Giving up attempting to soothe me after his third try almost sent a claw in my eye, he let his hand fall away heavily, plopping to his side. I took his hand, picking it back up, bringing it to my chest as his fingers curled around mine automatically, and hugged it to me.
Making a noise in his throat that drew Zhuii’s attention, Tokre lifted his free hand to make gestures with it at the orange-eyed beast.
Zhuii, glancing between us, his brow beetling, gave an almost imperceptible nod. Tokre’s eyes closed then, and with a couple of pain-filled grunts he was soon out again.
With a hiss and a sigh as Zhuii prodded a particularly nasty looking gash, and possibly cracked rib, Tokre sucked in a sharp breath before passing out completely.
“Stay awake,” I whispered, giving his hand a little shake, “please.”
“Need sleep.”
A fur draped over my shoulders and I glanced up, hiccupping. God, those furry bastards moved too fucking fast.
“Tokre no die, Rosie-lindy. Tokre just... resting. No bad. ‘Sokay. Rosie see.”
Why didn’t I believe him? Why did I want to scream at him to fix Tokre NOW! Or suffer my wrath!?
“Tokre be fine. He sleeps,” Zhuii stressed, while I stared down at my mate uncomprehendingly. “No raff from Rosie-lindy needed,” he tacked on with short quirk of his lips when my head whipped towards him. Crap, I’d been talking aloud. He’d heard me.
You know what, who fucking cares?! I railed.
Tokre was passed the fuck out, was what he was, and I’d never cussed so much aloud or in my god damned head ever in my life. Taking a deep breath, I forced an ounce of calm to wash over me, enough to state aloud, for no particular reason than I desperately needed it to be said, “He’s lost a lot of blood.”
Zhuii, without completely invading my personal space, gave my shoulders a quick squeeze before letting go and getting back to work. “Tokre strong, like Zhuii. Tokre be okay. This fine. Zhuii see worse.”
“And... and if he isn’t?” Huddling beneath the fur, I sniffled, forcing back more tears.
Zhuii didn’t look up as he answered. “Tokre ask Zhuii look after Rosie-lindy for Tokre. Zhuii good watcher. Zhuii...” Zhuii’s voice caught on what I took as a mighty possessive sounding growl, but he cleared his throat. “Zhuii make good mate.” Smoothing out his expression, he grumbled gruffly, focusing on his hands as he worked. “But Tokre no die, and Rosie-lindy see Zhuii good mate, protect Rosie-lindy for Tokre, and Rosie-lindy keep Zhuii anyway.” Zhuii’s lips curved up. “Zhuii good second mate.”
My eyes were trained on Zhuii as he spoke, one hand clutching the pelt draped over me, the other gripping Tokre’s hand like a lifeline. I almost choked on my own spit at the end there, as he prattled on, then again as swirling orange eyes turned to me and the cheekiest smile I’d never thought imaginable in such an insanely wild looking beastly face flashed my way. I forgot how to breathe.
The slow, weird wink that followed had my lungs working again, my stomach giving a short flip and a flop before a squeak finally escaped my throat.
“Cute,” Zhuii felt the need to inform me, shooting me a lopsided grin. “Sound like a forgshrath.”
“Forgshrath?” And there I was squeaking again.
“Forgshrath.” Zhuii’s face scrunched up in thought and he shrugged. “Dorothy say like humans’... sqwa-er-els.”
“A squirrel.” My face visibly drooped, lips turning down, eyelids lowering, and I muttered sardonically, “Just... awesome. Not with beast men two seconds and they’ve already likened me to a squirrel. Thank god none of you all have met a dog or I’d be pigeonholed on two planets. Dimensions… whatever and wherever the fuck this is.”
Zhuii chuckled at my deadened tone. “Zhuii likes forgshraths.”
“Yeah,” I responded cautiously, squinting, “but not, like, to eat, or anything, right?”
Zhuii’s hands stilled and his eyebrows shot up as he looked to me. “Does Zhuii eat forgshraths?”
It was my turn to look away. “Yeah, you know, and, like, other things... like,” my hand slid over my mouth and I mumbled into it, “shmeefle.”
“Like what?” the large beast asked, his head cocking questioningly.
“Squirrelly, erm, people?”
Zhuii’s eyes widened in wonder. “Rosie-lindy’s people has those?” But then his face scrunched distastefully. “Rosie-lindy eats them? The squawrells peoples?”
