Willa's Beast: Icehome - Book 3

by Dixon, Ruby

  “But she is female,” one of the red a’ani says, confusion on his face.

  The dark-skinned human female sitting next to him scowls. “Do not start that shit here.”

  “What?” the a’ani says, bewildered. “Female fighters and male fighters are kept separate in the arena.”

  “You’re not in an arena any longer!”

  As they bicker and Mardok steps in, a small hand touches my knee. I look down to see blue skin and a golden mane—one of Liz and Raahosh’s young. She sucks her thumb, rubbing my knee, and then looks up at me. “You’re soft, like Kate’s kitten.”

  I do not know who Kate is, but I nod slowly, not wishing to scare the little one. “I am.”

  “Can I sit on you?” Without waiting for a response, the girl-child immediately crawls up my leg, moving onto my knee. Willa takes the bowl out of my hands as the girl tucks her small body against my chest and pets me. “Very soft.”

  Willa chuckles, glancing up at me. “Should I be worried about competition?”

  “No,” I tell her, even as the child pets my jaw.

  “Aayla, don’t bother the nice man,” Liz calls out. “He’s trying to eat.”

  “I’ll feed him, Mommy,” she says. “Just like Kate’s kitten.” And she takes a piece of fish from the bowl in Willa’s hand and offers it to me.

  I have no choice but to take the fish from her, though I do so carefully. “My thanks.”

  “Shhh,” Aayla tells me. “Be a kitten.”

  Willa just giggles and holds the bowl out so the child can feed me again. And…I let her. I have never been touched by a child before, and this one is not afraid of me. It is a nice feeling. Her little hands are sticky and not entirely clean, but I eat what she offers anyhow and try to listen to Mardok.

  “For the next moon, Cashol is going to be working on replenishing caches around the encampment. I want everyone to learn how to spot one and to set traps, so he’s going to be taking different people out with him every day. Salukh, Taushen, and Raahosh will be helping you build more permanent bases for your tents so you do not have to worry about side-walkers and sand creatures in your boots.”

  “Hooray!” someone calls out, and there’s a rolling chorus of laughter.

  “Because Liz and Harlow have their children with them, they’re not going to have as much free time. You’re going to need to work more independently, but they’ll be happy to help out and offer advice. Once their kits come, they’ll have even less time, so keep that in mind.” Mardok crosses his arms. “I’m not saying this will be easy, but you’re all smart and hard workers, and you’ll have help. If everyone pitches in, this will be an easy brutal season.”

  “What about Hassen?” someone asks.

  “I will be guarding Gren and Willa’s cave to make sure they are safe and have supplies,” the big mesakkah says. No, I realize, eyeing the differences between him and Mardok. Mardok is mesakkah. Hassen is sa-khui. They are the same…and yet not. And the little one in my arms, shoving a piece of fish between my fangs fearlessly, is something else. She is human and sa-khui.

  I wonder what my child will look like. Willa’s curly mane and my fur? Her speckled skin and my teeth? I hope it is as perfect as her.

  “That won’t be necessary,” my mate says, and squeezes my knee with her hand. “We’re staying here with y’all.”

  “We are?” I look down at my beautiful Willa, surprised. I know she does not trust these people. But I do not see mistrust in her eyes. They shine with the firelight and with joy as she looks up at me.

  “We are,” she tells me softly.

  “Is the speech finished?” a human female with dark hair and a pregnant belly says. She touches her stomach and pants. “Because I think my water just broke.”

  Everyone is distracted after that.

  30

  GREN

  Much later, when the fire dies down and most of the food has been eaten down to the bones, I hand a sleepy Aayla back to her father, Raahosh, and take my equally sleepy mate back toward our tent. We have had many offers to stay with the other “clans,” but I like Strong Arm. J’shel will be a good friend, I think, and Vaza can teach me much. My Willa enjoys the company of the human called Lauren.

