He could look at her like she was crazy. He could laugh at her. It was crazy to take such a huge chance.
And yet somehow, she had never felt better.
Turning on her heel, she handed her meager basket to Miram with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Miram. I must cut our outing short today. If you could drop my things off and escort Tabby back, I would be immensely grateful.”
“Of course, dear,” Miram agreed easily as she took the basket. Her eyebrows rose as she smiled guilelessly back at Beni. “But wherever are you off to? Didn’t you say something about needing to get supplies for your preparations to depart?”
“I’m going to go get my Mintar!” Beni returned over her shoulder as she began to push into the crowd.
The older woman chuckled as she took the basket. Her voice carried over the noise of the crowd. “It will be my privilege, dear! He is likely still at the queen’s household. Just continue beyond the end of the market and follow the main path toward the canyon. You cannot miss it!”
A tight smile pulled at Beni’s lips. She definitely would not.
Almost jogging, she cleared the market in a matter of minutes. Other females heading in and out of the market waved to her and she smiled, a feeling of belonging settling over her. Along with that feeling, excitement skipped in her breast with every greeting she returned. This would be her home soon, and her imagination provided image after image of a happy, peaceful life. She could work on her writing during the evenings. She already had friends here—more than she ever had in the Citadel.
She increased her pace. She really needed to speak to Faltz. She should have made him listen last night. She didn’t want to return. She refused. He was stuck with her!
Rushing around the side of a large dome household, her eyes fastened on the white hide walls of the queen’s residence as it came into sight. Beni squeaked as an arm came up around her and a hand pressed a cloth over her face. One breath brought a strong chemical smell deep into her lungs. She choked and gagged on the potent chemical, her fingernails scrabbling over the hand on her mouth. A voice spoke behind her, the words spinning through her mind like a thick magic.
Someone was using voice against her! The world dropped sideways and spun away.
Beni swayed, her mind floating as a pair of arms swept her up. Bundled up against a chest, everything spun in a maelstrom as her captor carried her away.
Her last thought that managed to rise up above the fog filling her mind was a recognition of the fact that she, of all people, was being kidnapped.
Toad-sucking bastard.
Chapter 25
The queen was displeased. Faltz had dropped to his knees before her. Reclined on a large embroidered pillow that held the wishes of the clan for the gods to bestow their gracious blessings upon their ruler, Queen Mahini narrowed her eyes on him.
“Let me see if I understand this right. You engaged in mating under pretense to keeping her free from mating… and now you wish to return her to the humans.”
“Yes,” he admitted around the lump of emotion that threatened to close off his throat.
“Yes, you say. And you wish to take the new female Tabby as well?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Faltz jerked in protest. “My queen, I beg of you. The female Tabby will not adjust to our ways. She will not accept to be wooed by a male if she does not wish it. She wants nothing more than to return to her people and her family. I do not think any male would be healthy for long if he tried to persuade her into mating.”
Mahini held up a hand, halting his stream of words. “No. I am not speaking of that one. I have conferred with Bakin and other trusted males in the guard and have received similar observations. I have my eyes on every female who enters our clan. She may be returned home with my blessing. Beni, however… may not.”
“You must…!”
The queen surged forward from her pillow, her eyes snapping with authority as she snatched up her double-headed spear from its stand in a show of dominance. The talons of her front paws dug into the fur pelt stretched across the floor.
“You dare question my will, Faltz?”
He dropped his head in submission. “No. But I beg of you—I gave my oath to her. I promised that she would be returned home to her family.”
Mahini sighed and lowered herself to pillow once more, sympathy shining in her eyes. “You are an honorable male. Everyone in the clan knows this. Everyone also sees how much your female cleaves to you. Even if that were not the case, she has mated with you. Your bonds are obvious to all. Not one male would even think to challenge you now. I doubt you would have been challenged to begin with if it hadn’t been for ploys orchestrated by well-intentioned friends. Regardless of how it started out, I will not sanction her return unless she begs it of me herself in private audience.”
Hope snaked through his heart, though he dared not to trust it. He would escort Beni to the queen and discover the truth of the matter. Should she decide to stay… His heart leaped in his breast. He would not think on it. He would not dare to allow fickle hope to invade him. He would, however, seek her out and see to the matter immediately.
“Very well. I shall return shortly with Beni, with your leave.”
“Of course, Faltz,” Mahini replied graciously, her lips curving in a small smile. “It will be my pleasure and great honor to see a mating settled for one of my greatest and most favored hunters. So long as you don’t attempt to contest my will again.”
“Yes, Queen Mahini.”
“Once this matter is settled, you and your mate have my permission to leave the clan territory and escort Tabby home. I am sure that you can use some time away from the clan in privacy—it seems that human females appreciate such efforts, from what I have been told—a honey’s moon, I believe it is called. You shall take your time returning with your mate, and maybe, if we are fortunate, we will have a calf to greet in several turns of the moon.”
