’t phrased it that way, she had merely pointed to a door and then proceeded to fawn over the room like it was the greatest thing ever.
Survii gave Alanna a heated look that she felt like a caress. She knew that he would want her to share a room with him – despite the growls that Atem aimed his way just for daring to even look at her like that without challenging him first.
“I’ll take this one for myself,” she said deliberately as the manager led them down the hall before turning to Survii and saying in Standard. “Unless you’d like this one?”
The gleam in his eye told her that he picked up on what she hadn’t said. “I’ll take the one next to you. So, I can be comforted by your nearness and still respect your autonomy.”
She chuckled. “It’s a matter of readiness. I want to enjoy our mating, not rush through it.”
Something strange crossed his face, but before she had a chance to decipher the emotion, the manager had opened the door for her and was showing her around. Most of the rooms on this floor were similar with very little variance. Hers was no different.
That being said, they were still beautiful. Refined and luxurious. The color was predominantly white, but it was accented with cherry wood and a hint of gold. A perfect mix of modern and classical. The kind of place she wasn’t really comfortable in, but it was nice to visit.
And it had a fantastic view. The entire far wall was taken up by glass that showed her the stunning view of a wide lake. She had no doubts that the glass was tinted and, almost certainly, bulletproof.
The door had automatically swung shut behind her.
She could no longer hear the others, but she knew they were out there.
Peony and Atem were going to work with the manager to get the shuttle to land on the roof so they could bring their luggage inside.
Tuvo was going to speak with security – the UN had promised only the best. They were all going to relax and get ready since, tonight, they’d be having private dinners with their families.
They were being given that moment before their lives were no longer remotely private. They were about to receive the full force of human media attention, and it was something Alanna knew would be difficult to manage.
But that was the game she and Survii were going to play.
All the while, somehow, he was going to court her and woo her into being his mate. Admittedly, it wouldn’t take much.
She just somehow had to get over this strange hurdle she could feel in her heart. She would have already given herself to him if it wasn’t for that.
That was the unfortunate side of her ability to figure out people and their auras. It was an art trying to read someone – and it was easy to get wrong. Sometimes, she didn’t even know immediately why she felt something was off, but she had always trusted that feeling before.
She just didn’t understand why that feeling was rising for the male that was supposed to be her mate. Things were supposed to be perfect and harmonious between them, right?
A knock surprised her from her morose thoughts.
Surprise that only grew when she opened the door to find Tuvo on the other side, her trunk in his arms. The simple crate was made of a special, reinforced plastic instead of wood – to prevent the introduction of any living material to Earth before a deal was made – and could only be opened by her biosignature – technology that the Earth already had, and that would assure that anything she put in would be safe.
She was just surprised it was here already. How long had she been standing at the window, thinking?
“Hey, Tuvo,” she greeted, stepping back. “You can just set it on the table there.”
He grunted once as he moved forward and put it down.
“You’re the last one,” he said, standing up straight. “Mind if I inspect your room?”
“Go right ahead.” She smiled. “I think I’ll come with you. I haven’t inspected it yet either.”
“It’s been a full mark, er… two hours? Since you came here. You haven’t looked around yet?”
“I got distracted by the pretty view.” She smiled, lying through her teeth but not really willing to confess her unease around her mate yet.
Tuvo gave her a look like she was odd – she was rather used to it – before mumbling something she didn’t catch and turning to his task. She didn’t know what he was looking for, but she was rather certain he found something in the room phone because he crushed it between his fingers.
“A listening device?” She asked as he dropped the pieces in the trash.
“I’ve found at least one in every room. If you have something you don’t want people to hear, speak it in Domtri.
If we’re translating, speak in Standard.
I’ve no doubt that your people are going to try deciphering what we’re saying based on the translation, and it will be easy as Standard is not difficult to learn, even without an imprint.
But we can still communicate in Domtri if we need to. ”
“I understand.” It made sense, though hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary after a while. She couldn’t blame the Earth governments for being cautious with literal aliens, though they did push the limits of her tolerance when Tuvo uncovered another two devices hidden in the suite.
He finished his inspection and let her walk him to her door.
“They’ve booked a private room and multiple tables for everyone and their families for eight o’clock, I believe they said? Why does your clock go to twelve twice in one day? Why not just go to twenty-four?”
“Some do.”
He waited for her to elaborate further but she couldn’t really give him a good answer, so she said nothing and just smiled.
“Right,” he finally said, opening the door.
“Since I’m… not mated and I’ve no family to reconnect with, I’ll be focusing on security tonight.
If you want to leave the hotel on your own, let me know.
Let me know your whereabouts always. I know communicating without combots is difficult, and your people have promised to obtain communication devices for us, but we won’t be able to trust them completely. ”
Alanna laughed. “Tuvo, I come from a highly influential family. I know how to be cautious.”
He grinned. “That’s what I like about you, Alanna. You’re odd, but you never let anything bother you. Holly was not happy about the rules.”
She wasn’t insulted by him calling her odd, she merely smiled as he stepped out into the hall. She followed, waving him off.
Only to immediately catch sight of Survii walking down the hall towards her. He had a harsh, dark expression on his face as he looked at Tuvo, surprising her. Survii was so charming and smiley, she didn’t think he could make a face like that.
Outright demonic. Dangerous. Features made that much sharper because they were usually softened in a bright smile. He looked so different.
The shudder that went through her wasn’t from disgust or fear at all. She leaned against the doorway, biting her lip as the two males passed each other. Survii snarled, fangs and threat fully on display. Tuvo matched it with narrowed eyes and closed fists.
But they said nothing and neither stopped, and the moment Survii faced forward again, that predatory expression was replaced by his usual grin as he looked at her.
She trembled with excitement.
That, she liked.
But there was still something about the way he stared at her, something in his eyes too much like hesitation, that made her resist grabbing him by the collar of that sexy robe, dragging him inside, and riding him until they both screamed.
“Here I am, coming to ask Atem to use the communicator so I can contact my team,” he started, putting his hand against the wall and leaning over her, “only to find strange men leaving your room, vi Vitralai.”
She couldn’t help the burst of laughter that escaped her lips. “Vitralai?”
“It’s ancient Domtri. It means-”
“My weakness.” The translation came easily to her. “I studied ancient Domtri on Turv.”
His eyes lit up with approval and admiration. “You did? Ah. There goes any hope I have of being able to talk without you understanding me.”