Chapter 21

I don't understand. I'm not someone who loves to boast, but I'll be an amazing mate.

Irene doesn't care about that, though. Maybe her mind is still elsewhere.

We are sitting side by side on the grass. She hugs a baby furry animal in her arms, snuggling with that instead of me. That's such an insult. The four-legged animal may have soft white fur and watery cute eyes, but it can't be giving better hugs than me.

Except Irene isn't even looking at me. She stares blankly afar, stroking the animal on her lap, seemingly deep in thought.

I rub my horn, fighting to keep my words and questions in my throat. What does she want as proof that I mean what I said and I really want her as my mate, even though we've never driven well with each other? We always argue with each other, but when it comes to important things, we work well together.

Or... Maybe she cares about my past. I don't think she likes bandits. Not to mention... Maybe she wants a human as her mate.

Well... I can stop being a bandit, but I can never stop being a uzain.

I've never seen a human cock before, but I think mine's better.

I rub my horns; they look good on me too. Humans don't have horns, but they can appreciate nice horns, right?

Across from us are the fences that keep the animals safe. Even further out there will be the forest, where the ruins of my spaceship rest.

Now that I think about it, maybe she doesn't like how I lied and got myself into trouble. I... Maybe that really was the wrong thing to do. I was... younger and not that smart.

Zil... Zil's not a bad uzain, other than how he kept getting in my way. But even then, he was following most of the rules, other than keeping that human for himself.

Anyway, it's not like I can go back in time to right my wrong. Not to mention, if I didn't screw up, I wouldn't be here with Irene, whether she wants to be my mate or not.

I want to ask her about that, but maybe I should wait until she's in the mood to chat. I take a breath, almost choked from the strong scent of grass mixed with soil. Whelp, I'm not the countryside kind of being.

But she seems to be enjoying herself, so I remain quiet. I hate this. I'm not the kind of being that's patient either.

She turns to me, pointing at the silly animal on her lap. "Do you want to pat her?"

"No." I'd rather pat Irene, not this white thing.

"But her fur is so soft and comfortable."

My arms are comfortable too, just not that soft.

She strokes the animal again and it brays with a smile. This animal must be laughing at me. Irene says, "Maybe you should try."

But I don't care to pat a dumb animal.

Irene moves closer to me and lifts the baby animal to me. I suppose... I'll have to touch that. It probably won't kill me, anyway.

I reach my hand to the animal. It watches me with big black eyes. It probably won't bite my finger, probably won't...

I pat it. It has soft and smooth fur, which won't kill me. The fur tickles. I keep stroking it, waiting for Irene to decide that it's enough stroking and I can take my hand back to myself.

But she watches me with a grin. Does she think I'm enjoying this?

She laughs. "One would think you're patting a bomb or something."

So, she knows I don't care and don't want to be doing this, but she enjoys my misery... This cruel human...

She puts the animal back on her lap and strokes it some more before the animal hops off her lap. It runs to join the rest of the flock with the grass.

Irene says, "When we first settled here, there were days I was stressed and ended up finding comfort in playing with the animals. They won't argue with you or fight you. They will just lie around, waiting for you to spend time with them."

That's because she hasn't found her mate, otherwise, we could be spending time together and I have more ways to ease her stress than the animals can ever do.

She continues, "It's so peaceful here. Even though things aren't very convenient and we don't get a lot of things, it's not that bad."

I resist the urge to hug her, not knowing whether she wants that. "We'll figure out a way."

"I'm nervous. The forest out there always gives off the wrong vibe."

I flex my arms. "We'll be fine. We have help."

She picks up her staff and runs her fingers over the top of it. "I... Maybe it will work."

"You should believe in yourself more."

"Easy for you to say."

"Can I hug you?"

She rolls her eyes at me. "What's the deal?"

"I can give good hugs too, not just that animal."

She snorts a laugh. "Are you seriously trying to one-up an animal?"

My horns burn hot at that. "Well, you only wanted to pat an animal."

She pats my arm. "Are you an animal?"

"If it means you'll stroke me, I don't mind."

Now, her cheeks are lit with a nice shade of pink. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Hey, I didn't say anything naughty. Your mind's in the gutter, and you hear what you want to hear."

She smacks my shoulder, but she can't hide her grin. "Shut up, big gray ass."

I laugh and catch her hand. "Look, I just want to make sure you're comfortable around me."

