by Stacy Jones
Drrak opened his eyes, and nearly lost his resolve when he saw her need reflected back at him. Unable to help himself, he leaned forward so their lips touched as he told her he was hers but managed to keep himself from licking into her little mouth.
“My little fighter. I am yours.”
Sliding his lips across her silky cheek to her strangely adorable rounded ear, he whispered a question, the answer to which would change his life.
“Will you be mine?”
He barely dared to breathe as he awaited her response, his heart thundering in his chest.
“Yes,” she gushed, using his language, her breath rushing across his neck, raising his fur on its end.
It took a moment for her response to sink in but when it did, he threw his head back and roared, wanting the entire forest to know of his joy.
He hugged her tightly as Arruk and Tor echoed his shout, joining in his exultation. They both darted forward, joining his and Leelee’s embrace, then followed him up as he stood with her clutched to his chest.
He pressed his lips to hers once more but didn’t fight Arruk when he lifted her from his arms, smiling as his brother turned her around and took her mouth.
Drrak watched as she melted against his twin, his own tail lifting when he heard her moan in pleasure at Arruk’s touch. Tor was next, snatching her from Arruk’s arms, lifting and spinning her in a circle before he brought her to his chest and took his own mouth mating, the kit bounding around Tor’s feet as it added its own excited yips.
When Tor finally set her on her feet, her eyes were glazed and a bloom of color stained her cheeks, but she smiled widely at Drrak when she saw him staring, holding his gaze with a look of happiness and shy anticipation.
As much as he wanted to go to her, to solidify his being Chosen, he had to wait until Frrar was with them to Present properly.
He may not be anywhere close to what a Chosen male should be, but he at least knew to wait for the rest of her harem before Presenting. Knowing that she wanted him as he wanted her gave him the patience he needed to wait for the other male.
As if his thoughts had called him, Frrar dropped to the nest from above without warning, landing beside him, causing the kit to leap back in surprise.
A flicker of shock rolled through Drrak that he hadn’t heard Frrar approaching, stunned that he had been so focused on Leelee that his sharply honed survival instincts had failed him.
For a moment he was deeply unsettled, had the foreboding sense that someone would die unless he learned to split his attention between her and his surroundings, but the feeling was quickly eclipsed by joy and the burning need to tell Frrar the news.
He’d begun to worry about the other male since his meeting with Akksha had taken much longer today than it usually did. Frrar normally joined Lily, Arruk, and Tor on Drrak’s nest much earlier, before the sun was centered in the sky, but his timing was perfect that day.
Drrak opened his mouth… but snapped it shut again with an audible click when Frrar’s arrival was followed by two Unchosen males dropping down after him.
In an instant, he saw Frrar’s closed expression, the apology in his dark eyes, and the eager stares the Unchosen were giving Leelee, and knew .
They had come for her, to woo her with the hope of being Chosen.
When he transferred his stare to Lily, he found her gazing wide-eyed at the new arrivals. She had one foot stepped forward, as if she had been in the process of greeting Frrar, but had frozen when the other males appeared.
Her hesitation in getting closer to them was the only thing that kept Drrak from unapologetically pushing them off his nest. He knew the fall wouldn’t kill them but it would make them think twice about pursuing their interest in her.
Still, his restraint only went so far.
He didn’t even try to stop his low warning growl, nor did he halt his lip from curling, displaying his fangs in a clear threat.
He was savagely pleased when they tensed and peeled their fixed gazes from Leelee to eye him with sudden wariness. Drrak pointedly ignored Frrar’s quiet rumble of disapproval and smiled at the uninvited males coldly, enjoying the glimmer of unease he witnessed rippling across their expressions .
Only when he heard her make an odd coughing noise did he take his gaze off of them, glancing at Leelee to find her staring at him.
The expressive stripes of fur over her eyes were raised in what he thought was astonishment, but her pouty pink lips were tipped up at the corners, telling him she didn’t totally disapprove of his reaction.
He smiled slightly, hiding his teeth so she would know he was not upset with her, and rumbled softly. For a reason he could not understand, his rumble caused a fresh surge of color to paint her cheeks.
Drrak groaned, that look on her face making his hunger roar back to life when he had only just gotten it under control.
But, oddly, with his hunger came some semblance of sense. He was not even formally Chosen and already he was behaving like a feral frrtlk and growling at potential mates, something that would have seen him reprimanded by any other Pasha. He knew this, so why had that been his first reaction to their presence?
Looking away from her, he frowned, trying to understand himself .
The immediate fear that spending so much of his life alone had damaged him, made him unsuitable as a mate, hit him. Yet, the thought of sharing her with his brothers brought him nothing but joy and comfort that she would be well loved and protected.
Perhaps it was these males in particular?
Glancing at them again, he thought that might be it. He did not know them beyond a vague recollection of their names, so how could he be expected to trust them with the safety of the Pasha who held his heart in her tiny, too-many-fingered hand?
Drrak did not particularly enjoy the thought of her taking more males after him, regardless of who they were, but he decided neither would he object.
