“It does.”
“Do you think your family would offer up food to us? The hunt yesterday was slim, and I do not wish for the female to wake hungry.”
Kyx glanced away in an attempt to hide his guilt. He should have thought to offer rather than wait for Rager’s request. He knew this side of the territory was lean. His fathers accomplished the majority of their hunt on the far eastern side of their land, where the broad-horned bison migrated through. The autumn hunts were always flush with plenty. If he hadn’t been obsessing over the dangers of the Citadel as they drew closer, he would have done better.
“Yes, they would be happy to offer. My mind has been occupied and I didn’t think. This side of our territory never has much in the way of game, but they always bring in plenty from their hunting grounds. I can leave now and find my fathers easily before they go about their daily tasks.”
Rager inclined his head. Interpreting that as permission, Kyx slid away from Arie, making certain to tuck the furs more carefully around her in his absence. He stilled, enraptured, as he watched the easy rise and fall of breast as she slept. His heart hammered in his chest and he slowly pulled his hand away and stood. The pale eyes of his lead observed him in silence as he made his way to the cavern entrance and dug out the flap sealing it.
The first thing he was aware of was the sting of the cold morning air. The trees wore a white mantle of frost and his breath crystallized in the air as it escaped his body. Although his fur kept the worst of the chill out, the first touch of winter hastened him on his way. As cold as it was, he needed more provisions than what they had to keep Arie comfortable.
Memories from his time as a rog swamped him as he traced the familiar route home. When he saw the dark silhouette of his lead father, excitement boiled up in him and let out a loud howling greeting. The male turned quickly, froze and then made his way to him with all speed, sweeping Kyx into a tight hug in his massive arms when they collided. Within minutes, his other fathers converged on him with excitement. Although graying around their chest, face, and scruff, his fathers looked as powerful as he recalled. Hands rubbed his head and ears, and muzzles nuzzled him affectionately before he was pulled bodily into the hidden entrance of the den.
From a soft pile of furs in front of the hearth, his mother lifted her dark head, her green eyes widening in surprise before she sprung to her feet. Her mane was threaded with silver, and small lines bracketed her eyes and mouth, reminding him of how long he’d been gone—and yet it was like nothing had changed. Her single pair of pale arms drew his face down to rest against her shoulder as she hugged him close to her before pulling back to look him over.
“Kyx, we weren’t expecting you. Where are your triad brothers? Did you find a mate yet?”
“Emala, let our son breathe,” his lead father, Korash, said with a chuckle as he pulled his mate gently away. His brow furrowed and ears tilted forward in a puzzled fashion. “Where are your brothers and mate?”
“Is your mate whelping?” his mother asked in a rush of excitement. His eyes widened as he realized his mother was rushing headlong into the wrong conclusions.
“No, no, I don’t have a mate… I don’t think I do, anyway,” he said. He still felt confused on the whole mating business. He knew he wanted Arie to be their mate but hadn’t the first clue how to go about it. Females always initiated mating by formally accepting her triad of choice.
Vordri and Mishar, his other fathers, identical in every way except their coloring, exchanged a look and chuckled.
“Kyx, if you aren’t sure, maybe you are mating wrong,” Vordri commented wryly. “You must have watched Korash too much as a rog.”
His lead father glared at his brothers and snorted.
Emala rolled her eyes at her males and beamed at her son. “You have attracted the attention of a female then, and are just waiting for the choosing?”
“Not exactly,” he said.
Now it was his mother’s turn to look perplexed. “Kyx, I don’t understand.”
He flattened his ears nervously. His mother had never wanted him to go anywhere near humans. She had stressed that many humans were cruel, and she didn’t want him to risk forming attachments to anyone of her species.
“Mother, she is human,” he blurted out. “We found her alone in the woods. I want her to be my mate, but she doesn’t know the way of Ragoru mating and I don’t know how to go about approaching her.”
