Page 9 of The Alien Reindeer's Bounty
“Because the act is abhorrent. Just the thought of laying with a human makes me sick. It’d be like—”
“Like fucking the dog,” Mads said, finishing Arne’s often-muttered line.
“The way you speak to your father. A stint in the re-education camp will teach you respect.”
Not likely. By some miracle, Mads kept his mouth shut.
Once, when Mads had been younger, he asked Karl why the mate bond was important. Reproduction happened without the bond. Karl gave him a mournful look and said that without the bond, they grew cruel.
He hated that Karl was correct.
“Cheer up, whelp. We’re going home,” Arne said, his mood swinging dramatically.
No. The only thing he knew with absolute certainty was that the ship hurtled him through space, away from his heart and his home.
Eleven Years Ago
Mads studiedthe mate bond as best as he could, hiding his books and research from his father. Because he was not a scholar like his uncle, he limited himself to history, literature, and mythologies. A scientific journal would have snagged his father’s attention, and the last thing Mads wanted was Arne’s attention.
Gleaning useful information from this strategy, however, proved less than ideal. Mads had old tales, rumors, legends, and anecdotes. For every fact he uncovered, he found contradictory information.
Reilendeer could not form a mate bond with an alien species.
Reilendeer once formed mate bonds with several aliens. Many of the unique aspects of reilendeer biology came from alien ancestors.
Bonded mates had a psychic connection.
There was no connection, just a heightened awareness of each other’s auras.
Bonded mates could sense when the other was in pain or distress, no matter the distance.
No such connection had ever been observed and recorded in the modern era, leaving many to speculate that connection as nothing more than a literary device.
The lack of answers frustrated him. He grew careless, not bothering to wipe his search history on the network.
“What is this?” Arne loomed above him, gripping the tablet in one hand.
“Exploring reilendeer culture, since I’m a stranger here.”
Apparently, that was the wrong answer. Arne snapped the tablet in half and hurled the fragments at Mads.
He took his father’s blows with a stoic calm that only enraged the male further. Arne ranted and his chest heaved. “No son of mine is mated to a lesser being.”
Mads said nothing.
“Don’t ignore me! What do you have to say for yourself?”
“You taught me not to lie,” Mads said. He refused to cry, to beg for mercy.
Arne roared, grabbed Mads, and pain blinded him. When the last of his rage left Arne, Mads had a dislocated shoulder and two broken ribs.
The next day, a shuttle arrived to take Mads to a re-education facility, where he would learn that the bond he felt with Odessa was only in his mind. He would receive no food or medical care until he agreed.
He agreed, repeating the words blandly, but he did not believe.
He never saw his father again.
Ten YearsAgo
