"How fucking dare you." My female stood in the doorway with a warriors stance. This is not quite the way I ever expected this moment to play out.

The fury in her voice and the fire in her eyes told me she was more than mad. I didn't need to be an Empath to see that, but the feel of it -- her outrage -- in my chest helped to show me the true depth of what she was feeling.

Wyland, her guide, shot me a sympathetic glance over the top of her head, "I will go find Roan."

She turned on him, fast as a whip, "No. Speak in English. I know you can.I'm being a bitch, I know. Sorry, not sorry. This is unacceptable we need to address this."

Wyland took a quick step back, he hesitated a moment before deciding to completely ignore her. He took off down the hallway, likely toward the temple where Prince Roan could frequently be found.

"Where the absolute FUCK do you think you're go--" my female made to follow after him.

Something different twisted in my gut. I didn't like that she was focused on another male. "Addy?" I called out to her, her nickname foreign but sweet on my tongue. I liked it.

The effect was instant. Her entire body went taut as she stood mid-step in the doorway. For a second I thought she might just ignore me like Wyland had decided to do to her. "You don't get to use that name." Her voice was low and quiet; dangerous. "I don't know if you can speak English or not, but I don't like this and I plan to fix it."

I felt the rejection like a slap, but I'd anticipated it to some extent. The viewscreens that showed feeds from the surface of the planet had been airing the news of her genetic match and the greedy populace had converged on her mid-transport to the local genetics lab. Then came the reports from our agent in the lab itself about how woefully underprepared she was. We sent inquiries across the globe and each male reported similar findings in the legal documents the other countries had published.

The search is never easy, only worthwhile. Sacred words from sacred texts. When we were young and only dreaming of this possibility they seemed impersonal and somewhat laughable, now I felt them acutely. "I can speak English. I apologize for the fact that I couldn't before. It wasn't within protocol at the time, to receive the data update for your language."

"Not within protocol? What the hell do you mean?" She maintained her stance in the doorway. The position farthest away from us without being completely on the retreat.

"Bluntly, it was not permitted until we were certain that we were a complete match. There are too many languages on your planet and it would clutter our language devices to receive every single one."

"Interesting concept. The only problem is we aren't a match." Her voice was flat.

"We are." Small steps, Esayr. She's upset and had no forewarning. It will take time for her small acceptances.

"You forgot the word 'not' at the end of that sentence. You can't genuinely expect me to believe that I'm bound to you? I couldn't even believe that I had a soulmate on Earth, much less one from across the universe."

"As a rule yes, we Val'Dornn tend to expect that of those our souls are bound to. We certainly believe that ourselves, but I understand you were misled, so for now I will be happy with the belief that you will eventually accept this fact."

Her laugh was fast and humorless, "Good luck."

"Thank you."

My response seemed to bother her. Her eyebrows furrowed and I could feel her anger burn a little hotter in my chest. I wasn't above accepting her well wishes even if they weren't exactly her intention. "I can prove it to you if you'd like."

"I wouldn't like that, no." Her foot tapped impatiently, "I'd prefer to speak to someone who leads this ship and get this sorted out."

"He's likely on his way. Wyland went to fetch him. Until then indulge me. I can prove there's a bond between us."

"Doubtful."

Her responses were clipped, but I was undeterred, "I'm certain you can feel it even though you'd prefer it not to be true. You can put it out of your mind just like you do your own heartbeat, but the bond is there flexing and pulsing, pulling us tighter and tighter together. I can feel it in my chest like a second phantom heart. Some feel it elsewhere. If you'd take a moment to concentrate the awareness will return."

She scoffed.

"It's true. The Temani Bercari mean Searching Soul. The Val'Dornn believe that each of us, our souls were created and knit from a larger fabric. When we are born the fabric is too strong, too powerful so it must be cut in two. Each weave is thrown to the edge of the world or the universe in our case, and it is the duty of those being to search for their other half. It has a basis in the very creation myth that influences our people." I shrugged, I could feel her disbelief. She was angry and upset and scared. All feelings that made me want to pull her to me and comfort her, but she was set on refusing our bond. "You say we have no bond, then there should be no fear in attempting to feel for it."

She leveled a glare at me. It was the first time she'd actually met my gaze since the night at her work and despite the fact that it was filled with anger I could feel the heat begin its slow descent down my spine. I wanted her. I desperately wanted her. I wanted her in her anger and her happiness all of her. I watched in rapt attention as she closed her eyes and huffed some choice English words. Her brow creased in concentration.

For a moment there was nothing and then our bond gave an experimental flex. Like a rope that suddenly had a weight upon it. I fought the desire to take a step closer to her. It was gratifying to see her lean towards me. She feels it.

Suddenly, the barest caress a gentle stroke along the fibers of that bond. I was hard, almost painfully so. She'd tested it that bond and ran her own consciousness down upon it like the touch of a lover. I couldn't help myself. I reached out with my own consciousness and stroke that tether between us as well.

Her eyes flew open immediately, surprise evident in her expression. Her cheeks were even redder, but it wasn't because of the anger this time. So, humans could instinctually react to and interact with the mental connection. It had been a topic of debate. I could feel my own joy at the idea that my female and I would have the full range of mental connection.

Her reaction to the bond shuttered tight and her eyes hardened as she stared at me, "I felt nothing."

There was a soft breath behind me. Laene.

I focused on Addison, on my mate. I could feel her simmering emotions. I could feel the sickly tingling in my fingers and racing up and down my spine. She's lying. My powers whispered to me and suddenly I was grateful that my Riniere specialized in intelligence gathering. I bottled up that feeling and sent it to them to ease them. To let them know she wasn't telling the truth.

It had been a worry that humans wouldn't be able to completely bond with us Val'Dornn. We'd had no matched pairs for so long we began to question whether or not it was based on an incomplete match. A previous Temani Bercari produced bonds that lacked the entire mental connection between mates, and that loss was profoundly felt. Since then, there have been many worries held in the backs of our minds, but for now, those worries could be put at ease.

For now, I wouldn't embarrass her by revealing her lie in front of so many, but I would have to let her know about the extent of our connection and what my abilities as an Empath meant for our bond in the future.