Page 31 of Fated to the Alien Hero

It doesn’t take long before loud chatter reaches us. Tavikhi children rush forward in excitement and don’t bother stopping. Instead they head straight for the front entrance. After what feels like forever, I spot Evren’s friend Katem coming this way. Beside him is another alien who is obviously the Bohnari leader. Trailing them are the kids.

While not as tall as the Tavikhi warrior at his side, he is no less imposing. Muscles bulge beneath the tight black sleeveless shirt he wears. Not to mention the—gulp—bulge in his pants. Skin the color of burnished copper almost shines from the sunlight reflecting off it. His teal hair is perfectly tousled to look like he just crawled out of his bed, but it’s the lazy smile of satisfaction on his lips that makes me think he wasn’t alone in it.

Katem and he come to a stop in front of Zander, who waits by the fire. The shefir fists his chest in the sign of respect I’ve witnessed before from most of the Tavikhi. The Bohnari—Alik—returns the gesture.

“Greetings, brother,” Zander says. “We are glad to have you back so soon.”

“It is good to be back on Tavikh and receiving such a warm welcome.”

From the corner of my eye, a shadow moves closer, until someone stands beside me. I glance over and find Zara. She leans in close to my ear.

“Be prepared to be hit on,” she whispers. “Apparently it’s almost like a rite of passage with Alik.”

“I heard he was a flirt.” I make sure to keep my voice lowered as well.

Zara snorts. “That’s an understatement. He’s harmless, but if you play your cards right, you might make Evren jealous enough that he’ll take you somewhere and dick you down so good you’ll forget Alik’s name.”

I nearly choke on my spit. The noise draws the attention of several people, including the Bohnari. Alik’sgaze lands on me, and he grins even wider. I shuffle beneath the scrutiny. He disengages from Zander and prowls forward, only stopping when he reaches me.

“You’re new,” he says and darts a glance at Evren beside me. “It would appear I am late once again, and yet another stunning human female has been taken. How disappointing for me. Your mate is one lucky male. His goddess has truly blessed him with you.”

The deep bass of his voice rumbles through me and makes my knees tremble like they’re made of jelly. I have to clear my throat before I can speak.

“Thanks.”

“Believe me, the pleasure isallmine.” He scans me from head to toe, pausinginfinitesimallyat my breasts just above my sling-supported arm before moving back up to meet my gaze.

I flush with the heat of his stare and while I’m flattered by the attention, there’s a little voice telling me that the flirtatious charisma is nothing more than a front. I can’t put my finger on what it is about Alik that gives me the impression, but it’s there.

“You are done flirting with mykeeshla,” Evren growls and moves closer.

The heavy weight of his tail twines around my waist as if to prove his point even further. Alik chuckles and makes a sweeping bow.

“It has been a delight. Please feel free to go see Vornak and make use of one of our med pods for the arm,” the Bohnari offers.

“Thank you,” I say again.

Evren echoes me and pulls me away from Alik. He doesn’t remove his tail, but uses it to guide me toward the main entrance.

“I told you he would flirt.”

I have to press my lips together to fight the smile at his obvious annoyance, despite his promise to try not to get jealous. Unable to help myself, I stroke his tail. Evren shudders and I tuck that knowledge away for the future.

“Rest assured I have no interest in Alik like that. You are the only man who interests me.”

“This makes me extremely happy to hear.”

Even though we just got back to the village, we leave it again, but this time in a different direction. Luckily, we don’t have to go too far. I can barely hold back the gasp at the sight of the ship docked in the field. If there was a color darker than black, then the Bohnari’s ship would be it. I almost feel like I could step through it and disappear into another dimension. Its angles appear sharp enough to cut.

There’s a pneumatic hissing sound that makes me jump, and a ramp descends. Booted footsteps echo from inside until alooming, shadowy figure walks out of the darkness. If I thought Alik was big, this guy puts him to shame. And where the Bohnari leader oozes charm, his…friend? Co-worker? Subordinate? is severe and downright scary-looking.

“Greetings,” Evren calls out. “I am Evren of the Tavikhi and this is my mate, Astrid. Alik offered us the use of your healer’s magic to heal her arm.”

“You’re the second female with a broken arm Vornak has had to repair. Can’t you adequately protect your mates?” he asks.

Beside me, Evren stiffens. “We can protect them just fine.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but it was broken before I met the Tavikhi people.” I know they’re all perfectly capable of defending themselves—especially my mate—but I bristle at the insinuation that Evren is, I don’t know, weak or something.

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