by Lily Thomas
“I suppose I just wish I could have done more.”
“Against an attacking clan of sabertooths?” Daerk shook his head. “If they loved you like their own, then they wouldn’t have wanted you to try and do more. They would’ve just wanted you to live.”
She knew his words held a lot of truth to them, but it still didn’t make her feel any better about their deaths. “I hear what you’re saying.”
He moved slightly closer. “I too lost a parent.”
Aiyre glanced over at him. “How?”
“A hunting accident.”
“I’m so sorry.” It wasn’t like it was uncommon to lose a family member, but it didn’t make it any easier. Sadly, death was always nipping at their heels in this harsh world they lived in.
He shrugged. “It’s been years, and I’ve had time to recover from it. It will take time, but you will recover as well.”
She nodded. All it would take was time. She knew it, but it didn’t make the loss any easier.
The snow was higher than ever, making their journey a hard one, and the snow just kept coming. There didn’t seem to be an end in sight. It was definitely winter. The snow billowed around them like it was trying to hinder their progress, but they refused to let it defeat them.
Aiyre used the butt of her spear to help her through the snow, as they kept going for several more hours. The snow was building up, and she dropped back to follow in Daerk’s steps, so it took her less effort.
But the journey was taking its toll on her leg, and soon she was limping, using her spear as a cane rather than a walking stick.
“Let me carry you.” Daerk stopped in his tracks and waited for her to catch up.
“I’m fine.” She waved him off. “I can walk on my own.”
“You’re going to cause your leg to get worse.” He glowered at her.
They both looked over at Eron.
“Perhaps we could stay the night here? The snow is falling too thickly to see, and my old bones need a rest.”
Aiyre smiled. Eron was a good man, not wanting to take either side, so he created a whole new reason for them to make camp. One where neither of them would be able to deny him.
“Then we make camp and head back out in the morning.” She agreed and looked over her shoulder at Daerk.
“Agreed.”
He shouldered off the pack and took out a couple of tents. Eron and Daerk each took one and set up camp.
“We won’t be able to set up a fire with this wind, and not being able to see any wood in this thick snowfall.” Daerk finished putting up the tent and held open the flap.
Aiyre walked in, ready to lie down and let her leg rest.
“Should you take a look at her leg?” Daerk worried from the tent entrance, as Aiyre sat down.
“She can let me know if she experiences any pain or discoloration.” Eron gave her a nod, and she returned it. “Until then it will just need to heal. It wasn’t a deep wound, and it looks much worse than it really is.”
“I’ll be sure to let you both know if the condition of my leg changes.” She reassured both of them. She understood why Daerk was so protective, but she wasn’t a child. She would speak up if she needed Eron’s healing hand.
Daerk stared at her with those intense golden eyes of his looking like he might try to disagree with them.
“I’m fine right now, and you’re letting the cold air in.” She pulled her hood closer around her face.
Daerk strode inside her tent and closed the flap behind him securing the flap with a leather strap so that the wind wouldn’t rip it open.
“Won’t you stay with Eron?” Aiyre scooted over in the small tent.
“He will stay in his own tent. You are my mate, and we will share a tent.” His gold eyes were fixated on her.
“He might get cold.”
“Doubtful.” Daerk rolled his eyes. “He will change into his sabertooth form and be plenty warm.”
Aiyre couldn’t come up with any more reasons to kick him out of her tent. He wanted to be in here, and she figured she’d have a difficult time convincing him to leave.
“Don’t you want me in here?” He asked with a purr curling his words.
“Not really. I barely know you.” She glared at him.
“Then let’s change that.” He prowled closer. “What would you like to know about me?”
Aiyre thought on the question even though he was making it difficult for her mind to think with him staring so intently at her. As she put her head down and looked at the thin branches that held up the roof of the tent, she continued to think what she would want to know.
“Do you have any family?” She knew about his father, but she wanted to know if he had anyone else still alive.
“I do.” Even though she couldn’t see him too clearly in the dark tent, she could hear the smile on his lips. “I have a mother and a sister living in the women’s tents.”
“Women’s tents?” She looked across the tent at him.
“Where the unmated women live until a man takes them into his tent.” He explained.
“I thought your people got involved before they found their mate.”
Daerk let out a growl. “They would only welcome their mate into their tent, except for any man who has no respect for their mate, like our current leader. There might be those who might spend a few nights together to ease an itch, but it wouldn’t be anything more.”
“This leader you speak of is the dangerous one you spoke of earlier.” It would probably be best that she learned about his world, in case Ezi and herself found themselves with no choice but to stay with the sabertooths.
“He is, and he has taken several women into his tent,” Daerk growled displeased with such an act.
“Along with his mate?”
“He is unmated.” Daerk snorted. “Just wait until he finds his mate and has to explain all the women and children in his hut.” A small smile spread across his face. “She’d turn tail and never look back.”
“Unless she’s like me.” Aiyre pointed out.
