Page 20 of An Alien for Her Heart

“For what reason, brother?” I head back toward the sleeping slab, scratching my mane as I wonder what else I can do to pass this torturous dark cycle.

“The human called Catherine.”

I freeze, my complete focus flying back to the screen.

“Has something happened to her?”

There’s a glint in Zynar’s eyes. The only indication that makes me realize my tone has changed from one of indifference to being laced with concern.

“No. Eleanor wanted to know how everything went. We simply…got distracted before she was able to ping you. She is resting now.”

My shoulders sag, some tension leaving my frame as I collapse on the sleeping slab once more.

“Everything went…well.” I grimace, running a claw across my face.

“You are a terrible liar.”

I release a breath and drop my arm. The comm lands on the bedsheets beside me, the dim light from the screen lighting up the immediate area.

Zynar doesn’t prod, even though I know he must be curious. When a few clicks pass with only the sound of him adjusting himself on his sleeping slab, I finally release another breath.

“Tell me again, how you knew Eleanor was yours. When your core-rhythm sung, what happened before that.”

Zynar grunts and it sounds like he adjusts his body some more. “I told you, brother. We mated and then it happened.”

I think about this for a moment. “Do you think if I mate with Catherine, I’d know for sure?”

There’s silence on the other line. Silence for so long that I reach for the comm again and bring it above my face. My mirror image stares back at me, only slightly stockier, slightly older. Zynar tilts his head.

“You think the human is yourkahl?”

The word makes an ache develop in my chest. I shake my head, the motion itself feeling like a proclamation of my failure.

“I think she is beautiful. Captivating in a way I cannot explain.”

“That is how I felt with Eleanor.”

I groan. “Do not give me false hope, brother.”

“It is the truth. There was nothing else to tell me my core-rhythm would sing. If I had known…”

He trails off but he doesn’t need to continue. I already know what he was about to say. If he’d known then he wouldn’t have put Eleanor in such danger. If he’d known he wouldn’t have been so careless as to expose her to his rut.

“I think…” I say after a few moments, shame filling me. That same despicable feeling rising. “I think I want her.”

Zynar grins. “What’s stopping you then, brother? Even if your core-rhythm doesn’t sing, there are other bonds to be had. Humans do not have fated bonds like us. What obstacle—”

“She doesn’t want a mate.”

He stills, staring at me through the device. “She told you this?”

“Loud and clear.”

“Frakk.”

“Indeed.”

Silence descends on us once more and I can tell Zynar is turning over my dilemma in his mind.

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