14. Aldyn

Chapter 14

Aldyn

I had planned to wait.

What was another few minutes, an hour, when it came to the rest of my life? Our lives? But as I stood there in Jody’s kitchen. I knew I couldn’t wait another minute.

My body craved her. I didn’t know how much longer I could resist. But she needed to know this before we went any further. She took another bite of her sandwich before putting it down, and then she took a seat at her small kitchen table.

I sat opposite her. I would have rather held her close as I spoke, but it was probably better than we weren’t touching. I didn’t know how she would react. There were horror stories of Detyens proclaiming that they’d found their mate and their mate rejecting them. Would she? I didn’t know. I couldn’t know. But she needed to know who she was to me. She needed to know what I wanted.

And I wanted everything.

“What’s going on, Aldyn?” she asked.

I should’ve let her finish her sandwich. Especially now that the words were caught in my throat. We had survived the horrors that had been thrown at us the night before, so why did this seem harder than the actual battle we had engaged in? I didn’t know. I couldn’t know.

“Do you know much about Detyens?” I asked. Some humans were fascinated by us. They looked up every bit of information they could find. Especially a couple of years ago, when my people had helped rescue the planet from certain destruction. There was a growing Detyen population and more and more of my brethren were finding their mates each year. Did she know about that? Did she care? Or was she one of the humans who didn’t pay much attention to the aliens who were coming to this planet?

“I remember seeing a few news reports,” she said. “But I can’t say that I dedicated too much time to my research. I was busy.” She looked away from me as she said busy. I didn’t know what it was supposed to mean, and I wasn’t about press. Her life before we met was her life. I wanted to know everything she would tell me and more, but it didn’t have to be today.

“There’s a lot to tell,” I said. I wasn’t even sure where to start. The destruction of my planet? The fact that we died if we didn’t find our mates? The Detyen Legion?

“How about you just start with what you’re trying to say right now?” she asked.

Good idea. I looked up and met her eyes. There was no holding back anymore. “You’re my mate.”

She blinked several times and looked surprised. “Your… mate? What?”

It wasn’t rejection. It wasn’t a joyful acceptance either, but it was a start.

“Detyens recognize our mates, our denyai, when we see them. I recognized you from the moment I saw you. Clearly I didn’t say anything since we were a little busy.” I didn’t know what I would have done if we hadn’t been in the midst of the crisis. Asked her to get a drink with me? Pressed her against the wall and kissed her until she begged for more? Offered her my communicator information? The possibilities were endless.

“I guess we were busy,” she agreed. “But I’m not anybody’s mate. I’m a human. Not a Detyen or whatever.”

I could bring up news reports. I could bring up the profiles that I had read in magazines. A few mated couples had sort of become celebrities after it became known. But I didn’t think that she was rejecting the concept of matehood. I was pretty sure this was more personal. “You are,” I said. “And from everything I’ve seen so far you’re amazing. Everything I could have wanted.”

“But not someone you chose.” She stood up from the table and turned around, pacing the length of the room and then coming back to rest her hands on the back of the chair. “Free will is important. You have to be able to choose who you want.”

That wasn’t the argument I’d expected. I didn’t want to fight her. Didn’t want to tell her that she was wrong. So I stood up and moved to put my arms around her. She didn’t pull away from the touch. “You don’t have to accept me right now.” It hurt to say those words, but it was true. I had time. And I would never force her. “But I think you like me. And I know I like you. So why don’t we give this a chance? See where things go? We can forget about the mating. But I didn’t want to go any further without telling you.”

Her thumb made circles against my arm, the sensation strangely erotic despite the situation. “I’m not saying no to mating. Or well, sex, I guess.” She paused for several moments and then looked up at me. “Don’t you die if you don’t mate?”

It was my turn to look away. But she was right. We did. “I’m not yet thirty. There’s no rush.”

“So if we did then would you like own me, or immediately get me pregnant, or anything like that?” She didn’t look happy about that.

“Of course not! I would never own you. You would be my equal. You are my equal. As for children? That is something we would need to discuss.” Where did humans get ideas like that?

She seemed to be considering something. I didn’t dare to hope. And then she grinned and hope bloomed in my heart.

“I guess it’s nice to know that you’re serious from the beginning. I say we give it a shot.”