Page 14 of Fated to the Alien Hero (Warriors of Tavikh #7)

Astrid

Ever since the Bohnari were mentioned I’ve been curious about them. Up until I arrived on Tavikh, I’d only ever seen one other race of aliens when a contingent of them arrived on Earth to negotiate some type of contract with our government. My father hadn’t been part of the negotiations, but one of his lawyer friends had been. I’d gone to their office building to take my dad something and I’d passed the group of them in the lobby.

“Are they flying in stealth mode?”

“I believe so. It is how they always arrive,” Evren explains. “First Alik, and once he deems it safe, then the rest show themselves.”

“Why wouldn’t it be safe? Aren’t you all friends? Or at least allies?”

“Yes, we are allies, but since they do not live on Tavikh, they do not know what they will find when they arrive. Perhaps our village has been destroyed. Or perhaps another warrior has stripped Zander of his role of shefir and does not want to remain on friendly terms with the Bohnari,” Evren says. “Not that either of those things will happen, but Alik has been betrayed before and vows he will not repeat the same mistakes.”

He’s said that name twice now. “Who’s Alik?”

“The Bohnari leader.”

“Why does he arrive first? Wouldn’t he want to send a subordinate to scout things out before potentially risking his own life if things down here aren’t what they expect?”

Evren chuckles. “Alik doesn’t fully trust anyone but himself and his crew. Zander is a distant place behind all of them. He also would not send anyone to do something he would not do himself first.”

The Bohnari leader sounds kind of scary. As though sensing my hesitation, Evren’s tail caresses my back in a comforting gesture.

“I promise, Alik is a friend of the Tavikhi. He is also extremely fond of human women so do not be surprised if he flirts with you. That is what Zara calls it anyway. When he does, I promise I will try not to be jealous.”

The thought makes me laugh. “I doubt your friend will flirt with me.”

Evren stops in the middle of the path next to the field we finally reached, which causes me to as well. I turn to glance over at him. There’s a fierce expression on his face.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Why do you think the Bohnari would not flirt with you?”

I laugh again, only this time nervously. “I’m not really the kind of woman guys flirt with.”

“You are exactly the type of female Alik would like,” Evren says sharply and steps into my personal space. I should be scared, but the intensity and heat of his stare makes my body burn. “You are beautiful and your curves make a male want to run his hands along them. Your ass is plump, and every time you walk I watch the way it moves and my fingers itch to know what it feels like beneath them. You are soft, but I do not worry that you can take me when the time comes for me to be inside your cunt. Everything about you is perfect, so the Bohnari has every reason to flirt with you.”

With each blunt word Evren says, I grow hotter and my pussy throbs like it had when he made me orgasm back inside the cave. Maybe I should be bothered by the presumption that we’ll fuck, but every day that passes, I wonder why I’m holding back. I shouldn’t be loyal to Grady. Not after everything.

The only response I can come up with is to rise up on my toes, palm the back of Evren’s neck, and claim his lips with mine. I withdraw and lower myself back down.

“Thank you.”

From this moment on, I’m going to do whatever I can to forget every little dig about my appearance that Grady has made over the years. His opinion is worth less than shit. It’s not going to be easy, but I want to get back to the woman I was before I let him erode away my self-esteem. I want to be the confident woman my mother made me. The one who doesn’t let any man make me feel less than. She was right. The degrading comments are the ones that stick with a person.

Evren takes my hand again and leads me along the path, and soon we’re walking past the bizele crop and the elders’ tents. Instead of heading to the healer’s tent, we make our way toward the central fire where a crowd has already gathered in preparation of the Bohnari’s arrival.

It doesn’t take long before loud chatter reaches us. Tavikhi children rush forward in excitement and don’t bother stopping. Instead they head straight for the front entrance. After what feels like forever, I spot Evren’s friend Katem coming this way. Beside him is another alien who is obviously the Bohnari leader. Trailing them are the kids.

