On one side of the room, there’s a large table with three bench-like chairs. The design of the chairs is a surprise, but logical, given the difficulty of sitting with a tail. Although he had no trouble sitting at the table in my kitchen, I have no doubt that these slightly curved mini-benches are probably more comfortable for him. A wood stove dominates much of the room directly in front of me while another wall is completely utilitarian in design with a number of shelves dug out from its side.
The shelves are empty enough to give old Mother Hubbard a run for her money. I wince as a spider scurries across one shelf and squeeze my eyes shut to give myself a moment to regain my composure rather than demand the entire den be cleansed by fire. Even the wood stove is covered in a layer of dust like it hadn’t been used in some time. I clear my throat and turn to face him, forcing an optimistic smile.
“Well, this place is really... something. I take it that you don’t do much cooking... or cleaning. Still, you have a lot of space and everything looks sturdy.”
Trying to find a few things to appreciate really does make a difference. I’m starting to think I can work with this for however long we are stuck here. In the back of my mind, I’m still worrying that by the time everything is said and done Jinx and I won’t have apartments or jobs, but Jinx had waved off my concerns and told me not to worry about it, so I’m trying not to. Keeping positive is a bit harder than I thought it would be. Jinx certainly looks happy all the damn time as if it takes no effort at all. He never seems to fret over anything. I wish that I found it that easy.
Looking at Arawl, I am certain he’s a worrier. His eyes scan his kitchenette critically and a scowl pulls at his features.
“This is not suitable to bring a female into,” he grumbles at last. “My mother would have never let me hear the end of it to see it in such a state.”
My lips twitch at that. “I am guessing your mom had very definite ideas about what your den should look like.”
The corners of his mouth quirk up and he gives me an amused glance. “You could say that. To put in kindly, if she saw what my den looks like she probably would have supervised daily cleanings and restocking of supplies until she considered it habitable again. If she knew that my mate was being greeted by such surroundings, she would have dragged me out of here by my ear—painfully I might add.”
A giggle escapes me, and Arawl gives me a lopsided smile, his green eyes shining playfully. It’s a side to him I haven’t seen except very briefly when we first met, though it had been hidden under a significant amount of smoldering. Seeing him this way, at ease and playful, is actually endearing. The sudden shift throws me off and I clear my throat uncomfortably and eye the space.
“Truthfully it could use a good cleaning, and it would help to have some food stores. Where the hell did you eat? Because I doubt you’ve used that stove the entire time you’ve lived here.”
“Indeed, I haven’t,” he agrees with a bark of laughter. “I have no talent or patience for cooking despite my parents’ best effort. I am hardly here at all except to sleep. Dens are almost wasted on unmated males, though I suspect they are provided to encourage us to find mates. Females tend to stay within their parents’ den or with a brother if absolutely necessary. My own sister, Fahuri, stays with my brother Eral. I haven’t had a mate or a sibling to care for, so this really is nothing more for me than a place to sleep. That is the primary reason my bed is in the common room. It is far more expedient to come home and drop on the nearest surface than to search out my nesting room in the dark. When I am not overseeing the portal, I just grab something to eat roasting at the village’s common fire and visit with the other unmated members of the tribe or anyone who may be passing through. In any case, there is always something ready cooking over a spit for those who need it.”
I chew my bottom lip thoughtfully. “Now that I’m here, they are going to assume that we will be living here in mated bliss. That means we are going to have to get this place into working order, or at least habitable.”
Arawl grimaces. “Maybe I can get Fahuri to come over and help.”
He looks so pained at the idea of straightening up his den that a tiny snicker erupts from me, and then another until I’m full-out laughing. His ear turns toward me curiously and he cocks his head, the corners of his mouth twitching with mirth until he too is laughing.
“Come on,” I say, grabbing his arm and tugging gently, “show me where your cleaning supplies are so we can successfully battle the dreaded dust bunny of doom.”
