by Ruby Dixon
I'll just drag his ass to the healer immediately after.
32
U'DRON
R'ven fusses over me as I limp toward camp, my prizes in tow behind me. I am exhausted, but I keep going, because I am so close to the end. My proving is almost over. This is the moment I have waited for for over ten turns of the seasons, to show the others that I am just as capable. To pass that last rite of childhood, no matter how delayed, so no one can ever question my skill or ability.
I thought it would be that moment of pride that kept me going throughout bitterly cold nights and long days of tracking, of the misery of snowstorm after snowstorm and days so cold my hands shook as I struggled to make fire. This is what I have wanted, and so I was determined to see it through.
Strangely enough, it was not the thought of triumph that carried me through. It was R'ven. It was knowing she was waiting for me to come home, knowing that her warm body was waiting in my furs, her smile just for me. Knowing that I had my female to return home to made me stand up when I wished to lie down, and it made me keep fighting even when I wished to give up, when days upon days passed and I could find no sign of the sky-claw I was supposed to bring in.
But I did not give up, and now it is done.
I'rec, O'jek and A'tam jog toward me as others follow behind. Everyone is curious at the sight of me. No doubt the others did not expect to see me stumble into camp looking as I do. R'ven notices the attention I am getting and tucks her hand in the crook of my arm, leaning in to whisper to me. "We said you were hunting. No one said why. If anyone asks, you were just doing a Shadow Cat thing and leave it at that."
I flash her a look of gratitude. Strong Arm and Tall Horn do not know the reasoning behind my journey, then. Good. She smiles up at me and I feel such…happiness at the sight of her. I want to grab her and kiss her all over but…it must wait a little longer.
I'rec moves toward me, a wary look on his face. "Well?"
I tug on the items I have dragged behind me through the mountains, hauling them forward to fling at his feet. It is not one sky-claw tail tip, but two. "Mated pair," I say quietly, and let my prowess speak for itself. I want to point out how long it took for me to find them, of the endless cold nights and hungry days, of how I prowled the shores for food and materials and made myself a spear of sharpened wood before heading into the mountains. I want to tell them of all the creatures I slaughtered just for their warm skins and then ate raw because I could not let the meat go to waste. I want to brag of the cliffs I climbed, looking for hints of sky-claw nests. I want to tell them all about the mated pair I found and how I pretended to be wounded, flailing in the snow to pull their attention toward me. I want to point out how I nearly died, trying to take on two sky-claw at once but I managed, because I am crafty and determined.
And because I have R'ven waiting for me.
I say nothing, though. Those will be stories for another day. For today, I just wait.
I'rec gazes down at the two tails I have placed at his feet, both of them tipped with the unmistakable deadly claw at the end. He says nothing for a long moment, and then looks up at me. Our eyes meet. He nods.
Then he turns and leaves. O'jek nods at me, as well. A'tam does, too, a grin splitting his face before he turns away.
I feel a great weight slide away from my shoulders. It is over. I am complete in the eyes of my people.
R'ven's hand tightens on my arm. "That's it?" she hisses. "That's all you get? A fucking nod?" She looks outraged on my behalf, as if she expected I'rec and the others to shower me with praise. That is not our way, though. My lack of proving was a shameful thing, and now the shame is gone. There is nothing to celebrate or praise in their eyes…and I would not want it any other way.
"It is enough," I tell my pretty mate. I turn and cup her face, exhausted. My hands are grimy against her pale skin, my claws crusted with the filth of days of hard living. I should not touch her, not while I am this unclean, but I cannot help it. I have needed her so badly through this journey, even if it was only the thought of coming home to her. To see her smile with pride up at me. "Am I enough for you, now?"
Her hands cover mine. "You have always been enough," she tells me fiercely, a smile curving her pink mouth. "Always."
I feel even lighter. I grin at her, and to my surprise, my vision is clouding with black at the edges. How curious. I am floating and yet it is growing dark…
R'ven's worried expression is the last thing I see before the ground rushes up to meet me.
