Her Alien Protector: A Sci-fi Romance

Part 18

Does he define what he has with her as a guideline?

Is he that lost? Ask any scourge within proximity of this bird and human and they would tell you that Rigel and Ava belong to each other. The signs are everywhere, starting with the awful stench of the pheromones they both exude.

Maybe they have lost touch with these senses? I know Kayla does not hear the same things I do. Rigel once told me he grew up on some isolated planet where they studied math and music of all things. Could that be how they lost their way?

Because even if Rigel and Ava do not sense it, my senses do. Sometimes, when Rigel and Ava touch, their hearts beat in synchrony. Even the electricity within them bends to the other. Do they not feel sparks underneath their skin when they touch?

"You never answered my question. How do you know which rocks to pick?" asks Rigel, his wings rustling. "Maybe I could help you?"

Ava warily glances toward me, and... Yes, Rigel should help.

I give him a small sack, pushing him until he stands where I need him to be. "Stay there and collect the shiny rocks from that part of the wall."

"But I don't see any of the rocks here–"

I growl.

Rigel's wings rustle, but he does his assigned task, dropping rocks into his bag. Under his breath, he grumbles about how he does not even know if he is collecting the right ones.

I jut my teeth out more, satisfied. I do not need his rocks. No, I put him in that spot for a more important task—to stand between me and the human.

While the blue star continues to ascend, peeking over the cliff walls, this new arrangement works. Rigel picks up rocks and drops them into his bag. Ava's heart slows. She even makes the high-pitched sound my Kayla makes—laughter.

Rigel stoops to grab another rock, and I glance at Ava. She leans over a clump of purple flowers, with her nose in them.

Oh, my stars. At moments like this, Ava reminds me of my mate Kayla. My Kayla has done the same thing, sniffing flowers in the pet park, and even playing with the butterfly flapping around her.

"Glow Ball," says Ava, calling out to the butterfly.

I may no longer need to work on calming Ava from afar, but my predator instincts are still on high alert. There is so much to focus on: the slow, dull, and dim sloshing of Rigel's heart; the quick pitter-pattering of Ava's; and finally, the rat-tat-tat of the heart and wings of the little rahoni. There is a fourth sound that draws me in the most, but that might be because it is phantom-like, there one moment and gone the next. Or does it intrigue me because I cannot identify it? Knowing the source of every sound in the environment is important, even if one is the top predator.

I stop plucking the rocks and tilt my head, trying to locate the rhythmic fourth sound. If only Rigel would cease with his incessant bird chattering maybe I could.

"Could you look over my rocks and let me know if I am picking the right ones?" asks Rigel.

"Continue your work, Rigel, it does not matter," I say, wanting him to stay silent. Why must this bird chatter so much? He is making it difficult for me to find the origin of the fourth sound.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? You act like you plan to throw out everything I collect."

"I will."

"What?! Then why am I collecting them?" says Rigel and now Rigel is looking at me with a little frown and...

Telling Rigel the truth agitates him, so now I must mollify this stupid bird.