The mornclaw spit a second before it jumped, pinchers wide. Kal swung but the bat never connected.
Merit snagged it out of midair with his bare hands, claws fully extended. He snarled and went down to his haunches like a predator ready to spring. Lip curled back, he turned toward her.
His deep amber eyes were a solid bloody red.
Merit
His females.
Blood.
That pungent stink that only came from a mornclaw nest.
Rational thought left his mind, leaving only instinct.
He scanned the area. Two adult males, not a threat. Two females, one child, and one adult. Both his. Eleven mornclaw hatchlings and one monarch.
A threat.
Claws extended, he swiped at the nearest mornclaw, grabbing the mob’s attention. He cleared the area surrounding his female, his actions a blur, cracking exoskeletons and spilling cold blood.
The tang of his mate’s blood tickled his nose. He wanted to fall to his knees and inspect every inch of her for injury, lick her clean, but not until she was safe.
They weren’t safe. The other males thinned the mob but the monarch remained, standing tall behind its little army.
“Take the kit,” he growled, using the last of his focus.
“I’ve got you,” his female said, wrapping both hands around the kit and pulling her into an embrace.
“Kalini,” she said, voice muffled as she buried her face in Kal’s hair.
Satisfied that his mate and kit were out of direct harm, he rushed toward the monarch.
It deflected his blow with a pincer, redirecting Merit’s momentum. He stumbled before regaining his footing, pivoting on his bad leg, his knee screaming in agony.
It noticed Merit favored that leg and aimed a blow to the knee. Merit dodged but now the monarch had a target. The rest of the swarm moved on him, sniping at his feet and tail.
Vile creatures. Just enough brains to be clever but it could never be more than a hungering abomination.
Merit stabbed downwards into the seam of the newly hatched mornclaws, piercing the brainpan. They shrieked and their grips tightened as they convulsed in death.
“Boss, look out!” the younger male shouted.
The monarch leaped, the full weight of it slamming into Merit. They fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, claws piercing through the thin fabric, digging into him. Pain meant nothing, fueling him.
With an enraged yell, Merit bit into the nearest leg. His fangs did not pierce the shell, but the monarch paused, as if surprised. Merit used the moment to rake his claws across the monarch’s belly. This time, he did pierce the shell, his claws catching in a joint of overlapping shell. Using his advantage, he pulled, tearing the shell away.
The monarch shrieked, legs kicking to push away. It broke free, but a shot from a pistol stunned it.
Surging to his feet, Merit grabbed the monarch just under the bulbous head, where another creature would have a neck. He pulled away the rest of the abdomen shell as the creature thrashed. His claws made short work of it. Too short. The light left its eyes too quickly.
The monarch fell, exoskeleton clattering as it hit the ground.
Merit licked the blood from his claws. Despite the foulness, he savored the taste of his enemies.
More.
He lost himself to the red bloodlust, waking sometime later to find all the mornclaw corpses pulled away and shredded.
The females.
The little one clung to the adult female, hiding her face. The adult looked him in the eye, unflinching.
He growled. He needed more, his body screaming to fight or fuck, and he would take it from this one.
His mate, the sane part of his mind whispered.
“Boss,” a voice called.
Merit turned on the younger male, growling a warning.
The male held up both hands in surrender and stepped back.
Good. This one was his mate and kit. The male would have to find his own mate.
“You okay, boss?”
The older male.
Some part of Merit’s mind recalled that the older male vowed to protect this kit and failed.
The growl worked its way up from the deepest part of his gut, more than a warning. A vow. Merit did not break his vows.
The female stepped in his path. “Merit, stop.”
She pressed her hands flat against his chest. He snapped his teeth in warning. His females weren’t safe yet. The other males had failed and had to be eliminated, only then would they be safe.
“Merit, stop. Come back to me,” the female said.
The back of her hand grazed his jaw. Instinct overrode his primal brain, and his eyes fluttered shut, allowing the touch to calm him.
“Do not. He is dangerous,” the blue male said.
Merit snarled but did not move. He liked the female’s touch slightly more than he’d like to sink his claws into the blue male’s ugly face. Slightly.
Sigald. The name came to him. The blue male was his friend.
“Kalini,” he croaked.
She smiled, blunt white teeth against her tan complexion.
He pulled them close, folding his mate and kit into an embrace. Kal’s hip bumped his knee, forcing him to shift his balance badly. The kit pushed between them, trapped between their bodies. His knee buckled and rather than fight the pain to regain his balance, he surrendered, pulling them down with him to the ground. Let the others witness a moment of weakness. He did not care. He had his mate. He had his kit safe in his arms.
Merit pressed his lips to the lobe of his mate’s ear, licking and sucking that bit of flesh. Her scent was strongest just behind her ear, and he settled his nose there, letting the sense of her overwhelm him. Ground him. Absently, he licked her skin, tasting the salt of sweat, fear, and just a hint of bitter mornclaw blood.
“We’re okay,” she said, stroking the fine hairs of his ears and letting her hand smooth a path down from his head to the guard hairs on his forearms. “We’re okay.” She repeated it as a chant until the bloodlust drained away and he came back to himself.
