White: Emala's Story (Ragoru Beginnings Book 1)

by S. J. Sanders

  He’d wept as he forced his brother’s hand open, wincing at the snap of bones. Mek had been left there long enough that his body stiffened, but Korash had been desperate to see what his brother had been so determined to hold onto. Clenched in his hand had been several strands of dark hair and a gold ornament that he’d seen around the neck of his brother’s mate once in passing. The huntsmen had literally ripped her away from him.

  Korash had spent days following the trail, lost in his misery. It had been tempting to allow dark thoughts to grow within him, but every time he thought ill of her he remembered how loving she’d been with her triad and how kind she’d been to him even when he was curt and impatient toward her. He’d stopped tracking when he came across a pool of her blood and a small Ragoru young lying dead in the grass. His hatred had grown for the huntsmen and he mourned for his brother’s lost rog and for the female he was then certain was dead. Perhaps that was why he remembered her so clearly... He couldn’t allow himself to forget, though he’d never spoken of it.

  It was for that reason that when he saw the small form of a human female in Mishar’s arms he’d been shocked. It had been so many revolutions since he last saw a human female that he couldn’t do more than stare. By the time he came to his senses, Vordri was already racing toward his brother.

  Korash cursed himself for allowing Vordri to get so far ahead of him. Although he was stronger and faster than his triad, it wasn’t enough to make up for so much lost distance. He had no hope of intercepting Vordri before he noticed what his brother carried.

  Hope burst through him when he saw the other male draw to a halt, but it fizzled and died as he watched Vordri go through a range of emotions from shock to rage. Korash bellowed as the gold male attacked, and Mishar reacted only as Korash would have expected: he tensed protectively around the female, his lips pulled back from his fangs. He didn’t rush to attack his brother but held a defensive position that would best defend her. It was clear that he was already bonding with her and was reacting instinctively to the threat from Vordri even though his own ears dropped with dismay.

  “Vordri, do not!” Korash bellowed, hoping that the stubborn male would heed him. Naturally, Vordri did the opposite of listen and leaped into the air.

  Mishar reacted swiftly so that by the time his brother took to the air he was not caught unprepared. Tucking his female close to the base of a tree, he slid in front of her and absorbed the impact of his brother’s weight as Vordri slammed into him. The air immediately came alive with ferocious snarls and growls as the brothers bit and swiped at each other with lethal claws.

  Korash spared the brothers a concerned glance but skirted rapidly around them. They would settle their differences before they killed each other. He was more worried for the terrified female huddled against a tree. She cried out when Vordri shoved Mishar against a tree and struggled to her feet. To his shock, she started forward as if to get between the brothers. He couldn’t allow that. That was a certain way for her to get hurt and no doubt, if he was already bonding with her like Korash suspected, Mishar would be devastated.

  Korash leaped forward, placing himself directly in her path. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of him and she attempted to change her course at the last moment, but it wasn’t fast enough to evade him. All four of his arms snapped out around her and he yanked her into his chest, dropping into a crouch so that his larger frame completely shielded her. Locked together intimately, he finally allowed his gaze to travel over the female. His breath caught in his throat as familiar eyes stared back at him from a pale face wreathed with a dark mane. There were small differences, but she could almost pass for her.

  “Jaryna?” He couldn’t stop the name before it rumbled over his lips. Of course it couldn’t be her. Even if she’d survived her young being ripped from her womb, this female was too young. He himself had aged twenty-one revolutions since that fateful day. Suddenly he felt the weight of every forty-five revolutions of his life bear down on him.

  The female stopped moving abruptly, her mouth gaping at him. “You can speak! And what do you know of Jaryna?”

  This human didn’t seem to realize that Mishar’s inability to communicate verbally didn’t pertain to the rest of the species. How could she know otherwise? The clans, as far as he understood, had perished likely long before her birth. He had no doubt that the human families had suffered a similar fate. The huntsmen were keen to wipe out the Ragoru and anything that made it possible for their numbers to grow and thrive. They wouldn’t be above killing human families who supplied their daughters.

  Another vicious snarl drew her attention away from him back to the clash. Korash battled back his impatience. Not at her, but at his triad brothers. Instead of acting sensibly, they were squabbling like rogs. Damn Vordri and his overprotectiveness. He didn’t understand what this female could mean. All he was seeing was a human. He fought not to snort with amusement. It was likely his brother didn’t even see her as a female, just a human threat he needed to remove. He doubted that southern continent Ragorus could tell the difference between male and female humans on sight. Though both brothers bled from numerous wounds, the blood flow was light. At least he didn’t have to be concerned that one of them might bleed out. Despite their rage, they seemed to be tempering their attacks against each other, only striking hard enough to encourage the other male to yield.

  Still, this nonsense had to end. They were frightening her.

  “Vordri, Mishar, cease!” he snarled with the full weight of his anger and authority.

  Both males halted, their heads spinning toward him and their ears pricked in surprise. Korash had no doubt their shock was genuine. He never flexed his muscle as lead, preferring to enjoy a true family with full give-and-take like he’d seen among his fathers instead of a strict hierarchy, but enough was enough.

