Tribe Protector

by Stacy Jones

  Drrak hadn’t thought far enough ahead to realize he would have to carry her. He wasn’t at all sure his control was strong enough to have her wrapped around him, her small body pressed so close, her scent in his nose.

  Her mouth near enough to press to his .

  He knew the pleasure of those mouth presses and wasn't completely sure he could concentrate on getting them to their destination without falling to temptation to have another taste and hiding away somewhere with her.

  Her expression began to shift from excited to confused as he just stood there like someone had knocked him over the head and left him senseless.

  Thankfully, he snapped out of his panicked stupor when she began to lower her arms. Lurching forward, he reached out to pick her up but ended up hovering his hands over her, unsure where to put them so he wouldn’t hurt her.

  He’d always felt overlarge when around other people but never so much as just then. He was too big, too rough, and too wild.

  How had he ever thought he would make a good mate for her?

  He started to step back. His insecurities roared at him to retreat before he did something wrong and ruined any small chance he had with her, but she smiled at him softly in what he thought was understanding and reached out to grip his wrists .

  Not wanting to pull her off balance, he froze again, one foot still lifted to step back.

  Guiding his hands, she placed his lower pair on her hips, then his upper just under her mounds. Going up on tiptoe she set her hands on his shoulders and pulled.

  Very carefully tightening his grip, he lifted her ever so slowly and brought her to his chest, his heart pounding so hard it thundered in his ears.

  His breath hitched when she wrapped her legs around him and hooked her arms around his neck, before releasing in a deep, fast rumble. At her slight weight on his chest, his anxiety was silenced as if it had never existed. All that was left was an absolute need to keep her close, and the certainty that he would do whatever was necessary to become hers.

  Drrak was suddenly very thankful he’d followed his impulse to keep his mating Gifts on his person. He had the light rocks she’d seemed to like and a few other items hidden in the pouches tied to his vine. He decided he would take the opportunity he’d been provided and give them to her that day. If she accepted his Gifts, he could Present.

  To think he might no longer be an Unchosen, unwanted male by the end of the day was both terrifying and thrilling.

  He felt wholly unprepared for such a monumental step, had no idea as to what would be expected of him, aside from the obvious: protecting and caring for her and any younglings she might have.

  And mating.

  Drrak especially didn’t know what to expect when it came to mating. He occasionally witnessed Pashas mounting their males, but he’d spent as little time around the tribe as possible so hadn’t seen as much as others. Besides, Leelee was so very different to females of his kind.

  Did she mate differently?

  He had heard his brothers pleasing her, but they had been with her for almost a full season. What if he couldn’t give her pleasure? Would she keep him if he failed her?

  His thoughts spun around and around in an ever increasing cycle of doubt and uncertainty as he stared at her beautiful face so close to his.

  Tor watched Lily and Drrak from behind the branches above them, his face screwed up in confusion.

  “Why is he just standing there? Arruk, your twin has lost his senses!” Tor informed Arruk beside him.

  “He will move soon. I am sure of it,” Arruk replied, sounding both slightly defensive and not nearly as sure as he claimed.

  “I should throw something at him. Yes. That would help,” Tor decided, glancing around for a loose stick to hurl at the scarred male’s head.

  “Do not! You could hit Lily,” Frrar chided, giving him a disapproving look.

  “We have to do something. He looks like a tree! A senseless tree! She is going to think he is no smarter than a frrtlk and then she will definitely not Choose him,” Tor fretted.

  He glared at the back of Drrak’s head, trying to make him move by force of will alone.

  “Drrak ! Do something !” Tor whisper-yelled, hoping Drrak would hear him while counting on Lily’s tiny ears not being able pick up the sound.

  They all saw the scarred male twitch, his ears swiveling back to point at their hiding place at the same time that Lily reached one of her hands up to cup his cheek.

  Tor couldn’t quite make out her softly spoken words, but he could see her pouty pink lips moving and sighed with relief when Drrak nodded and began moving.

  “Finally ,” Tor muttered, rolling his eyes.

  They all heard Drrak call out to the pantari kit and glanced at the forest floor to see Trrak come running. Tor liked the silly animal, but he wasn’t sure he would ever get used to seeing a pantari, kit or not, entering freely into tribe territory without being set upon by the female warriors.

  He saw a few shevari males, still distrustful of the kit, leap into the branches to avoid him as he ran past. Tor imagined their reactions when Trrak was fully grown, still bounding around like a kit but taller than even Arruk and Drrak at the shoulders, and snickered at the image .

  Glancing up again, he caught Drrak beginning to swing off with Lily clasped tightly to his chest, moving slower than Tor had ever seen him move.

  Watching the previously fearless male, who swung, dropped, and climbed trees with more daring than anyone else, was highly amusing, but Tor greatly approved of his caution.

  Tor, Frrar, and Arruk waited until the couple was far enough ahead that Lily wouldn’t see them trailing behind before following, keeping a bit of distance between them but always close enough to come to their aid should anything happen.

  L ily breathed deeply as she clung to Drrak, taking the time to enjoy the sounds, sights, and smells of the forest for the first time in what seemed like weeks. It was easy to forget the beauty that surrounded her when she was focused on first her anxiety about meeting the tribe, then the encroaching danger, and the mad rush to set up defenses.