There is a steady humming in my ears that will not go away. My nose twitches, and I try to swat at it, but my hand feels heavy. All of my body feels heavy, as if something is weighing me down, pressing on me. Snow, perhaps? Did I sleep for too long? Is the ringing in my ears my starving body reacting to the fact that I have not eaten in at least two days? My mind feels sleepy, as if I am not quite ready to acknowledge any of these things, and I continue to drift along.
Or at least, I want to. But the humming keeps getting louder. No, not quite humming. More like a drumming.
Has…someone stolen my drum? I frown.
"I think he's waking up," a voice whispers.
A gentle hand caresses my brow. "U'dron? Babe? You in there?"
R'ven's voice pulls me out of the drifting darkness. I struggle to open my eyes, and a soft, wet cloth moves over my forehead. "R…Raaaven?"
"Oh sure, now you say my name correctly." Her voice is light and teasing and she takes my hand in hers. A moment later, I feel her press a kiss to my fingertips. I am exhausted, every bit of my body aching with fatigue…but my cock still responds.
It is difficult to open my eyes, but I somehow manage. My vision is blurry at first, then her lovely face sharpens into focus. She smiles lovingly down at me, my hand cradled to her teats. "How are you feeling?"
I smack my lips, disoriented. "Tired." The drumming keeps pounding away, and I want to protest that they are clearly celebrating my return without me. "What…"
"Happened?" R'ven continues, smiling. "You passed out. It's just exhaustion, thank goodness, but Veronica worked on you for a bit anyhow. You've been sleeping for several hours now." She holds my hand to her cheek, rubbing it against her skin, and I notice that it is no longer dirty. She reaches over me, leaning forward, and my cock stirs when her teats rub against my hand. I am achingly hard for her. I have missed her so much in the time I have been away. "She wants you to stay in her tent overnight so she can check on you, but says you really just need sleep. You thirsty? Hungry?" R'ven adjusts the wet cloth on my brow, then touches my cheek. "Can I get you anything?"
"You can kiss me." It feels like effort just to say those small words, but I am glad I do.
Her face lights up and she leans over and presses her lips to mine. "Better?"
"Lower."
R'ven's eyes widen and she laughs. "Yeah, you're getting better." She slides my hand—still cradled against her chest—to one of her teats and gives me a sultry look. "Are parts of you aching as much as parts of me are?"
She has no idea. I close my eyes, loving the feel of her teat and tight nipple against my hand. It makes my cock ache even more, and I can feel a bead of pre-cum slide down my shaft. Odd that I am so exhausted and yet so utterly aroused. I have no strength in my limbs, but if R'ven climbed onto my lap and straddled me, I would not say no. I would be thrilled despite my fatigue.
The drumming gets louder, and I bare my teeth in frustration. "Why…are they celebrating?"
"W-what?" R'ven giggles, pressing my hand to her teats and shivering. "What are you talking about, babe?"
"The drums…" I try to shake my head, but my eyes are closing again. Feels like too much effort. "Who gave them my drum?"
She giggles again, and even though my eyes are closed, I feel her bend over me. "No one's drumming, silly."
"I hear it."
Her lips brush against my cheek, and her teats—still shivering—rub against my hand. As she moves over me, her scent—thick with aro
usal—washes over me and my cock aches, my sac prickling and tightening as if I am about to spill already. Never have I been so aroused. "You…you don't hear it?" She nips at my ear even as she lies down next to me.
"The…drums?"
"It's resonance, silly." Her breath whispers over my skin, warm and fragrant and wonderful. "We're resonating, but I think most of you is too tired to figure that out. Go back to sleep. It can wait."
Resonance? I want to say more, but sleep is already pulling me under. "R'ven…"
"I'll be right here," she promises, and curls up at my side.
33
U’DRON
I do not know how long I sleep, only that when I wake up, it is dark outside, the stars twinkling through the smoke-hole at the top of the shelter. R'ven is curled up next to me, my hand still clasped in hers, and her thighs clasped around both. She is deep in sleep, her chest thrumming with resonance.
