Caught Between Two Blue Aliens - Celia Kyle Page 0,26
testing your potential mates for compatibility,” Hiren continued. “It is not the same for Drokten. We...know, on a very basic level, when we are in the presence of one another’s mates.”
Jenna’s cautiously accepting attitude turned sour again. Sevith felt her emotions close off immediately, and this time, it wasn’t because she misunderstood something his Bahn had said. On the contrary, he had the sense she knew exactly what he meant, and that was the problem. She licked her lips and opened her mouth to get a word in, and Hiren nodded for her to speak.
“Do Drokten women just ‘know’ in the same way, too?” she asked.
“Why, yes,” Hiren smiled. “It is a well-known part of life on our home world. Regardless of gender, Drokten know when they have found their mates. It is an exciting time in a Drokten’s life, for all parties involved.”
“What all… what’s involved in… being mates? I feel like I’m missing something here… besides the obvious,” she released a nervous laugh.
“If by the obvious, you mean sex,” Hiren used the human word, which Jenna swallowed as her blush grew, “it is similar to human marriages. An Oso shares a special bond with the Azi and Bahn, lives with them, consults with them. You would come back to the home world with us, and you would be treated—”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Jenna shut her eyes for a moment and took deep breath before staring out the window with a worried expression. “Look, I know I’m not trained in… interspecies diplomacy, or whatever this is,” she said with a gesture among the three of them. “But this is… a lot to swallow, to say the least. I don’t know anything about Drokten society, history, what your planet even looks like…”
“I could spend weeks informing you,” Sevith spoke up with a sudden zest in his voice, grinning and leaning forward to rest his powerful arms on his knees. “I could work backward, from the war with the Zignills on Earth and how my battleship was among the first to respond to the situation. Or I could tell you about my own life, starting from the first day I had to kill a stynedon armed with nothing but a spear and the clothes on my back when I was a child.”
“We can tell you anything you would want to know,” Hiren said enthusiastically. “I could describe what our living domicile on Drokt looks like, or about the floating gardens we could show you on our moons. We can answer any questions you might have about the medical care you can expect when you become pregnant. Early research has shown that human and Drokten biology is remarkably—”
Before Hiren could finish, the vehicle pulled to a stop and the door shooshed open. Their female didn’t hesitate. She rushed out as soon as there was enough space for her to fit.
Hiren’s jaw dropped as she ran toward the restaurant opposite the curb.
“Jenna!” Sevith bellowed as he hopped out of the vehicle, but he didn’t chase after her. He stood with one leg still inside, watching her freeze at the front doors of the dark building. The OPEN sign was dimmed, and the lights were still off. It must have been closed, but Jenna wasn’t turning around.
“Just go!” she shouted back, her voice cracking. “I—I can’t be what you need. I just can’t.”
“Jenna, we are… no more used to negotiating across cultures this way than you are,” Hiren shouted from the other side of the vehicle.
That much was true. His Bahn was used to human dignitaries, but Jenna was closer to what Sevith realized was an average human. Neither of them had spoken at length to the humans who populated the urban centers. They’d both mainly been fighting off Zignills or negotiating with Earth’s military and government while remaining on the Avash. Speaking with this lone human female was entirely new.
“But I’m asking you to believe our intentions are good,” Hiren continued. “I would not have spent so long deliberating with Secretary Wells if they were not.”
“We’d save a lot of time by just telling her we’re taking her home to our ship,” Sevith grumbled quietly. “We can save this talk for our quarters.”
“Yes, and it would make a troubled start to our triad. We have to do this her way.”
Jenna turned to try the door again in vain.
Hiren stepped away from the vehicle, moved closer to their female, and spread his claws out in a peaceful, calming gesture. “None of us