Rogue Warriors of Lorr
Stolen by the Alien Prince Chapter 25

As the weeks went on, Gianna began nesting... hard.

She couldn't help this new excitement now that she and Kozien had decided on becoming parents. She had no idea what it would be like to carry a Lorr warrior to full term, or even carry a baby at all, but she looked forward to the experience. Each passing day, she took a pregnancy test, hoping to see the results to tell her that she was pregnant.

She never knew what a frustrating and long process this might be, now that they were actively trying. How did normal people do this? The waiting drove her crazy. She just wanted to be pregnant now. Not having to wait for it to happen whenever. Kozien had laughed at her on more than one occasion. His teasing about her impatience had been endearing at first, but now she was getting tired of empty nesting. She wanted to be pregnant and carrying his child.

She knew there was no rush and that her time would come when she least expected. But now that it'd been a few weeks, she couldn't help but feel like something was wrong with her.

Kozien had assured her over and over again that she was fine and that Lorr often took longer to conceive than most species. Mainly due to the fact that their genes were selective and bred only the best of the best. But what if that meant her genes weren't good enough to reproduce?

She hadn't foreseen the situation coming, and the only saving grace to all of this was the fact that Kozien had traveled back temporarily to the city in order to handle some business with his brothers. Therefore, he wasn't privy to watching her spiral. He'd been adamant about selling the rest of PAPS over to his brother since he'd be living on the island while helping her raise and take care of their children. He wouldn't have time to travel back and forth in order to keep up with the business.

It made sense to her, but she felt bad about it regardless. She knew Kozien was doing what was best for her and their future baby. She only hoped he wasn't doing all of this in order to isolate himself from his family.

I'll have to make sure his brothers come and visit once we have the baby.

She placed a hand over her stomach. That promise was only good if she actually managed to conceive at some point in the near future.

Shaking her head out of her thoughts, Gianna made her way across their home and grabbed her comms. She needed to see what her brother was up to.

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"You sure about this?"

Kozien looked up from the papers laid out on the desk in front of him, raising a single brow. "Of course, I am. I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't."

Grux nodded at him, his hands on his hips. "I'm surprised, brother. I never thought you'd hand over the reins so easily like this."

Kozien couldn't help but laugh, signing the last of the documents before handing the pages over to his brother. "I am growing a family now, Grux. I need to take care of them. And I can't do that if I'm too busy trying to run this place and being away from my mate." Grux's eyes widened. "She's pregnant?"

He chuckled. "Not yet, but she will be. Mark my words. The end of this summer, she will be with child."

Grux reached over across the desk and clapped him hard on the back. "I'm proud of you, brother. You truly showed me that she is the one for you. I'm sorry for putting you in such a predicament beforehand."

Kozien shook his head, raising his hands. "It's all in the past. Just promise me you'll take care of this place now that I won't be here."

"Of course, I will. And you are free to visit whenever you want. Stop by and bring your new child whenever it's born."

Kozien grinned at the thought. Even just thinking about Gianna swollen with his child and radiating a beautiful pregnancy glow made his heart want to burst right out of his chest. He loved that woman more than he could ever imagine. It really was a wonder how they got anything done.

But now that he had handed over PAPS to his brothers, he was confident that he and Gianna would be able to take care of their life together and bring a child into this world without having to worry about the repercussions of him having to swing back and forth between his job and his family.

No matter what, Gianna came first. So, if that meant having to hand over his business, so be it. It would all be worth it in the long run.

"You'll still be earning a percent. Just so you know."

Kozien shook his head, pulling his brother into one of their rare hugs. "I appreciate you taking care of my family, Grux."

"It's the least I can do at this point."

Parting from his brother, he nodded and let him lead them out to the private parking lot in the back where he'd parked his ship. He bid his brother goodbye with one final wave before climbing aboard and ascending into the air.

As soon as he reached above the buildings, his comms rang. Gianna's smiling face was plastered all over his screen. It made him smile as he answered it.

"Hello, my mate."

"Kozien! Oh, thank god."

