Page 41 of I Married A Lizardman

“I haven’t encouraged or incentivized her in any way,” I quickly replied.

Olix smiled, caressed my cheek, then leaned down to kiss my lips. “I know, my mate. We are all aware of it and are grateful you haven’t tried to influence her,” he said in a reassuring voice. “Continue as you are until her parents tell you otherwise. If the Spirits have decided that this should be her calling, then so it shall be. For now, she’s still very young and will be trained as a Gatherer. In three years, when Nosha turns seven, it will be her decision, and the people will honor it.”

I sighed with relief. Nosha was an adorable little girl who had been all but shadowing me from a distance since the day I’d transplanted my first sprouts. A number of times, I’d caught her carefully walking between the rows to observe, not disturbing anything. She’d been particularly fascinated by my watering and weeding machines. Since I’d acquired my upgraded model after the last public market, she’d been even more mesmerized. Nosha had the flame in her. I’d kill to be able to nurture it.

“I know we’ve never talked about kids yet, but what will happen with ours?” I asked carefully. “I know they will 100% look Andturian, but I would want to pass on part of my heritage to my children.”

This time, Olix made me turn around to face him, sitting on his lap, with my legs on each side of him. His large hands gently caressed my back while he stared me in the eye.

“Our offspring will know about both our cultures,” Olix pledged. “If they show a natural desire to learn your trade, I will not stand in their way. Every clan member has the right to choose their destiny and to thrive according to the path the Spirits have laid out for them.”

“Even though your people have a low opinion of my trade?” I insisted.

“My people hate what farming was under the invaders,” Olix explained. “You are showing it to us under a completely different light. It will take time, but mentalities will evolve. That said, remember that Andturians wereneverfarmers, even before the Vaengi came here. It was never a calling for us. Some people grew a few things, more as a hobby than anything else, and we also grew spices. I know what you keep hoping in your heart, but you are only setting yourself up for disappointment. Only the Spirits know what future generations will do. But for now—”

A beep on my com startled us. Although I always carried it with me, I hardly ever got any calls, except from Luped telling me to get out of my shed and come eat, or to come see the advancement of my new greenhouse or of the shop.

The message on the screen made me frown.

“What is it?” Olix asked.

“It’s from your mother. A human from the Conglomerate just showed up at the shop,” I said, tension oozing out of my voice. “I bet he’s pissed about the complaint Luped and I filed.”

“Probably,” Olix replied, his face hardening in a way that was both frightening and strangely sexy. “Let’s go greet him.”

My husband was always even-tempered and gentle, but a predator lurked beneath his sweet demeanor. I couldn’t help but find that to be quite the turn on. Olix got up, holding me before setting me on my feet. We hurried to our mrakas—my man helping me onto the back of mine that was way too high—then raced back home.

A little less than ten minutes later, we reached the village. A shiny, top-of-the-line, personal shuttle with a massive logo of the Conglomerate sat on our landing pad. To my surprise, a gorgeous human male waited for us by the entrance of the shop. A number of villagers had gathered around, staring him down. The man looked completely unfazed, shrouded in a veil of self-righteousness and overconfidence that made me uneasy. I didn’t doubt for a minute he was here to bully us.

Olix hopped down from his mraka, before the beast even came to a full stop, with a deftness and grace that made my chest swell with pride. For the first time, I was truly seeing the predator in my mate. His muscles rolled beneath his shiny scales as he prowled towards me to help me down, although his gaze remained locked on the human. The slow swaying of his tail reminded me of an ominous pendulum, ticking down to the moment Olix would unleash his beast.

It was sexy as all hell.

After he put me on my feet, I took my husband’s hand, and we approached the intruder. The obvious relief from our clan hinted that things had been getting heated. The man observed us as we closed the distance with him. His gaze lingered on our clasped hands, his face unreadable as he gave my mate an assessing once over, before turning back to me.

“Ms. Jennings, I’m glad you were able to come so quickly,” he said with a seductive smile. “My name is David Lord, Division Director with the Conglomerate. But please call me David.”

Under different circumstances, I’d probably be drooling before this hot piece of a man. Tall, the right level of muscular, polished appearance, the face of an angel with the sinful smile of a sex god, and the type of sexy, manly voice that would have any woman’s girly bits stand to attention, he likely left a trail of exploded ovaries on his path wherever he went... except here.

“Hello, Mr. Lord,” I said, ignoring his request. “Jennings is my maiden’s name. It’s Mrs. Nillis now. And this is my husband, Olix Nillis, Clan Leader of the Monkoo tribe.”

Although his plush lips stretched into an apologetic smile, I didn’t miss the slight hardening of his stunning hazel eyes.

“I stand corrected,Mrs. Nillis,” he replied.

“What are you doing on our lands, Mr. Lord?” Olix asked.

“I’m here to discuss the disloyal practices here at your village,” the male said, gesturing at the store with his head, “as well as some defamatory comments and inaccurate claims filed against us by your mate, who no doubt doesn’t realize her misunderstanding of the laws,” Mr. Lord added, in a patronizing tone that made me want to punch him in the throat. “The Conglomerate wants to file a lawsuit against Ms. Jennings… apologies, Mrs. Nillis, but I asked them to stay any procedures until I had a chance to discuss the matter with your mate and your people. As you can guess, these can get extremely costly.”

That fucking snake! His words had on the clan the exact effect he’d been hoping for. The last market had given us some breathing room. But a costly trial would destroy all that we had achieved or hoped to accomplish in the future.

But his words didn’t work on my husband or me.

“I dare them to sue us,” Olix replied, taking a threatening step towards Mr. Lord.

Chapter 17

Olix

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