Page 5 of Fated to the Alien Hero (Warriors of Tavikh #7)

Evren

I am happy Astrid is eating well. She needs the sustenance to get her strength back. I had been worried during the walk back when she did not stir within my arms, but her even breathing had reassured me she was merely exhausted. I had been even more worried when several turns passed without her awakening, although Sage assured me rest would help. The fact Astrid appears to trust me is a miracle, considering the condition I found her in. I will not break that trust.

She finally finishes the last of the leburin stew. I do not believe she wanted me to help her, but I am glad she accepted my assistance. I finally have a mate I can take care of and look after.

“Thank you for the meal. It was delicious,” Astrid says.

“You are most welcome.” I set aside the empty vessel.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I will, but I wanted to make sure you were fed first. Is there anything you need?”

“Besides an arm that isn’t broken?” Astrid barely raises the appendage from where it remains within the cloth I had tied around her neck and chuckles softly.

How she can find any amusement in her situation is beyond me. I am still raging.

“Hey, I was just kidding.” A soft sensation brushes over my skin.

I glance down to find Astrid’s fingers of her uninjured arm pressed lightly against the fist at my side. Her touch soothes the heightened emotions and my hand relaxes. My flesh tingles and my mating marks darken in color. Almost as though she can sense the invisible reaction happening within me, she drops her gaze to where we are connected and then scans the swirling lines she triggered to appear.

“You and two of your friends have these marks, but your other friend didn’t. What do they mean?”

She traces a pattern on my lower arm and the pleasure of her touch travels straight to my cock. Beneath my leg coverings, I grow hard. I pray to Deeka Astrid does not notice. What will she say when I reveal the answer?

“Evren? I’m sorry. Am I not supposed to touch you?” She quickly removes her hand.

I shake my head, missing the feel of her. “It is not that.” Never that. “They are mating marks.”

The color bleeds from her cheeks. “I thought Sage and London said neither of them were your mate?”

“They are not.”

Relief crosses her face, but there is still something there I cannot identify. “Will I meet her then?”

Not trusting myself, I do not reach for her like my soul is calling out to do. But the words will not remain unspoken. “You already have.”

The furry lines above her eyes shift and a crease appears between them. “I don’t understand. The only people I’ve met are Sage and London. Oh,” she draws it out so it is more a sound and her eyes widen. “Is the other warrior your mate? Since he also has those marks?”

I nearly smile since that is a logical assumption. I shake my head again. “Neither Rassim nor Katem are my mate, although I can see why you might think that. It is you, Astrid, who has triggered my mating marks. When you first touched me out in the forest. That is when it happened.”

She stares, unblinkingly, at me. Her head cocks and the crease appears between the furry lines again. “I can’t be your mate. Not that I would be opposed to such a thing, but…but I’m married.”

Both my shoulders raise, mimicking the human gesture I have seen several of the females make. “Our goddess is the one who shows us who our fated mate is. She is the one who has said you are the female meant for me just as I am the male meant for you. Fate is what brought us together. It says you and I are the two people who are supposed to be bound to each other. That is why it was me who found you out there in the forest. I was drawn to where you laid. Your touch triggering my mating marks to appear and my soul light to ignite prove that.”

Astrid continues to stare, although her gaze drifts as she scans my chest, shoulders, and arms. I stand patiently while she performs her assessment. Is she pleased by what she sees? Does she compare me to her human mate? He is a vile male and not worthy of her. She is lucky to be rid of him. Surely she does not believe me to be less than him though?

“I still don’t understand,” she finally says. “How is this possible?”

I do not have an answer for her. Never before have I questioned Deeka or the many different paths she has placed me on. I cannot allow the uncertainty of our situation to be the reason I do so now. Astrid is my keeshla . I have no doubts in my head or heart about it. “Do not concern yourself with anything right now other than healing. That is the most important thing.”

Astrid opens her mouth like she wants to dispute that but snaps it closed and gives a small nod.

“Good. Did you get enough to eat?”

“Yes, but could I get some water, please?”

“Of course.” I cross to the supply table and fill up a vessel of water from the bucket that is kept filled for this purpose and take it to her.

Astrid is able to do this thing for herself. When she has drunk her fill, she hands the empty vessel back to me and yawns. Her eyes briefly close, but she opens them again.

