The Alien's Revenge - Ella Maven Page 0,4

to me she was a baby. In another life, she could have been a fairy or an elf. Or maybe even a leprechaun. Even her voice was soft. On Earth, she’d had a big brother to protect her. Here, she had an entire clan of big brothers, plus a bunch of big sisters too.

“Hey,” she smiled, eyes crinkling. The sun had made her freckles more pronounced. “Where’re you going?”

“You all are a nosy bunch, you know that?” I squeezed her shoulder.

“We just like to keep track of each other. It’s important.”

“I know, you’re right. Well, don’t lecture me, but I’m going hunting with Gar.”

“What?” she squeaked.

“Since Reba fell, Ward refuses to leave her side, so I invited myself to go hunting with Gar.”

Naomi laughed. “That sounds like you.” She sighed. “I wish I could talk to him like you do. He pretends I don’t exist.”

“That’s not true.”

She gave me a suffering look. “Okay, fine, he actively avoids me.”

I bit my lip on the denial because she wasn’t lying. When they did interact, Gar barely looked at her.

“I don’t get it,” she mumbled.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Men are dumb.”

As we approached the gate, a figure took a step out of the shadow of a small hut. Gar stopped abruptly when he saw who I had at my side.

“I heard you’re taking Miranda hunting,” Naomi said to him.

His gaze flickered to her before returning to me. He nodded.

Naomi’s shoulders slumped and I gave her another squeeze before letting her go.

“Well, be safe,” Naomi soldiered on despite Gar’s lack of eye contact.

The muscles in his jaw bulged, and he frowned deeply. With a near growl, he grunted, “She’s safe with me.”

Naomi didn’t wither under his expression, even though I’d seen her startle at some of the other men’s deep voices. Instead she took a step even closer and tilted her head. “I know that. I’m telling you to be safe. I want you back in one piece, as well as Miranda. I care about you too, Gar.”

For a moment, Gar didn’t move, in fact I wasn’t sure he breathed, until his chest gave a mighty heave and he blinked rapidly. I expected him to snarl or be dismissive, but instead, with his eyes unfocused over her head, he gave a brief nod.

Naomi waited, but when it was clear Gar would make no other acknowledgement of her words, she smiled sadly. Her hand lifted, as if she meant to touch him, but then she dropped it quickly back to her side. With wet eyes, she hugged me tight, whispered, “See you soon,” and turned on her heel, taking off toward our rooms at a brisk pace with her head down.

Gar’s eyes were no longer unfocused. He watched her walk away with an intense expression so pained I worried he’d collapse. His hand flexed, just once, before he closed his eyes.

“Gar?” I asked softly.

He didn’t respond. When his eyes opened, his expression had returned to a blank slate. No pain, no joy. Nothing.

“Hey,” I reached for him, but he stepped away from my touch and turned swiftly to walk toward the gates.

I had no choice but to follow him, my heart aching for whatever he was going through. The pull between him and Naomi was obvious to everyone, including themselves, but Gar made every effort to ignore her. I didn’t get it, and when this hunting trip was over, I was going to have some strong words with him.

“We’re going to discuss what just happened later. I’m giving you a heads up now,” I said to his back.

His shoulders bunched around his ears and his steps pounded the dirt.

I rolled my eyes. Dramatic.

As we neared the gates, I nearly skipped at Gar’s side, so damn excited to get out of these walls which had started to feel like a cage.

That is, until a shadow fell over us, and I turned to find Crius, with that ever-present weasely smirk on his blue face, walking beside us.

Crius gave me a weird vibe. I always prided myself on reading people well, and my bullshit alarm blared like crazy when Crius was around. His eyes were shifty, and the way he perused my body always left me wanting a shower.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Coming with you.”

I huffed and waited for Gar to give him a firm, “nit” so he’d run back to whatever hut he crawled out of.

Gar remained silent and kept walking.

I toggled my head back and forth between the two aliens on either