At least not until he knew for certain they were unworthy of Leelee.
He knew it was her duty to make sure she was well protected and it was up to her, and only her, to decide how many males she needed or wanted. But they would have to prove themselves… and wait until his Choosing was finalized before he would allow them to woo her.
He may be the protector of his people, but that did not mean he was not willing to drag a few overeager males off into the forest if needed.
Drrak was pulled from speculation of just how deep into the forest he would need to drag them when Frrar spoke.
F rrar tried not to visibly wince at the shocked and angry stares his brothers were giving him. He had not intended to bring back Unchosen males when he left to visit the Tribe Mother yet again that morning. He wanted to give Drrak and Lily more time. But as soon as he arrived at The Circle, it was obvious something had changed.
The Circle had been empty of the scores of tribe members who usually gathered there during the day and Akksha was in the middle of an intense conversation with her most trusted warriors. Frrar was used to waiting for her to acknowledge him but never for so long. The sun was high in the sky by the time she called him over. He’d felt coldness freeze his insides when she finally told him what they found.
The intruders were closing in on them.
The Pashas in charge of patrolling the outermost perimeter of tribe territory had found at least three camps, only a day’s travel from the Mother Sha by tree, roughly a hand of days if they travelled by ground. They hadn’t been able to catch a glimpse of whoever was closing in on them, but they had seen some very disturbing things—animals gutted and bound to the trees like a warning, their carcasses half eaten, the rest left to rot.
Even the harmless citris were not spared from that cruel fate.
The image alone was enough to pin his ears flat and make his tail whip with a mix of horror and anger. To shame the Goddess in such a way was unheard of. Even pantari knew better, and left no waste behind so at least their victims died knowing they were returning to the circle of life.
Akksha then tasked him to take Lily into the forest to investigate the disturbance. Frrar instantly regretted telling her that his Lily knew about the foul smelling mist, what his mate called smoke, during their first meeting, but she hadn’t wanted to share what she knew, and he needed that knowledge in order to protect Lily. He knew it was that information that prompted her to task Lily with scouting, and he knew it would be his fault if anything happened.
He had immediately balked, then spent an exhausting and fruitless amount of time trying to refuse, not willing to put his Pasha anywhere near danger.
In the end, Akksha had pinned him to the floor with her superior strength and bared her teeth, telling him to take his mate out there or she would banish Lily from her territory.
Frrar had been willing to take his mate and his harem brothers away, to leave tribe lands if it kept her out of immediate danger, but Akksha anticipated that. The Tribe Mother read his intentions and threatened to tie him and his brothers up so they couldn’t go with her. He knew it wasn’t an empty threat so when two Unchosen males, Lok and Rork, approached him as he left The Circle, obviously having listened in, and offered to travel with them to help protect Lily, he wasn’t willing to turn them down.
Focusing back on his mate and brothers, Frrar realized Lily was giving him a questioning look, her gaze bouncing from him to Lok and Rork beside him.
They were his height, which meant they loomed over her, but they were slightly more muscular than he was, as well as being strangers to her. They had been at The Circle during her first meeting, but Lily hadn’t been introduced to them so he understood her wariness.
Hoping to reassure her, Frrar rumbled quietly and opened his arms for her, holding his breath while he waited to see if she would take his silent offer.
He didn’t even attempt to hide his relief when she readily stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, the breath rushing out of him as he returned her embrace and bent to press his lips to the top of her head.
Speaking without letting go of her, he addressed her and his brothers, saying gravely, “The Tribe Mother has finally shared her knowledge with me. ”
That instantly pinned their attention on him, instead of eyeing Lok and Rork as if they were the enemy.
Gazing down at his mate when she tilted her head back to look up at him, he told her all that Akksha had revealed, and that they’d been tasked with going into the woods so she could investigate what had been found.
Her eyes immediately went round at learning what happened. He could see her fear and horror, but under that was determination, a willingness to do what needed to be done to protect a people who had done nothing to make her feel welcome.
Frrar hadn’t known it was possible to love her more, but in that moment he was in absolute awe of her.
He didn’t want her anywhere near danger, would rather cut off his own ears, but that his Lily, one so small and fragile, was willing to fight for his people nearly brought him to his knees before her.
Leaning down, he kissed her again, lingering for a long moment to taste her deeply before pulling back just far enough to speak.
“My Lily, Lok and Rork have offered to travel with us, to help us protect you. They are honorable males, you can trust them,” he assured, using his language so his harem brothers and Drrak would also understand his words.
He left it at that, having no desire to tell her Lok and Rork were also hoping to woo her, not after the wariness she’d shown at their arrival and the aggression he sensed coming from Drrak, Arruk, and Tor. He liked the brothers, knew them to be quiet but protective and caring males. Each had skills he thought would benefit his Lily, not just on their journey that day, but as part of her harem, should she Choose them.