His mother paled and swayed slightly on her feet in shock. With rapid reflexes, Korash and Mishar, grabbed her at the same time to steady their mate. Her mouth opened and she shook her head in denial.
“Kyx, why? You are a fine male. There is no reason you couldn’t get a good Ragoru female.”
“There is one reason,” he said. “My lead is darker than even Father Korash. Every female we met during the summer season rejected him on sight.”
Emala lowered herself back unto the furs and looked at him helplessly. “Why would you align yourself to a triad such as that.? You know I love your father, but you also know—they’ve told you—how difficult it is. With your coloring you could have been accepted in some of the finest, strongest triads.”
Kyx rubbed a hand over his face with a sigh. He’d dreaded this conversation for revolutions, ever since he joined with Warol and Rager. His mother wouldn’t understand his choice when she’d always been pleased to tell him how his fine features would help him find a comfortable life far easier than any of the other young that she bore. A look of disappointment pulled the corners of her mouth down. He looked helplessly at his fathers, but they left the matter for him to repair. They’d tried to warn him what she’d expected of him. Finally, he settled beside and wrapped all four of his arms loosely around her small frame as he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Mother, I chose my triad because they are good males. You always said that my heart would know best, and it did. Same with Arie. I know you don’t trust other humans, and I know that is not what you wanted for me, but Mother, she is good and kind. I want her like I’ve never wanted anything else. She is far better than any Ragoru female I’ve met.”
She drew in a shaky breath and smiled thinly at him. “I won’t pretend to understand, Kyx. What do you need, son?”
“Our triad’s second, Warol, became injured and we have been in one of my favorite caves of my youth on the western edge of our territory. There is little game there, as you know. I need some meat to take back, more furs, and provisions so that we can rest comfortably for a few more days until we are ready to move on.”
“And this human? Tell me of her.”
It took longer than he liked, especially since she or one of his fathers interrupted with questions, but he told everything from the moment that they met her until their arrival there. His mother’s expression didn’t change much, but it gradually thawed and looked a bit less hostile to his relationship with the human female. But she still made it clear that she did not approve.
“I suppose there’s nothing to be done for it now,” she said. His heart dropped and he watched her as she stood and began to gather up furs from a spare storage chest that Vordri had painstakingly crafted for her.
“Mishar, check our food stores and bring what they’ll need. I’m going to go into the pantry and get some of the harvest I’ve prepared.”
All three males grimaced with their mate’s back turned to them. Ragoru mostly ate meat, sometimes supplemented with fruit. None of them cared much for the foods his mother insisted on preparing. Not even Kyx could stomach it, yet he wished he’d paid better attention. Perhaps knowing such things would make it easier to woo Arie if he had a way of letting her know she could have a comfortable life with their triad. That was, of course, if Rager and Warol would accept her as such. Neither male had given him any indication that they thought of her that way, their late-night activities excluded.
With his mother absent from the room, he turned to Korash. His father was busying himself binding up the bundle of furs for
easier transportation but spared him a glance and sighed.
“Kyx, you always managed to find trouble even as a rog. Would it have been too difficult to at least try to follow the path your mother wished for you?”
“I thought she wanted me happy.”
Korash set the bundle down at his feet and frowned.
“She does want you to be happy. She suffered much among the humans before my triad found her and took her within our embrace. She didn’t want you to be trapped with anyone like those who’d abused her.”
“You believe Mother is exceptional among humans, though, right? Would you trade her for a female Ragoru if one came to your door?”
His father stiffened, anger hardening his face. “Of course not. Do not even insinuate that any female is better than your mother.”
“Then do not suggest that any female is better for me than mine,” he growled. Something like recognition lit in his father’s eyes and the male let out a deep breath and laughed.
“You are right, Kyx. None of us can judge.”
“You found Mother abused and cast aside, and I tell you that Arie suffered similarly. Perhaps not the same hardships, but those would have soon come if we hadn’t found her. Knowing her as I do now, I wouldn’t surrender her for anything.”