While not as tall as the Tavikhi warrior at his side, he is no less imposing. Muscles bulge beneath the tight black sleeveless shirt he wears. Not to mention the— gulp —bulge in his pants. Skin the color of burnished copper almost shines from the sunlight reflecting off it. His teal hair is perfectly tousled to look like he just crawled out of his bed, but it’s the lazy smile of satisfaction on his lips that makes me think he wasn’t alone in it.

Katem and he come to a stop in front of Zander, who waits by the fire. The shefir fists his chest in the sign of respect I’ve witnessed before from most of the Tavikhi. The Bohnari—Alik—returns the gesture.

“Greetings, brother,” Zander says. “We are glad to have you back so soon.”

“It is good to be back on Tavikh and receiving such a warm welcome.”

From the corner of my eye, a shadow moves closer, until someone stands beside me. I glance over and find Zara. She leans in close to my ear.

“Be prepared to be hit on,” she whispers. “Apparently it’s almost like a rite of passage with Alik.”

“I heard he was a flirt.” I make sure to keep my voice lowered as well.

Zara snorts. “That’s an understatement. He’s harmless, but if you play your cards right, you might make Evren jealous enough that he’ll take you somewhere and dick you down so good you’ll forget Alik’s name.”

I nearly choke on my spit. The noise draws the attention of several people, including the Bohnari. Alik’sgaze lands on me, and he grins even wider. I shuffle beneath the scrutiny. He disengages from Zander and prowls forward, only stopping when he reaches me.

“You’re new,” he says and darts a glance at Evren beside me. “It would appear I am late once again, and yet another stunning human female has been taken. How disappointing for me. Your mate is one lucky male. His goddess has truly blessed him with you.”

The deep bass of his voice rumbles through me and makes my knees tremble like they’re made of jelly. I have to clear my throat before I can speak.

“Thanks.”

“Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.” He scans me from head to toe, pausinginfinitesimallyat my breasts just above my sling-supported arm before moving back up to meet my gaze.

I flush with the heat of his stare and while I’m flattered by the attention, there’s a little voice telling me that the flirtatious charisma is nothing more than a front. I can’t put my finger on what it is about Alik that gives me the impression, but it’s there.

“You are done flirting with my keeshla ,” Evren growls and moves closer.

The heavy weight of his tail twines around my waist as if to prove his point even further. Alik chuckles and makes a sweeping bow.

“It has been a delight. Please feel free to go see Vornak and make use of one of our med pods for the arm,” the Bohnari offers.

“Thank you,” I say again.

Evren echoes me and pulls me away from Alik. He doesn’t remove his tail, but uses it to guide me toward the main entrance.

“I told you he would flirt.”

I have to press my lips together to fight the smile at his obvious annoyance, despite his promise to try not to get jealous. Unable to help myself, I stroke his tail. Evren shudders and I tuck that knowledge away for the future.

“Rest assured I have no interest in Alik like that. You are the only man who interests me.”

“This makes me extremely happy to hear.”

Even though we just got back to the village, we leave it again, but this time in a different direction. Luckily, we don’t have to go too far. I can barely hold back the gasp at the sight of the ship docked in the field. If there was a color darker than black, then the Bohnari’s ship would be it. I almost feel like I could step through it and disappear into another dimension. Its angles appear sharp enough to cut.

There’s a pneumatic hissing sound that makes me jump, and a ramp descends. Booted footsteps echo from inside until a looming, shadowy figure walks out of the darkness. If I thought Alik was big, this guy puts him to shame. And where the Bohnari leader oozes charm, his…friend? Co-worker? Subordinate? is severe and downright scary-looking.

“Greetings,” Evren calls out. “I am Evren of the Tavikhi and this is my mate, Astrid. Alik offered us the use of your healer’s magic to heal her arm.”

“You’re the second female with a broken arm Vornak has had to repair. Can’t you adequately protect your mates?” he asks.