  Vordri’s ears lay back and he turned to his brother, offering a hand. Mishar bared his teeth and slapped his brother’s hand away.

  You are a fool and a giant ass, Mishar signed, following it up with a gruff shove to his brother’s chest for good measure, before striding toward Korash. His white fur still bristled with indignation up until he dropped in front of the female. His entire disposition changed to a soft entreaty as he crouched and held his arms open for her. The female didn’t even hesitate to scramble out of Korash’s hold into Mishar’s embrace. Korash felt a sting of envy but thrust it aside.

  The female hugged her chosen male before leaning back and scowling with concern as she looked him over. “Oh, blessed Mother preserve us! Are you okay?”

  Mishar smiled fondly down at his female and nodded his head as he signed, I am okay, Ema-la.

  Korash frowned. Sometimes the signs were difficult when his triad brother made them up for words that they never heard. The ema was the Ragii word for “heart.” No doubt playing off that sound for part of her name. He would have to wait to hear her speak it out loud before he would be able to connect the sign that Mishar had invented with her name.

  The female sighed and smiled as she stroked a clean patch of his white fur. “I wish I knew what you said.”

  Vordri slowly approached, his fur already heavily speckled with snow. He glared down at her and snapped, “He says that he is fine, Ema—whatever your name is.”

  “It is Emala,” she hissed back at him, her green eyes lit with gold embers in their depths as she returned his glare.

  Korash bit back a smile. She wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Vordri. She was strong, and yet her name bore a sweetness to it that he savored. Out of one of his peripheral eyes, he watched Mishar mouth her name as he signed it for her lovingly, his chest puffing up with pride before he turned to glower at his brother for his tone. Before Korash’s eyes, he watched the gentle male react to his brother’s encroaching presence. His fur bristled with anger as Vordri let out a low growl and circled closer to Emala.

  “What are you doing here, human?” Vordri growled, completely disregarding his brother’s visib
le warning. Korash rumbled at Vordri, who recoiled at the sound. He was right to. Korash was the larger and stronger male. Though Korash had once yielded to Mishar, he could easily take either brother in a fight. If he had to put Vordri in his place so that he ceased aggravating Mishar, then he would do it—and he let the male know that in no uncertain terms.

  “Control yourself, Vordri,” he growled. The male dropped his ears submissively but didn’t look pleased to do so.

  Emala didn’t even seem to notice. She was smiling up at Mishar, stroking his fur as he leaned into her touch, his primary eyes hooded with pleasure. Only his peripheral vision seemed alert and completely trained mistrustfully on his brother. It was an unfortunate thing to see come between such close brothers, but Korash didn’t blame Mishar. He was following his bonding instinct. Naturally he felt motivated to protect her above all else. If Vordri were bonded to her, Korash knew that he would be so unbearable that they would miss the days when his protective impulse extended to his brother. A mate, and rogs possibly down the road, would send the male into fits.

  “Mishar,” she whispered, a smile brightening her face. “So that’s your name. It is beautiful.”

  Mishar chuffed and shook his head. My Emala is beautiful.

  “He says that you are beautiful,” Korash translated, earning him an approving look from Mishar and a venomous one from Vordri, who still eyed the little female with unmasked suspicion.

  Emala responded by burrowing into Mishar’s fur with a small happy sound. Vordri wrinkled his nose at her even as he seemed unable to help sniffing in her direction. Finally, he grunted, brushed the accumulating snow from his fur, and squinted at the sky.

  “We should kill it and toss it out of our territory without delay,” Vordri grumbled in Ragii.

  Mishar nuzzled the female, not deigning to acknowledge his brother other than a narrowed peripheral eye in his direction and an ear tilted at him as a warning. The golden Ragoru huffed out a long sigh.

  “Well, if we are not going to kill it, can we at least get inside? The storm is starting to move in.”

  Mishar nodded in agreement and stood with his mate gathered into his arm as Korash picked up the tail-flapper. The animal was stiff from the cold, but it was gutted and cleaned to preserve it best while he carried it over the long distance from the mountains.

  “Let’s return,” Korash growled in the human tongue.

  His triad shook the snow from their manes and headed back toward their den with one human held securely in Mishar’s arms.

  Chapter 12

  Emala eyed the other two with open curiosity. This was Mishar’s triad? A small fuzzy feeling of delight swept through her that she finally knew his name. The perpetually glowering golden male was Vordri if she’d heard correctly. His pelt was a beautiful hue where it wasn’t stained with his own blood; it was a shame that he was unpleasant to be around. She wasn’t sure who the third male was yet, but she suspected that he was the leader of the triad. Although he didn’t seem as alpha-like as she would have imagined a Ragoru lead to be, he’d commanded attention when necessary and was imposing in size. He was also far darker than the other males, with pitch black fur except for where white blotches of fur appeared on his belly, chest, and hands. Even his paw-like feet and the tips of his ears were startling white. Unlike the surly one, he not only seemed to be kind, but he was willing to talk to her and translate for Mishar.

