Not even the promise of retrieving Dorothy when she was available to check things out would sway me. No one was looking at my lady shit, or putting any kind of paste anywhere near any part of me, unless I said so or did it myself, damn it.
On my way out the door, the tin of ointment from Dorothy safely tucked away in the side hip pocket of the lining of my dress, oddly excited at the idea of a little adventure, I paused, glancing down at my feet.
Warm dress, sure, but what about these things? Wiggling my toes, I frowned. “Has anyone seen my shoes? Or socks?” I glanced up at the hearth, then around the room. No shoes or socks to be seen.
“Stunk. Bad.” Zhuii pinched his nose and grimaced, as if to let me know he could attest to personally being victimized by my soggy death sock funk.
“Okay, but did you burn them or something? Sacrifice them to a sweet smelling goddess to repent for my stinky sock making soul? Because I kind of need footwear, big guy.”
Pausing as he examined a particularly nasty looking, though healing, cut on Tokre’s back, Noyel looked to us sharply. Motioning for Tokre to hold on, getting used to using basic hand motions for him until we all learned Tokre’s hand-speak, he walked to the table. “Here. Mama said you can have these ones. They’re still good, and will hold until we make you better ones.”
Unearthing the folded up, funny shaped leather bundles in the bag he’d brought with him, Noyel produced a pair of warm but worn looking, handmade boots.
“She’d have brought them herself,” the tall beast said with a shrug, “but there was an incident with a chum-chum.”
Walking over, a small, pleased smile on his face, proud of himself for providing for his mate, he handed them over.
I took them with a thankful nod, grateful for anything that kept me and hypothermia in a long distance relationship. “A chum-chum incident, huh?”
At my curious look, the beast healer—my beast healer—explained. “A beast we hunt. Huge, heavily furred, thick trunks on its head, a wide mouth. They like to chomp their prey in half if they can’t swallow them whole.”
“In half?” I muttered, cringing. Yay! One more thing to have nightmares about. Wicked alien wooly mammoths with trunk-tacles and a penchant for a crunch and munch if they couldn’t dispatch you in one gulp. Fabulous.
“Don’t worry, they live farther out.”
“What was the accident, incident thing?” I dreaded but asked anyway.
“One tried to chomp,” the tall beast paused to snap his teeth at me for effect, “a warrior in half.” Noyel laughed, the sound soft and melodious, happy, grinning at Zhuii’s delayed reaction when the blue mop topped beast jumped right after me at Noyel’s teeth chomping exaggeration.
Grumbling, surly at the tease, the burly beast shushed him and shooed Noyel away, chastising him like one would a naughty child. I was still stuck on the chomping in half thing.
“Don’t worry, they killed it,” Noyel replied casually, as if to reassure. “Lots of meat for everyone, and the warrior is being put back together.”
Back… together.
“They live much, much farther out?” I hoped. Unless he was just trying to scare me into not venturing out without my beastly crew?
My eyes narrowed skeptically as I watched the beastly healer. Was this one of those psychological mind fudges so I wouldn’t think to sneak off? It was working.
My hands, as I contemplated this, absently ran along the tops of my new to me boots. Very soft, yet sturdy, they felt like suede velvet. I kept stroking the material of one, like I was petting a puppy for my feet.
Glancing down, getting a good look at my new snow boots, I blinked, letting out a long, slow whistle. Wow. He’d said these would work until they made better ones?
“Better?” I thought, in awe, not realizing I’d spoken aloud. These were… wow. These were very nice and well made. No, these were better than that. “These, wow, these are really nice.”
“Zhuii make better,” the orange-eyed beast boasted with a chuff at my boots.
Sliding him a sideways glance, I slid my new pretties closer to me. Mine.
As if he’d misinterpreted my reaction, his face pinched and he reluctantly waved in Noyel’s general direction. “No-yell help. Skin it, maybe, after Zhuii catch. Sew it.”
“Gee, thanks, Zhuben. You’re the best.” Noyel’s retort was as dry as the half smirk on his oddly handsome face.
Zhuii, either ignoring us or not understanding Noyel’s comment, gave a curt nod, chuffing out with his chest puffed up, “Welcome.”
Glancing between the pair, I held back the insane smile that wanted to spread across my face. If they weren’t driving me nuts, they were tormenting each other. Again I had to wonder, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad? I’d keep telling myself this too, until the truth willed out.
