Page 5 of Fated to the Alien Protector

Zander is a fair Shefir. I do not believe he would find fault in me protecting the female and her kit. He understands how poorly the humans take care of their own. With the settlement at my back, I stride across the bari field and into the forest while there is still sunlight filtering through the trees. Even if I only bring a few leburin down, it will be something. If I am lucky, I will capture an extra one or two and present them as a gift to Abby.

Perhaps that will soften her toward me, although I am uncertain why I am determined for her to do so.

Is it possible she is mykeeshla? A compulsion makes me want to retrace my steps back to the human settlement so I can touch her and discover if my mating marks are triggered. But if these feelings within me are nothing more than wishful thinking and my marks do not appear and my soul light does not ignite, I will be as alone as I always have been.

That is something I am not ready to face yet.

Chapter 3

Abby

As much as I’m annoyed the Tavikhi followed us, I’ll admit, if only to myself, I’m also a bit relieved. I’d expected Lewis to be somewhere along the trail waiting for us to walk by, so the presence of the huge purple alien had eased some of my nerves. It doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven him for his interference. He really did make things worse.

“You shouldn’t have been so mean to the Tavikhi,” Carter scolds me like he’s the adult and I’m the child as we bypass people and tents on the way to ours. “He stopped Lewis from hurting you. We should have been thanking him.”

While I’ve tried not to pass my prejudices onto my brother, it’s difficult. “You know I don’t like owing people anything.”

“How is thanking someone owing them?”

I glance down at Carter. “Because by stopping Lewis, it’s like I have to repay the alien’s kindness in some way. Which means I owe him.”

“Why can’t a thank you just be payment enough? I don’t understand what more you can owe someone once you’ve thanked them.” His forehead crinkles.

“That’s not how the world works.”

“Well, that’s just stupid,” he says with all the innocence of a child who hasn’t seen the true ugliness this world has to offer. I only wish I could shield him from it forever.

A shadow moves along the ground, and I glance up. My heart plummets into my stomach, but I steel my reaction for the sight of a red-faced Lewis. The blood on his neck has been cleaned off, but there’s still a visible wound that I bet hurts. I move slightly in front of Carter, but don’t stop walking. Up until now, I haven’t regretted my father setting our tent up at the back of the settlement. If we’d been closer to the front gate instead though, maybe we’d be home already and could have avoided this confrontation a bit longer.

“Where’s your alien friend?” Lewis sneers.

“He’s not my friend. I didn’t know he was out there nor have I ever seen him before today. I didn’t want him around either.” Like you, although I’d never say that out loud.

“Could have fooled me. The two of you were awfully chummy.” He moves in front of us, forcing Carter and me to stop or collide with him. “Is that why you keep giving me the brush off? You spreading your legs for that purple freak?”

How dare he! Especially in front of Carter. His question doesn’t dignify an answer. “If you’ll kindly step out of the way, we’d like to return to our tent.”

I move to go around him, but Lewis blocks me once again. Behind me, my brother brushes against me and I reach back as unobtrusively as possible to keep him from doing anything stupid like trying to defend either of us. A small crowd has gathered to gawk, but, of course, no one interferes.

Lewis leans in until his stale, bitter breath ghosts across my face. “I’ve been patient with you, Abby, but that patience has worn thin.” His whisper is filled with menace. “You’re going to have to give in sooner or later. Things will go much better for you if it’s sooner.”

After a lingering leer, he finally walks away. I let out the breath I’d been holding and practically deflate. My racing heart may never slow, though. With a deep inhale I set off for our tent, trying my best to keep my steps measured and unhurried. I don’t look left or right and the few gathered people part like the sea as we pass through.

“You all are useless,” Carter says under his breath. I know I should take him to task for not keeping comments like that to himself, but I happen to agree with him.

It feels like forever, but we finally reach our destination and I duck inside. I’ve barely crossed the threshold when my brother grabs my arm and spins me around.

“Why did you let Lewis talk to you that way?” Without taking his eyes off me, he half pivots and points in a random direction behind him. “He said those horrible things, and you didn’t do anything.”

“Because nothing I would have said or done would have helped the situation. Eventually, Lewis will get bored by my lack of response and move onto someone else who will give him the reactions he wants. He’s nothing more than a bully, and bullies thrive on the fear of the people they torment.” If I say it enough, maybe I’ll even start to believe it.

My brother shakes his head and scoffs. “That’s nothing but a load of bullshit and you know it.”

“Carter!”

“No.” He slices his hand through the air. “I might only be twelve, but I’m not stupid or blind. Lewis has been creeping around and harassing you for months. Ever since Dad died. No matter how many times you avoid him or try and put him off, he hasn’t stopped and he’s not going to. Especially not after today. Notuntil he gets from you whatever it is he wants. I may not know exactly what that is, but I have a pretty good idea. We both know I’m right.”

I clench my fists and my nails bite into my palms until I can’t take the pain any longer. Not for the first time, I curse my dad for leaving us alone. I curse all the people back on Earth who made it impossible for us to stay there. I curse the aliens on this damn planet, especially the one who had to be a hero and do nothing more than make my already miserable life that much worse. It doesn’t matter if he thought he was trying to help or not.

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