“What? Me?! No! I meant you.”
“Meant me what?” Back to the beetling of the brow and utter confusion.
“You.”
“You what?”
“No, you.”
“No you what?” The beast was starting to look exasperated.
“I mean you.”
“You mean you what?”
“Cheesy Crisps and peanut butter, forget it!”
“Forget what? What cheesy wisp and feetnut blubber?” He leaned in closer, curious. “To feed forgshraths? Or the squawrells peoples?”
“Gah! Ugh. Forget it.” I shook my head, glad of the personal space when he sat back on his haunches. “Forget it all. Forget I said anything! Forget I even asked!”
Zhuii harrumphed. “Zhuii not know what Rosie-lindy try to ask Zhuii in first place.”
“Yes.” My lips pressed together to form a hard, thin line. “I gathered as much.”
“Gathered what?”
“Zhuii!”
The beast blinked. “Yes, Rosie-lindy?”
“Stop. Talking.”
He blinked again, then again. “But Rosie-lindy just say-”
“Grrrrrrr.”
Zhuii snorted but shut up and went back to whatever it was he was doing.
Stealing a glance at me as he brought several bowls and ripped up cloths over, his eyes crinkled at the corners and he mumbled under his breath, “Cute.”
“I am not,” I huffed with a sniff, “cute.”
“Cute,” he rumbled louder, getting to work on methodically cleaning up Tokre. “Cuter than forgsharths cute.” He was grinning wide as I growled, infuriated but thoroughly—if only momentarily—distracted. His eyes were dancing at this point.
My lips pursed and my jaw clenched until my back molars ground. There was no point in responding, he’d just twist whatever plopped out of my mouth around somehow, and I was feeling wound up enough as it was.
“Very... cute.”
Nope. Not responding, not one bit.
His mouth opened, as if to comment yet again, but I snarled. His eyes crinkled up at the corners until his strangely colored eyes looked downright beady.
I waited until he rose to get clean water before grumbling quietly, “I’m beginning to see why No-yell calls you Zhuii-ass.”
The deep gashes along Tokre’s chest, cleaned but no less worrisome, drawing my attention, had me gulping hard.
How was this fine? This was bad, so bad.
My hands clenched reflexively and I forgot to breathe for a moment.
Tokre’s hand twitched at the vicelike grip I had on his thick, furry digits, so I let up.
My hands shook anew and my stomach roiled. He might die. This place was no joke—do or die, and you might just die trying and doing anyway. That is, until a low rumbled noise drew me from my musings.
“Zhuii heard that,” he repeated.
“Well, maybe Zhuii was supposed to!” I shot back at him.
The beast’s deep, rumbling laugh, echoing around me, shook the window and the pots on the walls.
Glancing down at Tokre, I reached out and brushed a blood stained lock from his face. “Do you see this jerk, Tokre? You’re not allowed to die on me, do you hear me? You croak on me and what will I do, then? Take up with him? Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Hey!”
“Oh, quit your bitchin’ and make with the bandages, Nurse Molly!” Facing my mate, careful to keep my expression well-hidden from Zhuii, my eyes widened at my audacity, my jaw dropping slightly, but then I giggled, the sound low and bordering
on hysterical.
It kept up, my giggling idiocy, but I wasn’t afraid to let it out, my tigerlady poking her head out to let the males present hear her roar.
Rawr, I thought, then giggled again. Rawr. Rawr.
I was giggling so hard I toppled to my side, Tokre’s hand falling limply from mine.
A bowl thunked down heavily beside me and I jumped, jerking, my gaze darting off to my left.
Grunting while he got back to work, I found an affronted beast frowning down at me.
This Zhuii-beast’s lips pulled down at the corners, though he in no way looked put out, and he huffed out under his breath so quietly I almost didn’t hear, “Tokre’s Rosie-lindy a... a meanie.”
A meanie? It was so... juvenile, so silly. And there I was giggling even harder. My ribs ached, another soreness to add to my ever growing list, but I didn’t care. I was grinning like a fool while Tokre’s nursemaid tended him, which seemed to confuse Zhuii, but I didn’t care. “And don’t you forget it.”
“Hmph.”
A few moments passed and the beast just couldn’t help himself.
“Rosie?”
“Yes?”
“What’s a dog? And why my Rosie-lindy piggen felt one?”