I discover that there really isn’t much in the way of industrial cleaner, but we do find several rags, a broom, a bucket, scrub brushes, and several bars of strong soap. As I stare at our collected implements, it’s my turn to moan. I hadn’t considered that I would be doing things the hard way. The mere idea of getting on my hands and knees to scrub the wooden flooring makes my knees ache.
“You should know,” I say with a wince, “that this would be considered rough living by most people I am acquainted with. Allow me to recommend that next time you go to the human world, you at very least invest in a mop.”
He nods his head in commiseration and we set to cleaning.
Because of the structure of the den, the few windows it has are more like skylights to let in a bit of sunlight from above, so I’m not sure how long we clean other than a vague sense of the light shifting around us. Arawl turns out to be better at this than expected. Although he’s clearly not enjoying himself, he is quick and efficient—enough that I struggle to keep up. Still, we work companionably.
His den is larger than I expected. The hallway leading off from the right has two rooms attached, one is a large empty bedroom and the other a simple plumbed bathroom with a large stone tub. There’s an elevated hole in the floor that transports waste with a small bucket of water sitting nearby. Of course, all water must be retrieved—and heated for bathing—from the kitchen but it is surprisingly not as primitive as I thought it would be.
The amount of dust and loose dirt we clean from the rest of the den leaves me feeling gritty when we finally tackle the kitchen. Dealing with the mattress had been the worst of it. Before hauling it into his room, we set it on end and beat it vigorously with a pair of sticks Arawl found outside. By the time we were done, we were both coughing, and even Arawl’s pale fur was dull from the particles of dust and dirt.
I wrinkle my nose in disgust at my clothing. Between the dust and sweat and several spots soiled by something that spilled out of a jug I overturned onto myself, they’re almost gummy in texture. I dread the idea of washing them. At this point, I’d rather burn them than ever touch them again. Undeniably filthy and exhausted, I lean against one corner of the kitchen sink and put a hand over my mouth, holding back a yawn, as he pumps more water into our bucket.
“You do realize that after we’re done here, I’m going to destroy the bathtub again. I am so dirty. It’s disgusting,” I mutter.
Arawl grunts in agreement and gives his fur a pitiful shake in an attempt to dislodge the filth from it but only succeeds to look more miserable for his effort. His ears lay at a lopsided angle.
“I never realized just how bad the den was,” he says irritably, and I can’t hold back the smile that tugs at my lips.
“I’m not sure how it snuck up on you. It’s a wonder you didn’t wake up in the morning with other critters mistakenly burrowed into your bedding with you,” I tease. He gives me a reproachful look, but it doesn’t last long before a sheepish look steals over his face.
“Well, there was a confused young badger the one time... but it was just once,” he admitted with a chuckle. Caught off-guard, I snort out a laugh before slapping a hand over my mouth and nose in mortification. His grin widens and he reaches over to tug at my hand.
“What was that sound?” he demands jovially as he pretends to pry my hand away from my face. “Did you inhale too much of the dust? Maybe I should rush you to the healer if you have such peculiar noises coming from you.”
&nb
sp; I swat at him. “Back off, wolf-boy!”
His grin widens.
“Come on. Do it again,” he pleads playfully. “Maybe I should get some more dirt to help you out.” He holds fast to me as he glances around the room for a spot coated with dust. I squeal with laughter and attempt to twist away, my body sliding against his fur as we wrestle. Somehow, in all our foolery, my ass grazes his pelvis and Arawl chokes on a sound caught between a moan and a yelp. His hips jerk into me, setting me off-balance, and I go down hard, pulling Arawl, whose balance at the moment is already precarious, tumbling with me. Thankfully, he manages to catch his weight before he flattens me, but our bodies brush erotically from where he has landed between my thighs.
A shiver of lust races over me. How obscene and maybe even unnatural it must be to lust over a being who may be physically more beast than man. At that moment, however, I don’t care. He’s become the pinnacle of my interest and the root of my desire.