To add fuel to the fire, dropping the boots to the floor to straighten them out and slip my left foot into one, I tossed out casually over my shoulder, “So generous of you, Zhuben. I’m sure No-yell would love that.”
“This you fault,” Zhuii accused. “No do that to Zhuii Lindy-mine.”
“What did I do?” But the laughter in Noyel’s voice said it all. My comments? Didn’t faze him a bit.
Crap, these were nice, and sooo warm. My toes wiggled inside happily. These were high boots, up to the tops of my knees. My dress was long enough it overlapped the boots. I’d be toasty warm with a fur over it all. The stitching was tight, the material a thick, dark blue looking leather. At first glance I noted they appeared to be thickly lined with fur.
I ran my fingers over the stitching, contemplating how many hours it might have taken just to do the stitching across the toe. Had Dorothy made them?
Slipping my foot into the other one, I stood and walked around a bit.
Turning to face the bickering pair, Tokre watching everything from the bed, I smiled. “A little big, but very warm. Thank you.”
Noyel’s chest started to rumble with a happy purr. “Good.”
“Zhuii’s be better,” the big beast insisted.
“I’m sure they’ll be the warmest I ever have,” I assured him, giving his shoulder a quick pat.
“Zhuii make him Lindy-mine some feets huggers, too.” Zhuii’s chin dipped to glance at my feet.
“Feet huggers? You mean socks?” I paused in my second tour around the room, looking to Zhuii, who was puffed up like a blowfish.
“Zhuii make lots of things. Take care him Lindy-mine. Lindy-mine be happy. Stay forever. Big, big family. Pinky-swaurs.” Holding his fat pinky up, he wiggled it in my direction, nodding wildly. He was so serious, somber, determined to make his new mate happy.
A small niggle of guilt hit me at my no sex plans. Boy, was he in for the shock of a lifetime.
“Lindy-mine like her feet hugger soooohcks?”
Did I want some socks? Was that a rhetorical question? Who needed socks with those warm puppies? I glanced down at my boot covered feet, imagining how sweaty these things were going to get. Me. Badly.
Nodding my thanks, I sat down, slipped my feet out, grabbed two of the hand woven cloths that served for kitchen towels, and wrapped my feet each in one. Shoving my feet back in my boots as three sets of curious eyes watched, I stood, twirling around once finished. “Works for me. Thanks, fellas. Now I just need a fur and I’m ready to go.”
“Zhuii no have fur here for him Lindy-mine. Have to get it.”
“Didn’t bring mine, either,” Noyel admitted with a grimace.
“No worries. You keep yours, for when you’re cold. Don’t trouble yourselves.” Walking over to the bed, I dug through until I found the thick one Tokre always wrapped me in for sleeping. “I have one right here.” Holding it up and flapping it out, Tokre purred as I wrapped it around me.
Practically skipping over to my mate-husband, I gave him a quick kiss, smiling when he reluctantly released me, his hand strolling along my back as I pulled away.
Motioning to the door, I mimed us going but coming ba
ck.
Tokre nodded and gently bumped our foreheads.
“Aw, I care about you too, baby,” I told him.
Turning to go, the displeased looks Zhuii and Noyel were giving my fur cape had me glancing down self-consciously.
“What? It look weird?” I mumbled. It’s cold as hell outside. I wasn’t exactly concerned with the fashionable aspects of my ensemble. But, really, was it that bad? “Why are you staring at me like you think it’s going to come alive and attack me?”
“Not warm enough,” Noyel grumbled petulantly. “Need ‘nother one. Better. Noyel’s better.” The huffing and puffing from the jovial beast had me blinking to glance down at the pelt wrapped around me. I’d actually grown kind of attached to this pelt—it was ridiculously warm and always smelled like Tokre.
Zhuii’s response was a weird grunt, which loosely translated meant, ditto.
Oh boy, I must’ve offended them. Noyel was even using his beast speak again. But how? By wearing Tokre’s…
Slowing my steps, I sighed. “The pelts mean something, don’t they?” Flapping one end of my furry cape, I eyed the two injured parties. “It’s an acceptance thing?”
“Mating pelt. Lindy-mine take Zhuii’s pelt. Lindy-mine Zhuii’s mate.”