“You really feel so strongly?” his mother’s soft voice came to him from the other side of the room.
He turned and saw her standing at the entrance to the pantry, her knuckles white where she gripped the bag of provisions. He nodded solemnly.
“Yes, Mother.”
She shook her head. “You have really grown up. Very well. I withhold my judgment until I meet her.”
“You can’t mean to leave our den,” Vordri said. “What of the rogs?”
“Rogs? You have whelped again, Mother? Do my fathers never let you rest?”
His mother swatted at him. “Hush. You have a brother who has aged fourteen revolutions, and a sister who has aged nine. Trust me, they are the last rogs I’m bringing into this world. I will just have to look forward to yours,” she said with a wry smile.
“And they need you to be here with them,” Vordri said.
“They will be just fine with Mishar. We won’t be gone long,” his mother informed her mate, her narrowed gaze uncompromising. “I’m going to meet our son’s triad brothers and the female he is so keen on gaining for them, and that is that.”
15
Arie stared in shock at the human woman in front of her. She had no idea it was even possible for Ragoru and humans to mate and reproduce, and yet there was living proof in front of her in the form of the severe woman Kyx introduced as his mother. From the gasps of surprise from Rager and Warol, she figured they hadn’t known either. Emala had strode in wearing a dress of soft, beautifully dyed leather, her thick hair combed up into several intricate braids that fell down to her waist from her crown. Arie felt small, pale, and insignificant compared to the older woman of regal bearing.
Emala hadn’t so much as cracked a smile when she was introduced, not even when meeting her son’s triad brothers. If anything, when she was introduced to them, she looked… not angry, but disappointed. Despite their surprise, both males had recovered quickly and treated her with respect, inclining their head and addressing her as “honored mother.”
Although she politely greeted both males, it seemed to Arie that she wasn’t happy to meet either of them—that she had expected more. She didn’t overtly snub them, but she frowned as she was introduced to them and said little other than observing that Rager was dark as pitch. Both males had shrunk back beneath her penetrating maternal disapproval and sank into silence.
Although clearly disheartened by Emala’s rejection, Rager and Warol’s initial surprise morphed into apathy and then irritation the longer she was there in the cave with them. This was especially the case when Arie was introduced. Kyx’s mother’s eyes landed on her with obvious hostility. Emala stiffly inclined her head when they were introduced, ignoring the hand Arie extended out of habit when meeting another human.
Embarrassed, Arie tucked her hand beneath the fold of her skirt as critical green eyes swept over her. She knew Kyx had gone to his family for provisions but now she wished she had foreknowledge that it was going to be like this, and that she had been awake to object. If she had a choice between going hungry for a few days or this uncomfortable encounter, she would have chosen the former. Especially given the cool reception that she gave her son’s triad brothers. Arie ground her teeth together, her heart going out to them. Kyx’s mother was the only mother their triad was likely to have, since Rager and Warol’s families were deceased, and the woman couldn’t even warmly welcome them.
Emala sniffed and narrowed her eyes at Arie. “So, you are the human my son has been spending so much time with.”
“I don’t see any other humans around,” Arie said, immediately regretting it when the other woman’s stare turned positively glacial.
“Yes, indeed. I will come right out and tell you that I’d have hoped that if he had to be with a human, it would have been a woman more,” she rolled her hand as if searching for a word before landing on her desired adjective, “deserving.”
Arie froze, her face heating with anger and humiliation.
“Mother,” Kyx growled in objection, a look of shame and horror tightening his expression. Even the males who he’d introduced as his fathers looked shocked at the vehemence coming from their mate.
Rager and Warol rumbled low in their throats from a respectful distance away. Rager narrowed his eyes at their third.
“Kyx.”