His green eyes glint down at me with their eerie fire. The mirth in his gaze transforms into a heat that sends an answering warmth surge. He leans forward to brush his nose against my neck...
Bang!
The sound of the front door flying open echoes through the den loud enough to startle us both. That quickly the spell is broken, and he frowns down at me with regret as he regretfully untangles his limbs from mine. A feminine voice calls out from the main room. I shove at him to hasten our separation. I certainly don’t want to be caught in this embarrassing position.
“Arawl! Arawl, where are you, you ogre’s bullocks? I know you are back. I ran into Rashi and his human guest, Jinx.”
The inflection in her voice on Jinx’s name surprises me and my leg jerks and slams into Arawl’s extended heel with so much force that it sends him crashing back down on me with a groan. It’s followed by a moan as our intimate places are squashed together, friction rising between us with every shift of our bodies.
“Oh!”
I wince at the sound of surprise coming from the kitchenette’s entrance but turn my head to smile in what I hope is a friendly manner at the female there. The iron-gray female stands there gaping at us, her eyes wide until she is overcome by amusement.
“I guess this confirms what I’ve heard... that you’ve brought a mate back through the portal with you. A human too! I don’t think that anyone would have thought that we could successfully mate with them,” the female states pleasantly, her yellow eyes studying me with open curiosity.
Arawl groans and rests his forehead briefly on my shoulder. I can feel his breath fanning my neck, enticingly, until he pulls up again to level an annoyed look on the female.
“Fahuri, if you knew that I brought a new mate home, why are you interrupting us? This is traditionally our bonding time.”
“For a couple undergoing bonding, you look remarkably filthy,” she crows in delight. Reining in her laughter, she regards us with amusement. “As entertaining as this all is, it is not why I am here. The elders, and our brothers, have heard of your mating. Consider yourself summoned to the village center... both you and your mate.”
I blanch. I absolutely cannot go in front of an entire village looking like I’ve been swimming in mud. I shake my head vehemently and with one more shove, I manage to get out from underneath my new mate.
“Oh, no, no, no, no! I’m not clean and my clothes are ruined. There is no way in hell I’m going to subject myself to everyone’s scrutiny looking like this!”
Fahuri cocks her head, her ears dropping in an expression that almost reminds me of someone pinching their face up in thought. The slow scowl that spreads over her face doesn’t make me feel any better. Unsurprisingly, having someone agree that you look—and likely smell—like bottom-dwelling sludge doesn’t do much for my self-esteem.
Her ears suddenly prick up, and her mouth opens in a wide smile. She claps her hands together excitedly. “Oh, I know! I have a trunk with some beautiful materials that are favored among the trolls. They have the softest textiles and they are woven with the finest magic that will clean the cloth and repair any minor tears when the sun rises the next day. Even if you look like you bathed in mud, it will keep clean and neat. It is unfortunate that I am not built to appreciate them often, though I wear my favorites every full moon when I go exploring among the human realm. I will be right back!”
I watch her as she rushes out of the den, the door slamming behind her. While she’s gone, we diligently work on getting the kitchen cleaned up. If I thought I was sore before, by the time we finish scrubbing the kitchen my muscles are so stiff that every movement feels tight and forced. My knees crack as I stand, reminding me of the Barbie doll I had when I was eight and the way her leg would pop when I bent her knee. Way too much time on my hands and knees... and sadly not for any kind of kinky reason.
I wince in pain as I slowly stretch out my back, catching Arawl’s attention. He leads me to one of the curved mini-benches and gently pushes me down until I am seated upon it. I know that my face feels flushed and I probably look like hell, but I don’t have the energy to do more than groan in relief. I’m still sitting there when something heavy thumps to its place in front of me. I pry open one eye to find myself face-to-face with Fahuri. Arawl hovers just behind her as if he’s itching to throw her out.
I grin at him sleepily.
“Stop scowling, Arawl,” I say. “There’s no one here who’s going to feel the least bit threatened by it.”
