Free Zonaton by Linda Mooney

one of us.
                I tell you, the report of an attack is false. What kind of injuries is the woman reporting?
                Scratches, mostly. Some bite marks and bruises.
                Zonaton paused. Already he could see holes in the woman's falsehood. Are any of the injuries serious?
                Fortunately, no.
                Mentally girding himself, Zonaton lifted his head to face the Elder full-on. What are the Elders requesting I do?
                Meet with the woman in front of their own council. Make retribution.
                The only retribution that woman will accept is the return of her child.
                Then that leaves you with just two options. Either you return Emmala to her and denounce your Pairing. Or you find another way to appease the mother and the village's demands.
                What if there is no other way?
                Then it is very possible the village will rise up against us, as they did back in the days when they first landed. Only this time, they will rally the other villages to join them, and there are thousands of them now, as opposed to the few hundred they were back then. If that happens, if they do attack us, there can be only one outcome.
                Zonaton bowed his head in sorrow. I know. The wholesale slaughter of their race.
     

Chapter Ten
    The Stranger
     
     
                One of the benefits of last night's storm was the abundance of plunderberries appearing on the bushes. Emmala worked to fill her shoulder pouch with the sweet white fruit while Zonaton was away at a meeting with the Elders.
                The gentle wind brushed away her hair, then teased her by blowing several strands into her face. Smiling, she licked her fingers first before tucking the hair behind her ears. The sun felt good on her bared arms, and the berries were plentiful.
                With one bush well-picked, she hefted the heavy pouch over a hip and straightened up to move to the next cluster when a movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Glancing over, she froze at the sight of the figure standing less than a dozen meters away.
                Her first thought was that it was the mystery lover who came to her during the nights when Zonaton was away. Her heart pounded with the possibility, until she noticed how the sunlight shone on the dark red hair. Her lover's hair was a pale color, not dark. And this stranger wore blue clothes, not light gray.
                She glanced behind her, at the mountain range looming close by. Behind the man was Genesis. The miners were a straight shot to her left, further away than the village. Zonaton had brought her to this location to pick her berries, even though it was located in a completely different area from where she normally gathered them, because it put her far enough away from the alien intruders to satisfy him.
                Emmala, are you well? Zon had detected her shock at seeing the man. His concern was a welcome presence in her head.
                "I'm fine. There's someone here."
                Do you need me to come to you?
                "No. I'm fine. He's human, like me. From the village. I'd like to find out who he is. Talk to him."
                The geron's concern didn't lessen, knowing the stranger was another human and not one of the humanoid miners. I will be watching over you. If you need me, call me.
                She smiled. "I will."
                She felt him move to a rear corner of her mind, the way he had moved to the far side of the room at the village council. Remaining there to guard her. Caring about her. Loving her in the only way a geron could love a human.
                The stranger took several steps toward her, and her eyes focused on his face. Again, she