I licked my lips as I stared at the strongest, most frightening being I had ever seen—and that was saying something because I knew some Atlans back on Earth. The beasts didn’t make my pulse race or my breasts grow heavy. I’d never once wanted to run to one of the warlords and rip his clothes off to discover if the muscles I could see under their armor were real.

The intruder’s gaze locked on my lips, and I ran my tongue over them again, unable to stop myself from taunting the monster. The pulse at the base of his neck sped up to match mine as his gaze narrowed.

A low rumble emanated from his throat, and the two Prillons shifted into more fluid stances, their knees bent, the golden one wielding his weapon as if expecting an attack.

The doctor had also placed himself in front of me, one hip turned toward the back of the room where he held his hand over his own space pistol. The other hand he held out, palm open as if he could ward off the threat.

A doctor with a gun? What was this, the Wild West?

“Get the fuck away from my mate.” The intruder ignored the golden Prillon’s space gun and locked his gaze with mine. “Are you unharmed?”

Mate? Did he just say mate?

Oh. My. God. This…animal, this monster, this scary alien armed to the teeth and covered in war paint was my mate? “Cormac?” My pulse went from pounding to frantic in less than a second.

The green wand the doctor had placed back into a loop on his green uniform beeped some kind of alarm, the light going from green to yellow. He glanced from me to Cormac. “You are scaring her. Her pulse rate is too high.”

The doctor turned around and pulled out the wand. “My lady, you need to calm down.”

“Get the fuck away from my female.” Cormac’s order reverberated around the room. “I will take care of her. Get out.”

“But—” the doctor tried to argue.

“Get the fuck out. Both of you before I claim my rights under Coalition law and kill you both.”

I froze, literally froze. What was I supposed to do? I was sitting on the floor, naked. This male, this alien, was supposed to be mine. Mine.

The Prillons looked as if they were going to risk the fight. Shit. I couldn’t let these alpha male idiots kill each other over me. Jeez. What would a real wife do? One who knew her husband the way I was supposed to already know Cormac?

I had no idea. But I had to try something. I cleared my throat to get their attention.