Fahuri nudges me playfully on the shoulder. “Listen to you not taking any nonsense from him... Good for you. Too many males around here are catered to by their females. It would do them all some good to be brought down a peg or two if you ask me. My little brother, though, has always been a good one,” she observes with a fond smile toward Arawl.
Her gaze fastening on me once more, she nudges the trunk with her paw. “These are some that I think might fit you. We will get you bathed and comfortable and then you can visit with the elders and alphas.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Arawl hurry to set a kettle back on the wood stove to heat water and I slump forward slightly in relief. It is not long before I have a tub half full of hot water. With buckets of cold water, I add it gradually until the bath is just cool enough to be bearable. I sink down into it with a grateful sigh and root around until I find the washcloth I had carelessly tossed in the tub. Sighs of pleasure escape me as I soap up my body until all I have left to do is to wash my hair.
When I emerge, feeling considerably more human, I step aside to give Arawl room to drag back more heated water for his own bath. Fahuri is absent, perhaps letting everyone know that we will be along shortly. Left to my own devices with my new wardrobe, I sit once more on a bench in the kitchen and eye the trunk.
Troll clothing. I can’t imagine what might be hidden within. Most fiction I’m accustomed to when it comes to trolls makes them appear primitive. Will I be wearing scraps of leather? A chainmail bikini? I grimace. Gods, I hope not. I can’t imagine either option being particularly comfortable and without considerable chafing involved.
Slowly, I lift the lid and glance inside. I bite back a moan of delight that rises unbidden from within me. Silky dresses, blouses, and skirts lay in a rainbow of brilliant hues. Hesitantly, I reach inside and let my fingers drag across the gossamer fabrics. I have no idea which one to pick.
Closing my eyes, I dig into the trunk and pull something out randomly. It turns out to be a ruby red blouse. I slip it over my head and follow with a wide black skirt. Satisfied with my outfit, I rummage further, looking for any kind of supportive garment. I am absolutely not putting my sweaty bra back on now that I’m clean. My fingers wrap around supple leather and I pull free a dark corset. My brows wing upward as I look at it. I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything like what I’m accustomed to. I really should have brought spare bras, but I figured one would do me for several days in a pinch. At least I have clean panties, because I am not seeing any kind of undergarments provided.
Feeling once again presentable, and my self-confidence restored with the armor of decent clothing, I begin to finger-comb my hair as I wait for Arawl to emerge from the bath.
My stomach twists with a familiar sourness that comes with the realization that, once again, I am facing an entirely uncertain and unknown future. I feel cast into the wilderness just like I had when I aged out of foster care.
The only relief is knowing that this time I am not alone. Jinx is here and, for better or worse, I have Arawl for whatever limited time fate and fortune provide for us. At least until we can sever our bond so I can return to my life.
I don’t think too much about why I’m feeling less enthusiastic about that outcome.
Chapter 10
Arawl
I can feel everyone’s eyes on me as I enter the clearing with Ana. My back stiffens. While many of my tribe watch only with curiosity, others are openly amused. My sensitive hearing picks up a conversation among some of the males. They are laughing at Ana for her small size and what they consider her supremely ugly, furless form. Fine for a full moon fuck under the cover of darkness, but, compared to the beauty and strength of werewolf females, not one they would ever desire as a mate. Despite their envy for my mating, they... pity me. I hear it in their words and feel it in the sympathetic glances they cast my way.
I bristle in offense, my eyes turning to the small female at my side. I don’t know whether or not she can hear what is being said about her, but her jaw is clenched and her head held proudly as she keeps pace with me. She looks striking in the troll clothing, the corset drawing my eyes to her high, full breasts. She makes a delicate sound in her throat, snapping my attention to her face. Her eyes are fixed on me and I wonder just how long she was watching me. While I’m not ashamed that I am attracted to my mate despite the inconveniences of our bond, I really would rather not be caught doing something as ill-mannered as staring at the generous curves of her body. It is so different than the way females of my own species are built.
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