He grimaced at the pile, unable to disagree with her observation. It looked like a pitiful disarray of food cut so small that it was practically pulverized. He felt another rare flush of heat in his cheeks. When would he cease embarrassing himself around this female? He was a grown male and had the experience and knowledge to care for his home. He had taken care of himself for enough annums to be proficient at it, and yet here he was making himself appear the helpless fool. He glowered down at the mess.
He expected Beni to laugh, to find amusement in his failure. She found amusement easily in many things—why not in delivering mockery where it was clearly due? Instead, he heard her cluck her tongue as her human chair pushed back, and she stood. He did not dare glance her way until he felt her hand smooth over the top of his.
“Do your people keep chickens? I thought I heard a few hens yesterday and a rooster earlier this morning.”
He nodded his head reluctantly. “We do. There are several huts among the wide pens within a small part of the canyon. They are good producers.”
“Excellent. Do me a favor and see if you can collect a few eggs. I’m not sure what exactly you had planned, but I have an idea, if you will allow me.”
He turned a frown on her. “In seclusion, the male cares for the needs of the female so she does not overexert her energy.”
She patted his hand with a small chuckle. “That is very sweet, but I am not suffering energy-wise. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that I need a break so that my ladyparts have a chance to recover, I would love to go more rounds without any difficulty. I always did have stamina.” She said the last reflectively with a tiny twist of her lips, as if weren’t good thing. He could not imagine how.
“Very well,” he said as he slid away from the food preparation area beside the firepit. “I will return with eggs shortly. I shall pretend that this is not an affront to my abilities as a male caring for his mate.”
“It is not,” she said firmly. “I will graciously allow you to dance circles around me for the other meals. I am not the best of cooks, but I can manage something simple for our morning meal. I will leave anything more complicated in your care.”
Now that got his attention. He looked over at her in surprise. “You do not know how to cook?”
“I didn’t say that,” Beni corrected with a wag of her finger. “I said I am not much of a cook. I’ve spent more time working as a transcriber than I ever have toiling over a stove. I have made plenty of simple meals, however, when I required something quick to eat while I worked. That’s about the best you are going to get.”
Faltz cocked his head to the side. “Cooking is essential to life in the clan. Everyone, males and females, learn to cook from their sires and dams. Everyone contributes—but I am happy to know that you are not entirely perfect,” he admitted with a small smile.
“Oh?” she asked with a grin.
He nodded. “It makes me feel as if you need me, and that my imperfections are not so terrible.
She gave him a once-over and snorted. “You’re trying to tell me that you are not perfect? I must say, I have a hard time believing that. In my eyes, there is nothing but perfection on display—and far more consideration and effort than I ever expected to find outside of a novel. You, Faltz, would be the definition of perfect to many women. A shame you cannot see yourself through my eyes.”
Faltz turned toward the door flap to hide his embarrassment. “I will return with your eggs,” he replied as he made his escape.
Ducking out the doorway, Faltz stepped into the sunlight and stretched. Nearby, he could see a cluster of males readying to leave on a scouting patrol. Every half-lunar, one rotation returned, and another went out. Faltz would have been one of the males heading out with the new team if he hadn’t been beginning his seclusion with Beni. Squinting, he couldn’t yet see any sign of the returning patrol, but that was unsurprising. The returning group wouldn’t be expected until the time that the sun was overhead.
One among his patrol team happened to glance his way and grinned as he nudged the male next to him. Faltz swallowed a sigh as one by one his team turned to look his way. More than a few of the males smirked, and a few even laughed among themselves. He could curse Pantak for drawing their attention to him.
A male at the back of the group—his replacement, he suspected—glanced over at him and grinned, one hand raised in greeting. Faltz returned the gesture as he turned away. It was strange to miss his rotation this lunar, but he knew that no one would complain. He had covered for many other males when they mated. Few would begrudge him this time.
Ignoring the shuffle of the clan’s routine, Faltz made his way back toward the far canyon wall to the coops. A human female stood among the chickens, feeding them loose grain. Dusting her hands off, she approached the edge of the barrier and raised her eyebrows.
“Didn’t expect to see you. I don’t think I have ever seen you come to collect a portion of the eggs.”
“My mate sent me,” he muttered as he squinted at the fat, obnoxious birds. The idea of eating unhatched young disturbed him, but he did not complain about his current errand. A hunter did not complain about food offered in the spirit of sharing, especially not from one’s own mate.
The female smothered an obvious smile behind her hand before nodding in understanding. “Did she say how many she needed?”
That probably would have been a useful piece of information. He wanted to groan at his thoughtlessness.
“No. I did not think to ask. It is for the morning meal.”
“Ah, then you’ll probably need a few eggs. You are in luck, since the hens seem to have laid quite a number of them this morning. I will just put them in a basket for you.”
Muttering his thanks, he turned his attention back to where the patrol waited. He frowned. There appeared to be some sort of excitement. The males jogged around each other eagerly as if attempting to catch a glimpse of something. His frowned deepened as he realized that he recognized several males as those that were from the returning party.
Had they returned already?