Beside me, Evren stiffens. “We can protect them just fine.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but it was broken before I met the Tavikhi people.” I know they’re all perfectly capable of defending themselves—especially my mate—but I bristle at the insinuation that Evren is, I don’t know, weak or something.

The Bohnari studies me, and I do my best not to flinch under the intensity of his stare. He glances at Evren. “Your mate is a fierce one.”

“Yes, she is.”

Fierce isn’t something I’ve ever been called before or ever thought of myself as, but yeah, maybe I am.

“Horek,” someone from the interior of the ship yells out. “Quit being a mucknut.”

Another Bohnari appears behind him. One who appears much friendlier. The two share a glare and maybe some unspoken words before the scary guy pivots and is swallowed by the darkened interior as he walks away. The new guy faces us again with a warm grin.

“Welcome. I am Vornak, the Bohnari healer.”

“Greetings, Vornak. You are who we have come to see. I am Evren and this is my keeshla , Astrid.”

“Yes, I heard. Please, enter. I’ll have you fixed up in no time. My mate is anxious to head to the village to visit her former tribe sister.”

I only hesitate for a second before I start up the ramp and into the bowels of the ship. It’s completely different than the ship we traveled on from Earth. That one was built for comfort, while the Bohnari’s ship is not. It’s dark and cool in here with dim lighting that gives the metallic hallway we travel down an eerie feel. The echo chamber effect doesn’t help.

After several turns that have me completely lost, we come to a stop before a door and what looks like some biometric reader. It’s confirmed when Vornak lays his palm on it and with a swooshing sound, it opens. He steps inside the brightly lit room, and Evren and I enter together.

Not even the med room on the human ship had the kind of technology I’m seeing. A dull thud makes me swivel my head. My eyes bug at the sight of the woman—the human woman—striding forward. No one told me there was a human on board. Did Evren know? A quick glance confirms he’s not surprised.

The woman chuckles. “I get that look a lot. Hi, I’m Johnna.”

“Astrid.” I take her outstretched hand by rote.

“Nice to meet you.” She gestures to my arm. “Seems to be a theme with you guys.”

Although the Bohnari that first greeted us said something similar, there’s amusement in Johnna’s tone instead of a thread of hostility.

“The result of an abusive husband.” I mean it to be self-deprecating, but the way they both stiffen and whip their gazes to Evren have me backpedaling. “Oh, shit, sorry, not Evren. My other husband. I mean ex-husband. Or soon-to-be ex-husband. Definitely not Evren, though.”

Vornak and Johnna slowly relax and I breathe out a sigh of relief and step closer to him to try and emphasize my trust. My hand also automatically finds his.

“You had me worried for a second,” Johnna says with her hand on her chest. “I thought we were going to have a huge problem.”

I wince. “Yeah, that didn’t come out right.”

Her expression is still stern. “He back at the human settlement?”

“Yes. Actually, I don’t know. They’re supposedly kicking him out and either sending him to the Krijese village as punishment or he has to try and make it on his own.”

She turns to her…mate. “Maybe we’ll have to ask Alik to make a stop somewhere before we go home.”

My head is already shaking, because I only want to forget Grady ever existed. “No, please. I just want to get my divorce or annulment or whatever it is we’re calling it on this planet and move on with my life.”

Johnna looks like she wants to argue, but she finally gives a single jerky nod. “Fine.”

“Since that has been settled, we should get your arm healed.” Vornak shoots a glance at Evren. “I’m sure things will be less difficult without either the sling or the discomfort.”

It takes me a second to process what he means, but when I do, my face grows hot and no doubt I’m bright red. I clear my throat. “I’m ready.”

“Please remove your sling, and then I’ll need you to lie on your back in the med pod,” Vornak instructs gently.

“Would you like assistance?” Evren asks me.

I nod and let him help me out of the support and over to the giant egg-shaped pod. He palms my waist and lifts me onto the padded surface without a single grunt or groan. Carefully, I lay back and wait for the lid to close over me.