She leans onto my chest, which I didn't expect. I hold her, letting out a breath as I enjoy her soft body.

She strokes my chest, running her fingers along the swirl markings on my chest. "So... You mean it when you said you want me as your mate?"

I think she already asked that question, but it's okay, I can repeat that for her. "Yes, I mean it. When I feel your body, I'm even more certain about that."

She lifts her brows at me. "You are just bad at flirting and making females like you. No wonder... I mean, try harder."

I huff. She is lucky that I want her that much. "To be honest, I don't know how human know they found their mate, but uzains have their designated mate who they just know. I don't really care about that other human female on my spaceship, which is a long time ago by now."

"So... You knew it when we first met?"

"No, not at that time, but now, yes."

"I don't get it. You said you'd just know, but not really."

"Sometimes, it takes a bit for the mate bond to react."

"I still don't understand."

"I don't understand completely either. But I know clearly that we are meant to be together. Not saying you have to be my mate because my mate bond said so, but it would be great. Let me know what you want to see in your mate, please?"

My heart races when she remains quiet and stares at the sky. I swear there's nothing interesting to look at up there, yet...

At least I can watch her face as she looks to the side, not wanting to even peek at me. I stroke her hair, hoping she won't care. She still has the ponytail to keep her hair tidy, but that won't stop me.

She lets out a soft breath. "It's so random. Almost like... I don't even know. Someone wants me as their mate, just like that."

I swallow. "Am I supposed to do something? I don't know a thing about human culture."

"What would uzains do?"

"Well, if someone challenges, the males fight to decide who gets the female."

"Seriously? Is that in the past?"

"No, it's whenever that happens. We don't have this physique just for the looks."

She watches me up and down. "Like... What year is this? You still fight like barbarians?"

"No, we fight like warriors."

"But you said every uzain is supposed to have their own mate, so there's no reason for them to fight one another over who gets the female."

"That's in theory. But the universe is so massive that sometimes, we just... figure out a way."

"So some uzains don't end up with who they're supposed to be with."

"Yeah... Everyone can make their own choice, so the perfect situation may not happen. But we're all beings and most figure out a way to still enjoy life."

"So... Even when a uzain knows clearly that the female is supposed to be his mate, other uzains are still going to fight him."

"Well... I suppose? To be honest, fighting for a mate doesn't happen a lot." I rub my horns. That doesn't sound like the best answer to the question, but I don't know of a better answer.

She stares at the sky again. She still hasn't told me about how humans do it.

But it isn't that bad to be here with her with the comfortable wind blowing and the warmth of the day on my skin.

"Melzul..."

"Yes."

"I don't know. I've never thought of being with someone."

"Oh..." Is that because I'm the one asking? Or that... Is that a rejection? Or... she really has never thought about getting a mate?

Maybe that's because I don't look like a good enough mate who can provide for her.

She moves and rests the back of her head on my lap. She points at the sky. "One day, you fell out of the sky, then the next, you tell me that you want me as your mate."

Does it sound like that?

"Maybe it's fate bringing us together."

"Maybe..." She muses, but her mind's seemingly elsewhere.

My cock twitches when she is that close to it. The things I can do to her that will make her feel better and let out her stress...

I take a breath to slow myself. She wants a mate that's more than just giving good sex.

The animals across from us are wandering on the grassland, spending their days with no worries at all. They probably won't care whether they are stranded here or not as long as they stay alive. Sometimes, I want to be them.

I flinch and almost jump when something tickles my cock. I look down at my crotch to see Irene stroking me. "What are you doing?"

She snorts a laugh. "Look at you, getting hard over nothing. Or does my presence alone turn you on?"

I grunt. "Yeah, things I can do to you are beyond your imagination."

When she rests on my lap, my cock can almost touch her cheek. The trousers hold me back. She smiles and stares at my bulge.

"Looks like I've found a horny one."

"I've been trying to act like a normal being without making you uncomfortable."

"I know." She gets up and lets out a breath. "I... I'll think about that. For now, I keep thinking about tomorrow. I hope everything will go well, but at the same time... The uncertainty is driving me crazy."

"Maybe we should get some practice, just in case we need some fighting skills."

She lifts her brows at me. "So, are you asking to get smacked on the head?"

I grunt. "This time, I'm well prepared, and you won't get an edge over me. I was being nice."

She laughs and doesn't seem to be convinced at all. "We'll see."

Yes, that's for sure. We'll see.