A surprised shout came from among the males as they pressed closer, their tails whipping as they attempted to force each other out of the way. There was only one thing that could cause that sort of stampede, or brought a patrol back to the village so soon…
A female’s sharp retort cut through the crowd.
“Sounds like we have another captive woman joining the clan,” the human mused from his side. “Of course all the guys are going nuts.”
He glanced down in surprise. He hadn’t even noticed her approach. Held in her arms was a small basket full of eggs, half-forgotten as she cocked her head. The female said nothing further as he accepted the basket from her. It was perhaps a good thing that he was not delayed with pleasantries, because an angry shout rose from among the males that had the spines on his tail lifting.
Muttering his thanks, he trotted over to the gathering crowd. It did not take him long locate Bakin among them, pulling males back. His lips were peeled from his fangs as he attempted to get the other males under control.
It was not working.
If anything, the crowd seemed to surge closer, completely ignoring their captain’s orders, as the female threatened them with angry shouts. As he drew closer, he got glimpses of a female with brown curls and piercing blue eyes as she swung a stick at the Mintars crowding her. She wore some sort of peculiar pair of frames that sat crookedly over her nose.
“Get back!” she shouted, swinging her stick hard enough and so haphazardly that she nailed Bakin in the back of the head with it as he attempted to intercept an overeager male. The male’s head whipped around, and he scowled at the small female.
“I told you—I am not looking for a mate. I’m looking for my friend Beni!” she snapped as she beat back another male attempting to win her favor.
Faltz stilled in surprise, but then sprang into action. If this was a friend of Beni searching for her, then he was obligated to br
ing her to his mate. He pushed his way forward and raised a hand peacefully when she threatened him with the stick.
“You are looking for Beni?”
Her scowl melted away. “Oh, thank the Blessed Mother! You know Beni? None of these other males have even heard of her.”
He nodded. “They have been on patrol, and were not present when I returned to the village with her. I am sure Beni will be happy to see one of her friends. I will take you to her.”
Her armed lowered, and she dropped her stick as she stepped over to his side.
A male protested sourly. “Faltz already has a mate. What does he need for a second?” Several disgruntled males echoed the sentiment.
“Shut up,” Bakin snapped. “He is reassuring her with her friend’s presence. Back away before I put all that energy to better use.”
Faltz grimaced. It did not surprise him that there would be males who would assume that. “Come on,” he grumbled. “She is nearby.”
“Thank you,” she returned, as she adjusted the odd frames on her face, settling the wire ends over her ears. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. Those idiots snatched me up when I was tracking down the length of the river looking for my friend. I am so glad to hear that at least she is safe.”
“She is safe,” he grunted in agreement.
“Right,” she said. “Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Tabby.”
Chapter 22
Beni smiled as she stirred the mixed vegetables in the bit of goat butter she’d put in the pan over the fire. She entertained herself imagining that this was her life. That every day, she would wake up and have someone there who looked at her as Faltz did—as if she were someone to him, and whose very presence made her feel…
She was paused and tilted her head. How did he make her feel?
A wide smile stretched over her face. He made her feel cherished. He made her laugh. He made the world feel safe and right. Just the thought of returning to the Citadel and leaving everything behind made her heart clench. The idea of leaving her mama hurt too, but it was a duller pain, tempered with the knowledge that sooner or later she would have to leave everything she knew. Her desire to return to Dunvar had been an instinctive demand when confronted with an unknown world. The idea of giving up what she had found to return to an uncertain future where she would likely end up smuggled out by her mother to a distant Citadel now seemed absurd.
Sighing, she shook her head. She should just tell Faltz how she felt and get it out and in the open. She had never shied away from letting her thoughts and feelings be known. On the other hand, he hadn’t agreed to this as a permanent arrangement. If she told him that she wanted to stay, would he even still want her?
For the first time in her life, she faced the very real, very frightening possibility of rejection. Her hand tightened on the spoon she held. They would talk about it after they ate, she decided. A nice long discussion about their relationship, hopefully followed by another bout of wild sex. It would be a real mating then. The thought brought a smile to her lips even as her resolve wavered.
First, however, she would fill his stomach. She wasn’t lying when she said she wasn’t a good cook, but this she could do well. The rich, fatty smell of melted butter mixed with the pleasant scent of cooking vegetables and meat. Add the egg, and it would be a wonderful scramble—especially with the peppers she had finely chopped and added to the mixture.
Beni heard the door flap slap against the frame as someone entered. Her smile widened.
“Did you get the eggs?” she called out.
“Thank the Mother—Beni!” a familiar feminine voice shouted.
She nearly dropped the carved wooden spoon into the fire when she heard it. That voice! Beni’s eyes widened as she spun around.
“Tabby!”
Laughing, she ran forward, colliding with her friend in a tangle of arms as they hugged each other. Pulling back, she squinted at her friend. “Don’t take this wrong, because I am extremely happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know—went for a walk. What do you mean what am I doing here? Did you really think I wouldn’t search for my best friend after you fell into the river? I ended up leaving the wagon hidden in some bushes and took the horse to search. I was so certain that I would find you dead.” Tabby hiccupped a small anguished sound.
