He drops his tray of food on the floor. “You make me sick. We don’t need your kind.”
The human man stalks toward the door, almost running into Tiril, Sunif and Chloe. From the silence in the dining room and the way the human guards are standing instead of sitting and eating, it’s pretty clear something was going on.
Is everything alright?Tiril asks.
He took offense to human women choosing us as mates.I bend to pick up the tray. None of the food fell off and I’m not letting it go to waste. “Extra rations?”
“They are yours,” Edilk says.
They are ours. I did nothing but what was required. As an unmated warrior, it is my responsibility to protect my tribe. As the son of a chief, I was taught to put my point across without starting a fight. But I crackle with energy, and I want nothing more than for some of the other human guards to try something. It has been a long time since I’ve fought anyone but my brothers, and I have learned all their tells.
I want a new challenge.
I sense all the rapid heartbeats of the fearful humans, and also those quickened by desire. Some of the human women liked what they saw. My gaze lands on Harper. With so many people between us, I’m not sure where she fits.
Once again, since meeting the humans, I wonder if there is a chance for me to have a mate. But do I want to live in the human colony when there are so many who hate us and who do not want to learn from us, even though that is their reasoning for inviting us to join them?
Harper glances away, and I return my attention to my brothers. “That sentiment will be shared by others.”
“Until you guys came along, we didn’t have a choice,” Sabine says. “The men could promise one thing and then change their mind next week and move on to the next woman.
“They aren’t all like that.” Chloe pulls out a chair and sits. “But less than half have settled down.”
“Do they also threaten the human men who have found a mate?” Sunif asks.
“No, but there is some sneering. Some see no point in staying with one person. They’d much rather bounce from woman to woman, as there is always someone looking for a man.”
I take some of the food off the tray—I have no idea what it is, though I am sure it isn’t meat—then push the tray over to Edilk. “They want sex, not a mate.”
Because the bond with our mate is permanent, and there are not enough women, it is expected and encouraged that unmated warriors find pleasure amongst themselves. That has always been enough for me because I never expected more. Surrounded by the scent of so many women, my body craves more.
It was easy living in the village with my brothers, as the only women were their mates.
Now there are hundreds of women.
Some of them smile as they walk past our table. Eyes bright and teeth showing as though they are feral and about to attack. They are trying to be friendly, but I do not like it. It is unsettling.
Ruby touches my arm. The human women need to touch us to communicate silently. Usually, they only touch their mate.They are checking out you and Hrad. You’ll be mated in no time.
And how am I supposed to know if it is a good match? I do not want to accept the wrong mate. I do not want a woman who doesn’t understand the mating bond.
But I don’t know how to share my fears with anyone. Not even my brothers.
9
HARPER
It seems as though every woman in the dining room makes the effort to go past the table of Honey warriors. As word goes around that they mate for life, some women are seeing them as a real alternative. They want love, and a family. Not only doing their bit for the colony. Maybe if there were enough men to go round, the idea of having an alien mate wouldn’t be so appealing.
I gave up trying to keep a man’s attention years ago.
Now the only men interested in me are old enough to be my father. The ones who are my age have already established relationships. The younger men are the ones who have no interest in making a life with only one woman.
That doesn’t stop my gut from churning as the women smile and simper as they walk past. Standing up to the asshole has made Yva a hero.
How many human men view the Honey warriors as a threat?
There are only two of them who are unmated. And the rest of the Honey tribes live across the ocean so it’s not as though they are about to turn up and take a mate.