  And I will always remember how they welcomed me to their fire without hesitation. We will stay here, I think, unless Willa objects. I think we will be happy.

  My mate yawns sleepily as we crawl into our tent. “That was a nice party,” she says, pulling her tunic off and tossing it atop a bag of supplies. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  “I…did. It is still strange to me to be welcomed.” I tug off my loincloth, relieved to get rid of it. That will be one change I do not like about living in the tents, but I will deal with it.

  “I hope one day it’s not strange for you at all,” Willa murmurs, and moves to my side, taking my hands in hers. She smiles up at me and then presses a kiss to my knuckles. “Are you…tired?”

  “I am weary,” I answer, not entirely sure what she is asking. “It was a long day, but a good one. We caught much meat.”

  “Not exactly what I meant,” Willa says, and there’s a low, husky note in her voice. Her khui is humming low, not as ravenous as before but still noticeable, and I smell her sweetness on the air. “Because I’m thinking about how much I missed you today.”

  “I missed you, as well,” I tell her, caressing her neck and leaning down to lick her delicate jaw. “You wish to mate? You are not too tired?”

  “I’m tired, but not that tired,” she admits. “And it’s nice to be able to choose to touch each other instead of the cootie demanding it.” She looks up at me with a sultry smile. “We can be more…creative.”

  “Creative?” I think of my Willa and all the ways we have mated—slowly, quickly, with my hands upon her teats, with my mouth on her cunt, and I cannot imagine it being better than it has. “I do not follow.”

  She grins up at me and drops to her knees, putting her hands on my upper thighs and letting her breath fan over my cock. “I mean…creative. Now that it doesn’t matter where your seed goes.”

  And she takes me in her hand even as she looks up at me.

  I groan, amazed at my female. “Willa,” I growl. “You are going to taste me?”

  “Oh yeah,” she whispers, and then gives my cock the most obscene, intensely slow lick from root to tip as she gazes up at me.

  “You are incredible,” I tell her, wanting to touch her hair and face and not daring to, in case she moves away.

  “I love you,” she tells me softly, even as she licks the head of my cock and laps up the wet beads of my seed there. “I love you so much that it hurts, and I want you to be happy. That’s why we’re staying here. If you’re willing to give them another chance, I am, too.” She moans and squeezes her hand at the base of my cock’s head. “How did we manage to go an entire month without doing this?”

  I have no words. My mind is blank as she takes me into her mouth, feeding my length between her soft lips and sucking on me until I am shuddering. Her hands move all over my shaft, then caress my sac and I am lost in her caresses. I thrust against her hot, teasing mouth, moving my hips in small circles, trying to fuck her face as I would her cunt. I worry about hurting her, but she makes little noises of encouragement and before long, I have a hand on her head, thrusting into her tight, wet mouth as she whimpers pleasure, the scent of her sweetness perfuming the air around us.

  When I come on her tongue, I think there cannot be a more perfect female that exists.

  She pulls back, swallowing, and wipes at her lips as I shudder through my release. “We’re going to have to do that more often,” she tells me, panting. “I loved watching you.”

  I groan, dropping to my knees and pulling her against me. She has made me weak, sucked all of my strength out with her teasing mouth. I stroke a hand over her braids. “You wish to do this?”

  “Blow you? Well, yeah—”

  “Live in the village,” I tell her, distracte
d at the thought of her on her knees in front of me over and over again. Was any male so lucky? “I will leave with you if you do not feel safe here. I want what you want.”

  “I want your happiness,” she says, reaching up to cup my face in her hands. She gazes up at me, her glowing blue eyes serious. “I think I would be happy wherever we go, but I think you need these people. You need to belong. It feels good to be part of a group. And if we ever feel unsafe or unsure, or they treat you badly, we’ll leave. For now, though, I think we should stay. Make friends, learn how to survive, and be part of the group.”