Peals of laughter rent the air as I cackled until I choked, and Zhuii, proud of himself, a small, self-satisfied smile on his face, patched up my mate.
That male definitely knew what he was playing at. I couldn’t have been more thankful for the small reprieve from this ish I desperately needed, a bit of silly to drown out the insanity.
CHAPTER 11
“It doesn’t look clean enough. It’s puffy. You should put something on it. Are you sure a bunch of dried up grass looking stuff and gooey, whatever that gunk is, is really the best thing for this?” I was weaving drunkenly where I crouched, yawning over Tokre’s prone form.
My skin may as well have been peeling clean off, rotted and dripping from my bones, for all that I’d cared or took notice. I’d finally gotten feeling back in my toes, nipples, face, and fingers, but it was touch and go for a bit there—and my ass was still jiggling fiercely, I was so fucking cold.
My sole focus was those hideous looking gashes slashing my ever-so-recent-mate’s chest horrendously.
He’d roused twice, once when Zhuii had to clean a particularly deep gash that was still oozing blood, a little too close to his manhood, and the second time when I kind of, sort of, fell asleep sitting up and squealed as I started to tip forward towards him but caught myself.
I’d almost knocked right into Tokre, but jerked so hard back I knocked backwards, flopping onto my ass.
“Zhuii not have Rosie-lindy’s x-maze macheens, emer-eyes, and soot-chores for Tokre’s...”
The beast was not about to use my word for injuries, so I finished his sentence for him, one single brow raised pertly on my otherwise blank expression. “His boo-boos.”
Zhuii’s lip curled up in utter disgust but he gave a short snort. With a deep breath and a shake of his floppy blue top mop, he told me yet again, “Zhuii not know these things.”
The beast had long ago lost patience with me, though he wouldn’t outright show it.
A sudden knock at the door had my gaze snapping up.
“Say nothing,” Zhuii instructed quickly, his face snapping into a sudden, harsh scowl. “Think not home. Go away.”
My eyes widened and I leaned in close to him. “Is... is it Rek?” I whispered worriedly, speaking so low I wondered for a moment if he could actually hear me.
Zhuii’s expression sobered, his eyes darting from me to the door. With an unpleasant twist of his lips, he grunted out ominously, “Worse.”
Oh my beastly stars... Worse? Worse?! What could possibly be worse?!
“W-w-w-w-wwhuuuuuut?” I squawked on a tiny squeak. Reaching out without thought, I gripped his thick, furry forearm. “Zhuii! Worse? Are you kidding me?! What is it? Who is it? Why?” Human? Animal? Beast man? Vegetable? Or Mineral? Panicked, I gave the appendage clutched tightly in my grasp a quick shake.
The banging grew louder, until I thought the door might pop clean off, and I scooted closer. “Oh god. Oh god,” I began to mumble.
Those cold tremors I’d thought I’d mostly overcome, kicking up anew as cold dread suffused me, had me jerking visibly once the adrenaline had its way.
“It’s coming. It’s worse. Zhuii!” Biting at my lip, my fingers curling, wishing I had claws or some other natural weapon on my person, I looked to the injured, incapacitated beastie beside us. “What are we going to do?!”
Zhuii blinked, watching me, and grimaced. “Zhuii not… It not- Zhuii not mean- Argh.” Holding his hands up, the beast gave a shake of his great, shaggy head. “Zhuii say again. Zhuii not say right.”
Ohmyfeckingcocopuffballsstuffin- “Oh, this is bad. Even more bad than I thought.” Heart pounding, thundering in my ears, slamming my chest, I implored him to give it to me straight. “This is the end. This is it, isn’t it, Zhu?! We’re all gonna die! At the hands of whatever’s beyond that door!”
And with that thought in mind, I went for broke.
Fuck it. We’re going down anyway. Why not go out with a real bang?! That life flashing before my eyes bullshit is for the birds.
“Quick! Kiss me!”
Zhuii’s head jerked, eyes suddenly bugging, and his jaw dropped. “What?”
Launching myself at the beast, I flopped on top of him, tackling his ass in one swift though ungainly move. The fur covering me slipped, exposing me to the cool, open air, but there wasn’t time for that, not anymore. “You heard me, Zhu-bee-doo-bee-doo! Quick! Now! Before they break through!”
