Chapter 6
A good sign for the future of your relationship.
Filbur
Behind her striking beauty, she looked terrified. Khegon placed her small, delicate— shaking—hand in mine and took a step back.
My bride’s eyes were wide as they met gaze and I couldn’t help but feel hurt. She was scared of me. Maybe just disappointed…In any way, she looked ready to bolt.
I smiled anyway, hoping to reassure her.
“It is nice to finally meet you,” I said, bending my head in respect. “My name is Filbur.”
She did not blink. Did not move, even to acknowledge my words. Shame washed over me when my body reacted to her proximity. I mentally thanked myself for tying the knot of my belt at my front instead of my side like I usually did.
I cleared my throat and brought her hand to my lips. “I will do everything in my power for you to feel safe and comfortable here,” I said, a slight alteration of one of our partnering promises that fitted our current situation.
Her gaze suddenly softened, going from wide and terrified to curious and—tired.
My bride was exhausted.
And yet, when I pulled her hand away from my lips, she slid it away from mine to place it on my chest. She was still shaking, but for some reason, she did not look as scared as she did when she first spotted my brother and I.
I returned the gesture. Warmth bloomed in my chest at the tentative smile pulling at her lips. I did not care if she only did that because she had been told to. She understood the meaning. Understood what it meant for our people.
Once she would be more comfortable here, I would make sure she taught me everything about her people so I could return the respect and affection.
“Will the ceremony take place here?” Maxwell asked from a few feet behind her, studying the area.
“No,” Khegon answered. “We wanted our people to be here to welcome her when she arrived. We will now move to a more private area for the partnering so only the close family can attend.”
“Very well, then.” Maxwell sighed. “Lead the way.”
I searched my bride’s eyes one more time, but the moment seemed to have passed.
Her hand was now fisting the skirt of her red dress and her beautiful skin was once again turning pale.
She looked everywhere and nowhere at the same time, like she was unable to focus on one single thing and everything was overwhelming.
Were all human females this…skittish?
Although Ghauro’s bride had looked surprised for the first minute, her whole posture had quickly relaxed. Tamara looked as if she wanted nothing more than to bury herself in the sand.
I took her hand softly, which pulled her attention back to me. “Do you need a moment?” I asked her. “It must be overwhelming.”
She blinked and her gaze changed entirely. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend—”
“I am not offended.” I looked around, to the people waiting. Smiling. “I do not think anyone is.”
Tamara let out a shuddering breath. Was she cold? Should I give her the scarf now?
“We can wait,” I continued, hoping she would feel better. “I do not believe I have somewhere else to be other than by your side at the moment.”
There it was again; the softening of her amber eyes. Her small hand clasped around one of my fingers as her lips parted. “I—I’m okay. We can go now.”
Lie. She was not okay, but she looked better than when she first stepped out of the shuttle and spotted us.
I needed to read this human codex. And when she would be more comfortable with me, I would do a little check up to ensure she was doing fine. Maybe it was just stress. Maybe it was simply regretting her decision.
But I needed to rule out any potential health issue that could have caused this reaction; her eyes turning glassy and unfocused. Her chest rising and falling too quickly. Her face changing color every other minute.
I had seen Maxwell turn red before—when he was mad or embarrassed. Green was something entirely new…
I softly squeezed Tamara’s hand and gave her the most reassuring smile I could as we made our way through the parted crowd and toward the small alcove that was prepared for us.
“Okay, is everyone ready?” Maxwell asked, standing by our side.
The quieter setting made Tamara look more appeased. She even smiled at me a couple more times.
She is so pretty I think I could just stand here and look at her for hours.
“Excuse me?” Maxwell asked, looking at me over his glasses, the electronic device forgotten in his hands.
Had I spoken out loud?
The reddening of my bride’s cheeks told me I might have…
Great, here I was now, making a fool of myself.
“Apologies,” I muttered. “I am ready.”
“Are you good, Tamara?” She did not answer, instead simply nodded, which did not please the old scientist. “I’m gonna need verbal consent to move forward Miss Matossi.”
“I—Yes. Yes, I’m good. All good.”
She was lying again. Why? Maxwell narrowed his eyes and studied her before ultimately shrugging and focusing back on the device in his hands.
“Alright, I’ll say the words, you repeat them, then comes the—oh, no rings?” he asked my brother who shook his head. “What then?”
“A partnering ceremony is a promise,” Khegon explained. “Why would they exchange something?”
Maxwell frowned. “I don’t know—It’s the human way. How would others know they are already committed to each other?”
