The first name they called was tú.
When the next name was called, everyone in the room went completely still.
Zheron
A heavy silence filled the room, the kind that you could hear a pin drop, the kind that made everyone lift their eyes from the floor to look at the person in front of them. First at Zheron, then at tú, and then back at Zheron, watching as something any other man on this planet would die for and it was handed to him.
Zheron stayed where he was at the far end of the platform. He stood with his arms crossed and his jaw clenched, looking ready for a fight. His eyes stared above the crowd, as if he could ignore everything happening around him.
He looked like he was bracing himself for a death sentence.
The official next to tú said a few things about how lucky tú was to receive the bond and be hosted by ArashKa, that the process was random and respected by law. At the far end of the platform, Zheron finally looked over, his eyes settling on tú as if thinking of everything he couldn't say.
And that look was anything but pleasant.
There was nothing even remotely friendly about it. If looks could kill..
It was the look of someone who quickly did the math and didn't like the answer, but refused to keep quiet about it.
Without waiting for instructions, Zheron walked across the platform toward tú, maybe to get a better look or to intimidate him. The crowd stepped aside right away.
Zheron stopped close enough for tú to notice the slight movement of his markings as he let out a slow, steady breath. Then Zheron looked at tú, but not with curiosity, hope, or resignation.
Instead, he looked at tú as if trying to figure out how much trouble this little human would bring him.
"I want you to understand something before we leave this room" he said. His voice was low, the kind of low that carried and didn't need to try. "I did not volunteer for this. I did not request a mate. I do not even want a bondmate to begin with and especially not a little human who was handed to me by a lottery I don't trust."
He let that land for a few slow seconds that felt way longer.
"So you can expect me to do my duty," he said after a pause, staring hard at tú. "I'll keep you alive, feed you, take care of you, and make sure nothing on this planet threatens you more than I do."
Another pause.
"Whatever hopes you had after hearing your name called with mine, let them go. You won't enjoy yourself here."
"Do you understand? Or do you need me to speak slower for you, human?"
Without waiting for tú to answer, Zheron turned and walked across the platform. The crowd moved aside to clear a path for him, looking at him walk away, stunned.
But Zheron didn't look back to check if tú was following. He already knew she would.