“Why don’t you get some rest? The past few turns have been tough for you.” I suspect many turns before this one have been as well.

“I’m worried if I do, when I wake up this will all have been a dream, and I’m still lying out there in that forest. Dying,” she whispers.

Unable to stop myself, I reach for her hand and cradle it gently between mine. “This is not a dream, Astrid. I am here. You are here, and you are safe. No one is going to harm you again. I swear it.”

Wetness makes her eyes shiny, but the liquid does not slip down her cheeks. “You probably have some place to be or something to do, but will you stay with me, please? Just until I fall asleep?”

Astrid doesn’t understand yet, but one day she will know that there is nothing she can ask of me that I would not do for her. “I will stay for as long as you want me to.”

“Thank you.”

She slides down slightly so the back of her head rests against the furs behind her and closes her eyes. I sit on a small backless chair on the other side of the platform where she lies and watch over her as her breathing slows and then evens out.

When Jodah, Katem, Rassim, and I started out the other morning in search of a luani, nothing could have prepared me for finding Astrid as well. She should not concern herself with anything but getting well again, just as I told her. However, all those remaining things are my concern. Her safety. Her healing. This male she says is her mate.

I do not know what to do about the last one. Perhaps it is best if I speak with the shefir. Get his guidance.

I cannot do this though until someone returns to watch over Astrid. Should she wake, I do not want her to be alone. Which means, I will remain watching over her. I study my keeshla now that she has been cleaned of the blood that covered her face. She has many dark discolorations marring her flesh, especially around the one eye she is unable to open yet. Her lip remains broken open, but no longer bleeds. More dark markings line her cheek and jaw.

When I brought her to Sage, I waited outside while she cleaned and inspected Astrid’s wounds. She said those same discolorations—bruises, she called them—cover her entire torso. There is even one in the shape of a human’s foot covering on her back. As though she had been kicked or stomped on.

Hatred grows inside me, swirling around like a swarm of mushkanja, stinging and burning my very essence. Aside from what I feel for my mate, it is the most powerful emotion I have ever experienced. I have to push down the urge to storm to the human settlement, find the male who did this, and kill him. It would certainly solve several problems.

Except, I cannot.

There must be another way to deal with the situation. Except nothing comes to me. Which is why I must seek Zander’s counsel. My gaze softens once again as I take in Astrid, doing my best to see the female beneath the bruises. Bits of dirt still cling to the strands of her hair, but it does not disguise the coloring of it. Nor does it hide the lush thickness. Once it has been fully cleansed, I have no doubts her hair is even more beautiful than it is at this moment.

Of all the human females, Sage has the most generous chest mounds. But even hers are not as generous as Astrid’s. My mate is beautiful. She is thick and curvy, but also soft and warm. Astrid is all smooth lines where I am hard angles. When she is healed, I would like to explore all the hills and valleys of her body if she will allow it.I should not have the kind of thoughts I am having while she is hurt, but I cannot help it.

I am drawn back to her face and the plumpness of her lips that have nothing to do with her injuries. Will she permit me to mouth touch with her? What does she taste like? Is my mate sweet like shurup nectar? Or perhaps a more savory flavor? Although none of this matters, because I cannot do any of these things until her former mate knows she and I are mates now. It is dishonorable of me to even have these thoughts.

The sun moves farther across the sky, based on the shadows that shift along the floor of the tent from the light shining in through the hole above. At last, the door flap swings open and Kyler steps in. He makes his way over and pauses beside Astrid’s bed.

“How is she doing?” he asks.

“She has been sleeping soundly. Which is a good thing since you have always said that rest is the best way for a body to heal.”

Kyler nods. “That is the truth.”

He studies her another moment and turns to study my mating marks. I have never seen any two mating marks the same. I suppose it is because each Tavikhi is different, as well as our mate. It would only make sense, then, that the patterns of our mating marks are different as well.

“Sage told me her human mate did this to her.”

It is not really a question, but I nod anyway. “He has been abusing her for many seasons, it would appear.”

“Deeka put her in your path for a reason,” Kyler says. “Not only because you are her true mate, either.”

“Because I will protect Astrid from anyone who tries to harm her.”

“What if he discovers she is still alive and comes to take her back to the human settlement?”

Will she reject our mate bond and return with him? Will this male allow her to break their bond? If he does not, but Astrid wishes to remain with me, how far will I go to make sure he stays away?