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

by S. J. Sanders

  You are gray like a Ragoru now, Mishar teased as he gave himself a brisk shake, dislodging the ash from his fur.

  “It is not fair. You do this work, and no one would know it by looking at you. Meanwhile, I look like I was dragged through the ash instead of collecting it.”

  Humans are just messy, he returned jovially.

  “Messy, huh? I’ll show you messy. Come to me, Mishar. Let me embrace you.”

  His eyes widened playfully, and he leaped back just before she could get her arms around him. Foiled, she grinned at him. “Where are you going? Surely you aren’t afraid of a messy human?” She chased after him through the den, enjoying the way his ears tilted playfully and his tail flagging behind him. He didn’t wag his tail like a dog would, no more than a wolf might, but his body language easily conveyed his happiness. She wondered what would get his tail wagging. She smiled mischievously as she followed behind, plots brewing in her mind. She didn’t even see Vordri come into the den until Mishar darted to the side, leaving his brother exposed at the last moment. Emala ran smack into him.

  “What is going on?” Vordri asked, his brow over both sets of eyes dipping in confusion.

  Emala grinned up at him and put her arms around him, hugging him tight, leaving a gray band over his gold pelt. “Just sharing the love,” she replied with a giggle.

  Vordri stared down at himself, his mouth twitching at the corners, and before she knew it, he yanked her into his arms. “I do not mind sharing love. But it seems that if you are going to have an ash bath, you should be a bit more thorough. Let me help with that.”

  Her eyes widened with comprehension. “No, no, no. That is perfectly okay. Let me down. I don’t want an ash bath!”

  His deep laugh met her squawking seconds before he dumped her bodily into the hearth. She was grateful that most of the ashes had been removed, but there was still enough left to thoroughly soil her as she dragged herself out, sputtering. She glared at him, but he only laughed louder. Reluctantly her own lips began to twitch, and though she tried to hold back her mirth, she too dissolved into laughter, shoving Vordri as she stepped by him to get to Mishar who was careful to dance out of her reach.

  Both males frolicked around her, teasing her with gentle nips and nuzzles when they got around her while effortlessly evading her arms. That was the way Korash found them when he came inside with his strange stone ax and arms full of firewood. All four of his amber eyes widened at the sight of them but it didn’t take him long to huff with amusement and send Vordri and Mishar to collect water for her bath while he built up a fresh fire.

  It was only later, while she was running the leather cloth over her skin while the males kept themselves busy in other parts of the den to give her some semblance of privacy, that Emala realized just how happy she was. It was more than the burn of attraction that she felt around them, more than the security that they offered and the romantic tales spun by her mother.

  She was truly happy. She’d found a place where she belonged.

  Sighing, she smiled wistfully. “I hope it brings you peace, Mama, to see that I’ve found my triad as you’d hoped for me. I am so happy. Thank you for everything that brought me here in this moment.”

  Chapter 18

  Mishar surveyed the snowy landscape of their territory. They were sealing the den today. The snows had stopped for several days, which aided their work but also aided the eastward progression of the huntsmen. That break in the weather had been a blessing but now a sharp wind blew from the north with clouds crawling over the skies as they approached, still at a distance. The snows up until then had been gentle despite their rapid accumulation, but now a true winter storm was moving in. He watched it come without concern. They were prepared. He welcomed the storms.

  While their triad was comfortably denned, and Emala safe among them, the huntsmen would be the ones to suffer from the onslaught of the brutal weather. If they were wise, they would return to their human citadel. If they did not... well, Mishar wouldn’t feel any grief at their loss.

  Korash stepped to his side as he scanned the horizon. “It is time,” he announced gruffly, and Mishar nodded his agreement. Korash turned his head to smile at Emala, who watched from beside their hearth before he stepped away from the entrance. Mishar followed him and together they strode over to the large stone that they only used to seal their den during the depths of winter or, theoretically, in times of danger. It was of such great weight that it took two of them to move in and out of position. Their muscles shook and the stone groaned as it scraped over the earth, but like always it eventually yielded and covered their den’s entrance. When there was just enough room left for them to squeeze through, they went inside and gripped the carved handholds on the inside face of the rock and pulled it securely into place.

  The sound of the rock sliding closed was a dull thud that seemed to echo through their den. The fire flared as the wind was cut off, but Emala also jumped at the sound and the scent of her fear slightly perfumed the air. Vordri crouched behind her, one of his hands stroking her back as he crooned to her. Mishar smiled gratefully at his brother, no longer envious of the other male’s ability to comfort her in such ways. Although she gratefully accepted comfort from Vordri and Korash, she always sought out Mishar when she was frightened. That made him feel strong and needed. It was such a simple thing that Emala gave him, but he loved her all the more for it.

  Crouching in front of her, he caught her eye and signed. It is okay. The stone protects us. The air comes in the den. Can you feel it? We are not trapped. We can breathe and will be comfortable while the storms descend into our valley. We have prepared for this, remember?

  Pale in the light of the fire, she nodded and gave him a wan smile that melted his heart. His little female was so brave. Even when she was scared, she didn’t want her triad distressed.

