Page 17 of Treasured By the Alien Rogue

“I need to visit the bushes,” I said.

He frowned before his face cleared, and he waved to a cluster of shrubs on our right.

I ducked behind them and did my business, silently cursing the lack of toilet paper. Was that something else I was going to miss out on for the rest of my life? I didn’t dare use any leaves. There was no need to pick up an alien rash on my booty.

When I returned to the path, we started walking again, continuing silently for what felt like hours.

We ate more roots for lunch.

“How much farther?” I asked.

“We’ll reach my village before sunset.”

From the angle of the light, that would be a few more hours. My poor feet were killing me, every muscle and bone in my body ached, and I wanted to lay down and take a long nap. But I wasn’t going to ask him to carry me. I was still spooked by how amazing it had felt when he held me earlier. A repeat might make me crave him even more than I already did.

“I’m sorry you haven’t been able to get others to move to your village,” I said, returning to our earlier conversation. Fourteen people wasn’t a big enough gene pool to sustain healthy life. “Could you talk your traedor into being more welcoming?”

“We try without much success. He’ll come around one day.”

I could hear the hope in his voice, but he knew his traedor, not me.

“Long ago,” he said, “one of his ancestors led my clan to the place where we live now. They planted our first shrooms. We’ve been there ever since, and I’m the current traedor’s second-in-command.”

“That sounds like an honorable role.”

“Some would agree.”

“What do you say about it?” I asked, looking up at him.

“That I’ve accepted my position in my village.”

“With fourteen people living there, I doubt there are many other jobs to choose from.”

He tugged a branch off the trail, making sure I passed before he released it to snap back into its original place. “One youngling lives in our village, but the rest are adults. We only have three females, my mother, Gerain, and her adult daughter, Floosar.”

“Please don’t think this means I’m going to do laundry and wash the dishes.” I was mostly joking.

His brow furrowed, and I wished he wouldn’t frown like that. It made him look cute. “Why would I think you’d do laundry and dishes?”

“Because I’m female.”

“What does being female have to do with those tasks?”

It suddenly dawned on me. “You guys take care of yourselves,” I breathed.

“Of course we do. Whatever our god doesn’t do for us, we do ourselves.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. He must be speaking figuratively. Fourteen villagers wasn’t many people, though. It was sad. “You must be lonely.”

“Sometimes. We’re a clan. We have each other.”

A worrisome thought occurred to me. “Will your traedor allow me to stay with your clan?”

“I’m sure he will. You’re female. He’ll probably welcome you. And never fear, I won’t let my traedor take you.”

“Why would he do something like that?”

“Because he longs for a mate as much as the rest of us.”

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