“True.” Daerk conceded. “If she is a shifter who doesn’t have mates or is human, she might not mind and understand the number of women in his tent. If she’s a sabertooth though, she will never understand why he didn’t wait.”
Aiyre nodded as she took in the information. “How do you plan to bring us among your clan when your leader doesn’t tolerate our people from even a distance?”
He stayed quiet.
“You don’t have a plan then?” She quirked an eyebrow.
“I never thought my mate would turn out to be a pronghorn shifter. It wasn’t like I had a plan for this.” Daerk scrubbed a hand down his face, drawing her attention to the stubble that was slowly starting to pop up on his jawline. It was unfair that men could grow beards to protect their faces from the cold, while women were unable.
“Disappointed?” Aiyre asked wondering if he would have preferred a sabertooth over her.
“Not at all!” He declared looking startled by her question. “I may not have expected it, but it isn’t a disappointment to have you by my side.”
The dark slowly chased away any remaining light from inside their tent as the night crept upon them. Howling could be heard far in the distance from direwolves, and she shivered.
“Come here.”
She raised an eyebrow but did scoot closer to him as he laid down on a fur. She was an injured pronghorn. Like it or not he was her best hope now that deep winter was determined to set in a little earlier than expected. And the howling of distant direwolves scared her pronghorn side more than a sabertooth claiming to be her mate.
Daerk gathered her into his arms and drew her against himself. He pulled a couple of furs out from the pack and laid them over them as they settled down.
His hand caressed her hip and then dipped under her shirt. His breath tickled her ear from where he laid behind her, and she could feel his hard member pressing into her back even through all the thick layers of their
fur clothing.
Her breath hitched in her chest. “What are you doing?”
His hand made its way up her trembling stomach.
“I want to please my mate again. All I can think about is you moaning in my arms.” He growled in a low voice.
“Isn’t it a bit cold out?” Aiyre wasn’t keen on getting undressed in this kind of weather. The tent was just as cold as the outside snowstorm.
“I’m just looking to hear you moan my name. We’ll take care of me at a warmer time.”
His hand dipped below the waist of her pants and made its way down to the lips of her entrance. One fingertip rubbed against her nub, and pleasure soared through her. Then his finger slid between her lips.
“You’re not yet wet for me, but you will be.” He promised in her ear his voice as smooth as the most exquisite fur.
His finger entered her entrance, and she sucked in a harsh breath as her body responded eagerly to the sweet pressure. Slowly, his finger stroked her. He flipped her onto her back so he could capture her lips with his mouth as he continued to stroke in and out of her entrance. The stubble on his face tickled the smooth skin of her face.
Aiyre let out a moan, as she felt her thighs grow slick with her pleasure. His finger left her entrance to spread the wetness around. Then he circled her nub with his fingertip again. It was nearly enough to send her over the edge with the immense pleasure stampeding through her.
His fingers abandoned her nub to enter her once more, and her body shattered with her release. She bit down on her lip to prevent herself from yelling out with her pleasure.
Slowly, the contractions stopped, and his fingers left her center.
“Did you enjoy it?” He asked with his silky voice.
Aiyre chuckled as she looked up into his eyes. “Of course.” She looked over at him. “Do you…?”
“Need something?” He grinned. “I will always want you, but it is a lot harder to please me with our clothing on.” He pulled her back into his chest, and Aiyre allowed it. It did feel nice to be in his arms. “Pleasing you is enough for me… at least for now.” His voice promised more to come later.
“Why are you doing this?”
“What?” Daerk asked, sounding like he was already falling asleep behind her.
“Why bring your shaman out here to say something over my dead clanmates?”
“I am determined to show you that I wasn’t involved, and I have nothing but your happiness in mind. I will take as much time and effort as is needed.” One of his hands skimmed over her covered arm in a caress.
Her heart thudded in her chest at his declaration. It felt nice, but she still wasn’t sure how she felt about it, and she had no idea what Ezi was thinking. If Ezi wanted to leave, then Aiyre would want to go with her. Ezi was her last connection to a life she had enjoyed more than she could say.
She would just have to take everything one step at a time and see where it took her. So far, life had been unpredictable, and she wasn’t sure whether or not the gods would throw more at her.
The next day they’d risen at the break of dawn to find the sun shining with barely a cloud in the sky. All the fresh snow sparkled under the rays, reflecting back the light blinding them until their eyes could adjust. Then they’d set off the moment they were packed.
They’d been walking for another few hours before they finally crested a hill and spotted her snow-covered village below. The soft pillowy fluff had covered everything, but the outlines of the tents could still be seen.
It angered her that the village appeared to have just disappeared. All those bodies and it was just wiped from memory and existence by some persistent snow. At least, predators hadn’t yet stumbled onto the village, but she knew they would. It was only a matter of time.
“Will you be alright?” Daerk placed a gloved hand against her back, rubbing her slightly.
Aiyre nodded. “I never thought I would keep coming back, but I’m glad for the reason. They deserve to be sent on their way to the Eternal Hunting Grounds. They’ve been laying down there for long enough.” She and Ezi had done what they could, but a shaman would be able to do so much more for her people.
