Page 79 of Evan and the Alpha

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Evan

Ge-Ro meets me at the door before I’m ready to go for my appointment. I frown at him. The big beta looks at me, almost guiltily, then away. “Sobek’s orders,” he murmurs, shifting his weight.

I sigh, then brush by him onto the stoop. I waddle down the stairs, trying to fight down the blush as I wonder what the big, burly beta thinks of me. I know almost all the kroakka stare at me now; I have to admit, I’m getting a little self-conscious about my bump.

Ge-Ro says nothing though, just adjusts his strides to walk alongside me. I’m embarrassed; I’ve always been slower than the kroakka—of course, they’re seven, eight feet tall, so their strides are so much longer than mine. But now I can’t even hope to compensate, try to keep up.

I sneak another look at Ge-Ro. His face is passive, but there’s something like worry in his eyes. I don’t like it. Something’s up.

“So,” I say conversationally, “where’s Sobek at? If he’s so concerned that someone needs to come with me, why not him?”

“Busy,” Ge-Ro replies in a clipped tone. All right, now I know something is for sure up.

“With what?” I ask. “I’m his mate. What’s more important?”

Ge-Ro grunts. Then he says, “Territory. Alpha stuff.”

“That’s vague,” I snark back. I’m not really in the mood for guessing games. The knot of nervousness ties itself tighter in my gut. “Gonna tell me what kind of alpha stuff?”

Ge-Ro looks at me. He takes a breath; his snout cracks open just a touch.

Then he clamps his jaw shut again and shakes his head. “It isn’t important,” he murmurs.

“If it’s not important, why couldn’t he come himself?” I press.

Ge-Ro scowls, then stops. He gives me a sour look, then pulls me into the nearest alleyway. He pushes me up against the wall, hands braced on my shoulders as he leans down. “Yafir said the humans are going to try to kidnap you.”

“Oh shit,” I mutter. “Vince said that too.” It’s just … been a whilesince I had that weirdo conversation with my brother, and nothing’s happened. I didn’t think anything more of it.

Figures that Mom and Dad and Scott would lie in wait for a bit. Let me get worried about it, and then when nothing happens immediately, let me relax again. Then strike while I’m off-guard.

Ge-Ro nods. “Vince told Yafir yesterday evening. They plan to take off while you’re on board.”

“I just won’t go,” I say, looking up into Ge-Ro’s eyes.

He shakes his head. “You’ll have to go some time,” he says, then drops his gaze pointedly to my belly. The kroakka do not understand how human pregnancy works at all. They know I need to deliver my “egg” at some point, and the longer it stays in me, the rounder I get, the more worried they’re getting about just how this thing is going to come out of me.

Truth be told, I’m nervous too. And I know birth likely isn’t gonna be easy, so yeah, he’s right. I’m gonna need to check in with Min at some point. It’s just a question of when.

“Why isn’t Sobek with me then?” I ask. He’d tell them off. He’d keep me safe. I suddenly feel weak and naked and scared without my protective mate.

Ge-Ro shakes his head. “The bond,” he says. “If they have the two of you together, it is fine to leave. But not if the two of you are separated.”

I crunch my brow.

Ge-Ro is probably the most patient of the kroakka. “So Sobek won’t go near the ship,” he continues. “That way, the two of you stay separate, and hopefully they will let you come with me and abandon plans to leave.”

I nod, like it makes sense. It kinda does. Still, Ge-Ro looks nervous, and I can’t help but feel the same.

I know humans. I know my family. Is Sobek not being on board the ship really going to stop them from taking off with me? I kinda doubt it.

We start walking toward the ship again. “I mean,” I say as it rises up out of the desert, gleaming in the sunlight, “I don’t have to go.”

“We don’t know what they’ll do,” Ge-Ro says calmly. “Especially if they think you are on to them. And you should not be denied care, not in your state.”

I blow my bangs out of my eyes. “Yeah,” I mutter.