“Should’ve known you were a fan of the aliens.”
I cock my hip and glare at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that women are fawning over him because he’s the last one.”
A laugh bursts out of my mouth. “You much preferred it when women only had human men to fawn over? There’re not enough men and too many women, so don’t worry. I’m sure someone will want you if you act like a good partner.”
“What’s so funny?” Kate, the medic, steps out of the ship.
“Nothing,” Charlie turns and stalks away.
Kate gives me a look.
I jerk my head in Charlie’s direction. “He doesn’t like the Honey warriors.”
“Why the fuck is he on this expedition?”
“Probably because no one else can stand him.” He pissed me off in the prep meeting by not listening to my recommendations on flight weights, and now he is going to create friction against another team member. “Has he said anything to you?”
“No. I haven’t seen him since the last meeting.” Kate shakes her head. “We’ve all been too busy gathering what we need…they could’ve given us a bit more notice.”
I nod in agreement. “I don’t think they wanted to give people too much time either to beg for an expanded expedition or to rail against it.” While Kate is there for our safety, everyone else is expected to bring home something of use.
It’s my job to make sure we arrive and return in one piece.
2
HRAD
Ilift my arms over my head, not liking the way the shirt is tight. I do not like the human-style pants either. But because I am going on the humans’ trip, they want me to look like one of them…like I belong to their tribe. Even dressed in their ugly uniform, I do not seem human. I am taller than their men, and my kam are visible, poking out of my hair in two bony crests.
At least I am allowed to wear my own boots and carry my sword. They won’t allow me to carry one of their weapons. So I am to appear human at first glance only.
Edilk passes me the hat. “I’m not sure how you’re going to wear it.”
I snatch it out of his hand and perch it on the top of my head between my kam. The humans must expect me to shove it on top of my kam, but it’s not big enough. I grunt at my reflection. Now I appear even more ridiculous.
Edilk’s lips twist into a grin. It would be funnier if someone else were dressing up as a human.
“These clothes will not fool anyone.”
“Hopefully, there will be no one to fool.” He stares at me, and I know there is more on his mind. I have no doubt that we sharethe same fears. We are banished, and any tribe that sees me may hunt me and kill me.
Unlike my brothers, I have not found a place to call home in the colony. I do not fit in as easily as them. Perhaps it is because I have not found a mate. While plenty of women have offered, none make me want to go through the rut.
There is a small part of me that wonders if I should’ve stayed on the mainland instead of crossing the ocean with Edilk. When we made the voyage, some of our banished brothers thought it was foolish and remained. Are they now dead?
Did they stay together, or did the remains of our tiny tribe break apart without Edilk to keep them together? He was the one who convinced us that survival was easier together than fighting each other over bones.
Even in a tribe, not all warriors want to mate. For some it is because they grow accustomed to the company of men; for others it is because they do not want to go through the rut and then live with the consequences.
I do not like the fear that lives inside me. It is something I should be able to conquer. If I did not want a mate, that would be easier to live with. That would be easy to explain. There are human men who have suggested they might enjoy my company, and I have considered it.
But I do want a mate, and the fear is holding me back because I do not trust that a human woman will stay with me. I do not want to suffer the madness that comes from losing a mate.
My brothers do not share that fear. And their human mates seem to understand that they are now bound together. When I watch them, the women appear to be happy, and my brothers are determined to keep them happy.
What if I cannot keep a mate happy?
