Noir Kioko had only ever seen one human before his undercover work brought him to the diner at the Luna Terminal, and that was at a distance. Humans are rare, most of them disappear without a trace, and he hopes hanging around the restaurant will give him a lead on the smuggling ring he’s investigating. There was no way he could’ve known the human would turn out to be his mate, and no way he can let it show without putting his mate in danger and possibly jeopardising his mission.<br><br>Max Welch is the proud owner of the only restaurant within a light year’s distance. He left Earth four years ago to create a better life for himself, but he hadn’t considered the possibility of scary alien pirates making his restaurant their favourite hangout spot. As a measly human there isn’t much he can do about it, but as one of the pirates starts coming by almost every day he has to come up with something before he loses all his customers. That the giant cat man is rather nice to look at changes nothing.<br><br>When rumours of another human arriving at the space station start to circulate, Noir's species trafficking infiltrate and observe only mission may need a revamp. But will Noir be able to protect his mate and another one of his rare species?

It Doesn't Translate

Max tried to keep the grimace off his face. Mating with Quam? Never. “What do you mean mating cycle?”


“He needs to mate soon, or he’ll die. Reptoids are formidable creatures, but that part of their being is a female canine. But, I didn’t come here to talk about...Quam? I think you should press charges.”


Female canine? Time stopped as he went through the words again. Quam? Die? The kitchen spun around Max. He couldn’t do this without Quam. “You’re lying.” It wasn’t more than a whisper. Noir didn’t have any time to respond, though. Quam came barging into the kitchen, and he did not look happy.


“Get out of here, fucking pussycat.”


Noir let go of Max’s hand and stepped back. “He deserved to know.” Noir appeared pleased with the reaction he got from Quam. “I’m serious about pressing charges, though.”


“What the fuck does a pirate know about pressing charges?”


Chapter 12