Their Rebel Mate [Helan Universe 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Online Free Page A

the translator located in his brain had been able to decipher each of the questions, he didn’t have enough experience with many of the languages to accurately answer them.
    He’d been at a loss as to what to do until Kerek had finally demanded that the lectures would be available with subtitles. Now he spoke in English, and the subtitles did the translating for him.
    Everything seemed to be in order. He nodded to the technician, who began streaming the lecture live to several different countries, and spoke directly into the camera. “Hello and welcome. My name is Thantos, and I am the Helan ambassador here on Earth. The purpose of this lecture today is—” His thoughts promptly stalled when the door to the lecture room he was speaking in opened, and Kim McManus herself walked in and slid into a seat in the back row.
    He cleared his throat and picked up where he left off. “The purpose of this lecture tonight is to help explain our situation and to tell you a little bit about our culture. Hopefully, this will make the decision of signing the registry a little easier.”
    Kerek had noticed his small pause and turned to see what had caught his attention. His mate’s body stiffened, and Thantos knew he’d spotted the petite blonde woman sitting in the back. He turned back again and sent him a reassuring smile and cheeky wink.
    Thantos relaxed muscles he didn’t even know had tensed. Kerek wouldn’t let him fall. His mate was always there to catch him, whether he needed it or not.
    He slowly went through the population crisis the Helan race was going through. The thought of his ancestors breeding their women’s ability to bear female children right out of the race still upset him. Trying to explain the problem to humans always made him itch, but it was important for these people to know just how dire their situation really was. But he was always relieved when he could move on to more cheerful topics.
    “We searched numerous galaxies and hundreds, possibly thousands, of planets for a species capable of bearing our children. The gods blessed us the day we found your planet.”
    Kim shifted around in the back, and Thantos paused. Would she say anything? He was quite sure she wasn’t here to profess her intention of signing the registry.
    But she stayed silent, and he was able to continue. “Of course, we are hoping to make an alliance with Earth. We have already provided agricultural technology to help ensure that no one goes hungry and to make sure that everyone has access to clean, potable water.
    “We have transported hundreds of doctors to help dispense medications and have eradicated many of the more common diseases, including AIDS, several types of cancer, and multiple sclerosis.”
    He tapped a screen in front of him and brought up an image of the several star ships that were orbiting the planet. “As you can see, we’ve brought in numerous troops to help protect Earth in the event of an attack from a hostile species.”
    Wrapping up his discussion, he handed the pamphlets to Kerek and motioned for him to pass them back. The screens set up in front of him showed the handouts being passed around in the remote lecture rooms. “Are there any questions?”
    A pretty raven-haired woman raised her hand on one of the screens. “Yes, Hong Kong participant. You have a question?”
    She answered in a language he’d had trouble with from the beginning. The translator in his brain lagged a few seconds but eventually caught up with her question. “I have heard rumors about the nature of Helan relationships. Is it true that human women are expected to be in a ménage relationship with two Helan males?”
    He didn’t know why he was still surprised by the fact that this was the first question. It was always the first question. Literally.
    “Historically, Helan’s society was much like yours. Relationships largely consisted of one man and one woman. Our species tends to have high sexual drives…” It was the first