Daerk rubbed his hand over her back, and then squeezed her shoulder. “He will do everything he can for them.”
She slid her way down the hill, the two men following after her. Once they made it to the bottom of the hill, they walked into the snow-covered village, careful of where they walked lest they step on the body of one of her clanmates.
Eron picked a spot and laid out a fur, which he knelt down on before pulling different dried herbs out of his pack. Taking a still hot coal out of a small container, he used it to light the dried herbs.
Then he proceeded to chant, and Aiyre closed her eyes. She hoped with all her heart that this would give her dead clanmates some assistance with their passing into the afterlife.
“Do you need anything?” Daerk whispered as Eron continued to chant, waving the burning herbs in the air.
Aiyre shook her head.
“I can promise you that we will come back in the spring when the ground is softer and give them a proper burial.”
He was definitely making it difficult for her to hate him when he was so kind to her and her dead clanmates. This sabertooth was too sweet for his own good, and she worried he might actually capture her heart.
As Eron chanted and the scent of the herbs washed over her, she felt like Naru was calling her name and spurring her on to live life. Her chest tightened as she saw Naru’s face flash behind her eyelids. She missed her family and friends more than words could describe, and it’d only been days since their demise.
Eron stopped chanting, and she opened her eyes as he rose and packed up his supplies. He walked over to them. “This is as much as I can do for them right now. I can assure you their spirits will go to the Eternal Hunting Grounds. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do for their bodies until spring.”
“It’s better than nothing.” Aiyre smiled at him. It really was better than nothing. Now she wouldn’t have to worry about their spirits roaming the land, lost and bewildered. “There’s nothing more we can do for them right now, and I’d like to get back to Ezi as soon as possible.”
Daerk nodded. “Your dedication to her is admirable.”
“She’s the last clanmate I have alive. If she dies, I’ll be alone.” More alone than she already was.
The light in his eyes dulled a bit. “You won’t be alone.”
Eron coughed and walked away, giving them some privacy.
“I understand what this matehood means to you, but I’m still dealing with this.” Aiyre pointed to the village that had been brutally turned into a burial ground. “You come from a clan that destroyed our lives. It won’t be easy.” She wasn’t entirely sure she could forgive the sabertooth clan.
“Not all of us were responsible for what happened here.” She could see his jaw clench.
“You’ve said, but should I just take your word?”
“No. You should look at my actions and into my eyes. You’ll find an honest man.” He said it with such passion, and he was right. His actions had so far spoken volumes about the high esteem he held her in.
“I just need more time.”
Amazingly enough, Daerk inclined his head and started to make his way away from the village. She quickly followed after.
“I’d like to make a stop at our sacred cave.” She told him quickly.
“I will join you.”
Aiyre shook her head. “It isn’t far, and I’d prefer to go by myself.” Daerk looked ready to stop her, but she wasn’t having it. “I may be your mate, but I still have some things I need to do on my own.”
He relented with a sigh. “Don’t take too long. Or I will come in search of you.”
“I won’t take longer than needed.” She promised.
Then she dashed off before he could change his mind. She wanted to visit their sacred cave, not only to say goodbye once and for all to ev
erything she knew but to see if any of her clanmates might have gone to the cave for shelter.
It didn’t take her long to reach the cave system. Aiyre strode into the dark entrance and immediately felt all their ancestors rush to the entrance to greet her. Anyone who had ever lived in their pronghorn clan had passed through these caves at some point, whether it was to seek the guidance of the gods or for a ceremony.
She wandered deeper into the cave until she reached the innermost chamber. The same chamber they’d celebrated Ezi’s joining. She just stood there breathing in and out, looking for Naru and Bhirk to brush past her.
It never came though. The cave was empty except for herself. It made her hopeful Eron’s chanting had helped her clan to the Eternal Hunting Grounds. Opening her eyes, she began to walk around the outside of the cave walls She quickly stripped off one of her fur gloves and ran her fingertips across the rocky wall. Every once in a while, she would come across something painted on the wall, and she would trace the outline with a finger, using the light from the smoke vent at the top of the cave.
This would be the last time anyone from her clan would visit the cave. No more depictions of animals would be painted here, at least, not by any of her clanmates. Her heart hitched in her chest.
“Goodbye.” She whispered as she strode back through the corridor and then back out into the winter world that she called home.
It was time for her to get back to Daerk before he worried himself into a puddle. Or came rushing to her aid.
When she got back to the village, she found Eron and Daerk speaking amongst each other.
“I’m back.” She smiled over at him. “We can get moving again.”
Daerk shook his head. “We should rest for a while and have Eron check your leg again before we leave.”
“It feels fine, and it isn’t too far from here.” It’d only take them a couple of days at most.
Daerk rounded on her, his face getting close to hers. “You might not trust me, but you will listen to me on this matter. We will rest and have Eron check your leg. Then we will head to the cave.”