A chill ran down his spine at her tone. "What happened?"

"Gabe's getting mated!"

"Really?" Kozien's face spread into a wide smile.

"Yes! He's such a brat. He told me they're doing it on the beach this afternoon. Can you get back here in time?"

He laughed. "Of course, I can. Shall I bring cake?"

The ceremony-although a little rushed-had been beautiful.

Gabe and Sililia had decided on a traditional mating on the beach, where the waves crashed onto the shore and the smell of saltwater filled the air as they both decreed their love for one another.

It was a truly beautiful sight, watching his mate's brother find the love of his life just as he had found his sister only a few short months ago. He couldn't believe how lucky they all were, finding their mates and settling down into their families like it had been planned by the stars.

Gianna had cried during her brother's decree, her arm clutched tightly around Kozien's while she dabbed a tissue at her cheeks.

He could tell she was proud of Gabe. They had both overcome so much in their life that it was nice to see them both so happy. Even Kozien's brothers had commented on it when he'd arrived to hand over PAPS to them, telling him that he radiated happiness. He hoped that was true and that he lit up as soon as Gianna was in the room with him.

He couldn't think of a better way to live out the rest of his life, honestly.

Gabe and Sililia had a small after-party reception on the beach after their mating. Food had been prepared by a few of their friends they'd met on the boat. The feast was immaculate and fit to feed an entire village.

Which actually came in handy, since a few of the villagers started to wander down to the festivities, only to be handed a plate full of food and a chair to recline in.

Kozien had pulled Gianna into his lap and let her rest against him, her eyes automatically pulled toward the water while they both watched the sunset over the horizon.

"Beautiful day for a mating," he told her.

She smiled and turned back to look at him. "Yeah, I agree. Though, I can't believe my brother was so impulsive like this."

He chuckled. "I can't say we're any better, love."

Her cheeks flushed. "Okay, you got me there."

"When you know, you know."

She leaned over and kissed him. "Want to ditch this party and see about making us a baby?"

He knew his eyes must've lit up as soon as she said that because she let out a small laugh.

Without answering her, he pulled her further up into his arms and stood. Sneaking out of the party wouldn't be hard, mostly due to the fact that everyone was pretty drunk by now. The bride and groom had disappeared some time ago, presumably to consummate their new mating.

As was tradition.

Kozien nodded to a few partiers as they passed by, dodging more than once at getting roped into some kind of drinking game that involved a rope and bending over until you fell over. He patted Gianna's hip, heading up to the main road from the beach in record time.

"You're really going to carry me all the way up to our house?"

He grinned and adjusted her so he could look at her. "Would you like us to make a quick pit stop in the meantime?"

She let out another laugh. "I wouldn't mind sneaking off into a bush somewhere, but I'm afraid our friends in the village wouldn't like seeing our naked bodies dancing around each other too much."

"They're spoilsports then."

She batted at his shoulder. "How about you race me to the top, and if you catch me, you get to tie me up and have your way with me?"

His mouth practically fell open. "I'll take that as a yes, Gianna."

He nodded quickly, setting her down gently onto her feet.

She brushed the stray grains of sand off of her dress and adjusted her sandals-a valiant effort if he wasn't so sure she was going to be losing this. She got into a running position and faced the stairs leading up to their condo. "Okay. Ready? Three... two... one... go!"

She raced up the steps, taking them two at a time with an impressive amount of speed. He smiled, giving her a head start because he was going to catch up to her in no time with his long strides.

Once she was a comfortable distance ahead of him, Kozien took the stairs up three at a time. It took him only around a minute and a half to catch up to her and scoop her up into his arms.

"Cheater!" She laughed, her breath punching out of her while sweat beaded at her forehead.

"Yes, me giving you a head start was certainly cheating."

He peppered her face with kisses, finally clearing the last few steps and barely having any wind knocked out of him for the effort. He grinned to himself and hip-checked their door open, bringing her across the threshold of their condo. "I win."

Gianna moved in his arms, turning to cup his face before kissing him. "Take me to bed, Kozien."

"As you wish, my love."