  Settling on the pile of furs beside Vordri, he snuggled into her other side so that she lay comfortably caught between them. Emala rubbed her cheek against his chest just as she had the first time they’d lain together. He felt one of her hands stroke the fur above his chest as her other hand did the same for Vordri. Mishar smirked as he watched his brother lean into the touches, eyes half-closed. The male gave him a rude gesture and Mishar chuffed in reply.

  Chapter 19

  Although it took some adjusting, their cave was warm and comfortable. At first, she was worried that everyone would go crazy being trapped inside, but she soon discovered that was not the case. Her males always found something to entertain themselves with.

  Vordri enjoyed whittling pieces that he kept in the storage room with his sharp claws. Every day he worked more and more at a leisurely pace as he delicately carved the wood. When he wasn’t doing that, he was replacing baskets or working with the leather. He seemed to be the artisan among the triad, his patience seemingly boundless as he worked whatever he held in his hands. More than once, she had to squash her inappropriate thoughts of what it would feel like to be handled by him before the male in question caught the scent of her desire. A time or two, he’d lifted his head, his nostrils flaring, but then dismissed it and returned to his work.

  She knew she couldn’t hide her attraction. The males were getting under her skin more and more as her affection for them grew. Lately she’d taken to easing herself in the small room that held their crude toilet, certain that the smell of ash and herbs would overpower anything she was doing in there. It was dissatisfying, but none of the males had indicated an interest to mate with her. Oh, a time or two she felt a hard brush of some “interest” hidden away within their fur, but not one of the males had made any move beyond flirtation. Each time they brushed their body against hers or teased her sensually, it wound her tighter until once again she sought the small room. As confined as they were now at all times within the small space, it made the instances increasingly more numerous. As time passed, they seemed to be exuding some sort of new scent that inflamed her libido beyond normal.

  That was why she
found herself, for the second time that day, crouched over the toilet so any of her fluids would drip down inside, rubbing her wet fingers around her clit, sliding in the mouth of her labia every so often before tackling the little nub again. Her eyes rolled up as she panted. She wasn’t going to survive being trapped in the den with them for the next month or so if it got any worse.

  “Emala,” Korash called, making her almost groan as she broke her rhythm at the sound of his voice. Sinking her teeth into the heel of her opposite hand to control herself, she breathed through the rush of the mini-orgasm, allowing her nerves to settle before she trusted herself to respond.

  “I am here!” she called out, hoping he didn’t notice the rough post-orgasmic note to her voice. “Is there something you need?”

  “Are you well? You have been in the waste room more frequently than usual these last few days.” She could hear him sniffing at the other side of the leather privacy flap that served as doors to the various smaller chambers within the den. She wanted to groan.

  She didn’t want him to discover her pleasuring herself. She would never be able to face any of them again if they knew.

  “I am fine,” she choked out.

  “If you are certain,” he mumbled.

  “Very certain. I will be out shortly.”

  She waited until she heard him sigh and walk away. As soon as she was sure that he was no longer lingering by the door, she quickened her assault on her clit, imagining herself between the males as she was when they slept or if they were comforting her. In her imagination, however, they were licking her with their wide tongues and stroking her body with eager fingers. She tried to imagine what their cocks looked like, but the anatomy of a Ragoru wasn’t something that her mother had ever spoken of. In retrospect, it seemed like important information to leave out for a woman who wanted her daughter to find a triad.

  Although that part was indistinct in her mind, it was just enough to imagine them impaling her on thick shafts to make her blood boil. The orgasm that tightened in her belly and lower back exploded and she wasn’t able to completely hold back the moan that hissed through clenched teeth. Her legs trembled in an effort to hold her up as her hips jerked against her hand. Finally, she leaned forward, spent, her pussy clenching helplessly around air. Unfilled and unsatisfied.

  She needed more. Fuck.

  Chapter 20

  Korash’s cocks hardened relentlessly within his sheath. He’d been hard for days now, even worse since he caught the hint of Emala’s perfume drifting from the other side of the waste room. He hadn’t scented it very well, but it was richer than her usual scent and he could only deduce that she was hiding to conceal her arousal. She smelled better than any female he had scented over the revolutions. He’d caught an even stronger trace of it when she went to cleanse her hands afterward. Now he couldn’t get it out of his mind, and his body, already suffering with his oncoming heat, had been in a constant state of arousal since.

  Vordri glanced up at him from where he tinkered with several large scraps of leather. A brow arched. “You seem distressed, Korash.”

  “I think I am starting to go into heat,” he grumbled. “I constantly ache, and every day it gets harder to resist presenting myself to Emala.”

  “So then, why don’t you?” his triad brother returned reasonably.

  Korash gaped at him. “We agreed that we would wait to see where instinct leads. We are a family. I will not go satisfy myself for my own personal relief if no one else is feeling such a powerful irresistible need.”

  Vordri laughed, and even Mishar looked over at him wryly from where he dozed. Emala was in the waste room, yet again, and now all of them were pretty certain of what she was doing at least half of the time. Korash groaned but Vordri shook his head sympathetically.

