Page 10 of Charmed By the Alien Warrior

I frown, my mind racing. The idea of a Laediriian betraying their own kind is unthinkable, and yet Draggar wouldn’t say something like this unless he was certain. The Laediriian code of honor is taught to every kitling from the moment they can walk. Loyalty to the tribe, to our people, is sacred. To betray that is to betray our ancestors. Then again, I never thought any of our people would ally themselves with our enemies, and they have.

“Do you have proof?”

“Not yet,” he admits, his face hardening. “But I have suspicions, and—”

The door creaks open, cutting him off. The seer, Jaran, enters with his son, and they silently take their seats. Draggar’s gaze tracks their movements, lingering on them for a moment too long before snapping back to me.

His voice drops even lower. “Until I can confirm who it is, I need you to keep your eyes open. Watch everyone—especially the elders. This mission may be more dangerous than we realize.”

“Does Daggir know?” I ask quietly.

Draggar nods. “That’s why he’s sending a small group on this mission—volunteers only. He wants to minimize the risk of information leaking to the enemy.”

“I’ll keep watch,” I promise.

Draggar nods, his eyes narrowing. “Good. And don’t let your fascination with the female distract you from the task.”

Heat rises to my neck, and I quickly straighten in my seat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A soft snort escapes Draggar, his mouth tilting up at the corners in a smile. “You’re not as subtle as you think, Sorrin. Just keep your focus, and keep everyone safe. My mate will be upset if any of her friends are harmed. Which meansIwill be upset.”

Before I can respond, the door opens again, and my gaze is drawn to the figure slipping inside. Mara.

As she takes her seat beside the other two females, her green eyes sweep the room before landing on me. She looks away quickly, but I catch the faint pink flush that rises to her cheeks.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, Draggar’s words lingering in my mind. A traitor among us. The thought is as foreign as the humans themselves, and yet now, I can’t help but study the faces around me more closely. Could it be Jaran, as Draggar’s actions implied?

He is one of Chief Daggir’s advisors, true, but he has shown no interest in the wellbeing of the humans. He is an older male, one of the tribe’s elders, but he is not a male I have ever been particularly fond of. A large male with a stout figure and a smile that always looks insincere on his face, he has a fondness for wearing bright blue tunics instead of the loincloths that are traditionally worn by Laediriians. Right now, a hearty smile is plastered across his face, but to me, it looks insincere.

Chief Daggir strides in, and the room grows quiet as he takes his place at the head of the table. His penetrating gaze sweeps around the table and for the first time, I notice his face is drawn with deep wrinkles at the edges of his eyes that I don’t remember being present last season.

“Thank you for coming.” The chief of our tribe is tall and broad, just like all of our warriors. His skin is no longer the vibrant teal color of a younger male, but it has faded to the gleaming silver of an elder with gray hair that is pulled back in a braid that lays over one broad shoulder.

“The task you will undertake is one of great urgency and importance. The humans...” He glances to the three females seated at the table, his gaze softening as he takes them in. “Are strangers on a world that is foreign to them. They are not accustomed to the perils of Laedirissae. They will need our assistance and our protection, and we will gladly give it to them.”

He pauses, then motions for Vrenner, our tribe’s tech, to take over the meeting.

Vrenner rises and unrolls a large map of the lands surrounding us across the table. “With Isabella’s assistance...” He nods to the dark-maned human who said she was something called atechnophileon their planet, “I have managed to confirm a second object did enter our atmosphere, and we’ve narrowed it down to four possible locations for it to have crashed. The Vex Grasslands, the Bitter Forest, the Ancestors’ Ship, and the territory of the lost tribe.” He points to the appropriate spots on the map.

Haley clears her throat and asks, “I’m sorry, what is the lost tribe?”

Draggar answers her. “They are the Laediriian tribe that became extinct, my amoris.” He raises her hand to his lips and places a kiss on it. “No one has seen any males from the tribe in at least a generation. Their village lies abandoned almost two days journey from here, near the Ancestors’ Ship.”

Haley nods, then asks, “Didn’t we travel close to the Vex Grasslands?”

“We did, my amoris. There were no signs that a ship or anything had crashed, but the grasslands are large. Perhaps it crashed on the far side of them.”

Around us, some of the other warriors shift, and I can feel the restlessness and the yearning that runs through them. Because it runs through me as well. Until the arrival of the humans, the fate of our tribe would most likely echo that of the Lost Tribe. It has been generations with only males being produced by the artificial wombs our species uses to reproduce, and over time, there have been less kitlings born each year.

But now, there are females among our tribe, and with the return of the amoris bond, there is a renewed sense of hope for our future. A sense of hope that is almost palpable among the unmated males.

Never in any of our lives did we ever think we would have the chance for a mate, but now we have a chance at love and a future and the happiness that only comes from with an amoris mate.

My thoughts are interrupted as our chief leans forward and gestures to the clearly marked territories of the tribes nearest to us. “With fears of the Tussoll and possibly even the Xeniiv allying themselves with our enemies the Pugj, we cannot spare a large group of warriors to search for the ship, nor do we want to draw attention to our purpose. It wouldn’t do to leave the tribe and our village without adequate protection, which is why only five males will be going on this mission. Sorrin...” He nods to me, then to the other males. “Vrenner, Enosir, Yarik, Warrix.”

Mara clears her throat. “And me.” Her voice is quiet but firm as she speaks and her face flushes under the scrutiny of so many gazes.

The other human, Isabella, speaks up adding her voice. “Me, too.”

---