His heart thudded powerfully against his chest, and his lips pressed into a hard line as he attempted to rein in his emotions. A mate to love and the possibility of a calf seemed so farfetched, beyond anything that he had hoped for, that he nearly trembled at the image that sprung to his mind. In his mind’s eye, he saw Beni with a tiny blue or red calf clutched to her chest, nursing the greedy little one, her eyes soft upon him with warmth and love.
Swallowing a sob at the longing that filled him, Faltz stumbled back to his feet. He could feel the queen’s understanding gaze upon him as he bowed mutely. He could not find any words of respect that he might usually offer, his mind and heart so overwhelmed, but he was not surprised that she understood. She turned a fond smile upon her own mate.
“Go. Find your mate, Faltz,” she said kindly as she faced him once more.
Nodding, Faltz spun around a bit quicker than was proper, hurrying out of the queen’s dome and back into the late morning sun. Squinting up, he wagered it was almost noon. No doubt Miram would be taking the females to a shaded area within the market to enjoy a light meal. He would find Beni there.
Trotting through the crowd, he wound his way among the cluster of Mintars and humans milling about until he spotted Miram seated on the grass beside Tabby. Faltz frowned and glanced around as he neared them. Where was Beni? Did she leave the market to relieve herself? He was aware of a heavy sensation sinking into his belly.
The feeling of dread swelled when Miram greeted him with a smile, but it slipped and fell away into a look of confusion when she glanced to his side. Her words sealed his horror.
“Where is Beni?” she asked. “I wouldn’t have thought anyone would have been able to pry her from your side after this.”
“What do you mean?” he growled, his frustration mounting with the upswing of his concern. “Where is Beni?” Turning toward Tabby, he snarled vehemently. “What did you say to her?”
The female gaped at him, indignation coloring her cheeks in an expression that he had seen a time or two from his own m
ate.
“You great idiot! I didn’t say anything—though now I wished I had in light of your behavior. For your information, Miram and I were highly supportive of her decision to go and tell you that she wants to stay here with you and write her little books about the Mintars for the benefit of humans.”
His heart soared in at the news. Beni wanted him—she wanted to remain with him. She was truly his danmi, his beloved mate …And then it plummeted. Why hadn’t his mate given him the news? Where was she?
Tabby halted her tirade and paled. “But you didn’t know that. That means Beni never arrived, and we haven’t seen her for an hour or more. Oh, Blessed Mother—something has happened to her!”
Miram shook her head in disbelief. “But how? The walk is short and safe between the market and the queen’s dome. How could anything have accosted her before she reached you?”
Faltz shook his head. He didn’t understand it either. The market edge was within sight of the queen’s quarters. There were few places between the two locations where one could be caught unaware. Snorting in agitation, he wheeled around and galloped at full speed back to the edge of the market. He felt a twinge of guilt at leaving the females behind, especially when he heard Tabby’s sharp shout, but he was spurred on by his worry.
Drawing to a halt at the edge, he frowned as he looked at the cluster of prints in the dirt. Many had passed through the area, but he could still see the smudged outline of Beni’s stride. As Miram and Tabby attested, her footprints were heading in the direction of the queen’s dome. His heart tightened as he followed them. She had been coming to see him… but what happened? He noted places where she appeared to weave around the crowd and then, suddenly, they disappeared at the shadowy edge of two in a long cluster of storage domes pressed closed together.
Frowning, he paced around the domes, looking for any sign of Beni’s trail. There was a chance that maybe she ducked out of the way of the crowd. He wasn’t surprised when he failed to pick up her trail again, though his heart threatened to burst out of his chest as he tracked back and forth desperately, looking for any sign.
There was nothing, only the imprint of taloned paws sweeping back and forth over each other from the traffic of the clan. Not even a hint of his mate’s scent could be found beyond that point. She had vanished!
Dread swept over him as he struggled against each tugging wave. He couldn’t panic—not yet. Turning his attention to the crowd, he set out. Someone had to have seen her. There was no way his mate could disappear without any among the clan seeing it.
Charging among the crowd, he stopped males and females, in some cases completely blocking their way if needed, asking each individual if they had seen Beni. Most times, he was answered with solemn or angry shakes of their heads. Few had even noticed her presence, and those who had seen her said that they lost sight of her in the crowd as she headed away from the market. In the end, the answer was the same: no one had seen what had happened to her. Not a single individual provided him with new information. Instead, each negative response made him grow increasingly frantic.
Beni couldn’t have just disappeared. Someone had to have picked her up. Maybe she was returned home to wait for him? It made sense that a male who saw her wandering alone would suggest that she go home.
Grasping at the fleeting hope, Faltz rushed back through the market, pushing his way through more rudely than what was normal for him, and galloped toward his dwelling at the edge of the village.
A sound in the distance behind him caught his attention, and he turned his head just enough to catch sight of Bakin bearing Tabby and Miram on his back as he broke from the crowd. His brows winged up in surprise that the females had found a way to catch up. Bakin raced forward at a long-legged gallop, but Faltz ignored him from there. He was not concerned with whether they caught up.
All that mattered was that he found Beni.