  “You think we are not all feeling it? We may be handling it better, but I guarantee I’m ready to go out of my skin at any moment. I haven’t walked comfortably in days. I thought past Withering Days were bad, but having a female nearby and resisting the pull... It is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I still do not understand why I would feel this way toward a human, but at this point I am caring less and less.”

  Mishar nodded without bothering to elaborate. Both looked to him for answers. Perhaps it was time to tell them. Never before was there a need for them to know what could exist between Ragoru and humans—the whole reason their species was set on this planet with humans. It was clear that their father had not told them because he didn’t want his rogs to be tempted to approach human females at the risk of their own lives. He doubted that even that male would have anticipated these events. Korash hadn’t thought it a possibility since the destruction of the clans.

  “What did your father tell you of the northern clans when it came to humans?” he finally asked. He needed to know just how much information they had exactly.

  Mishar looked to Vordri and then responded with a flurry of movement. He was secretive. I think there were things that he didn’t wish for our mother to know. Our mother was manipulative and would go into terrible rages over the slightest perceived insult. She hated the fact that he spoke of humans as much as he did. He only told us stories of their citadels and villages, and of the jealous way the males protect a generous bounty of females, more females than even a triad of human males would ever need. As plentiful as flowers, he once described them. He said little else though, beyond talking about the way that humans lived educating us in their language.

  Vordri nodded. “Mishar is right. Even if our father wanted to tell us more, I think he was afraid of what Mother might do. Not to him specifically, but she often tormented him by doing cruel things to us and our siblings. It was her way of controlling him. He wouldn’t risk a jealous fit. He was hesitant even to speak more than vague words about the clans because she hated more than anything that he came from a place so far away and from a people so different—and I think she was afraid that he would return to the north. It was the year just before we were old enough to leave the den that he’d received word of the destruction of the clans. A family member had managed to escape and, after many cycles, tracked him to his triad’s territory. It broke something within him. He didn’t seem like the same male when we left. We wonder at times how long he survived Mother with us no longer there.”

  Korash’s heart ached with sympathy for his triad brothers, and for the male he’d never met. It wasn’t often that males strayed from the clans to form triads and mate outside of their people, but it saddened him to think of another male from their clan suffering in such a way, his rogs forcibly kept in ignorance to spare them any potential pain.

  “You know that the clans do things a little differently than other Ragoru. Even on our own homeworld, we came from a colder region where we depended on each other to survive. This is perhaps why when we were chosen to remain closer to the humans when it appeared that most of them—or at least those in control—had no desire to live peacefully with us. We were intended to blend together to save two dying species. Instead, we are still separate and we are both dying, slowly.”

  “What are you saying, we were intended to... mate with humans? It is possible?”

  Korash chuckled. “Oh yes, it is possible. We not only fit together but, because of the changes made to us, we are able to breed with humans successfully.”

  Mishar’s eyes widened. The story that Emala told, it seemed strange that you cared so much about this Jaryna and her human mates. I did not question that you might know humans. Our father knew much of humans and it seemed likely that you knew humans personally, but... Jaryna’s mates were not human, were they?

  Vordri looked at him, his gaze sharp. “Not human? What secret about Emala have you been keeping from us, Korash?”

  Korash answered Vordri’s accusatory stare with a sigh. “I did not tell you because you still were uncertain about Emala and, as far as I knew, had no interest in mating with her. I knew how Mishar felt, but I didn’t want to be disappointed at w
hat could have been if you didn’t share in our desire. Yes, Jaryna’s mates were Ragoru and they were killed by the huntsmen. It is forbidden among the humans to mate with us, and the huntsmen punish transgressions among their own as cruelly as they hunt us. Few human families dared the wrath of their people by agreeing to offer their daughters as mates. That revolution, there was an unprecedented number of females who agreed to mate with the triads that courted them, and the clans gathered to celebrate. Jaryna was already heavy with my brother’s rog. He was proud. A traitor killed the clans and every human female, save Jaryna, suffered a worse fate as an example. There are joys and risks when it comes to mating with humans, brothers. We will know great happiness like my brother did, but we will also be in danger of losing it all.”

  Vordri growled and pushed up from the pelts, dropping his work to the floor in front of him. “I trust you as our lead, but you should have told us. We deserved to know what having Emala here could mean for us instead of leaving us confused by our instincts.”

  I was not confused, Mishar offered unhelpfully. Emala was mine since I found her on the mountain. The Mother and her mates brought her to me safely from the mountain heights from which she fell. I do not question the will of the Mother. I love Emala and she loves us. It is enough for me.

  Vordri stormed out of the main room into the sleeping chamber. Korash didn’t try to stop him. His triad brother was understandably upset. He rubbed a hand through his scruff and looked at Mishar. “Are you not angry with me as well?”

  Mishar shrugged in his usual casual manner, an ear turning toward him lazily. Why would I be? I knew that there were secrets about the northern clans that father and you seemed to never speak of. I knew that there was something that wasn’t being said when Emala told her story and you knew of things pertaining to it that we did not. We did not ask questions, though. We made assumptions. Vordri is just angry at himself. He has forced himself to keep a distance between his instinct and his mind. He wants Emala but he’s been having a hard time understanding why. He will get over it.