  She hated to admit how relieved she felt when she realized that she’d be able to communicate easily with the rest of the triad. The idea of struggling to communicate with three Ragorus had been daunting. The fact that they spoke her language fluently had eased some of her worries about living among them. But it didn’t lessen Mishar’s value in her eyes at all. If anything, she admired him more for how hard he worked to speak to her. He was her silent protector. The fact that she would have to learn his unique signing didn’t deter her at all. As far as she could tell, he was worth it.

  He currently sat on a thick fur cushion on the floor, his legs extended in front of him while he propped her gently on his lap. At first, the position had been a bit disconcerting. Though they slept side by side as they’d traveled, it was more of an exhausted collapse than anything intimate. This felt different. Although she felt nothing poke her, she did feel a hard, knotted cluster beneath his fur brush her from time to time when one of them shifted. She suspected that it might be his sex, but since he didn’t seem to be concerned, she relaxed as he set himself to the task of lightly combing through her tangled curls with his claws while she sipped on more of the delicious tea that had been offered by the dark lead.

  She glanced at the male in question over the rim of her simple clay-made cup. His amber met hers, matching her curiosity.

  How had he known her mother’s name?

  “I’m sorry, but what is your name?” she asked him as she lowered her cup into her lap.

  His fangs flashed in an easy, pleasant smile. “No need for apologies. No one had seemed in mind for introductions out in the snow. I am Korash, the lead of my triad.”

  “May I ask... how do you know Jaryna?”

  His smile fell and he shrugged, his lower hands folding on his lap while he took a sip from his own cup. “It is a sad story from long ago,” he offered but said nothing more. It seemed like she was going to have to take the bull by the horns as her mother had liked to say.

  “She died just recently,” she said, noting the way the male’s ears tilted toward her and his head lifted slightly in surprise. He must have known her from before and hadn’t been aware that she was still alive. “Well, her body did. Before she died, she told me that she’d been dead a long time inside since her mates and baby were killed.”

  She didn’t acknowledge Vordri’s look of disbelief, though she saw it. It was hard to miss. Instead, she gave her attention to Korash as an expression of genuine grief crossed his face. Her mates must have been close to him. “They were very happy with her.”

  “The huntsmen killed them,” she acknowledged sadly.

  He lowered his cup. “How do you know these things?”

  She took a deep, uncertain breath. “I don’t want to cause you further pain...”

  “Not knowing has been my greatest pain. That I couldn’t save my kin was bad enough, but to know that I failed my brother’s mate when she was still alive is far more unbearable. Please tell me.”

  “After the huntsmen forced her baby from her womb, they returned her to her uncle for their agreed-upon bargain. He’d made arrangements to sell her to a man who admired her and wanted her for his wife. The rest of the women in his family he allowed to be executed by the Order of the Huntsmen. The man who took Jaryna bred a daughter on her, but when she failed to produce any more children, he became cruel to his wife and daughter until one day she killed him...”

  Emala worked hard to keep her voice even as she told the story of her childhood and then what it was like growing up in the house of the Master Huntsman. The males listened carefully, their bodies tense as she spoke of the huntsmen and the Master who wished to marry the daughter, even plotting to kill the mother to get to her. Until, at her mother’s urging, she fled. Her voice choked at the end of her tale.

  None of the Ragoru spoke. She felt Mishar’s hands move behind her rapidly and Korash’s attention turned to him. He remained silent until Mishar stilled and then his head nodded before he turned his smoldering eyes on her.

  “The daughter you spoke of... It is you, is it not? Mishar found you in your flight and rescued you. He brought you to us despite your protests of danger that would accompany you. You are truly the child of Jaryna,” he murmured, his expression softening into one of wonder and then sadness once again. “I am glad that Jaryna survived to bring you forth, though I am saddened to know that she suffered so much in her life after the death of her mates. I blame myself for not finding her,” he growled, his ears tipping back as he grappled with his regret.

  “How old were you?”

 
; “A young male,” he said. “Of age to leave my mother’s den and travel to form a triad of my own. A selfish male, consumed with my own freedom and desires who couldn’t even be bothered to show up on time to his own brother’s celebration,” he admitted with a sad laugh. “If I had continued to search, I could have rescued both of you before you fell into the hands of the huntsman,” the last words were sneered vehemently.

  Vordri chose that moment to lean forward and interject. “Don’t be too eager to embrace this... female, Korash.” He looked at her doubtfully, sniffing as if not entirely able to be certain if she was what she claimed to be—a human woman. No doubt he suspected her to be a huntsman in disguise. Though she knew that there were women who served as huntsmen, they rarely ascended the ranks. Only male huntsmen were spoiled in the Order, allowed every indulgence, including sexual ones, in the hopes of spreading their seed to produce more males—not that it seemed to work out as well as they’d hoped. But she wouldn’t mention the women huntsmen. Vordri was already suspicious enough as it was.

  “What do you speak of?” Korash asked almost as a sigh.

  Vordri gestured at her with one hand, his lower arms folded stubbornly over his upper abs. “It is convenient, isn’t it, that she also has this information about the huntsmen and how they operate, even knowledge of the events that transpired with your clan. Even that your people... breed... with humans. I cannot even begin to imagine how all that is possible and yet she knows it. She is a danger and a threat to us if we allow her to remain here,” he finished on a growl.