Page 37 of Treasured By the Alien Rogue

“If they’re like me,” I added, “they won’t want to be randomly claimed by any male who finds them.”

“You must trust Alexa and the other gods,” Xax said. I struggled not to grin because he was using the same nickname for his god as me, though he didn’t seem to realize it. “They wouldn’t have brought you here if you weren’t as fated for us as we are for you.”

“I love how certain you are about this.” I, however, was not. I liked him. He was sweet and cute and his kiss . . . But that didn’t mean I was ready to call him my mate.

He placed his fist against his chest, which was apparently a common way of making a vow. “How can I do anything else?”

“Xax,” a gruff voice called out from the woods on our left. “Who do you have with you?”

An alien male with dark streaks in his silver hair emerged from the forest with a huge haunch of meat draped across his shoulder. He strode right up to us, sending a scowl my way.

“This is Amanda, Tribon,” Xax said, his arm going around my shoulders. “My mate. Amanda, this is Tribon, our clan traedor.”

The stern clan leader? My skin prickled with unease.

“Mate?” Tribon’s scowl deepened, and his gaze swept up and down my frame. “She’s unlike any female I’ve seen before.” I took in his thickly muscled chest coated with blood that I assumed was not his own. Like all the other males I’d met so far, he wore only a loincloth that barely covered his groin. The fabric was equally bloody. With a grunt, he hitched the enormous hunk of meat off his shoulder, tossing it to the ground between us.

My belly churned. I was used to buying my meat in neat little packages at the supermarket. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever seen a slab like this outside that one time my parents took me to a butcher when I was little. Back then, I’d thrown up and waited outside in the cold while they made their purchase.

I suspected vomiting would get me in trouble, so I swallowed back the bile roaring up my throat.

“The gods sent a sign,” Xax said plainly, though I heard an edge in his voice I couldn’t define. His arm tightened around my shoulders.

Unsure what to make of this, I remained beside him, not minding his proprietary demeanor.

“What sign?” Tribon peered around.

A few flies soared over to buzz around the slab of meat. If we were going to eat this, we needed to cut it up, package it, and put it in cold storage soon.

Maybe it was time I became a vegetarian. The local gods would approve.

“A plant plunged into the ground in front of me shortly after I met her,” Xax said.

Tribon huffed. “That’s not a sign.”

“You deny the will of our gods?” Dismay came through in Xax’s voice.

“You’re not our clan traedor,” Tribon said. “You don’t need a mate.” His steely gaze met mine. “I do.” He held out his bloody hand. “Come with me, female. I’ll claim you, and you’ll warm my bed furs tonight.”

“No thank you,” I sputtered, easing away from Xax’s arm and taking a few steps backward.

“Come with me.” He rushed toward me.

The moment he thought to grab me, I swept to the side. As he barreled past, I kicked, sending him onto his belly. “I said no.”

Xax growled. “Stop, Tribon. Don’t do this.”

Tribon snapped to his feet and raced toward me again. I latched onto his hand and with a twist, sent him flying over my hip once more. He smacked onto the ground on his back this time.

“Amanda,” Xax breathed, and I couldn’t tell if he was dismayed or impressed. Maybe a bit of both.

I put distance between me and Tribon, watching his every move. My self-defense skills were coming in handy, but this was a huge alien male with anger brewing in his eyes. He was used to battling all sorts of creatures in the forest, maybe other males who thought to take over his rule of the clan. He wasn’t going to let me tell him no.

When he jumped up again, I crouched, preparing myself for round three.

“Tribon, stop,” Xax barked, thrusting himself between us. “The gods sent Amanda to me, not you.”

“I’m traedor,” Tribon roared. “I challenge you for her.”

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