  It is what I want…but only if she is with me, and happy. “If you are certain…”

  “I have only been more certain of one thing in my life,” she tells me, a wicked smile on her face. “That we’re going to have to do that again very, very soon.”

  Now we are talking about my cock again. She wiggles against me, rubbing her teats against my chest fur, and I growl low in my throat. “I will always give my mate what she wants,” I tell her, and then slip an arm around her waist and drag her down to the furs. When she’s on her back, I slide lower and push her thighs apart. “But I must taste you first.”

  “You won’t hear a peep of argument from me, sugar,” my mate tells me with a happy sigh.

  And when she comes on my tongue a long, glorious time later, we fall into the furs and curl in each other’s arms, content. I put my hand on her belly, thinking of the young—the kit—that will be coming. I think of the others in the camp, and of the plans to build better dwellings, and more food. I think of learning more skills with a bow and of friends around campfires and my Willa’s eyes shining with delight as I come home to her every day.

  Here, I am no longer a beast. I am just Gren, Willa’s mate.

  And I am home.

  Author’s Note

  Hello world!

  It feels like forever since we last talked. My schedule’s been a little wacky over the summer, but slowly (SLOOOOWLY) we are getting back to normal. Writing WILLA’S BEAST felt like coming home. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed my Ice Planet until I spent some time away. Now that I’m dug in again, I’m afraid you’re going to get a few barbarian releases in a row. I love writing this planet and these people, and I kind of wanted to wallow in Willa and Gren for a while. I cannot emphasize enough how much fun they were. Their story might have been a little sexier than the last few, but that’s kind of fun, too. :)

  Up next is GAIL’S FAMILY and I’m hoping that will be out in October. It’s going to be a sweet, short story about her and Vaza and Z’hren and will fill in one of the pieces as we move the story forward.

  After that, I know whose book comes next but I’m not saying! At least, not yet. I’m also not good at secrets so I imagine the word will be out sooner rather than later if you follow me on Facebook. ;) I’m really looking forward to this next book. Heck, I’m looking forward to all the characters, even the ones we’ve only briefly glimpsed.

  We are definitely going to move the story forward, even if it feels it’s inching along. We’ll see more of J’shel and Hannah, Marisol and T’chai, and some of these poor pregnant ladies will finally have their dang babies. I feel like Harlow and Liz have been pregnant for oh, FOREVER. Poor Liz. Poor Harlow. (and poor Angie!) I’m trying to find the right balance of bringing in characters while keeping older ones around, so bear with me if you have a personal favorite that doesn’t get much play lately. We’ll see everyone again!

  In addition, because I write from a specific character’s point of view, some things will be clearer to some than others. That’s why Willa still thinks of Vordis and Thrand as twins instead of a’ani — but to Gren, they are clones. On the other hand, he thinks of the sa-khui as mesakkah, because those are the blue, horned aliens he’s encountered in the past. At any rate, I hope it’s not confusing and if it is, drop me a line and I’ll do my best to make things clearer as the series goes on.

  I’ve been asked about Marlene’s book (Ice Planet Barbarians) and about the next Fireblood book, and both will be coming soon, but I want to write at least one more Icehome before then. Patience!

  In the coming year, I’m going to do my best to bounce around from series to series less and try to focus in on both dragons and barbarians. I’m hoping there will be a lot less outside stuff going on that drags me away from my schedule.

  I also want to say thank you again to everyone that has sent me spreadsheets of characters, notes about who they want to see a story on next, or just drop me a line on Facebook. I sincerely appreciate and love how much you guys are into the books - as much as I am! - and I hope to be writing stories in this world for years to come.

  Much love,

  — Ruby <3

  The People of Icehome

  The New Arrivals (Icehome Tribe)

  Lauren/Lo – Adult female at the beach camp. Once had glasses. Likes to be a problem solver. Resonates to K’thar.

  Marisol – Terrified adult female at beach camp who is fond of hiding. Gets stranded with Lo on the island. Resonates to T’chai.