“Zhuii not-”
My hand slapped at his chest. “No time to waste! So make with the pucker face and kiss me! I want to go out with something good, beast boy!” Right before I go down, torn to shreds one painful, scream filled, piece of me at a time.
When Zhuii hesitated, though he squirmed beneath me and other parts of him raised the kiss-the-girl party flag, I sat up, straddling him, to frown down at him. “Well, come on now. What’s the hold up?”
My eyes darted to the door, the plaster-like substance surrounding the door frame slowly crumbling under the force of whatever was ramming against it. Frowning down at the beast, I had a moment of indecision.
Was that guilt I saw momentarily flashing across his face? But why?
“Ah... worse for Zhuii, Zhuii ‘posed to say. Annoying for Rosie-lindy? Heh. Heh,” the orange-eyed beastie corrected most reluctantly. His forced laughter had my eyes narrowing, spine stiffening.
“Huh?” Full blown panic attack averted, scowling heavily, my grip on the fur of his chest, where my hands hand slid to grip it, loosened. “What do you mea- You said-”
“Zhuii! Noyel knows Rosie-lindy and Tokre in there!” At that surprisingly familiar shout, despite how hard I jumped as he suddenly sounded off, I almost felt relieved. Anger was a quick runner-up for Zhuii’s dirty trick of a tease, but relief was definitely prevalent at the moment.
“How No-yell know?” Zhuii shot back, his gaze darting away from me distractedly while my jaw swung open and my stunned ass flat out gaped at him, my mouth swinging open and shut like an angry, rusty gate caught in the wind. Of all the- And I’d- “Oh!!”
“Because Zhuii just answered,” the beast beyond the door remarked puckishly, a smirk in his voice.
Slipping off of his well-muscled, furry abs, ignoring the thick rod that bumped my inner thigh as I swung my leg, I blushed fuchsia. “That wasn’t very nice,” I admonished the thick headed beast.
“Worse for Zhuii now?” the beastie said on a long shrug. That hopeful gleam in his eyes wasn’t going to do anything for him. He was way too pleased with the results of his crappy joke.
“What a rotten, dirty- Oh! But, hey!” And as was with me since my ‘mating’, my thoughts were back on the situation at hand, namely Tokre and yet again, how I was going to handle him, this, everything. Geesh. What if Zhuii’d k
issed me, I contemplated worriedly.
Securing my fur around me once more, my fingers slid to my lips.
What would Tokre have done, had he found out? My stomach dipped in an ugly way. Would he have forgiven me? or simply given me up to another beast, his beast friend? Would I have had to take on them both? Would they have been amenable to it? Two beast-husbands?!
Thoughts swirling, I had to shuck them off. No. No. It didn’t happen. No use musing over it and henpecking myself to death with the what if’s.
Focus on now, I told myself.
I looked from Tokre to the door, then the beast man studying me so intently.
“Maybe that other guy has more things, more beastly medical-y thingies,” I whispered to Zhuii excitedly, who gave me a dirty look for even suggesting it. I was so enthralled at the prospect, I went so far as to reach out and jostle his furry arm again.
Zhuii leaned in until we were almost nose to nose to whisper to me softly, his voice a deep but no less menacing rumble, “Rosie-lindy want Zhuii let Noyel in? Really want Zhuii to? Rosie-lindy have a think on this. No fast yes or not. Zhuii give Rosie-lindy the minutes to really, really,” it seemed he couldn’t stress that enough, “have a think on this.”
“Yes,” I hissed, right into his fur-lined, square shaped face.
My nerves shot all to hell, my mind all over the place, the only winning thoughts in this whole thing that of my continued survival—and I knew I needed Tokre to pull this all off if A) I ever wanted a chance at getting outta here, and B) I wanted to do so without having to drag my horde of alien furbabies I’d been broodmared into popping out along the way with me.
Desperation, thy name is Rosalinda.
“Fine.” Lifting my hand, the beast slapped the cloth he’d been using into my palm and stood, leaving me to gape down at the sticky goo soaked rag, stinking to high heaven with whatever concoction he’d seen fit to slather Tokre with.
“E- I- Argh.” I shuddered and the slimy rag slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a wet slap. A wave of dizziness overtook me at all the pink tinting that cloth as I stared down at it, and I wondered if I was about to have to deal with another bout of dry heaving. I’d never been so happy for an empty gut in my life.
Bride of Glass (Brides of the Hunt Book 2) Page 16