“We require the medic,” Sigald said.
“Who is injured?” Merit lifted his head, inspecting Kalini quickly. Gore splattered her face and torso, but she appeared intact. She leaned back, letting Clarity breathe.
Then he saw Clarity’s tail. The bleeding stump told a simple story about a mornclaw pincer removing the tip of her tail.
“Oh, my Short Tail,” he said, picking her up as if she weighed nothing. Unnaturally pale, her eyes had a glossy look that he did not like.
Shock. Blood loss. Alarming terms flew through his head. His grip tightened on her, unable to will her whole again.
A red veil crept into the edges of his vision. His head shot up, fixing Sigald with his red eyes.
“You did this,” Merit growled. He trusted the male with one of the precious few people he loved and Sigald betrayed that trust. The smiling blue fool had to pay, preferably with blood and pain.
A hand on his arm snagged attention. Kalini. “I think she’s in shock. We need to get her to the medical clinic,” his mate said.
“Yes,” he hissed, the effort to speak words almost too much. He didn’t need words. He could communicate his dissatisfaction just fine with growls and a heavy fist to Sigald’s nose.
He lurched to his feet, unbalanced and his knee protesting but he refused to let go of Clarity.
Sigald barked orders at the other male, who snapped to attention. They had a mess to clean and a crowd to manage, but Merit did not care what the other males did as long as his family remained safe.
His hand tightened into a fist. He wanted to punch the male in the face.
“I told you humans were good luck,” Sigald said, grinning.
He really wanted to punch his friend.
Chapter Sixteen
Kalini
Merit snarled the entire time Belith examined Clarity and Kal.
“If you don’t sto
“I am your boss,” he said, tail lashing behind him.
“You’re a pain in my ass right now,” the doctor said. Belith’s behavior might have shocked Kal, but she already saw the blunt end of her bedside manner. That suffer-no-fools attitude probably served her well at the Watchtower.
Belith used a wipe to clean the sole of Kal’s foot. The alcohol stung, but Kal did not dare wince or complain. Merit might lose his shit. Right now, he held it together.
Barely.
Back in the cave, though, he was a different beast. When Kal looked into his red eyes, she didn’t see her husband. Something vengeful and angry replaced him, but she did not flinch. Kal knew that if any part of the man she loved was aware inside his head, she’d break his heart if she flinched or looked away. This was what Merit warned her about, the secret he feared would drive her away from him.
She refused to give up that easily, so she held the red-eyed beast’s gaze until something that needed murdering distracted him.
He paced, tail hitting every item in the exam room. Right now, he needed a distraction.
“Merit,” she said, voice soft. His ears swiveled toward her three seconds before the rest of his head look her way. She held out her hand. “Tell me the Seven Virtues. I always wanted to ask.”
“Patience,” he said, voice thick. His eyes closed and his tail stilled. “Kindness. Humility. Justice. Fortitude. Prudence.”
Tension left his body as he recited each virtue. She had only meant to distract him, but the recitation worked as a calming device.
His eyes snapped open.
“Better?” she asked.
“I do not like it here,” he said, casting a suspicious glance at Belith.
“Can’t say I like you here either, boss,” the doctor replied. She slathered Kal’s foot in an ointment and covered it in a thin sock made of water-resistant, synthetic material. “That’s all I can do at the moment. Keep your feet covered and try to get some rest.” Turning to Kal, Belith said, “I think you need to go take care of your mate.” She raised her with not-so-subtle meaning.
“I am fine,” Merit snapped. “Attend to my kit so we can leave this stinking place.” He wrinkled his nose in distaste. The clinic smelled strongly of disinfectant and probably irritated his nose.
“Get cleaned up and change your clothes. I can keep Clarity for observation,” Belith said.
“How is she?” Kal asked.
“Better than your poor feet. Other than the tail, no major lacerations. Mornclaws can produce venom. Given the size, they were recently hatched and most likely could not produce sufficient venom, but I’d like to keep her for a few hours to be on the safe side,” Belith said.
“Those were babies? Impossible,” Kal said.
“I need to speak to Clarity, first,” he said.
The entire family had piled into a too-small exam room. Merit paced, taking up most of the room while Belith tried to patch up Kal’s feet.
Clarity stretched out on the other exam table, Dare sitting next to his sister. Her head jerked up, alarmed at his words. “I’m in trouble,” she said.
Merit stood at the foot of the bed, arms folded behind his back. Kal realized that he kept at a distance to not loom over the girl and to keep his hands hidden. He couldn’t quite retract his claws.
“You are on limited permissions,” he said. “No films. No books. No games. No going to a friend’s house. Just school and chores until you earn back those privileges.”
Clarity’s tail went limp, but she didn’t argue. Her eyes fell to the floor. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her chest heaved with sobs.
“I am upset at this stunt you pulled and disappointed you broke your word,” he said.
The girl’s bottom lip quivered. Kal fought back her urge to comfort Clarity. She needed consequences, but Merit’s words felt overly harsh. Perhaps being scared within an inch of her life was consequence enough.
