unmarked
They had kings and queens and a whole royal family. No voting, they didn't get to select who ran their country. Nope, they came by their kings just like they came by their mates. They were born with certain marks.
A crest.
The last three kings had been father and sons but the one before that had been an orphan female. Queen Euphrates. Her mate was King Cleon.
England had royalty, so it wasn't so farfetched. And it wasn't like the king had all the control, just most of it. He had advisors. Other royals and some of the smartest people in the world helping him.
Not much different from having a president, she supposed.
Jess didn't know how she was supposed to learn any of this when she was starving to death.
They didn't know her, or they'd know that was a bad thing. A hungry Jess was a moody Jess. Or at least that is what Julian and her mom always said.
Thinking of her mom, she grabbed her necklaces. The long silver one with the feather had been her mom's favorite. She had worn it any time she was dressed in jeans and not dressed for the office. Her second necklace was a black leather cord with Danny's army man hanging from it.
Julian was right. She should cling to the people who were worth clinging to.
Her uncle Chad had given her a thin diamond tennis bracelet that she'd never cared for. Too nice for her tastes but she'd never let him know it. Now it meant something. He'd been a good man, and she wanted to remember him. For Michael, she had a black friendship bracelet that some girl had given him. Baby Rue was harder to find something for. In the end, she'd found one of her little pink earrings.
Aunt Sarah had her ears pierced as soon as the kid was old enough. She'd never said why but Jess had a feeling it was because she'd been tired of people thinking her daughter was a boy. As an infant, she'd had the slowest growing hair. And no one could wear pink all the time.
So now her right ear had an extra hole. It had hurt like a mother and would probably get infected.
When they were dismissed, she gathered her things. She didn't have far to go, only one classroom over.
Julian was waiting in the hallway with a grin and a bag of chips.
She couldn't help it, she squealed. "Where did you find those?"
"I found where they put all the vending machines."
"It's no wonder why I love you to death."
"You just want my chips."
"Yes, I do."
Laughing, he held them out of her reach.
That would have earned him a gut punch, but she'd just noticed they had company. She was more worried about her bag of chips getting confiscated than getting in trouble for acting up in the hallway.
She grabbed them and stuffed them in her bag then zipped it for good measures.
Talk about feeling like a shrimp. They towered over her. It also sucked that she was the only plain jane around right now.
"Hey, boys. Better hurry. Wouldn't want you late for class."
"After you, Jessalynn."
Wow. Wow eyes had a way of saying her name that made her toes curl.
"O.... kay. Thanks, babe. I'll see you for the next class."
"Stay out of trouble."
"You know me."
She gave the little green men a big cheesy smile then stepped into the next room.
All three of them followed.
Great. This would be her first class with aliens, and it had to be these three? Big Bad, gorgeous and wow eyes, there would be no thinking around them.
This class was set up with tables instead of desks, and each table only had two chairs. She took the table in the back.
"I would like my human students to take a seat at an empty table if you please. Pleased. Now if everyone else would take a seat."
Catching sight of April, she waved, so she was surprised when she saw who had taken the seat across from her.
"Use this time to get to know each other. We have much to learn."
So, awkward.
No matter how quiet she tried to be, she highly doubted he didn't hear her opening her snack. "Missed lunch. Hated breakfast. You going to tell on me?"
"Tell who?"
"Hell, if I know. The man, I guess. I know how all of you are about your healthy eating. I'll tell you like I told Frick. I met him yesterday, I think you already know that though, don't you? Since you repeated what I told him almost word for word. Anyway, you can't decide you don't like something without trying it first."
She held up her favorite, a nice salty plain potato chip. Her look dared him.
Long fingers reached out for the chip and he ate it without any more encouragement.
Jess could tell he was unimpressed.
She got sidetracked by his lips. Very nice. While she ate her chips, she tried to find something about him that wasn't nice. It would be less distracting if the little green men where green. And little.
Whatever she did she needed to keep from looking at him in the eyes. And his arms. She was like her mom, a sucker for strong arms.
He had a long straight nose, strong chin. Thick neck. Okay. She wouldn't look at him at all.
Thank God gorgeous hadn't sat down with her. She was pretty sure being this close to that one would have a bad effect on her brain cells. Even worse than this one was having.
"Speaking of Frick, do you always ease drop on conversations?"
"Sometimes it is necessary. It is the best way of trying to bridge the gap between our two cultures."
"Instead of addressing how rude that is, let's get straight to it. Do you really think we can bridge such a huge gap?"
