Page 10 of Fated to the Alien Rebel

“I am.”

“That’s good.”

Another stretch of silence falls. She glances everywhere but at me. It should not be this hard between us.

“Thank you for taking care of me for such a length of time.”

“You already said that, and I didn’t do it for the thanks.” She remains stiff.

Sage is not making this easy. “I am sorry, then.”

Finally her eyes meet mine. “For what?”

“For not acting as a mate should.”

Even in the low lighting the darkening color of her cheeks is noticeable. “Oh.”

I am unsure how much to tell her. It is not my intention to hurt her any more than I may have already. “Would you come closer? It is difficult to have a conversation this far apart. Please.”

Sage hesitates for several beats before she at last crosses the distance between us and stands near the foot of the platform. She scans my chest as a healer would.

“Are you sure you’re not in any pain?” Her eyes lift to meet mine.

“I am sure.” This is the longest I have sat up and I feel the fatigue creeping in, but I will force it away as long as I can. “Although I will take some water if you do not mind.”

“Oh, of course.” Sage quickly fills a cup from the basin on the table and brings it to me.

Our fingers touch and a sting of pain makes me jerk, and I nearly drop the vessel. She pulls her arm back and rubs a spot between her chest mounds. I take my time drinking, not only because weakness makes it difficult to maintain a hold on the cup, but I am trying to think of something to say. What do the other mated males speak about with their human mates? I carefully lower my arm to rest the vessel on my thigh.

“Perhaps we should discuss this thing between us.” It may be less painful to bring everything out into the open. We can decide where to go and what to do from there.

Sage nods and wraps her arms around her waist. “Okay.”

I have studied both her and the other female Zara after Benham and Maeve became mates. The way they interact with each other. I have not seen Sage with any patients other than myself, but from all I have witnessed, she is not this quiet or withdrawn. Which means it is because of me. It also means I need to make things better.

“What do you know about the mate bond?”

Sage raises a shoulder. “Only that when you and your mate touch for the first time, your mating marks appear. And if one dies, so does the other.”

“Yes, but also…” I pause, unsure how to explain since it is not something I have experienced.

“But also, what?”

Nothing to do but try. “Within each Tavikhi is a soul light. It lies…dormant, I suppose, until they meet their fated mate. The warrior’s mating marks appear, but according to stories told by the elders, both the male and female’s soul light ignites which sears the bond in place between them. It is what connects them together emotionally. Which is why if one light is extinguished…”

“The other one extinguishes with it,” Sage finishes for me quietly.

“Yes.”

The two furry lines above her eyes turn downward. “I’m not sure what that has to do with…us.”

“It is obvious that my mating marks appeared when we touched, but my soul light did not ignite.”

“But,” Sage pauses with a small shake of her head. “Humans don’t have such a thing called a soul light.”

“From my understanding the Tavikhi warriors—Zander, Zydon, and the others—are able to share theirs with their human mate.”

I know the moment she understands—or at least guesses—what it means, because her entire body sags as though a great weight has been forced onto her shoulders. Her bright-colored eyes lose some of their brightness.

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