Page 25 of The Alien Warlord's Fated Mate

And what he, by the will of the Fates, was to her.

Mia watched Zoran stalk away, perplexed by his behavior. He’d insisted on marking her before their arrival, then abandoned her at the first opportunity. Was this some unknown Xeruvian tradition she needed to learn, or was his abandonment going to be business as usual? If she was only a broodmare, why had he bothered claiming her? Why introduce her to his mother or allow her access to their accumulated knowledge or—

“Do not worry, my daughter,” Alara said. “He is ever aware of you.”

Mia almost blurted her questions out then and there, and reluctantly left them unsaid. Questions would have to wait. She didn’t know Alara, or Xeruvian culture, well enough to voice her curiosity. Not where Zoran was concerned anyway. She fully intended to question everything else, though, at every opportunity.

“Where’s the science center in relation to here?” Mia said instead. “Are we in Clan Kerus’s territory?”

Alara thread Mia’s arm through hers and led her sedately out of the spaceport. “What do you know of our clan system?”

“Not much,” Mia admitted. “The trip was so short, and I was curious about your scientific advances. There’s just so much to learn!”

“You are young yet and have much time for further studies. Perhaps we should ignore my son’s wishes and explore your new home.”

“Yes! Thank you. I’d like to see—” Mia broke off, laughing. “Pretty much everything.”

“We cannot see everything today, child,” Alara replied, her amusement evident in her voice if not her expression. “But we shall see enough.”

Mia happily allowed Zoran’s mother to lead her forward. Mother-in-law? Future mother-in-law?

She grinned as she took in her surroundings. The spaceport was relatively small, nothing like major airports back home. The concourse was a single wide corridor tiled in gray stone, arching overhead into an atrium tall enough to accommodate large, palm-like trees. It felt more like walking through a preserve than away from a spaceship.

Once they broke through the crowd of curious onlookers, the spaceport widened around a bubbling pool in the center, then dipped along a gentle slope into a causeway backed by what looked like dense forest. Heavy rain beat down beyond the spaceport’s walls, startling Mia into stopping.

“The spaceport’s not enclosed?” she said. “You’re not worried about rain coming inside?”

Alara followed her gaze and clicked her tongue in understanding. “There’s a field separating the two. It allows air and people to flow in, yet filters out most strong weather and predatory or pesky creatures. Such technology is not used by your people?”

“Not yet. It’s a little intimidating. I’m used to distinct walls.”

“Then you may have some trouble adjusting. Much of our architecture incorporates these fields. It allows us to invite nature into our homes without compromising our safety. Come. I secured a conveyance for our use.”

They exited to the side, where an overhang jutted away from the spaceport, protecting people from the weather. It reminded Mia so much of similar structures on Earth that for a moment, longing stole her breath. Would she ever make it back home again?

Wind whipped under the overhang, carrying a spray of warm rain with it.

“Ah,” Alara said wisely. “I see now the advantages of fully enclosing our spaces.”

The wry humor cut through Mia’s homesickness, easing it, and she laughed. “It does have its uses.”

The conveyance turned out to be a private vehicle driven by an elderly Xeruvian male. Or what Mia thought might be an elderly male. Like many of the other Xeruvians she’d seen, this one stood tall and proud, though not quite as tall and muscular as the warlords. His smaller physique hinted at a caste system of some kind.

Mia mentally made a note to investigate, then turned her curiosity on the vehicle. It was similar to a car, tapered at front and back in graceful curves, with three sets of wheels instead of two. Unlike the spaceport, the vehicle was fully enclosed with viewing spaces made out of a clear material. Not glass, she deduced. There was no glimmer to it, as there would be with glass. She put a pin in that, too, as Alara ushered her inside and the driver ferried them away from the spaceport.

Once they were beyond it, the jungle closed around them. Mia nearly pressed her nose to the window to get a better view of the vegetation. Here, the land remained wild, in stark contrast to the obviously cultivated landscape preserved in the spaceport. She caught a flash of white slinking through the grayish brown tree bark and richly colored leaves, and was suddenly very glad to be in an enclosed space.

The vehicle entered the edges of a settlement after only a few minutes’ drive. Alara nodded at the passing buildings. “This area is primarily residences, one of several communities dotted through the region. There is a small market here, a larger one closer to the center.”

“We are in Clan Kerus’s territory, aren’t we?”

“Indeed. Many of the clans have built small ports within their lands, according to the people’s needs. We are landlocked here and have no seaport, though we do have a landward port near the confluence of our borders with our closest allies.”

“Oh. I suppose I should’ve studied the maps I found a little more closely.”

“There is time, daughter.” Alara’s gaze caught on something to the right. She touched Mia’s arm and directed her gaze outward. “Here is a good example of the way those fields are incorporated into our residences. Do you see the balconies?”

Mia leaned forward, duly noting the outward curve of balcony like extrusions along the exterior walls. The homes were various shades of gray, brown, beige, and off-white, depending on the construction materials, most natural. She recognized more of the grayish stone, what looked like stucco, and even massive slabs of stained wood. Each structure seemed uniquely fitted to the land surrounding it. That changed the closer they drew to town, where the land had clearly been adapted to the buildings. Still, it flowed in organic lines, not better than human constructions, just different.

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