  She felt guilty for leaving. Even with the traps complete she knew there was still work to be done, but she needed wood for a bow and nobody else would know how to test the different trees to make sure one would work. Hell, she wasn’t all that confident in her own abilities to do so, having never made one by hand.

  She’d been practicing archery since she was nine. Grams had wanted to give her an outlet for all the anger she carried over her father’s abandonment and her sorrow over her mother’s death. She’d picked up on it quickly and had continued to practice up until Grams died, and all her time was spent trying to keep the farm afloat.

  Here’s to hoping I haven’t forgotten everything and don't accidentally shoot myself in the foot.

  Lily planned to make as many bows as possible in the hopes that she could train at least a few people to use them—although she wasn’t counting on much success considering she had no way of knowing how much time they might have to practice before the intruders stopped playing with them and attacked, if they were even going to.

  The not knowing was hell on her nerves, but there was nothing more to do but prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

  Lily was also excited about Drrak’s mention of her getting markings. She assumed he was talking about some kind of plant dye or maybe mud they could use to paint her skin instead of actual, permanent camouflage.

  While she wouldn’t necessarily mind having more permanent markings, she didn’t think the shevari people knew about tattoos, and even if they did she wasn’t going to volunteer to receive them, not when there was no way to sanitize anything in the wild.

  The last thing she wanted was to get an infection.

  There was no pharmacy to go to, and though she knew the tribe had healers, there was no guarantee anything they had, aside from the pain reliever fruit, would work on a human.

  Best not to test it .

  T
hey traveled for maybe half an hour. They’d already been working on the farthest edge of the border, so they’d passed all three perimeters of defenses by the time Drrak slowed his swinging and landed on a branch.

  Lily was nervous to be outside of protected territory, but she trusted Drrak, and aside from that, she knew her guys wouldn’t have let her go off if they didn’t think she’d be safe.

  Instead of setting her on her feet as her guys usually did when they stopped, he kept his arms wrapped securely around her while he leaned to the side to look at the ground, she assumed to watch for Trrak who had been doing a pretty good job of keeping pace below them, dodging the pits without incident since he’d been present for the making of each one.

  She wasn’t complaining about the continued closeness with Drrak. She enjoyed being in his arms. He was so big, so strong, and he made her feel just as safe as Tor, Frrar, and Arruk.

  They hadn’t been able to spend much, if any, alone time together, and she regretted that. Him sleeping in their hut didn’t count since they were all almost delirious with exhaustion by the time they got home and usually only managed to eat a quick dinner before falling asleep.

  Maybe we can take just a little extra time while we’re out here to spend more time together before we have to go back. And kiss some more.

  Trrak appeared at the base of the tree, his black tongue hanging out the side of his too-wide, fang-filled mouth as he stared up at them, panting happily as if he’d thoroughly enjoyed the chance to stretch his six legs and explore a bit of the forest.

  Drrak called out a command down to the cub, a word she thought meant search . Lily watched in surprise as he let out a happy warble and took off, his nose to the ground as he sniffed in an ever-widening circle around their tree before the thick foliage eventually swallowed him.

  She had no idea Drrak had been training the cub when she wasn’t at his nest, but when she thought about it she realized it shouldn’t surprise her. Still, Lily was both shocked and impressed with how quickly he’d managed to teach him such a complex command.

  “Kur kavarr ?” Lily whispered, asking how he’d taught the cub.

  She saw his scarred lips twitch into a smirk, as if the question, or perhaps the answer, amused him.

  Turning to look at her, their faces intimately close, she felt him brush her thigh as he dug in one of his pouches then he held up his upper right hand, showing the various bites, scratches, and marks decorating it. She didn’t even notice the chunk of Nutella melon pinched between his long fingers at first.

  “Aaras sehr sharak ,” he whispered back, his voice deep as thunder as he told her everyone liked the fruit.

  Choking out a quiet laugh, Lily nodded in agreement, blinking repeatedly before forcing herself to turn back to stare at the ground, trying to suppress her sudden flush of arousal.

  Being held against him, staring into his piercing blue-green eyes, feeling the vibration of his deep voice against her front, and seeing that unintentionally sexy smile on his full lips was more than she was capable of resisting, and now wasn’t the time or the place to give in to those urges.

  No guarantees about later though, when I know we’re reasonably safe.

  Thinking back to the training to distract herself, she was sure it was more than the power of chocolate that allowed him to teach Trrak so quickly. Unfortunately, she didn’t know the right words to compliment him on his affinity with animals and wasn’t sure she could handle hearing more of his irresistible voice at the moment .

  She and everyone else had been anxious, tired, on edge, and a million other things, but she was still accustomed to having regular sex and the lack the last few days was not doing her restraint any favors. Though, being honest, she always had trouble keeping her libido in check around Drrak.

  When Trrak came back a few minutes later, she felt Drrak’s muscles relax and assumed that meant all was clear.