“Noyel’s, too.” Cleaning up his mess from tinkering with Tokre, the beast healer announced, “Tokre rest. Noyel be back. Get Noyel’s pelt.”
“Ah, okay. Thanks. Three warm furs? All for me? That’d be awesome.” In for a penny, in for a pound, Rosalinda. And, hey, what could it hurt to butter ‘em up a little?
Apparently, in beast-dom, diamonds were not a girl’s best friend, pelts were. I’d soon be wallowing in them, it seemed.
I’ll have to rotate days with them things, I thought to myself.
Jeebus, this multiple mates thing was starting to sound more like a balancing act. How did the other beast-knappeds with multiple beasts to contend with do it?
“Cold. Snowing. Get colder.” Zhuii stood and tromped to the door, motioning for me to follow.
Running after, I spared Noyel a quick glance and a wave. “We’ll be back before you know it!”
“Noyel will, too,” the healer beast called back.
About to step out, my makeshift pelt hood clasped in my hands, I took one look outside at the snow steadily starting to fall and hesitated.
Glancing over my shoulder, I looked to Tokre. His head cocked as he watched me, his eyes drifting across my face before moving on to Zhuii. It was obvious I was excited for this little outing, silly as that might sound. As if he knew I was reluctant to leave him here all by his lonesome, he gave a short chuff, waving at Zhuii and just beyond, motioning me out the door.
Tokre was all in for our new family unit thing, and it was obvious in his newly found trust with his fellow co-husbands, allowing Zhuii to take off with me without trying to tagalong, snarling after us.
“I’m worried.” Mumbling, fidgeting in place, I glanced around worriedly. My eyes drifted over Noyel, who was also standing there studying me, but briefly.
Tokre made a noise that said he wanted something.
Knowing what that was, Zhuii stepping up behind me, the warmth he emanated like a walking furnace warming my back, he lifted his hands to sign.
When Zhuii finished, Tokre’s brow pulled down and his hands started moving.
“Tokre say no worry,” Zhuii translated. “Tokre not weak.” The look on Tokre’s face said he was a bit offended I’d be so silly as to worry after him. Hah-hah. I wanted to do a bit of beastly scowling myself for that one. Grr. Males! Beast males!
“Tokre good mate,” Zhuii continued to speak for his friend as Tokre’s hands flew, “not-”
“I know. I’m not saying that,” I fairly shouted, feeling a little slighted he’d even suggest I thought he wasn’t a capable male, mate, whatever, but… “I don’t want you to be left all alone,” I admitted.
Shoulders slumping, I sighed, dropping my faux hood to scrub a hand down my face.
“Your injuries,” my hand waved limply in his direction, implying exactly what he’d just said, if only in a different context, “I mean, come on, you were hurt really bad, and Rek’s a bad male, right, so what if-”
“Tokre say we go, No-yell go-”
“I highly doubt he called me No-yell,” Noyel muttered on a huff, interrupting the orange-eyed beast.
“Tokre stays, all fine,” Zhuii continued, as if Noyel had never spoken.
“But-”
Noyel cleared his throat, then, glancing at me, “Rek wants Rosie, not Tokre.” His head swiveled, his eyes drifting from beast to beast, to lowly human beast wife. “Now there are three. Rek won’t try anything with three of us. If anything, I should probably be going with you two, just to be safe.”
Would Rek? He was pretty hard pressed on ‘fixing’ me, and taking me for a mate. Ick. Shudder.
At the look on my face Noyel made as if he was going to come to me but stopped. With a barely perceptible nod, he stepped back.
“I won’t be gone long.” A scowl slowly slipped over Noyel’s face as he spoke, first in confusion, morphing into something else, before his brows smoothed and in a blink, he just looked mildly put out.
I stood there and stared, in dumbfounded fascination. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought the male had ants in his pants, he was being so… strange.
But, no, something had just happened, had somehow been said, communicated, beastly eye messaged.
What was it? What had I missed? “I’m beginning to wonder if you all really do communicate via mind juju or something, the way… Good grief… Don’t understand…” I was mumbling so low a human would have been hard pressed to hear what I was saying. A beast? I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they’d heard me just fine and chosen to ignore me.
Feeling lost, I peeked over at Zhuii to find him glaring, death in his eyes, shaking his shaggy mane wildly at Noyel from over my shoulder. He was mouthing something, but I couldn’t make it out. Catching me sneaking a peek at him, his expression flattened and he cleared his throat. “We go. Rosie fine with Zhuii. Tokre fine with… Tokre. And No-yell be back.”
