Chapter 5

Varek

M y female is standing there shivering. Is she cold?

Her eyes are wet—little blobs of moisture leaking down her beautiful cheeks as if she’s sad.

How could she be sad at a time like this?

I palm my chest.

She’s my mate.

A sense of pride swells through me as I take her in. She’s small. Too light when I hold her. Her dark brown hair falls just past her sharp shoulders and her skin is a creamy shade. She is not a Vrut, for I have never seen a female that looks like her.

But I have never seen anyone of her kind either.

As a council member, I should have observed her and kept my distance. It’s our way. I was planning to learn about the ship and report back until I felt the intense pull to her. My very bones ached to go to her, to touch her, to bring her home.

Even before I had laid eyes on her.

I couldn’t understand it until the glows chose her.

My mate.

My lips twitch as I stare at her. I want to comfort her. To tell her she's safe, but the little troublemaker doesn’t understand my tongue. She’s afraid of me and it makes me physically ill.

“Draxel,” I bark out.

I need to present her to the council. Normally, we would all vote against getting involved with something like this—an alien—but a mate is something very different.

Draxel grunts as he steps inside. Our best hunter, he’s shorter than me, but he’s quicker.

My mate ruffles, sucking in a sharp breath as she takes in the male at my side. She mumbles something and takes another step away. I grit my teeth.

“Varek? Is this a—”

“A female. Mine. Go find the council and bring them here. Now. And speak of this to no one.”

Draxel nods and sees himself out.

The sooner I present her to my fellow Highseers, the faster I can help her.

She has a nasty cut on her forehead, with a strange dark red liquid dried on her perfect skin. Is that her blood? My need to protect her is too strong to deny and I take a step toward her, ducking under my hammock.

She hurries away from me, pressing her back against the wall. Her hands raise and her mouth opens, a soft, melodic voice filling the room. I can’t understand her and it makes me want to bring down the walls around me.

My mate. My woman. And I can’t even tell her.

She doesn’t seem to know what she is to me. If she did, she wouldn’t fight it. Being chosen by the glows like this is something of history. Of destiny. It is the most precious part of life.

I’ve spent years preparing for the day—if I were ever lucky enough to be blessed—when the patterns emerged. Now that it is here, it feels tainted.

In Vrut tradition, the first night is for bonding. For taking the official mate bond.

But this female doesn’t even want to be near me.

“I will not hurt you, woman,” I say.

Her head cocks as she hears me, watches me intently.

“But you are mine now and this is our home.”

Her throat bobs on a swallow and another streak of liquid falls down her cheeks. My chest flares bright green and constricts, squeezing out all the air in my lungs.

I hear others approaching my leathers and turn to greet them, giving my woman my back. It’s risky, but she seems too afraid to strike like she did out in the marsh. I reach up and run the spot on my throat that she punched.

Feisty little thing.

Mydros, Elyra, and Kylor duck under the leathers and enter my quarters, their eyes immediately landing on my woman. Each Vrut startles, their spinal bristles flaring as they realize what I have done.

“Varek,” Kylor asks. “What is the meaning of this?”

The oldest of us. The wisest. The softly glowing pendant adorning his neck indicates his status among us.

“Where have you been?” Elyra asks. Wrinkles deepen around her black eyes as she takes in the state of my female and then regards me again, her stare dripping with disapproval.

I serve as the fourth Highseer of the council, but right now, I am on trial.

“I went to explore after the loud crash. I found something past the marshes.”

“Clearly,” Mydros barks, his shoulders shaking with fury.

“You were not to go,” Elyra reminds me.”

I know. I was there when we decreed it. But something forced me out there, and now I realize it was the luminite.

“I realize. But I found her,” I say.

“You should have left her in the marshes.” Mydros lips pull up as he looks at my mate in disgust, but I will forgive him for this disrespect. He still does not know.

I eye her, terrified and making herself small against my wall. I want her in my arms. I need to comfort her and heal her. The glows across my chest flare bright and the council gasps in unison.

“A mate?” Mydros asks. His eyes widen as he watches the luminescence spread across my chest, beating and brightening in tandem with my heart.

Elyra shakes her head. “But she is not a Vrut nor a Thachien.”

I shake my head. No. My woman is not of our people, nor of our enemies.

I suspect she is lost. As though she was never meant to find our lands in the first place.

“I wouldn’t have taken her if we weren’t chosen. She is mine and the council must accept it.”

All three members eye my woman and then, after a moment of silence that makes my blood boil, they bow their heads.

It is done.

The mating bond is too important. It is the highest law among us. Our numbers are dwindling and only mates can keep us alive.

My woman’s face is pinched in confusion, but soon it will all be over. Soon I will be able to go to her.

“She can stay,” Kylor confirms again.

“Were there others?” Mydros asks.

I shake my head. “None that I could see. Though I was more worried about taking care of my mate than finding others.”

Elyra nods. “Send Draxel to investigate. If there are others, there could be a chance for more bonds to appear.”

Or trouble.

Mydros is thinking the same thing by the way he whirls around, glaring at Elyra. The youngest among us, he is still too impulsive. Too quick to anger.

I bow my head to the council, acknowledging the decree. As they leave, I call in Draxel and give him the order.

“Past the marshes you will find the ship. Search it and ensure there are no others. If there are, we will decide what to do.”

Draxel bows and leaves.

Suddenly, the silence swallows me whole. I turn to see my woman, her eyes blinking heavily as she stands sagging against the wall.

She is dirty, damp, bloody, and hurt.

Scared.

Of me.

But I will not allow her to continue in this state. It is my job to protect her and I will do it whether she accepts it, or not.