The single word was very much a warning of the lead’s barely restrained temper. Arie felt a rush of warmth in her chest that they were standing up for her. She knew it couldn’t be easy on any of them, but especially not Kyx, who’d slid up to her side, his entire body nearly vibrating with tension. His fathers who’d accompanied them shifted uncertainly. They bristled a bit at the growl directed toward their mate but didn’t seem settled on how to feel about the situation they were presented with.
“Emala!” a large male introduced as Korash protested, his golden eyes widening at his mate. His size was near that of Rager, but unlike the latter male, Kyx’s father had white suede down his belly. Both of his ears were also white as were his hocks and paws, even his fingers on all four hands were tipped with white. His ears were flattened with discomfort, and he looked just as taken aback as his son.
“And what would you consider more deserving?” Arie asked, ignoring her internal voice that screamed for her to be silent.
Emala’s lips twisted into a cool smile. “Let’s just say… not you.”
Arie felt her face further flood with heat and she pushed aside Kyx’s attempt to restrain her as she stepped up to the other woman. She’d spent her entire life listening to people talk about her as if she were nothing, and she’d be damned if she was going to listen to it from a woman she just met.
“Emala, respectfully, I would ask what you find so objectionable about me, but allow me to just as honest with you when I say that frankly I do not care. I have done no harm to you or your son. He offered me friendship when I had no one in the world just hours after I’d been driven from my home. This was just days after my mother’s releasing to the next world. I am thankful to Kyx and consider all three of them a gift from the gods in my time of need, but I do not require your approval to lead a satisfying life. I have spent my life hiding away, afraid, letting people treat me as if I was nothing better than dirt beneath their shoe. I allowed it then, but I will not accept it anymore. Especially not from a person who knows nothing about me.”
Arie stepped back away from Emala and turned away, seeking comfort in Warol’s arms as he stepped up to encompass her in his embrace. His body was stiff as he glared at the older female. She knew he looked aggressive and unapproachable to anyone who didn’t know him, but all Arie saw in him was a refuge. She thought she might have seen a flash of regret in Emala’s eyes
, but she buried her face in Warol’s fur and shut out Kyx’s family.
She recognized that she never even had a chance.
She leaned her weight into Warol’s body, wishing that she could disappear when she felt the male stiffen moments before a small hand touched her shoulder.
“Do not,” Warol growled in warning to the offender.
Arie turned and found herself face to face with Emala. The hand gently squeezed, and Emala’s lips tilted up in a small, uncertain smile, breaking the chilly façade. Arie glanced down at the hand, her impulse to push it away. Rager and Warol must have seen something of what Arie was feeling because suddenly they were pushing their large bodies between them, their eyes narrowed with anger.
Hand dropping away, Kyx’s mother retreated and looked away with an air of guilt mingling with sorrow. Arie wasn’t sure what to make of it. Emala had made her feelings quite clear. Arie couldn’t imagine what the problem was now.
“Emala, this is not at all like you,” a golden male, Vordri, said quietly, his yellow eyes darting between his mate and the males standing protectively in front of Arie. She was only able to see the exchange due to a gap between Warol and Rager’s bodies. Kyx settled once more at her side and she felt his muzzle dip against her neck in a show of solidarity. Emala’s eyes widened, and to Arie’s surprise the other woman’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. A long moment passed before the older woman took a deep breath and spoke, a small tremor in her voice.
“You are right, Vordri. My apologies—to all of you. I did not come here intending for this. None of you deserved my reaction. Arie, I came here determined to meet you against the wishes of my mates, and I didn’t even attempt to give you a chance. I am… ashamed. That is not the sort of person I ever expected myself to be, not after all I suffered at the hands of my own family. Kyx brought you to me as if you were a member of his family and I lost sight of that in my need to protect my son. Please, forgive me.”
Arie searched the other woman’s face and saw nothing but genuine remorse. She relaxed little by little, but her guard remained up. Still, she felt inclined to attempt to rectify things with the other woman.
Red: A Dystopian World Alien Romance Page 12