“But-”
“Ohhh. Uh… I’ll stay. I’ll go another time. Noyel’ll stay. Maybe you could go with Noyel when I do, perhaps?” Noyel said so suddenly I had whiplash, my head whipping back and forth between the pair, scrambling to keep up.
“Huh? Really?” Adjusting my pelt cape as it started to slip off one shoulder, I scratched at my cheek, eyeing the ever-battling duo. What the hell did I miss? Yet again. What’s with the sudden acquiescence? Not that I was complaining but… My eyes narrowed, lips pursing. “What’s going on?”
The smile on Noyel’s face implied mischief was most definitely afoot, but I was lost on what, who, or how. “What do you mean, Rosie? Noyel agrees. We can go when the weather is better.”
Tokre gave a harsh growl, drawing my attention. He was gesturing wildly. I wondered for a moment if he’d ever stopped the moment he’d started and I just hadn’t been paying attention and Zhuii was too busy glowering meaningful looks at Noyel to notice.
“Zhu, what’s he saying?” Head tilting, I looked to the beefy male.
Zhuii’s lips formed a thin line and he grunted. My expression turned sour and he sighed the most long, drawn out, dramatic exhalation—of air he wouldn’t be needing in a minute here if he didn’t spit it out already and I hauled off and choked him out—I’d ever witnessed. “Nothing,” he said too quickly.
“Zhuii,” I hissed under my breath.
Another sigh, half groan. On a hunch, I looked to Noyel, who was waving his hands at his sides in a cutting motion, as if to not be so obvious, at the male.
“Tokre say he no baby. No-yell goes, we go, he stays,” Zhuii recited curtly. “No matter Zhuii say. Tokre stubborn… hard head… No listen Zhuii. Noyel say it fine. No Rek no more. Zhuii think Rek be back, no matter Kirch say him leave. Zhuii not so lucky Rek get stuck. Like itchy r
ash, Rek be back.” A low growl built in the male’s throat and he snarled, his short, ranting mumbles cutting off, flashing an incredibly sharp of set of rather long, thick teeth in a frightful display.
“Remind me to never piss you off,” I whispered, but then his words registered. “Leave?! Rek left?! Left where? He’s gone? When? I mean… wh- How?”
Zhuii gave a short shrug. “No know. Kirch say. Zhuii no see Rek.”
“Good riddance,” Noyel huffed out on a chuff, staring down at his bleached Bigfoot toes as he dipped his chin, shaking his fluffy white haired head.
“Like… he literally left? Back… Back to… To somewhere else? Like where I’m from?” Does that mean Rek knows-knows the way back home? He could- No. No-no-no-no. But then- But, no. Dealing with that asshole wasn’t worth it, especially if he just ended up tricking me in the end. That last beast-husband—manipulating his way into the fold—the nastiest of the bunch, to add the last nail in my coffin? Nope. Nope. Nope-nope.
Silence filled the room.
“Noyel no know,” the tall, more slender beast said, but there was something to the way he said it that had the little hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
“Anything you fellas do know?” I eyed them all shrewdly. “Anything you might, maybe, feel like telling me? Anything at all?”
Two beast mouths opened, one slowly shut, two sets of fur bristling. Dirty looks were exchanged, all around. No one liked feeling painted into a corner.
Noyel blurted in a rush, so fast I almost couldn’t make half of it out. It was a confession of beastly proportions, blurted like one giant, run-on sentence. “Noyel wanted time alone with Rosie, and Zhuii say so long as Noyel stayed with Tokre, you wouldn’t be hurrying to come back, and Zhuii could take Rosie to Zhuii’s place, to show you. Ahem.”
Oh, good, he’s stopping to breathe. Breathing is important.
“And Zhuii could present his mating pelt for Rosie.” Noyel made a show of clearing his throat, forcing a smile that shouldn’t look nearly as charming as it did, the plotting fur turd.
“Erm, what?” Talk about a sudden admission, and, hello, subject change.
Warning bells were going off. They didn’t tell me Rek had left to keep a hold over me, had they not? Was that just one more thing to keep me compliant!?
Bride of Glass (Brides of the Hunt Book 2) Page 30
