Page 12 of Claimed By the Alien Barbarian

“I don’t get it, not one bit.”

“Sit, and I’ll explain some more. Save your shot until after that.”

He had to be delirious and making this up, because all this junk about fated mates and gods gifting women to Zuldruxians couldn’t be true.

“Wait,” I said. “Did you say I’m thethirdEarth woman to be given to a Zuldruxian?” I peered around, hoping they’d stride into my clearing, hold out their arms for quick hugs, and explain what the hell was going on.

“As I said, there are many more of you here, though most could still be lying in their pods. The gods are releasing them without any particular pattern. As you suggested, our gods traveled to your planet and brought all of you here.”

It made sense now, in an odd way. “Your alien friends should’ve left us alone.” I’d never believe they were gods. They were like the lizard people who’d crashed here and decided to stay.

“The gods don’t want my species to die.”

“Because you revere them.”

“We used to.” He frowned. “Actually, you’re correct. We do now. My clan only has one god, Helena, and we worship her as we should.”

“This sounds like a scam to me.”

“In what way?”

“You gush all over Helena . . .” Why did the thought of this guy revering a woman namedHelenamake a growl rip up my throat? I bit it back and continued. “You kiss up to your gods, and I bet you give them gold and jewels and worship every bit of the ground they walk on.”

His frown deepened. “We respect her, but we don’t do anything else. No gold or jewels. I’m not sure she’d want things like that even if we offered them, let alone ask us to do anything with the ground beneath her roots.”

“Roots?” I must’ve misheard him.

“The Celedar Clan is the clan of wood. Of course our god has roots.”

I decided to let that part go.

“What does Helena get in exchange for all of you showing her respect?” I expected him to name expensive things because there had to be a catch here somewhere. I’d reveal it, and the Zuldruxians would be pissed off. Then the “gods” would see their mistake, and they’d send me and the other women back to Earth where we could get on with our lives.

“In exchange for our adoration, Helena heals our wounds. She listens when we need to speak of our feelings. She—”

“Sounds like a counselor and nurse combined.”

“She ensures we have plenty to eat, that our homes are clean, that—”

“Add mom figure to counselor and nurse.”

“You’ll soon see.”

“You keep saying that.” I tilted my head. “Why will I see?”

“I have a journey to make and a murder to solve once I reach my destination. But after I’ve completed my task, I’m taking you back to my clan. There, you’ll see.”

“Wait, wait. Did you say murder?”

His shoulders slumped, and his face darkened to a medium blue. I had to be out of my mind because I found even that colorattractive. “I was accused of killing my first mate, but I didn’t do it.” He lifted his gaze to meet mine.

I read only honesty there and a soul-deep sense of rightness.

“I believe you,” I said softly.

“Thank you.”

“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to travel with you as your crime-solving sidekick, let alone go with you to your clan, even if it means I get to meet a tree god—goddess—named Helena.”

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