Page 9 of Shadowed By the Alien
I let out a short growl. “You should be free to go where you please, my sholani.”
“Sholani? What’s that?”
My horns twist at the top. I want to tell her everything. “There’s a food table set up over there,” I say instead. “Are you hungry?”
“Famished. Lead the way, please.”
She hooks her arm around mine again and my horns rise higher than ever. The pride welling in me now that she’s eagerly holding onto me is unparalleled.
“I’ll describe the foods to you the best I can, but I don’t recognize all of them.” I tell her the position of all the items on the table so she can help herself and not have to depend on me or anyone.
After a quick bite, we walk the path between graves, again holding hands.
“Still no sign of Noah?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“You don’t like your cousin?”
“It’s mutual. He sees me as weak and I know he’s an asshole. Our mothers are sisters and they don’t give either of us a choice with these parties. He has to invite me and I have to go. Tosocialize. Translation, they hope I’ll find a guy to marry, to take care of me.” Her voice drips with sarcasm, to which I growl, unable to stop myself.
“Did you just… growl?”
“I dislike them forcing you to find a mate.”
“You almost sound jealous.”
Not almost.
“None of the males here are worthy of you. They spend their time drinking and talking of easy ways to make money. I do not believe a single one has a job.”
“Sounds about right. Then again, I don’t have a job either. And don’t you dare say that’s different because I’m a woman or blind. I’d love to do something useful with my life. Do you know what I do when I’m not walking through the neighborhood?”
I admit, I’ve wondered, but I cannot watch her inside her home, only when she leaves. “I don’t know.”
“I cook, play piano, and knit. A lot. I make blankets, scarves, hats, and mittens for the homeless.”
“A worthy task.”
“Yes, but I want to do more. Like figure out who’s starting those fires. People are scared, and they shouldn’t be. The war is over and it’s time to rebuild.”
She’s right, but this world holds many dangers including the Brotherhood which continues to undermine the government. Her father is Earth’s liaison to the Galactic Alliance. On his say alone, Earth could break off relations with the rest of the universe and then I’d be forced to leave Raven… on a planet that remains vulnerable to attack.
While Mr. Miller works with aliens as part of his negotiations with the Galactic Alliance, he is fiercely protective of his daughter. If he learns she is my heartmate, he’ll break off relations and keep me from her. This is why I cannot tell Raven the truth.
CHAPTER SIX
RAVEN
“Local law enforcement will catch those responsible for the fires in time,” Ren says as I lean against a tree and enjoy the cool breeze.
I love his confidence. About everything. That’s something I lack, though I hide it. I don’t like being vulnerable, which is why I used to force myself to try new things, and to go new places. Until I hit a brick wall, one with my father’s name on it.
Nothing on Earth is like it used to be, especially for women. The Coalition reduced us to sexual objects by taking away our rights, our education, and essentially brainwashing the males here. Many families, like mine, tutored girls in private, but still, the aliens left their mark, making life that much riskier for a woman, and more so for one who can’t see.
That never stopped me from venturing out. I used to take my cane, load up with a few knives, and head out to explore. A year ago, my father put an end to that. He hired a guide to lead me around the inside of what I’ve nicknamedThe Zone, a ten-block radius around our home.