"I do. You do not think it is possible?"
"Not sure yet."
"It will work. Savion and Macie are proof of it."
"Not the best example, is it? The age difference is impossible. To be honest with you, I don't believe there's any way he will not find someone better. And by better, I mean someone more available. No way he's waiting twelve years for anyone."
"He will. It is our way. Even if he wanted to, he could not. Being mated is a bond that cannot be broken. Now that it is done it would hurt them to go a whole day without seeing the other. The age difference is an inconvenience, nothing more. He will have to wait, is that not a small price to pay for finding your other half?"
It took all she had not to laugh. It was bad enough that he really seemed to believe what he was saying but big bad guys rarely sat around talking like this.
"I've seen the mark. It's kind of like a white tattoo. Let's say these aren't birthmarks you're born with. Let's even say that when you meet your mate the girl magically gets the same tattoo. I don't believe there's one person for everyone. But let's say all this is true for your people. It's not for mine. None of that happens here. How do you think you showing up here will make that change?"
"It happened to Macie. Or do you think she had that before? You were there. When she received the mark, it hurt her."
His eyes watched her. He honestly wanted to know what she was thinking. Feeling. His eyes held no trace of irritation at her disbelief.
"No, I believe it happened. I just don't understand it. I was watching Savion. Hard not to look at gorgeous when he walks into a room and Savion was walking with him. His hand went to his neck only moments before Macie cried out."
"His mark burned from being so close to her. Finding her. If we had never come to this planet then no, she would have never been marked. Because she would have never found her mate."
"So, you believe you're fated to be here?"
"I do."
"If we were meant to be mated to one of you, don't you think we would have at least been born on the same planet?"
"Not if our planets were always meant to be one. Take what is good about ours, what is good about yours. That would be something special, would it not?"
Jess looked away before she could drown in his eyes. Took a deep breath. "Are you here to hurt us?"
"No."
"Did you make us sick?"
"No."
"If we could believe that it would go a long way to making this situation better."
"We do not lie. I do not lie."
"Any way to prove that?"
"We have tests that are a hundred percent accurate from telling truth from false, but you would just say that we set the test up. You could ask Dezrick. He is unable to lie, but you would just think I am lying about that. I cannot make you trust me. I can only give you the time it will take for you to trust me."
She sighed and wished Julian had thought to sneak her in a coke.
"I can show you that just because you do not believe in something does not mean it is not true."
"How are you going to do that?"
"You do not believe the mark can magically appear. I can show you magic is real. We call them gifts."
"Powers? I heard about some of that in the last class. The teacher said Savion can calm people. You're able to do something like that?"
He reached out, palm out and her half-eaten bag of chips appeared into his hand. Only long enough for her to witness it then they were gone.
"Where did you put those? I wasn't done with them."
"Garbage can by the door."
That earned him a frown. "Very funny."
She crossed her arms over her chest because her hands were shaking. Her eyes swept over the room to see if anyone else had seen that.
No one was paying attention. Did she just see him move something just by wanting to move it?
She willed herself to calm down. It wasn't the most unusual thing she's seen in the last few days. "I think I heard that only a rare few of your kind can do things like that?"
"Royals. There are only eighteen of us left."
Good. The thought of them all being able to do something like that was more than a little scary. "I think you were supposed to move to the next table. Everyone else has."
"It is unnecessary."
"You're Kellum, aren't you?'
"Yes."
"Just when I thought there were a few things to like about you."
He smiled just a little. "Why must that change?"
"For one thing, you're wanting something I can't give you."
"What is it you think I want from you, Jessalynn?"
"Nope. Don't do that. Don't say my name like that. Why don't you tell me what you want from me? And the answer to my question better not be half-alien babies."
He thought about it. His eyes on her. Wow. Wow. Wow. Why would a boy be gifted with such beautiful eyes? As if they weren't beautiful enough, they turned warm as he looked at her.
"Everything, Jessalynn. I want everything."
Crap on a stick. She was in way over her head. "We're pretty close." She held up her arms. "And no mark. You better look elsewhere."
"That is unnecessary."
Double crap.
"The mark will come. Our numbers are high enough that I am sure of it."
"There could be others." Was her voice as shrill as it sounded to her? "Lots of others. More could show up at any moment. You better keep your options open."
He did that little half-smile again.
Why was it that there was life in his eyes? Why couldn't he be like all the others and have dead eyes?
"As I said, keep your options open. I know I am."