  Hannah – Vektal’s self-proclaimed assistant. One of the females at the beach camp. Resonates to J’shel when the island tribes arrive.

  Angie – Adult female at the beach camp. Pregnant with mystery baby. Focus of twin fascination.

  Willa – Adult female with a southern twang. Lo’s friend. ‘Stolen’ by Gren…theoretically. Resonates to Gren.

  Gren – Beastly, feral ex-gladiator male. Attacks on sight. Steals Willa away from camp…or does he? Resonates to Willa.

  Veronica – Newest healer on the planet. Resonated to Ashtar upon arrival. Bit of a klutz.

  Ashtar – Flirty golden ex-gladiator and former slave. Drakoni male who can shapeshift to a “battle form” as a dragon and has the ability to communicate telepathically. Resonates immediately to Veronica. Stud.

  Vordis – One of the red “twins,” ex-gladiators of a race called a’ani. Clone of Thrand.

  Thrand – One of the red “twins,” ex-gladiators of a race called a’ani. Clone of Vordis.

  Tia – Teenager at the beach camp. Flirting with Sessah.

  Nadine – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Learning to hunt.

  Callie – One of the adult females at the beach camp.

  Bridget – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Friend to Veronica.

  Steph – One of the adult females at the beach camp.

  Raven – One of the adult females at the beach camp.

  Penny – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Learning to hunt.

  Devi – Chatty adult female at beach camp. Ex-scientist.

  Flordeliza – Adult female at beach camp.

  Samantha – One of the adult females at the beach camp.

  From the Old Tribe (Croatoan)

  Raahosh – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. Messed up horns. Mated to Liz and has daughters back in the village. Generally unpleasant to be around (except to his mate).

  Liz – Snarky human mate to Raahosh. Her children, Raashel and Aayla, recently arrived at the beach camp. Very pregnant.

  Salukh – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Tiffany.

  Hassen – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Maddie.

  Pashov – One-horned hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Stacy.

  Cashol – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Megan.

  Sessah – Unmated, lanky, teen sa-khui from Croatoan.

  Rukh – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe and ex-outcast. His mate is Harlow and his son Rukhar is back in Croatoan village.

  Harlow – Mate to Rukh, mother to Rukhar. She assists Mardok with technology stolen/looted from the broken ships. Very pregnant.

  Rukhar – Harlow and Rukh’s young son.

  Farli – One of the few sa-khui females. Mated to Mardok and has a pet dvisti named Chompy.

  Mardok – Ex-soldier who has chosen to remain on the ice planet. Technology guru. Mated to Farli.

&nbs
p; Taushen – Hunter and mate to Brooke. Recently arrived at Icehome camp.

  Brooke – recently mated to Taushen. Hairdresser back on Earth, recently arrived at Icehome camp.

  Aehako - Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Kira. Recently returned home to Croatoan.

  Ereven – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Claire. Recently returned home to Croatoan by walking home with Zolaya.

  Zolaya – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Ariana. Recently returned to Croatoan by walking home with Ereven.

  Vektal – Chief of the Croatoan tribe. Mated to Georgie (human) and father of two daughters. Recently returned home.

  Rokan – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Lila. Recently returned home.

  Bek – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. His mate is Elly. Recently returned home.

  The Island Clans

  Clan of the Strong Arm

  K’thar – Hunter, de-facto leader of Strong Arm, resonates to Lauren/Lo

  J’shel – Hunter of Strong Arm, resonates to Hannah

  N’dek – Hunter of Strong Arm, recently lost a leg in a kaari attack

  I’chai – deceased female, mother of Z’hren

  Z’hren – Orphaned child of Strong Arm, now child of Gail and Vaza

  Fat One/Kki – nightflyer pet of the clan

  Gail – adopted parent of Z’hren, older human female

  Vaza – adopted parent of Z’hren, older sa-khui male

  Clan of the Tall Horn

  R’jaal – Clan leader of Tall Horn