Page 23 of Fated to the Alien Rebel

Jodah’s tense muscles relax beneath my hand and I drop my arm as he finally reaches inside.

Chapter 11

Jodah

The only ones who have shown a real interest in my images are my nene and baba. Some of the other hunters have observed me making them when it was too hot to sit within my tent. But none have asked for a closer look or wondered what I was crafting next.

Showing them to Sage has made me far more nervous than I expected. Her words soothe me, though, and I bring out one of the larger stones that is my personal favorite. I set it on the fur in the narrow space between us. My focus shifts to her face and her expression. I brace myself for her thoughts.

Sage’s eyes widen and she makes a soft sound. She raises her head to meet my gaze before returning it to the stone. “Jodah, this is incredible.”

Carefully, as though it is an important treasure, she picks it up and examines it more closely. She tilts it toward the fire so more light shines on it. Her fingers trace along the lines I have crafted.

“Is this your baba?”

“I did that one a few seasons after he had been injured.” It was one of the rare times where he had been lucid and almost like his old self.

“It’s so life-like. Every detail is perfect. I could probably pick him out of several warriors just by comparing them to this image. He must be very proud of you.”

For so long I worried he would think my crafting was for kits. I am a decent hunter and warrior, because I was taught by him, but my passion lies elsewhere. To my surprise, Baba encouraged my work. “I like to believe so.”

After another moment, Sage sets it back down between us. “Do you have more?”

“Of course.” I bring out several additional stones and pass one to her.

She laughs and her whole face lights up. “It’s a ketri.”

“He left the forest one day for a drink while I was sitting near the river. As he stood at the water’s edge, I crafted his image.”

“It’s wonderful and looks exactly like one.” She studies it a bit longer with a smile. “We had an animal similar to this back on Earth. Ours were called chipmunks. They differed slightly in appearance, but they’re still very similar.”

One by one, I hand Sage the few stones I had brought out and she compliments each of them with a sincerity I feel deep within me. Once she has finished looking at them all, she hands them back and I return each of them to the chest.

“I would like to craft—draw, I believe is what you called it—your image one of these days, if you do not mind.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” I smile at her confusion and brush my thumb over her cheek. Her skin is smooth and soft like the petals of the nenuphar bloom. “I would love to have a likeness of my mate to keep. Maybe…to one day give to any kit we might have.”

This is another thing I have given much thought to over these last many turns. Sage’s and my mating as well as kits. They have not been anything I had hoped for since the chances of me ever having a mate had continued to decrease.

“Do you want children, then?”

I am unsure how to read her tone. “Are they not something you want?”

She does not speak for several beats. “I haven’t given it a lot of thought before now, if I’m being honest. Mostly because there weren’t any men back on Earth I had more than a passing interest in. We don’t have fated mates like Tavikhi do, so we have to find a partner we can fall in love with. I’m thirty, which is when a lot of people have already found theirs.”

“And you never found such a mate?” I find I do not like hearing of Sage with another male.

“No.” She lifts and lowers both shoulders as I have seen several of the humans do. “I mean, I dated a few guys here and there, but none of them ever felt like the right one. And I didn’t want to have a kid just to have a kid.”

I cock my head. “That is possible on Earth? Having kits without a mate?”

Sage nods. “Oh yeah. It’s an extremely expensive medical procedure, but women have done it.”

Yet another vast difference between Tavikh and her planet. I much prefer mine. Still, I do not know if kits is something she wants.

“What about now? Could I be a mate you would want to have kits with?” It is a bold question to ask, but I find myself eager for her answer.

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