With a low bellow, Faltz charged through the entrance of his dome. Skidding to a stop, his sides heaving with every breath he took, his heart sank, and a moan of grief broke from him as he faced the empty, undisturbed interior. There was no sign that Beni had been there since they left earlier that morning. Even her notes lay where she had left them scattered over her workspace. A shaky breath left him as he backed out, his fear tightening within him.
She was not there. No well-meaning Mintar returned her home. Someone must have stolen her away. Such a thing would not be easy to do. He dismissed the first years who had stared after her longingly. To suspect one of them was absurd. Most were lazy and would not possess either the skill or fortitude to kidnap a struggling female. His attention strayed instead to those males who would have been reasonable rivals.
Growling as rage tightened through him, his eyes narrowed on a familiar male approaching his dome. The male was not approaching from the market, but from the open fields beyond the canyon territory. The spines on his tail lifted, and Faltz bristled with aggression. He was a rival. He could have done it and hidden her out there away from the village, tucked away somewhere among the plains.
This was his enemy. This was the male who had attempted to take Beni away from him before. He stole her! Rage erupted through him as he rounded on the male, his pace picking up in a trot as he headed directly for his rival.
Eloio’s eyes widened, and the male slowed at his approach.
“Faltz? Is there something amiss?” Eloio asked as he parted from the side of a female Mintar who watched him curiously.
Faltz did not waste a moment. Bellowing his fury, Faltz threw his weight against the male, tackling him to the ground. Eloio struck the hard-packed ground, but did not go down peacefully. Instinctively, he thrashed, swiping out with his claws and tossing his horns to ward off Faltz’s blows—not entirely unsuccessfully.
“Faltz, stop!” the male beneath his claws shouted.
Rearing up, Faltz tore down with his foreclaws, just barely missing Eloio. Snarling with frustration, he attacked again.
“Faltz!” Arms suddenly wound around him, and he was wrenched away from Eloio.
Faltz attempted to throw off the male holding him back. Claws grasped his rear limbs, yanking his legs out from beneath him. Bakin’s weight dropped over his haunches, pinning him down as he twisted and roared with rage.
“Get off me, Bakin! Allow me settle my grievance with this deceitful male!”
“What are you talking about?” his friend hissed, but he ignored him
Swinging his head around, Faltz growled at his rival, his full attention only for him. “What have you done with my mate? Take me to her at once!”
Eloio balked and scrambled to his feet. “I do not have Beni.”
“Do not speak her name!” Faltz raged as he attempted to once more to pull himself out from under Bakin. He nearly succeeded, but the other male used his leverage to keep Faltz contained.
“I do not know what you are talking about. I have no interest in your mate, nor was I anywhere near her all day. Visha and I were in the fields enjoying each other’s pleasures away from the high activity of the market.”
Faltz barked out a humorless laugh. “You are telling me that you have set aside and forgotten your interest in Beni so soon?”
Eloio huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes. “Enough of this. Bakin, Miram, this has gone too far.” Leaning forward, he looked Faltz in the eye and spoke quietly. “Miram and Bakin swore me to secrecy, but they set up everything. They saw the compatibility between you and your human, and they knew that you would not secure her to you without some kind of nudge to tighten your bond. I was to play a role only, out of admiration for you. That is the only reason. I have been courting Visha for three lunar cycles. Today she has finally agreed to be my mate. Trust me when I say that I had no true designs on your mate and took my ‘ass-whipping,’ as Miram called it, graciously for you.”
The queen’s words regarding Miram and Bakin became clear in his mind.
Faltz’s eyes snapped over to Visha, who nodded in confirmation.
“What he says is true. I was very… angry… when he challenged you for your human. And I thought some very unkind things about her in result. It was not until he informed me of everything that I understood. Although I do not approve of the trickery, their hearts were in the right place.”
Lying there beneath his friend’s weight, he let out a slow, steadying breath. “Get off me, Bakin.”
“You are not going to attack me, are you?”
“Not at the moment, although the idea has its merits.”
“Good enough, I suppose,” Bakin said as he dropped away from where he was braced over him.
Pushing up to his feet, Faltz glared at his friend. Bakin backed away to a safe distance, but crossed his arms over his chest.
“If you are expecting an apology, you are not going to get one. You have been a miserable male for far too many annums. I regret nothing.”
Miram elbowed the male as she pushed her way forward, Tabby trailing at her side. “I am a little sorry,” she offered reluctantly, “but only insomuch as we allowed things to progress this far. When I saw how you reacted to Beni and Bakin told me about how possessive you had been of her in the camp, I had to act. I knew you needed a little push. I just didn’t foresee things blowing up quite like this,” she said.
Closing his eyes, Faltz breathed through his tumult of emotions. He wanted to be angry at the deception, but could not fault the results. Beni wanted to stay with him. He had a true mate. A female of his heart who he wanted and loved above all others. He would thank them when he no longer wished to strangle them. For now, however, he was too worried for her fate to be able to celebrate a future at her side.
“What is the meaning of all of this fighting?” a cool voice broke in.
Faltz spun around where he stood between Eloio and Bakin, and all three of them bowed low before Queen Mahini. Her shrewd gaze slid along them.
Librarian and the Beast: A Mintar Romance Page 16