As mine is.
Incredulous, I gaze at my mate. How did I resonate while I was unconscious? How did I not immediately wake up and realize this? My cock seems very aware of the situation, stiff and aching, and when I pull the blankets up to glance down at it, I see I am yet naked. My shaft is wet with pre-cum, the furs sticking to my cock as I pull them away. It has been hard and leaking for some time, it seems. I glance around—we are in V'ronca's tent, in the section she reserves for those that have injured themselves. Over the enticing, insistent scent of my mate, I can dimly smell the scent of the other female and her mate in the next chamber over. They are asleep…
And R'ven is right here. Her khui sings to mine, and hungry yearning fills me as I gaze at my beautiful mate. R'ven's hands still clench mine between her thighs, and I experimentally push her legs apart. She rolls with a sleepy sigh, and then the thick musk of her arousal hits me like a cresting wave. My mouth waters.
I need my mate.
With silent movements, I slide down in the furs. My body still feels heavy with exhaustion, but I am not so tired that I cannot claim my female. I tug at her leggings, disliking them intensely. I prefer when she wears my tunic as a dress, because then I can simply flip the hem up and my mouth can be on her cunt in an instant. I loosen the drawstring of her leggings and tug the leather down her hips.
R'ven stirs from her sleep. "Mmm…what…"
"Shhh," I tell her. "I am going to make you come, but you must be silent."
I love the sound of her sucking in a breath, and then the way her fingers tighten in my mane as I push my face between her thighs and lick at her folds. She is not telling me to stop. She is not shy, either. Instead, she pulls me in, rubbing her cunt against my face as I hungrily drag my tongue over her. Her khui makes her body shiver with need, the song of it throbbing and endless, as endless as my own. It adds another layer of sensation to our mating. I plunge my tongue into her body, pumping into her with it, even as I rub my thumb over her clit. I want her to come hard and fast.
I need it. I need it like nothing I have ever needed before, and the sheer ferocity of my hunger staggers me.
R'ven grinds her cunt against my face, her breath heaving and overloud in the darkness. Her hands are so tight in my mane that it feels as if she is going to pull out fistfuls of it, but I do not ask her to stop. I revel in the pain, knowing that I am driving her wild.
My mate. My resonance mate. She is mine in all ways, my R'ven, and nothing will ever come between us.
When she comes, she lets out a little gasp, and her cunt tightens and clenches around my tongue. I drink the sweetness of her release, but my own is pushing at me, desperate for its turn. I am a wild creature with need, and I cannot mate her here, footsteps away from the furs of another.
We need to go back to my hut. Our hut.
R'ven lets out a little sigh as I press kisses to her hands, pulling them free of my mane. She smiles at me in the darkness and opens her mouth to speak, but I press a finger to her lips. I get to my feet—not without some effort—and haul my mate into my arms. Her eyes go wide as I pull her to my chest, and she makes a silent sound of protest, shaking her head.
"I am taking you back to our hut," I whisper. "And then I am going to mate you over and over again."
"Oh. Are you…sure? I can walk."
I ignore her protests and carry her out of the hut and down the beach. It is late at night, the camp mostly deserted, but I do see a figure by the fire. It is too far to make it out, and I am sure I look odd, a naked male with a stiff cock carrying his female across the sands.
I do not care, though. All I care about is R'ven and making her come again.
It seems to take forever to get to my hut, and I am relieved when it comes into sight. R'ven wriggles out of my grasp and puts her feet on the sand, shaking her head at me. "Let me go inside myself." She steps onto the wooden platform that all of the huts are built upon and pushes the flap aside. I follow her in, noting the chill in the air. The fire is out, which means she has not been in here for some time. "How long have I been sleeping?"
"Since you showed up after breakfast," R'ven admits. Then she punches my arm. "You scared the shit out of me, by the way."
"I will make it up to you," I reassure her, pulling her close. "I did not realize I was that tired."