Lok was very smart, often bringing unorthodox, yet innovative, solutions to the tribe for any problems they faced. Frrar had, many times, felt envy and anger for the male, being that he was just as different as Arruk, Drrak, and Tor. Where they had been pushed to the fringes of the tribe for their abnormalities, Lok was pulled to the center, coveted by all the Pashas for his intelligence. But now was not the time to let pettiness rule, so he pushed past his jealousy, knowing that, in the end, he had been gifted the greatest Pasha of them all.
Rork was one of the most skilled protectors Frrar had ever seen, had what could only be a Goddess-given talent with fighting, and always won the sparring competitions against all the other males in the tribe.
The shevari people liked to hold sparring bouts where females would fight other females to show off their prowess and keep their skills sharp, and males would fight other males to show off to the Pashas. Frrar and his brothers had never participated, knowing they didn’t have a chance or, in his case, didn’t want to be Chosen by any of the females in the tribe.
Aside from their skills as protectors and problem solvers, Rork and Lok both had a natural affinity with younglings, something none of them, with the exception of Arruk, could claim. It was for those reasons that Frrar had readily accepted their offer of help, even knowing his mate and brothers may very well be angry with him for bringing Unchosen males back with him.
Frrar finally released Lily from his embrace when she made a move to step back, watching closely as she cautiously approached the brothers.
L ily felt much better about the arrival of the strangers once Frrar explained what they were doing there.
She didn’t relish going off into the woods to poke around in what was obviously unknown and potentially dangerous people’s campsites, but neither was she willing to do nothing and have them sneak into their territory unchecked.
One of the intruders had already kidnapped a woman. There was no telling what else they might do.
Aside from her suspicion that, whomever they were, they may have been dumped there like her, by the fish-aliens, she had knowledge the shevari people didn’t. That knowledge may help them to at least get an idea of what the intruders’ next move might be or what level of advancement they came from and, therefore, the threat they presented.
She trusted her guys completely to keep her safe, but only an idiot would turn down extra protection. After all, it wasn’t just the intruders they might have to deal with out there, but pantari as well, and the ones she’d encountered weren’t anywhere near as sweet as Trrak.
More like freakishly huge, rabid tigers with the mouths of alligators and a penchant for eating people. Extra protection is most definitely welcome.
Stepping out of Frrar’s arms, she moved to stand in front of the new arrivals, having to tilt her head way back to look at their faces, which was nothing new. She was slowly getting used to being the shortest person on the planet instead of just being slightly smaller than average.
The nudity, however, was taking a bit longer to get used to .
Don’t look at their dicks, don’t look at their dicks… My goodness, would even a single leaf kill them?
At least they don’t get random hard-ons like human guys. Talk about making an already awkward situation even more so.
Keeping her eyes on their faces, she could see a strong resemblance between them, marking them as brothers, but they were still very different in both looks and presence.
The one Frrar had introduced as Lok was different from every other shevari she’d seen, fascinatingly so.
She thought she recognized him from the tribe meeting in the big, hollow tree, vaguely remembered seeing him sitting near Akksha but not with her group of males.
From what she understood of tribe dynamics, that meant he probably wasn’t an outcast like her guys, despite his dissimilarities. She found that odd since differences, as far as she understood, meant one was unsuitable as a mate and, therefore, pushed to the fringes of their society.
The first thing she noticed about him was that his eyes were green, a stunningly beautiful silver-green, like stained glass, instead of some shade of blue like everyone else, and his markings looked like coiling vines instead of branches. The thick
black lines wrapped and snaked around his big body like overly amorous ropes, as opposed to the harsher, straighter lines present on everyone else she’d seen.
There must be something unique about him that makes him exempt for some reason. Which is just so unfair. As if my guys aren’t special enough to warrant an exemption?
His pale gaze sparkled with intelligence and curiosity, and he seemed to be inspecting her just as thoroughly as she was him. She couldn’t exactly blame him for checking her out, being that she was an alien and was currently doing the same to him, but being scrutinized by someone who was almost painfully handsome was making her feel decidedly shy and uncomfortable.
Switching her gaze to the one introduced as Rork, she looked him over next, which didn’t do much for her discomfort being that he was equally as handsome .
His eyes were a gentle, baby blue, soft and kind, and yet he reminded her inexplicably of a hunting cat: deceptively calm and ready to pounce with no warning. Restrained power and quiet confidence emanated from him, even as his direct stare conveyed both tenderness and serenity.
She had the unmistakable impression he was a coiled spring that could just as easily dispense violence as he could gentleness.
They were both Frrar’s height, about six foot three inches, but they were slightly more muscular, closer in build to Arruk and Drrak although not as burly.
Clearing her throat when she realized everyone had been silent as she checked them out, she smiled at them politely, remembering to keep her teeth hidden. Out of habit, she started to extend her hand in greeting, but grimaced and pulled it back at the last second, recalling Drrak’s reaction when she’d done that to him.
I have got to remember to ask what the protocol is for introducing yourself.
Deciding it was safest to refrain from touching, since she didn’t know what was considered normal and what was seen as flirting, she let her hand fall to her side and spoke instead.