Page 14 of His Human to Learn

"You do, but if you need me to lie to you, fine, you don't." Jen rolls her eyes and looks around the dining room.

The great hall is where all the human women live while waiting to join the mating ceremony or find their own homes. A handful of girls are too young to join the mating ceremony, and they all stay here, too. For the younger ones without mothers, a woman watches most of them, and I've heard a female from one of the other tribes is coming to help teach them all how to read in the language, since our translators don't work that way.

For the most part, the great hall is a good home. It's mostly human women with a scattering of mated males who have come to visit with Ralleth or one of the other males in charge of different aspects of the tribe's running. If anyone were to see the great hall to determine how many women are here, they'd think we were taking over this whole planet.

I finally manage to put something in my mouth, and it doesn't make my stomach turn. Jen's busy finishing her food and watching everyone around the great hall.

We've been coming up here more often since my ability to speak to others has improved. We don't make it a daily habit, but at least a couple of times a week, we come up here and hang out. Some of the women will talk with us, but most of the time, it's women from the original ones sent to the planet. They feel more like family because they come out to the farm and hang out with Nia, Beren, and Lyath.

Jen drops her fork and stares at someone behind me. I pop another piece of meat in my mouth and watch her brows tug together, and her lips tilt down in a frown. I mimic her as I turn around to see who or what she's staring at.

"He looks serious," I say as I watch Ralleth look around the dining room tables with Olivia at his side. Their bodies are rigid, and their faces are stoic. They're searching for someone.

"What do you think is wrong?" Jen asks right as Ralleth's eyes land on us and stay there.

The queasiness in my stomach amplifies, and I wonder for a second if I'm finally going to throw up. I turn back around, thinking that if I don't look at them, maybe I'll have made it up in my mind that they were looking over here like they need to talk to us.

"They're walking this way," Jen whispers, picking up her fork and using it to move food around on her plate. She looks up through her lashes, tracking Ralleth and Olivia as they weave through the dining tables. "Oh yeah, shit, what did we do?"

"I don't know," I shrug, my stomach threatening to heave as the words leave my mouth.

Jen doesn't believe me for a second, but at this point, it's too late for her to ask because Ralleth is pulling out a chair for his mate to sit beside me and standing next to it with his hand on the back.

"Good morning," I try to sound cheery as I say the words, but I can feel how red my cheeks are, how much I'm clenching myfists to keep myself from throwing up, and the sweat now sliding down my back.

"No small talk," Jen says, setting her fork down, crossing her arms in front of her, and leaning toward the table. Her eyes are narrowed, and her lips are set in a firm line. "What do you think we did, and are you planning on kicking us out?"

"What?" Ralleth's startled voice is enough to make me look up and see his shock. He's looking at his mate like this isn't how this talk is supposed to go. "We do not kick females out. You are always welcome here. I think your wardens would cause much trouble if they even thought we were thinking of it. Oh no, most definitely not."

Olivia reaches up and places a hand on Ralleth's to ease some of his worry. She keeps her eyes on us as she begins to speak. "It's come to our attention that Tori has been spotted alone with a male."

My face burns brighter, and my hand that was clenching itself into a fist relaxes for all of two seconds so I can use it to grab the chair's armrest. I lean over, and all of the contents of my stomach come right back up. I don't know if it's because I know what's coming or because my body is finally revolting from the alcohol. Either way, I'm almost positive I'm about to be told I have to go through a mating ceremony.

8

Tori

"You talk to my ward without me there and accuse her of something you have no right to accuse her of!" Beren is pissed. He has been since Jen and I showed up at the house with Ralleth and Olivia with us.

After I threw up, they thought it would be better to have this conversation somewhere more private, and I told them I wouldn't feel comfortable unless we were at my house.

"There was no accusing." Ralleth holds his hands next to his head, the same way he's been standing since we arrived.

"Then what do you mean to do by telling her that you know she has been alone with a male?" Beren asks, obviously not caring about the answer, because he continues. "Which male and who told you this?"

"Beren," Ralleth says his name like he's trying to appease a child throwing a fit. Speaking of children throwing fits, Olivia's babe is fast asleep, strapped to her chest, while we all listen tothe grown males arguing. "Let us discuss this with everyone in a calm way, yes? We do not mean to cause insult, and we most certainly do not mean to upset you or your wards."

"You have upset me," Beren snaps, his arms crossing over his chest as he takes a deep breath. He and Ralleth are arguing on the front porch, but he looks inside to see all of us women sitting in the living room, patiently waiting for them to finish so we can have an actual conversation.

"Then I apologize," Ralleth says, his hands finally coming down to his sides because Beren is relaxing. "May I go inside and explain the situation to everyone?"

"Fine," Beren huffs before entering the house and standing behind the couch. Nia, Jen, and I are all sitting on it.

I sit with fidgeting hands and worry pouring from me. Nia and Jen both look upset at the whole situation. Arms crossed, scowls in place, and bodies so tense I'd be worried if I were Ralleth. The only thing that makes me feel better is the soft sounds Olivia's baby makes when she shifts in her sleep. Olivia doesn't seem to mind any of the bad moods in the room. She's more interested in her daughter and offers us small smiles of reassurance as we listen to the males.

"What exactly were you told?" Beren asks Ralleth when both males are situated behind their mates, comfortable and not as tense as they just seemed.

I don't know where Lyath is, but if I had to guess, it would be keeping Marron and Thro—mostly Thro—distracted so they don't overhear this conversation. Marron will blame himself even though we both were part of breaking one of the only rules we have to follow. Thro will probably tell Ralleth that we were alone and fell asleep together. He might even throw Marron under the bus for visiting me when I bathe because I'm sure the sneaky little male has some idea of what his brother is doing when he says he forgot something on the farm and has to return.

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