Page 15 of An Alien for Her Heart

I want to immediately shake my head. I don’t want to take up too much of his time. But who knows when I’ll get to come back to the town again. I don’t have a truck and I haven’t figured out how to use the oogas for transport yet. New Horizons left me a lot of supplies that won’t run out soon, but it wouldn’t hurt if I got a few things I might need, right? I might as well take the opportunity while it presents itself.

I nod, feeling a flicker of excitement going through me at the prospect of exploring the market with him. “Sounds perfect. Lead the way.”

5

VAREK

Ican see why my brother was drawn to his kahl, even before he knew she was his. Humans are…intriguing. It’s busy out here, and yet Catherine pulls my attention from the hustle and bustle of the town. I would say it’s this madness threatening my being. The one that makes it almost impossible for me to take my eyes off her, but it isn’t. I’m not the only one that’s captivated by her.

More than a few males we pass have stopped their dealings to watch her go by. Some even taste the air, trying to get a hint of her scent.

It makes me walk just a bit closer to her. Enough that they know she’s not alone, and that she belongs…well, not to me. She made it clear she doesn’t belong to anyone nor does she have any plans to. That doesn’t stop me from glaring at the males who look at her in interest.

She can do better than every single one of these fools anyway. Better than me, too.

She doesn’t even notice their attention. And I’m glad, because even though their forwardness makes me bristle, I’ve been doing no better. I’ve been shamelessly staring at her for more than the last few clicks.

She moves with a curious blend of cautiousness and wonder, her eyes darting from stall to stall. There are little movements too, like the way she tucks a stray lock of her mane behind her ear, and the way her lips part slightly as she takes in a particularly interesting display of ripe fruit. Even the way she walks, with a purposeful stride that belies her uncertainty—as if, before all this, she was used to walking with her head high and with a certain poise despite the circumstances around her. It almost fools me. She blends in like a long-time resident, but she only just arrived. This must still be daunting for her.

I don’t want to bring it up, but Zynar told me of what happened to mykahlestaand, in essence, what happened to all of her kind that have left her planet. Including Catherine. I know the Tasqals traveled across the galaxy and took her from her home. When Zynar and I left Karicek, we’d had no choice. The pain of remaining on that ravaged world had been too great. But we knew of others. We knew other sentient species existed.

Catherine did not.

She’s taking this new path the gods have given her incredibly well. I’m impressed as I watch her walk beside me without fear. She doesn’t even seem scared of me or the other predator species going about their day around us.

We arrive at the lodge vendor far too quickly. I’d deliberately parked the truck a few leagues down the street just to lengthen this time, but somehow it passed by swiftly all the same. The entire journey here, sitting in the cab of the truck was increasingly torturous. I’d wanted to say something smart. Or perhaps something funny. Anything, but the words did not come. Even on the walk to get the supplies, I’d intended to converse with her, thinking the busy town would distract enough that I could get to know her better without seeming purposeful about it. I’ve missed that chance, too.

Duty calls, and so I push those thoughts aside and focus on the task before me. The lodge vendor is a grizzled old Kalgonite, with a face like weathered leather and eyes that have seen more than their fair share of hardship. He greets me with a nod of recognition, and we quickly fall into the familiar rhythm of haggling and negotiation.

From the corner of my eye, I’m aware of Catherine watching the exchange with interest, her eyes widening slightly at the array of unfamiliar tools and materials on display. I see her eyes narrow as she tries to make sense of it all. She chooses from the selection of roof material on display, selecting one with a green hue that comes up short to the vibrance in her eyes and even takes over directing the Kalgonite to the type of trim she’d like.

Before long, we have everything we need, with the Kalgonite taking our order of beams and roof material, which he’ll have loaded into my truck by the time we’re ready to leave town. I turn to Catherine, hoping she doesn’t want to return just yet.

“All done,” I say, trying to keep my voice light. “We can get supplies for your sustenance stores now, if you like.” My suggestion is the safest bet. Surely, she can’t reject that offer. Sustenance is always something that’s needed and it would give us some more time out here. Some more time for me to… For me to what? Be around her for a bit longer? Ask her about herself? Get her to talk to me? She doesn’t even want a mate. That should deter this…urgeor whatever it is. Instead, it’s still there burning like tiny pinpricks on my nerves.

I hold my breath as Catherine gives me a slight smile, her gaze shifting back down the street.

It’s that loneliness again, isn’t it. It’s why I’ve dragged this poor human into town on an excursion she probably didn’t even want to agree to. I grimace, ready to tell her we can head back now if she wants to, when her face suddenly lights up.

Delicate fine lines crinkle at the corners of her eyes as she turns her green gaze up to me.

“If it’s not too much,” she begins.Too much? It’s not enough. I frown at my thoughts even as I lean closer to hear her over the noise of new customers who have come beside us. “I saw some things when we were walking up here. They looked like fruits. Like…mangos?”

When I tilt my head, she continues, moving her hands in front of her in a motion as if she is sculpting something invisible.

“They were round with red and orange skin. Smooth.”

Realization dawns. “I know just the thing.” Giving a nod to the Kalgonite vendor, I guide Catherine back down the street, one arm reaching around her to protect her side from other pedestrians but not daring to actually touch her. When we stop at the exotic fruit stall, her eyes light up.

“This one.” She reaches for the fruit she referred to as a mahn-goh. “These look amazing.”

She looks up and smiles at me. A genuine one, not those other smiles that don’t reach her eyes, and I pause, staring at her for much longer than I have right to.

“How much is it for these?” She directs her focus at the vendor who tells her a price and begins suggesting other things on his stall as well, piling several different fruits in front of her at once. Some quite bitter and others I’d class as inedible. I frown, about to tell him to back down when there’s a sound nearby. Someone shouts in alarm and a ripple goes through the crowd.

It happens without conscious thought. I don’t realize I’ve moved till I hear Catherine’s soft voice behind me. I’ve put myself between her and the source of the disturbance, my claw reaching for the blade at my hip.

“What’s going on?” she whispers. The heat of her presence behind me spreads across the scales along my spine in a way that makes me want to groan.

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