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Ralleth doesn’t mean for it to come across as condescending as it does. We’ve grown closer in the last few weeks that I’ve been staying in the great hall with him while we wait for the storms to finish. I received permission to come to this planet for extended periods of time and didn’t hesitate to move here.

At first, Ralleth didn’t like me at all. I might’ve exasperated this by very purposefully saying Simone’s name all of the time because I knew it pissed him off to hear me say his brother’s mate’s name. It didn’t matter to him that Simone was mine long before she came to this planet. I can only hope she’ll choose to be mine again.

“I don’t see why not,” I answer with as dull a tone as I can. “You’ve said yourself that plenty of males here share.”

“I did.” Ralleth rubs the back of one of his horns, not making eye contact with me because, for some reason, he’s now thinking something he’s not voiced before.

He was happy when I told him I wasn’t going to try to kill his brother. In fact, he laughed at me for a while before telling me that he was sure I would try my best even though I am a small male. Much smaller than all of them.

The point is, he seemed more than happy about me being willing to share then. So, I don’t know why he’s acting weird about it now.

“What aren’t you saying?”

“Nothing.” He looks at me with wide eyes and then immediately looks somewhere else. “Just that we do not know if my brother is a male who is willing to share. I mean, I have spoken with him only a handful of times since I was a young male. We have not ever talked about his preferences for mating.”

“Ralleth.”

I try to keep my temper in check because I know it’s my biggest fault. I get even slightly upset, and somehow, my living spaces end up torn apart with things thrown all over the place. It’s something I worked on for a long time to get under control. Then Simone was sent to this planet. That was when I first fell off the rails of keeping my emotions in check. Now, it seems like any time she’s brought up, there’s a fifty-fifty chance of me destroying something.

“Do not be upset with me,” Ralleth says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I am just letting you know. I would hate for my brother and his mate to arrive at the tribe happy and together and for you to feel saddened by their happiness.”

I grit my teeth together, hating how much my human skin is slipping. It’s so hard to keep it in place when I’m also trying to avoid breaking something.

“They’re happy together then?” I ask, knowing that Ralleth has already told me many times that his brother is mated to Simone or will be soon.

I have no idea how fast it took her to move on from me. Not that I blame her, because I don’t. I told her when I sent her to this planet that she should try to find happiness because I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to be able to be with her. It took me a little while to come up with a plan, but I didn’t think it’d be so long that she’d move on. I guess I can’t really blame her when all of the research I’ve done on the creatures of this planet has told me that they mate for life and feel strong callings to be with who they believe to be their mate.

“I would imagine since we have not been told that she has murdered him,” Ralleth answers, a smile tugging at his lips. “I am sure you can relate to his feelings much better than I can. She seemed eager to murder him on more than one occasion. My brother seemed very pleased with this, so I believe it is what bonds them.”

I take a deep breath and then release it. I might not have believed Ralleth about his brother being Simone’s mate if not for all of the others who seem sure of it as well. Even Simone’s friends have told me that they’re pretty sure Simone feels something for Rallan.

Simone never told anyone she was with me, either. It makes sense she’d be just as secretive about finding a different mate. Ilet the breath out, forcing my skin to reform and cover my true form.

I’ve grown accustomed to my human skin, finding it to be more of a comfort. I also don’t feel the need to let the others in the tribe know what I truly look like. I’m already other enough from them that I don’t need to give them more of a reason not to trust me.

“Well, I still want the house ready for them when they arrive,” I say, forcing neutrality into my voice. “You said the storms are over for this season, and we only have thirty more days until the first batch of humans arrives. Simone and Rallan will be here soon whether or not they choose to live here with me. Worst case, I move out and leave the house to them.”

“You would do this?” Ralleth asks me, moving from side to side as though having to ask the question at all makes him uncomfortable.

“Believe what you want about me. I do truly want whatever Simone wants. If she still allows me in her life, wonderful, but I won’t force myself where I’m not wanted.”

“I do not think little of you,” Ralleth says, his lips pulling back as he bares his teeth at me. “I would have thought after all of this time you would begin realizing that I am your friend. I do not wish to see your soul empty as mine would be if my creature did not choose to spend her life with me. I do not wish that for you. I do not wish it for my brother. I cannot think of any way to ensure it does not happen. Even thinking of one of you being unhappy for the rest of your life is not something I am fond of. It makes me feel a helplessness I have not felt since the humans began to bless this tribe.”

I let his words hang in the air for a moment, the sincerity in them causing a different kind of emotion to swell up inside of me. I swallow down the lump in my throat and force my eyes up to meet his gaze. “If I have it my way, we’ll be blood.”

When the words leave my mouth, Ralleth beams at me. “I think I would like that very much.”

I take one last look around the house, trying to get all of my emotions under control. It’s bad enough when my anger is the one making me lose it, but for it to be an overwhelming acceptance. Yeah, I don’t know what that makes me feel inside, but it’s new and it’s strange. It’s something I want to think about when I’m alone. Not when I have Ralleth staring at me as though he’s waiting for me to say something just as profound as he has. It’s weird enough that I want to hug him.

“Vex,” Ralleth calls my name, forcing me to turn back around. I should at least face him if he wants to say something else that’s going to end up making me feel more at home in this tribe than I ever did with the other Hands. “I think you are already my blood. Maybe that is something different for your kind. For mine, I think it’s okay to be blood to someone who you think of as a good friend. Almaac is my blood, even if I am never related to him. I think I can be your blood as well if you would like that.”

“Dude,” I mutter the human phrase easily before walking over to Ralleth and throwing my arms around him. He doesn’t even flinch at the contact. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pats my back.

“I take it you are fine being my blood then?” he asks with a chuckle when I push away.

“Why do you have to be so nice?” I mutter, pushing past him and going back outside. “You’re supposed to be the leader of the tribe. Be more cold and callous or something. “

“What?” Ralleth shakes his head, taking a few steps to catch up with me. “I have Almaac to be that way for me. It is good to have many opinions when you are a leader, I think. It also helps me not to have to decide everything on my own. Truly, it was never even supposed to be me who was the leader, but sometimes things happen in unexpected ways. I doubt Rallan will want totake my spot when he is back in the tribe, either. He has told me he very much enjoys not having responsibility, which makes sense if he is still similar to how he was when we were younger. You can be the voice of callousness for your bond when he is back. Yes, I think that is a wonderful idea.”