“Oh, Tabby.” Beni sighed. “I’m so sorry.”
“I was scared,” Tabby said. “I followed the river, but lightning spooked the damn horse and it threw me. I walked more because I didn’t want to go back without you. At one point, I thought that I had found your body, but thankfully it was just your overcoat that had been caught on some branches. I was about to return to the Citadel and arrange a search party when I was captured.” She glanced at Faltz. “What are you doing here with him?”
Beni blushed. “You mean Faltz? He rescued me from the river.”
“More like just investigated what I thought was a corpse on the bank,” Faltz returned dryly. Despite his terse words, his smile was fond as he looked at her. It sent a tingle through her, straight down to her toes.
She cleared her throat and looked back at Tabby, certain that her best friend could read how smitten she’d already become with the Mintar. Sure enough, her friend squinted, took one long look at her face, and her mouth dropped open in horror.
“Oh, my… No!” she shrieked. “You cannot tell me you that you… and… and…”
Beni coughed and took the basket from Faltz with a worried smile. “Perhaps give me and Tabby just a moment while I cook?”
His lips pressed together as he glanced between them, but his expression softened as her eyes pleaded with him. He inclined his head in agreement and kissed the top of her head. “I will go speak with Bakin and see about assuring the males that I do not intend to keep two mates,” he finished with a chuckle.
From the corner of her eye, she could see that Tabby was working herself into a frenzy, but she swallowed back her words and settled for a frown. Beni knew she wasn’t going to escape that easily, however, and breathed a sigh of relief as Faltz exited, the flap slapping the frame behind him. Silence descended for several minutes as she turned and made her way back to the cooking pit with the eggs. Tabby didn’t say anything as Beni cracked and scrambled the eggs in a bowl and poured them over the cooking mixture.
Beni was aware of her friend moving around her to stand at her side, her arms crossed over her chest. Rather than berate her, Tabby arched an eyebrow at the culinary concoction, a tiny smiling teasing the corner of her lips.
“Since when did you cook?” her friend asked archly.
“Since I realized that if I wanted to eat more than just the evening meal out with Mama that I was going to have to learn some basic skills to fend for myself during the day,” Beni returned with a small laugh.
Unlike her, her mama could cook, but she rarely had time when she was swamped with orders. She had attempted to teach Beni a few things, but once she’d begun apprenticing with her father, Beni’s lessons trickled to a stop.
Tabby giggled and looked around the room. “It does seem like rather nice, comfortable accommodations for a bunch of inhuman monsters.”
“They aren’t monsters, Tabby,” Beni snapped with a scowl. “Everything we’ve ever been told has been wrong. They are just another species with a vibrant, beautiful culture.”
Her friend flushed. “I didn’t mean it that way, Beni,” she said. “We’ve just been told some really awful things about the beings who inhabit the Blood Plains. Truth be told, when they found me, I was scared out of my wits and fought every step of the way, though they didn’t offer to harm me… They just did some strange thing with their voice that made me sleepy. Out of all the things I had been afraid of… I just didn’t expect… this.” Somehow that uncertainty seemed to make her friend more frightened.
“It is an adjustment after we’ve been lied to for so long,” Beni said. “But they are a wonderful, caring people.
Which is why… I’m making a booklet,” she announced.
“You know that Dunvar won’t allow such things to become public knowledge. Not with the population still so low after the sickness that took so many women. They will bring the Order down on us all.”
“Which is why it will be done in secret. They deserve mates—and so do we.”
“Uh-huh,” her friend murmured. “Beni, please tell me you haven’t mated him.”
Beni felt another hot flush crawl over her skin.
“Oh, no,” Tabby whispered.
“It’s not so bad as to warrant that response.”
“It is. Beni, you have a life in the Citadel.”
Beni sighed and looked at her friend. “And what happens when the council yields to pressure and insists that I accept one of the marriage proposals that I’ve been plagued with? My options will be either to accept and become one among many in a harem, or escape to distant family in another Citadel or a sanctuary village.”
Tabby sobered. “I guess it is a good thing that the secret library will depend on runners, and we had already planned for me to recruit those.” She sighed and rubbed her brow. “Seems that no matter what you choose, it will separate us, unless you marry someone who doesn’t mind if you have a life outside of the harem. Unlikely, given how most of the harems are. I hate all of this. Life seemed so much easier when we were younger. It figures that you would complicate things by mating into a species used to terrorize us for most of our lives.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” Beni said as she gave the cooking food a brisk stir. “Do me a favor and grab that bowl over there and bring it to me.”
Retrieving the bowl, Tabby handed it over a perplexed frown. “What do you mean by ‘not get ahead of ourselves?’”
Beni shrugged as she dumped the contents of the pan into the bowl, warm egg and vegetables filling the home with an appetizing fragrance. “The thing is… this whole mate thing was a ruse to get me home safely without one of the other males of his clan claiming me. He always intended to return me home—which has been something I wanted, until I realized that I didn’t. Now I don’t know what to do. While Faltz and I have enjoyed the physical side of mating to make it more convincing, I’m not so certain that we both feel the same way.”
Librarian and the Beast: A Mintar Romance Page 14