Page 27 of The Alien Reindeer's Bounty
“The dinner table, goblin.” Odessa couldn’t decide if Ruby misplaced the cheese on purpose or if she had honestly misunderstood. Either way, the empty plate was the natural outcome of a perpetually hungry dog and an unsupervised appetizer.
She rubbed her forehead, slightly grossed out by how greasy her skin felt. At least the dog didn’t eat the wrapped string cheese. She did not want to know what the plastic wrappers would do to a dog’s digestive system.
“Mommy’s getting a headache. Her eye is jumping around,” Ruby said.
Odessa pressed two fingers under her left eye. Sure enough, she felt the unwanted twitching that happened when she got stressed.
“I’ll take care of this,” Mads said, grabbing the dog by the collar and leading her to the backdoor. “You should rest.”
“That’s a good idea. Take a shower and lie down,” Patricia said, pushing Odessa toward the stairs.
“But dinner—”
“Will be here when you feel better.”
“It’s just a headache,” Odessa said, already giving in. She’d feel better after a hot shower and a change of clothes.
Mads
Uninvited.
Unwanted.
Mads watched from the back porch while the dog snuffled along the ground.
While walking his dog, Gerald had cornered Mads and invited him to dinner. He had not been trying for an invitation and sensed that to refuse would have been rude, so he accepted.
He saw now that the correct action would have been to politely decline.
His mate ignored the gift he brought. Stress and exhaustion radiated from her, tainting the atmosphere of the house. He wanted nothing more than to ease her burdens but knew she would reject his offer to assist. She had also grown angry at his invitation to dinner. The two rejections told him that she had moved on and no longer had a place for him in her heart.
He wanted to pursue her, to chase her to the brink of their endurance. It was a primitive response when courting. No doubt his father would sneer, call it degeneracy, and pin the blame on courting an uncivilized human. Meanwhile, Odessa would call his behavior stalking.
He ran his hand up the back of his head in frustration.
Stalking would drive her away. He knew that. He knew better. She wanted space. He had to give her that.
Perhaps he should resign himself to an existence without his mate. What kind of future did he offer? If they returned to Reilen, she would be viewed, at best, as simplistic and child-like. At worst, she would be little more than a pet and he would be the deviant that mated the family pet. They would have to remain on Earth, him a fugitive and Odessa hidden like a shameful secret.
He rejected the thought. There was nothing shameful about his love for Odessa. The only shame came from how he accidentally initiated the mate bond then slinked off-planet.
He worked too hard to return to Earth to give up so easily.
The evergreen in the corner of the living room proudly displayed his first gift, the cut-glass star ornament and remained otherwise bare. His gift was the only one worth displaying. That gave him hope.
Odessa wanted an explanation. His apology alone had not been enough. He wanted to tell her everything, to lay his heart bare and confess how he fought his father, how he suffered in the education camps where the authorities tried to break the mating bond, and how he spent every day in the last ten years counting down until the moment he could return.
Those words could never leave his lips. Mads rubbed the star-shaped scar at the base of his skull.
If he could not tell her, then he could show her.
If she ever stopped running away.
The door opened and the dog dashed to the calf, dancing around her with excitement. Her red curls sprouted in every direction and she laughed with glee as she accepted the puppy kisses. She then threw a ball. The dog chased.
Ruby’s aura had the same golden cast as her mother’s. Mads enjoyed watching the colors of joy and enthusiasm shift through her aura.
“My mommy doesn’t like you,” the calf said.
