Page 11 of Black Mamba

Because I know she is, truly. I have watched her every day, and no other human has come out from the back of her ship. She told the two males that she has a sick brother, but as far as I know, she does not.

I have seen her feed herself from a receptacle in her eatery area. She has never taken more than one plate of food and has never brought food to the rooms deeper. If there was someone else in there with her, they are not eating.

She lied to the males, telling them she is not alone.

She is smart to do so. I hiss. But if one of the males tries something, I will not hesitate to stop them.

Elena…

She grabs a bottle from the wall and brings it to her seat in the front, stumbling a little as she goes, and sits behind the table covered with screens and buttons. It is where she usually is if she is not curled up crying.

The table plays noise for her. That much I know. The screens will light up with images and voices will come from it. Though it is not always easy to hear, I can make out most of what is being said. It took me some time to realize they are the voices of other humans.

She takes a large gulp from her bottle and places it on the table. Bringing her legs up in the chair with her, she crosses them under her, hiding them in the cloth of the large shirt she is wearing.

Leaning forward, I squint through the sunlight reflecting across her form, hoping for a better visual of her face. Less red and swollen this time, her soft features appear only moderately strained today. Her eyes are slightly blotchy and pink, but they are not gleaming with moisture and tears. She does not appear like she has recently been crying.

I do not like her crying. It makes me feel like I need to do something. But what to do, I know not.

If I claimed her as my bride, I would fix her problems. If I claimed her, I would do everything in my power to stop her tears from flowing. They flow so often…

Sometimes her eyes flutter closed and she lowers into a resting position on the ground, remaining there for hours at a time. During those times, I wish I could cover her, and shield her with my body and heat.

Elena abruptly rises and walks into her ship, leaving her bottle behind. I think about shaking the trees again but refrain, assuming she will return shortly.

Settling into the brush to wait, I see movement on the hills east. A hiss tears from my throat when Ixi’s black and gray form appears from behind a cluster of trees—his long black hair unmistakable. Facing the ships, he stares at them, his upper half out in the open for all to see.

The urge to keep Elena secret and all to myself overcomes me, igniting pressure in my chest. I have already had to watch two human males approach her ship, I will not let my cousin do the same. Not before I do it first.

I leave my hiding spot and approach him swiftly. His brows rise when our eyes meet. Without stopping, he barely has time to react before I pummel him into the brush.

I bare my fangs at him in warning as he tenses beneath me. “Stay in the shadowssss.”

He hisses and bares his fangs in turn, and after a moment of glaring at one another, I rise and help him up. He coils his tail under him as he takes my hand.

“Lukyssss,” he says my name in greeting, his gaze narrowed.

“You are not welcome here. Not right now.”

Ixi tilts his head. “I did not expect you to be so hostile. Does it have something to do with the spaceships? Have you found yourself some… pets?” The side of his lip quirks up.

Positioning myself between him and those ships, I growl in warning when he tries to peer past me over my shoulder. “They are my problem, not yours. Be gone.”

Ixi slips back several feet, raising his hands in defeat. “I have only come to investigate on your behalf. We are a clan, are we not?”

“We are. That does not mean you can come into my territory and investigate without me there. Now go, or I will make you,” I warn. “I am sure you have shipssss of your own.”

Ixi narrows his eyes again. “You are not behaving normally.”

My hands clench at my sides. Not normal? Of course not. I am usually not so unwelcoming to him. I like Ixi and always have. We grew up together. Our territories share a wide border. He is not like Deiys or some of the previous—now dead—members of the Black Mamba clan. He is not an idiot.

Still, all I know is that I do not want him to see Elena. I do not want him to know about her. If he gets too close and she is out within the dome, he will no doubt catch sight of her.

“I was scouting my borders when I noticed them.” Ixi lifts his chin. “I do not have any within the boundaries of my border, but I saw many arriving days ago. I had not immediately realized several had landed so close to my territory, so close they were within your territory, cousin. I felt I had no option other than to check them out when you did not come to me to share the news.”

“Well, you have seen them. Now you may leave.”

“You are acting possessive of them. Why?”