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Mated by Mandate

Zelda Quinn

Dr. Zora talks to rocks for a living; Ambassador Xan negotiates peace treaties...

I thought the Galactic Dating Service’s threats were a joke.

Public meme campaigns? Social humiliation algorithms? Please. I’m Dr. Zora—I talk to rocks for a living.

But when their “99.9% Perfect Match” pairs me with Ambassador Xan, they’re not bluffing.

He’s everything I despise: politically connected, devastatingly charming, the kind of smooth operator who manipulates hearts like trade negotiations. Our first date ends with me coughing alien berries into his drink.

I should hate him.

Instead, when he laughs—really laughs—I glimpse someone real underneath. Someone who protects me from sleazy delegates. Someone who looks at me like I’m fascinating instead of socially defective.

Then I discover seaweed that could change everything—life-changing science that makes me a target for every government in the galaxy.

Including his.

I now face an impossible choice: trust the man who awakened something I’d buried, or protect my discovery alone.

The galaxy’s future depends on my decision. So does my heart.

Mated by Mandate is a slow burn steamy alien dating-service romance and the first novella in the Galactic Dating Service series. If you enjoy fated-mates chemistry, grumpy–sunshine banter, and a silver-tongued alien willing to bend interstellar rules for one brilliant human scientist, you’ll love Mated By Mandate.

Book Information

Author: Zelda Quinn

Available on: August 11th, 2025

Series: Galactic Dating Service Series

Imprint: Lovelace Lit

Word Count: 33K

Genres: Romance, Sci-Fi Romance

Formats Available: Ebook

ISBNs: 978-1-966024-03-3


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Chapters from Mated by Mandate...

Mated by Mandate – Chapter 1

The hum of the orbital research station Epsilon-7 was the galaxy’s most persistent lullaby, a thrumming bass note beneath the symphony of Zora’s life. It vibrated through the deck plates,...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 2

The Zephyrian Embassy on Gimmeti Prime wasn’t merely an office; it was a statement. Walls of polished moonstone whispered wealth, floating holo-displays shimmered with urgent communiques like captured starlight, and...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 3

Zora Neutral Space Station Gamma-9 was less a station and more a floating monument to excessive wealth and questionable taste. The Celestial Lounge, its crown jewel, glittered with chrome accents,...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 4

Xan The suite door hissed shut behind Xan, sealing him inside the temporary luxury Zephyria provided its traveling diplomats on Gamma-9. The silence was a stark contrast to the Celestial...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 5

Zora Back on Epsilon-7, the lab felt blessedly familiar. Sterile air, humming equipment, the comforting solidity of analyzed data streams.

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 6

Xan The diplomatic cruiser Zephyr’s Resolve sliced through the star-streaked void, its engines a low, resonant hum against the silence of space. Inside his private cabin, Xan stared at the...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 7

Zora Lomena’s primary beach wasn’t sand, exactly. It was a fine, iridescent grit that shifted through shades of turquoise and violet with each lapping wave from the phosphorescent ocean.

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 8

Xan The air in the Lomena Summit preliminary chamber crackled with avarice disguised as diplomacy. Holographic displays shifted, showing contested deep-water territories, potential harvest yields, and the unnervingly complex protein...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 9

Zora “What the hell is this. ” The temporary research wing felt more like a high-security vault than a lab.

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 10

Xan The insistent chime of the GDS notification cut through the tense murmur of the summit chamber like a plasma scalpel. Xan glanced down at his wrist comm, irritation warring...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 11

Zora The harsh strip lighting of Storage Bay 3 felt like an interrogation lamp after the soft, ethereal glow of Whispering Coral Inlet. Zora leaned against the cool metal wall,...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 12

Xan The secure datapad felt heavier than usual in Xan’s hand. He sat in his temporary quarters, the ambient hum of the Lomena Summit complex a distant irritant.

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 13

Zora Planet Hastrol assaulted the senses. Music pulsed from unseen sources, a thumping beat overlaid with tinkling chimes and something that sounded suspiciously like rhythmic whale song.

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 14

Xan The lift doors slid open onto the quiet, plush corridor of the diplomatic suites. The raucous energy of Chef Ramdain’s party faded behind them, replaced by a thick, humming...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 15

Zora Warmth lingered. Not just the ambient temperature of Xan’s ridiculously luxurious suite, but a deeper heat, settled bone-deep, humming under her skin.

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 16

Xan The silence in the suite was absolute, broken only by the distant, mocking thrum of Hastrol’s perpetual nightlife filtering through the viewport. Zora was gone.

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 17

Zora The transit back from Hastrol to Lomena felt like traveling through sludge. Zora stared out the viewport, not seeing the star streaks, only the ghost of holographic text shimmering...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 18

Xan Xan packed his bag and got on the first shuttle back to Lomena. The vessel hummed beneath him, a mechanical heartbeat that failed to drown out the chaos in...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 19

Zora Red light pulsed, turning Storage Bay 3 into a throbbing crimson nightmare. The security breach alarm shrieked, a high-pitched assault on Zora’s already frayed nerves.

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 20

Xan Xan stared at the glittering, indifferent skyline of the capital of Lomena, the silence in his suite a physical weight. Zora’s parting words echoed, sharp and corrosive: Enjoy your...

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Mated by Mandate – Chapter 21

Zora “They’ll have this area locked down soon,” Xan’s voice was rough, pulling her back to the immediate danger. “We need somewhere secure.

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