“I am also proud of you.”
“What?” Clarity looked up, mouth hanging open in surprise. Her eyes glistened with tears and her nose dribbled. Kal stretched across the gap between their beds and gave her a tissue.
“You are curious and perhaps a bit too short-sighted for your own good, but we’ll work on that. You did not panic. You used your claws and climbed. You waited for help,” he said. Merit eased closer and took Clarity’s small hand. He turned over her hand, examining it. The nailbeds were red and swollen. “You are young to be able to summon your claws. Your father was much older than you.”
“He was?”
“About ten, I think. We’ll talk more when we’re home.” Merit released her hand. “I need to get clean. We can use the shower in my bunk.”
He lifted Kal off the exam table with ease, cradling her in his arms like a child.
In the hall, Sigald called out. “Is it safe to talk to him yet?”
“Yes,” Kal said the same moment Merit said no.
“You broke a vow,” Merit said.
Sigald had the good sense to look ashamed. “I’m not sure how she slipped away. One moment she was there, the next she was gone.”
“Outwitted by a kit,” Merit said.
“Did she tell you what drew her away?” Sigald asked.
“Not yet. I haven’t been in the right frame of mind to question her without frightening her,” Merit admitted.
Kal placed a hand on his chest. “You didn’t frighten her,” she said.
Merit opened his mouth to protest, but Sigald interrupted. “I think she was after this.” He held out broken shell fragments. Under the artificial lights, they had an opalescent sheen.
“For her rock collection,” Kal said, understanding at once.
“We found shells in only that tunnel, but I have a team continuing to search now,” Sigald said.
“The monarch,” Merit started and shook his head, as if to clear it. “Check to see if that cave connects to the mine. I suspect it does.”
“That explains the empty egg sacs you found in the mine,” Sigald said. The men exchanged a look, having a silent conversation.
“Explains what?” Kal asked.
“The monarch organized its clutch enough to not swarm the miners and it set a trap in the cavern,” Merit said.
“But why go through the trouble of baiting a trap when it could have swarmed the crowd?” Sigald asked.
Good point. Kal’s attention bounced between the two men as they speculated.
“The swarm was still small. They didn’t have the numbers to take on a large crowd,” Merit said.
“But they were young. The egg sac from the mines is much older. Where are those?”
“Keep searching. Use geological surveys and the older mine schematics. I suspect there’s another exit.”
“Could the first swarm have been caught in the mine collapse?” Sigald paused, brows knitting.
“Prospect found them. I’ll bet my tail on it.” Merit’s arms tightened around her.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Tell that obstinate supervisor that he’s excavating that shaft. We’re bringing my brother home, and we’ll keep digging until we account for every empty egg sac,” Merit ordered.
Sigald nodded briskly. “We’ll find Prospect, and if there’s mornclaws in the collapse, we’ll know.”
“Hey,” Kal said, snagging his attention. “Showers? And I need to take a look at your knee.” He had snarled at Belith when she suggested tending his leg and lacerations, refusing to let her get anywhere near him until she finished tending to Kal and Clarity. Belith gave her a tube of knitting gel to spread on his cuts, to seal against infection and help promote healing.
“I’m going to do more to you than just shower,” he said.
Merit
He had a private bunk in the barracks. The small room provided a place to catch a few moments of sleep when needed and a place to clean up after a long hunt.
The lights flickered on as they entered, revealing a sparsely furnished but comfortable room. A bed, a nightstand, and a footlocker were all he needed.
“Home away from home,” she said.
“This is convenient for short rests and keeping a change of clothes,” he said. Opening the footlocker, he took out a fresh set of clothes. Everything of his would be too large for Kal, but her clothes were ruined.
“Sounds perfect for a lunchtime quickie.” She sat on the bed and gave a theatrical bounce.
Merit found himself mesmerized by the motion. “Quickie?”
“You know, sneak off in the middle of the day for a quick shag.” Another bounce.
“Take off your clothes.” His cock strained at the front of his trousers. “We will shower,” he managed to say, scratching behind an ear to distract himself from his gloriously lush and bouncing mate.
“Now you’re talking.” Her filthy garments hit the floor, and now his mate sat on the edge of his bed naked and bouncing. She knew the hold she had over him. With a grin, she leaned back on her hands, chest out. “Want a quickie now?”
Yes. More than anything.
The hormones flowing through his blood compelled him to cross the short distance and fuck his mate into the bed, hard, until they were both exhausted. What he managed to say was, “Dirty.”
“I’m only a dirty bird for you, Merit, but maybe a shower is in order. You do have bug guts in your hair.”
“You want me?”
“I always want you,” she said.
“Now?”
“Especially now.”
He couldn’t believe her words. She saw him deep in the bloodlust, when his eyes went red and he lost all sense. “You’re not scared of me?”
She pushed herself off the bed, crossing the room in two steps, hips swinging dramatically as she passed him. He couldn’t tear his eyes off the undulating rhythm of her hips and the bounce in her round, ample ass.
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