Chapter 23
I’m not going anywhere ever again
Ghauro
Seeing my mate interact with her own relatives was heartwarming. Olga had obviously cared about her for her whole life, and now, Melanie was doing the same. I watched as they hopped from food stalls to food stalls, Olga’s eyes shimmering like a joyful child.
“Mel tells me you’re the one to thank for this,” Ernesto said, sitting on the grass next to me.
I held a rumble. Turns out, all human males weren’t repulsive, and now I felt weary at the thought he used to be close to my mate.
“No need to thank me. I did what I had to do to ensure my mate’s happiness.”
He smiled, teeth too white contrasting with his light brown skin. “You made an old woman’s dreams come true. She has wanted to go to space since she was a little girl. As for me, well…there was nothing left for me on Earth.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. He seemed innocent…Not like a male hoping to steal another’s mate. Maybe I was being too paranoid.
“Were you and Melanie close before?” I asked anyway, because I couldn’t stand to live in doubts.
He chuckled. “We were good friends growing up, and up until she got into trouble because of her douche of an ex. Then, she started avoiding me because she had no money to pay for the work I did for Granny, so we kinda drifted away.”
Why were they calling her granny? “Not what I meant,” I said, leveling him with a stare.
His eyes widened before he erupted into laughter. “What? Oh no, that never happened. Jeez…No, I’m gay.”
What? “Gay? What is gay?”
“It means, I’m not into that—” He pointed at Melanie before pointing at…Thanato? “And completely into that.”
Did it mean he was not into humans or females? Lots of Tauri shared same-sex relationships, even more so since we went completely infertile. But…Thanato? Was he? To be fair, it would suit him better than all the psychotic female he kept fucking during his ruts.
I caught him staring at Ernesto and quickly looking away when he noticed that my eyes were on him.
Oh.
“Think he’s interested?” Ernesto asked.
I smiled. “He might.”
“So you’re telling me,” Olga said, pointing at Melanie and I, “that I’m going to be living in a huge house with other people, and that I’ll be allowed to spend my days doing nothing but sew and crochet?”
I winced. It did sound boring, when she put it like that. But Melanie beamed. “For free. Isn’t it amazing?” she asked, jumping on the spot.
Olga took a step forward and placed firm hands on both sides of my face, bringing it closer to hers.
“You are an incredible man, Ghauro. Thank you for bringing us here. To ensure my last years are spent in happiness and freedom, instead of poverty and loneliness.” She leaned closer, connecting our foreheads, like members of a family always do.
“I am looking forward to playing around and chasing my great-grandchildren on this wonderful planet.”
She kissed the top of my head and let me go with a big smile, squeezing Melanie’s hand one last time before walking into the largest house of our clan, where a lot of our elders lived.
Melanie and I stayed here for a while, her head resting on the side of my arm. “Thank you so much, Ghauro.”
I turned to her, lifting her off the ground to wrap her legs around my waist. Her hands found their favorite places; one holding my shoulder, the other closed around one of my horns.
I loved it.
“Do you still want to leave?” I asked.
She smiled as she kissed me. “No. I’m yours. I’m not going anywhere ever again.”