  He tightened his grip on her and stepped off the branch, dropping the ten feet to the ground and landing gracefully in a smooth crouch. Only then did he let her go, setting her gently on her feet before rising to his full height until he towered over her.

  Well. That was sexy as hell.

  He took her from one kind of tree to another, watching their surroundings while she bent limbs, looking for one with the right amount of give and support. When she found one she thought would work, she tapped him on the back, pointing to it to signal she’d found what she wanted.

  Lily was acutely aware of the fact they were on the ground and was trying to be careful of how much unnecessary noise she made. She trusted Drrak to hear danger before it was upon them and knew Trrak was nearby, circling them and acting as the lookout, but there was no reason to invite trouble when charades worked just fine.

  He nodded and pulled one of his big stone knives from his vine strap, then set to quietly hacking at the limbs she pointed out.

  Lily eyed him as she pulled her own knife free of its sheath, wondering for a moment if he would try to insist he do the work but, of course, he didn’t. Why that thought had entered her mind, when her guys rarely, if ever, treated her like she wasn’t capable of everything they were, she didn’t know.

  She felt like she knew Drrak better than that, but she was feeling nervous just then, like she was on a date, and his gruff appearance brought to mind some of the overbearingly assertive manly men she’d occasionally dated in the past.

  Never judge a book by its cover… or an alien by his scars and scowl .

  She smiled at him in approval. Feeling the weight of her gaze, he glanced over at her. His eyes widened in confusion, before he glanced around as if searching for what was making her happy. He clearly didn’t understand why she looked so pleased with him, but he returned her smile with a charmingly lopsided one of his own.

  It hit her again that their outing felt strangely like a date, and Lily could feel herself looking for flaws and strengths in his personality and behavior, just like she would’ve on a date with a man back on Earth.

  That thought process, more than their time on his nest, her intense attraction to him, or even the trust she felt, let her know she was seriously considering following where her heart was leading her. The instantaneous and life-long way they went about choosing their spouses was still more than a little unnerving, even after going through that exact thing with her guys—a choice she’d never regretted, despite being admittedly accidental.

  Aside from that, she was still having a hell of a time coming to terms with the thought of adding a husband to her group of husbands, regardless of said husbands’ obvious approval and, in Frrar’s case, thinly veiled insistence.

  I still need to corner Mr. Bossy Pants about that crap.

  They worked in comfortable silence while Lily occasionally peeked at him, admiring both his quiet concentration on the task and his impressive display of strength as he cut the thick limbs off with enviable ease.

  Before too long they had enough wood to make at least a dozen bows.

  Hopefully I can manage to make at least one usable bow out of all that.

  After pulling a length of vine off a nearby tree, Drrak bundled and tied the limbs together then swung them onto his back before holding his arms out to her.

  Lily got the sudden impression he was nervous where before he’d been alert but relaxed.

  Cocking her head, she narrowed her eyes as she closed the distance between them. She left her question unasked but knew he’d picked up on it when he bit his lower lip, his fangs showing, and his eyes darted away in a suspicious, if adorable, display of what she thought was shyness.

  What have you got planned, my oversized wildling ?

  Oddly, she didn’t feel the need to press him to spill his secrets, despite her usual dislike of surprises, which was another clear sign of just how much she trusted him. Instead she smiled, enjoying seeing him squirm a little, and lifted her arms so he could pick her up.

  Once she was held securely, he directed a quiet hoot off to their le
ft, answered immediately by a trilling howl and the sound of quiet rustling before Trrak broke through the bushes beside them and came to a stop at Drrak’s feet.

  Drrak held out a chunk of chocolate melon in reward, narrowly missing Trrak’s sharp teeth as the cub snapped it up, explaining why Drrak’s poor hand was so beat up.

  Shaking his head ruefully, Drrak grumbled and glanced above them before leaping to catch a low limb with his upper hands, pulling both of them into the tree with the kind of ease even the strongest gymnasts weren’t capable of.

  They only traveled for maybe ten minutes, the position of the sun telling her it was barely lunch time, before Drrak stopped. They repeated the process of going to the ground, but this time he didn’t set her down at all, even when Trrak signaled the all clear.

  She realized why when he took a few steps and came to a stop at the edge of a drop-off.

  Lily leaned back slightly, keeping her arms securely around Drrak’s neck and her legs locked tight around his hips, as she peeked over the edge. Her heart jumped into her throat at the sight of the gorge below, the bottom too deep to see, before she saw what she thought was their destination, thankfully much closer to the top.

  The drop-off was steep at first, but she could see that someone had carved out a rough path leading down to what looked like a sizeable platform maybe thirty feet below. But still far enough down that she wasn’t looking forward to the climb.

  There were shards of rock, the same black and gold as the knives everyone carried, littering the ground on the shelf, telling her this was where they mined it.

  “I wondered where y’all got the stone! It couldn’t have been from the mountain, that’s too far away. And too dangerous to travel to anytime y’all need to restock,” she added, vividly remembering her terror the first time they’d crossed the field while being chased by pantari.

  Drrak, when she leaned back up, was staring at her, the skin over his brow bone furrowed. Realizing she’d spoken in English, she waved her hand, dismissing it since she didn’t know the words for stone or mountain.