Page 20 of Made For The Alien Warrior

Every muscle in his body tightened when he saw Sim-pony limping into the room, leaning heavily on the hand of the Healer. He was moving before he’d even realized what he was about to do. Tiegan stopped in front of her, staring down with a thunderous expression.

“Before you say anything,” she lifted a finger, “I’d like to point out that you can’t get anywhere without me. I’m the only one who knows whether the voice I heard is real or not.”

“Why would it not be real?” he growled.

She glanced away.

Si-Moon stepped toward Sim-pony and tugged her away from him. “Hi, we haven’t been introduced. I’m Simone.”

“Hi.” Sim-pony gave her a welcoming smile.

“Sara told us you were gorgeous but wow,” Ki-ah shook her head, “you are so stunning.”

Sim-pony ducked her head.

Tiegan cleared his throat harshly. “Introductions can be made after you have rested.”

“Rest, rest, rest. Is that the only word in your vocabulary?” She shot him a dark look with her big brown eyes. “I have a right to be here.”

“She has a point,” the Healer said.

“You’ve agreed to this?”

“You try and stop a human female when she’s set her mind to something.”

Tiegan scowled harder.

“Relax,” Eema said, stepping up and gripping Sim-pony’s free arm so she was being supported on both sides. “We’ll take care of your mate.”

Sim-pony recoiled. “I’m not his—”

“Here. Sit down.” Ki-ah drew out one of the crude stumps that acted as a chair.

“You look cold.” Si-Moon shrugged out of her over-tunic and wrapped it around Sim-pony’s shoulders.

The human females all jumped into action, rallying around Sim-pony as if she were a revered member of their tribas.

Tiegan stood back and let it happen, not because he was pleased that Sim-pony had defied his orders but because he was afraid one of the females would bite his hand off if he dared intervene.

Eema dusted her hands. “I’ll go and make something for you to eat.” She crooked a finger in her mate’s direction. “Lans, you better fill me in when I get back.”

“I will consider it,” he growled, eyes narrowing.

She glared right back and waltzed out of the room. Leel left as well. She gave him a sad look as she passed him by.

Korben cleared his throat. “Perhaps it would be prudent to…” He glanced at a stern Sah-ah. “To include the females.”

“Marvelous idea, babe.” Sah-ah fell daintily against a stub.

Pin offered his chair to his mate and Ki-ah sat in front of him, holding his hand as it rested on her shoulder.

“To tell you all the truth,” Sim-pony spoke into the quiet, “I don’t think the voice was anything to get excited about.”

“You have to understand how neural connectors work,” Sah-ah explained. “The chip implanted into your skull is like a communication device and a translator all rolled into one.”

“More than that. It’s like a signal,” Ki-ah added. “It goes out into the air and latches onto the most compatible frequencies.”

“When you mate with someone,” Si-Moon gestured to Zar, “you tune into their frequency at a level that is so intimate, you can feel flashes of their emotions. It’s almost like…” she waved in the air, “you can see the color of their mood.”