Her hands trace over my stomach, and I realize there is a freshly healed scar there. I have vague memories of a snow-cat and a fierce battle, but most of my time in my proving is a blur. "Veronica said that you were just exhausted, but when you saw me, we started to resonate. She said that the blood probably rushed here." She grips my cock in her small hand, her eyes glowing in the darkness. "And that caused you to pass out."
"I did not realize." I pump into her hand, needing the friction and heat of her touch. "Take your clothes off. I want to lick all of you."
She pulls off her tunic and flings it aside, and then watches me as she steps out of her leggings. "Lie down," she insists. "You still need to rest."
"Rest is the last thing on my mind, I assure you—"
R'ven immediately goes to the furs and drops onto her back. "Then come lie down on me." Her hand slides between her thighs and she parts her folds, teasing her wet cunt before my eyes.
I groan, helpless to do anything but obey. I drop to my knees in front of her, entranced at the sight of my mate touching herself. The throb of resonance pounds through my blood, and my chest feels as if it will explode with how intense my khui is singing for her. "I am glad it is you," I tell her as I move over her. "So glad it is you."
"Me too." She gives me a feral smile. "I'd scratch the eyes out of any woman that thought she could come between us."
I love that my R'ven is as fiercely possessive of me as I am of her. I move atop her, resonance pounding through me, and she welcomes me with eager touches and a hungry look in her eyes. Resonance has always been too much for me to dream of, something I hoped for but that never seemed as if it would be mine. In this moment, though, I have everything I have ever wanted. I am utterly content.
Or I will be once resonance is sated. For now, it screams through my veins, demanding that I plunge into my mate's body and fill her with my seed. I hike her thigh to my hip, settling my cock at her entrance. She makes a little noise of encouragement, rocking against me, and her cunt is still drenched with her release, her folds hot and slippery and welcoming. With a single thrust, I am inside her.
She shivers, her entire body quaking in response. "U'dron. U'dron. You feel so..." She moans instead of finishing the sentence, and I feel another ripple move through her body. "How are you gonna make me come again so quickly?"
"It is resonance," I tell her, my voice thick with need. I pull back, teasing her entrance with the head of my cock before slamming deep again, and we both gasp in response. "You feel…incredible, my mate."
R'ven moans encouragement, and when I thrust into her again, she lifts her hips, meeting me with force. This will be no gentle mating, no languid release. She wants this as badly as I do, the resonance humming through our bodies making us bot
h mad with need. I brace myself over her and begin a rhythm, claiming her body with deep, powerful strokes. Each one feels better than the last, and my entire body is blazing with hunger. My shaft seems to throb with every thrust, my pulse pounding in my ears. My sac is so tight with seed it feels as if my entire body is drawing up…and still I drive into my mate.
"Fuck yes," R'ven whimpers as I rock over her. "So good. So damn good, U'dron. Give me everything."
I growl, caging her with my body as I hammer into her. I cannot slow down—I have no control left. I am nothing but instinct, burying my face in her soft mane as I pound into her. She whines encouragement, her blunt nails digging into my skin and adding a hint of pain to the experience.
"Harder," she begs. "Need harder. Need you to fill me up."
My control shatters. I plow into her, unstoppable, my sac slamming a rhythm against her skin. She lets out a little cry, her fingers spasming, and her cunt quakes hard, squeezing me like a vise. She is coming again, my R'ven, and her release spurs mine. I bury myself inside her and let go, the release flooding out of me so hard I see stars floating in front of my eyes. I gasp out her name, rocking into her with each spurt of my seed. It seems endless, my release, as if resonance is pulling everything forth and pumping it into my mate.
By the time I stop moving, I am breathless and exhausted…and sated. For now.
"Mmmm," R'ven sighs under me. "God, you're good at that."
I shift my weight, trying not to press too heavily upon her, and her body quivers around my cock. "Did I…did I hurt you?" My control was gone, and she is so small and fragile. "Should I move?"
"No to both." Her hands skate up and down my back and she hums with pleasure. "You just stay right there because I'm definitely going to want to do that again very soon."