Page 21 of Fated to the Alien Rebel

She squeezes lightly and lets go with a nod. “Not that I’m trying to kick you out, but…get out.”

I roll my eyes and laugh. “I’m going.”

Not wanting to give it back, but also worried Jodah might need it, I pick up the dhembe fur and step outside. More cold dust has fallen and there’s a small accumulation of it on the ground. The scent of the evening meal floats on the breeze, and my stomach rumbles. I walk the length of the village, passing Tavikhi and humans alike. Children run and chase each other on their way to the central fire.

Finally, I reach Jodah’s tent. I pause at the entrance, take a deep breath, and smack the flap twice. Severalmoments pass, but he doesn’t come to the door. I debate “knocking” one more time, but instead, I turn and walk away. I haven’t taken more than three steps when he comes around the other side of the tent. We both stop abruptly.

“Sage.”

“Jodah.” We speak at the same time, and I laugh a bit nervously, holding up his belonging. “I was just looking for you. I, um, wanted to return your fur.”

He closes the distance between us and wraps his hands around mine with a short nod. “It is yours.”

First Benham gave Maeve his luani fur and now Jodah’s giving me his dhembe one. This feels like some Tavikhi courting ritual. “Thank you.”

He releases me and I already miss his touch. “I am glad you are here. In fact, I had planned to go to your tent to find you and see if you wanted to take the evening meal with me?”

My stomach flips and twirls and that weird light inside me flickers awake. Everything around my heart grows warm. I rub my fingers down my sternum, but it doesn’t stop. Am I getting sick or something? Maybe I need to go see Kyler. I glance at Jodah and realize I haven’t answered him.

“That’s actually why I came to find you. To see if you would like to eat together.”

He smiles brightly down at me. “I would like that very much.”

Since it’s mine now, I guess, I wrap the fur around me again. There’s a faint hint of mint and the sweet smokiness of fiku wood ingrained in the hide. It smells exactly like Jodah. Together, we walk toward the central fire.

“I’d been worried you might still be resting when you didn’t answer the door.” I’m glad I hadn’t disturbed him.

He shakes his head. “I woke up shortly after the midday meal and went to the elders’ tents to speak with my baba and nene.”

I draw up short and gape at his back. “Wait a minute. Your parents are alive? How come you’ve never mentioned them? I thought they were dead.”

Jodah stops and faces me with what I’m taking as a guilty expression and fists his chest. “I apologize for giving you that impression. They do not leave their tent. At least, my baba does not. He is unwell and has difficulty moving. My nene came to see me after I was injured. Just to assure herself that I was going to recover. Perhaps you missed her.”

My brain is still processing the fact that Jodah’s parents are alive. And considering I never left the healer’s tent I wouldn’t have missed her. Then again, since I had no idea who she was, she could have been any one of the several elder females who stopped by. They’d all treated him like a son.

I start walking again. “I can’t believe I didn’t know.”

“How could you if I did not tell you? Although,” hepauses. “As your mate, I should have spoken of them before now. My nene would like to meet you.”

A panicked sensation enters my chest. I’ve never been with a guy long enough to meet his parents. Now, I’m supposed to meet the woman—female—who is essentially my mother-in-law? A female I didn’t even know existed until now. I nod absently. “I’d like to meet her as well.”

What else am I supposed to say?

We finally make it to the central fire, where the evening meal is well underway. It always surprises me how many Tavikhi live here. Add in the humans and the number is over eighty.

Jodah and I go to the end of the moving line. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot someone waving. Zara. While not exactly withher, the rest of our friends and their mates sit close by, all of them laughing and talking with each other. They’re not necessarily excluding her, but her pleading expression is obvious from here.

“Would you mind if we sat with Zara? I hate the thought of her eating alone.”

“Of course,” Jodah says. “It will be nice to get to know my mate’s tribe sister.”

My heart skips a beat at him calling me his mate. It feels like this is the first time he’s truly accepted and acknowledged it out loud. We finally get our food and join her on the bench.

“Good to see you upright.” She leans slightly forward tosee around me and says to him. “Everyone in the village was worried about you.”

He dips his head. “I had the best healer.”

When his gaze shifts to me and one side of his mouth kicks up, that burning sensation grows in my chest, and I instinctively want to deny his compliment and give all the credit to Kyler. Except the words don’t come. Because even though I wasn’t the one who’d stitched him up, I took care of him for a whole week. I made sure his wounds were kept clean. I got him to drink the burim-laced water. I was the one who kept him cool when his fever raged like a fire.

---