AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He never really wanted to find his mate. But that was because he assumed his mate would be allowee, like him. If she was, then he’d have no choice but to return home. Female allowee didn’t like to be far from their nesting pools. And they had to be in their nesting pools if they were giving birth. Allowee young had to be born in special water only found on his homeworld. Those that did not wouldn’t survive. He could hardly damn his own young because he wanted to go off chasing adventure and intrigue. He also couldn’t leave a mate and child behind, rarely ever seeing them.
But that was only if his mate was allowee.
If she were human…
How would that work? Human females were capable of breeding with alien males – he remembered that part of their published research. In fact, if he remembered correctly, they were very good at it. To the point that they exceeded the fertility rates of a person mating within their own species.
Would she still need to birth his young in the nesting pools? Would she feel drawn to them like an allowee female would? What if she didn’t approve of his lifestyle?
Serval loved what he did. Hunting down stories and chasing down bad guys and exposing them to the universe was everything he had ever wanted to do. Even when he had been freshly spawned, he had been nosy and chasing after business that wasn’t his.
But if his female was unhappy with that life…
What if he never met her though? No mating bond had been triggered. He was still a free male. He only knew she was out there intellectually – which, really, wasn’t anything more than he knew before. He knew he had a mate somewhere. He just also now knew she wasn’t on his home planet as he had originally assumed.
But how could he leave her though?
She was on a primitive, unadvanced planet. What if something happened to her? They likely wouldn’t have the medical care necessary to save her. Or maybe she would find a human male and spawn younglings for him.
The very idea made him want to rage.
And he hadn’t even met her yet!
Cursing under his breath, he ran his hands over his olules. The wiggling, sensitive appendages on his head immediately wrapped around his fingers. Seeking comfort like he was still a youngling.
He couldn’t put off meeting her until he was ready to settle down. Who even knew when that would happen? If it ever did. But in that time, she could grow old and die, or get injured and die, or meet some other male. Humans didn’t have access to advanced medicine, which meant her lifespan was going to be much shorter than his. If it took him fifty more years to be ready to settle down, would she even still be alive and waiting for him?
“Your mate has already agreed to this,” Vigo told him calmly, interrupting his frantic thoughts. “She was already doing a piece on our new location on Earth. Her scan was part of it. My mate made the offer for her to be part of our ad campaign if she was matched with an alien mostly in jest, because she didn’t think it would really happen. But it has, and your mate has agreed. We need only get your agreement as well.”
“Will I be allowed to do a story on this?” Serval asked. This definitely counted as a fluff piece – there was nothing dangerous about this – so he could fulfill his obligation to Nox and also meet this female that was supposedly his.
It might not have been what Nox intended, but it was something that would definitely be popular to watch. Humans were still rare in the universe, but they were prized and coveted. If he mated one…
“We’d be honored if you did a segment on her and us. She has to agree, of course, but that will be between the two of you. True Match can only bring you together, we can’t guide you through your entire relationship.”
Serval couldn’t stop the grin from forming on his face.
If his mating itself was newsworthy, that would be a victory over Korvii. And his mate would be a human – a far greater prize than a domini female. Not that he would be measuring them, of course, but the rest of the universe would.
And Serval would be the clear winner.
“Let me see her. My mate. What is she like?”
“That’s the other thing. She’s already agreed to this, so it’s up to you. We want to bring you two together in a controlled environment where we can get the reaction to your meeting on video. So, we can use it as part of the ads. The amazement of the first meeting caught on camera for the viewers to be a part of. That kind of thing.”
“That’s actually… brilliant. Audiences love that kind of thing. Whose idea was that?”
“Your mate’s. As it happens.”
Serval smirked, pleased.
Vigo said that she was well known on her planet. Perhaps she was an investigative journalist like himself. In which case, even better. He’d have a partner in his career just like Korvii. And one who would look even better on video.
“You have yourself a deal, Vigo,” Serval said, pleased beyond measure. “Where are we meeting?”
Chapter 3
Sophie