Khegon let out a scoff. “Not that they would need to know, but I am pretty sure she will be the only human female around. Our people know she is Filbur’s partner. And even if they did not, they would just ask.”
“Are you saying you did not prepare a ring for Tamara?”
My brother and the scientist stared each other down. I had not been aware of this ring situation.
I leaned closer to Tamara, slowly so as to not spook her. “What are these rings for?”
Surprisingly, she did not jump this time, only looked up at me with wide eyes. “I—It’s just silly jewelry. It doesn’t mean anything.”
Hm. Did it not? Why was the old man pushing about it if it meant nothing?
“Do you want a ring?” I asked her.
Her jaw dropped. She tried pulling her hands before realizing they were placed in mine and settling. “I—I don’t know?”
Her face heated up again. More lies. “You do not know if you want a ring or not?”
“It’s expected, I—”
She let out a frustrated sigh.
“I do not care about what is expected,” I said, keeping my tone soft and low enough that it was just for her. “I care about what you want. Do you want a ring?”
“I—” And that was it. She finally thought about it instead of giving the answer she thought was expected of her. It took her a minute, in which no one spoke, before she said, “I don’t think so.”
Maxwell’s frown deepened. “Why not?”
“They’re meaningless. It’s just a symbol, something people use to assert control over each other.” Truth. A knot tightened my stomach. “I do not care about a ring as having one will not guarantee that I’ll live a safe and happy life with the man who gave it.”
My blood froze in my veins.
It all made sense now. Whether it was her or someone else, my bride had witnessed some terrible things. Not all males were good—same as not all females were kind.
Someone had hurt her. So I made sure she understood how serious I was when I said, “Then no rings. I shall only gift you things you want to receive. Do things you want me to do. You shall be safe and happy, and the only violence you might ever witness will be the one directed to the people threatening your safety and happiness.”
Everyone remained silent.
Such an oath was not uncommon for our people. Our partners were sacred and any decent person would give their life to protect their loved ones.
“Well, you basically repeated what I needed you to say, so I’ll move over to Tamara directly.”
Fear had completely left her face. She gazed at me curiously, like I was an enigma and she was not sure how to solve it. Her hands had finally stopped shaking in mine. Her skin was back to being the beautiful glowing brown that it had been when I first saw her—and even brighter.
She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I would be lying if I said I had not found Ghauro’s bride attractive, but she was nothing compared to the goddess standing before me. To my partner. My bride.
When she promised to always be by my side whether I was sick or healthy, to not take another partner unless we decided to part ways, and to care for me unconditionally, I had to refrain myself, waiting impatiently for the ceremony to be over.
I wanted to head back to our tent and slide my fingers in her intricate hair while she filled her stomach with food.
I wanted to make her feel safe—and, to be fair, make her feel good.
We had babies to make after all…
“Well, that’s it. Filbur, you can kiss your bride.”
Tamara looked up at me, blinking softly.
Kiss? They kissed in public?
“Oh,” my brother said, sliding a hand behind his head awkwardly. “We do not—”
Tamara’s face fell.
Oh shit, was she disappointed? She tried to take a step back but I followed, not letting go of her hands.
No. No, no, no.
Our species kissed. We were just—private about it.
I could kiss her in public. It was just once, right? No big deal.
If I held her close people would not see if my body reacted. It would be fine.
“Filbur, you don’t have to—”
Words were pointless right now, so I interrupted her with the only way I could; by weaving my fingers in the hair at the back of her head and pulling her lips to mine.
And oh, what a terrible idea this had been.
The second her lips shyly parted and her tongue met mine, my body reacted instantly.
I could feel my cock twitching and the usually soft spikes along the underside filling with my seed.
Heat traveled all through me and I knew for a fact that my color changing from red to purple-gray in waves could not be missed by the people standing around.
I would never be able to look my brother in the eye, especially knowing that he would have to explain to his three daughters what had just happened.
When she pulled back, I kept my eyes closed, ashamed that I had not been able to control myself.
“Please, forgive me for—”
“You…you changed color,” she breathed out. “Why are the colors moving like this?”
“I-I…It is, uh…”
“A good sign for the future of your relationship,” my brother said, rescuing me from having to blurt out the word arousal in front of everyone.
“What does it—”
“I will explain,” I answered as the heat subsided. She moved her hand from mine to my forearm and the purple followed, aching for her touch.
“Why does it—”
“Tamara,” I pleaded. She pulled her hand back and her confused gaze met mine. I cast wary glances around, making her understand that we were far from being alone. “It is an intimate thing and I would rather wait until the ceremony is over to explain.”
Hopefully, she would not take me for a deranged pervert and run away…