His Chosen Mate

by Maya Carnage

  "Yeah, I'm not usually this tired, but I guess all that walking has gotten the best of me." She pours her tea out onto the fire. The fire hisses and diminishes slightly. I take a bucket of water and put it out the rest of the way.

  I dig through the supply bag, for teeth leaves, when I find the container of them that I packed, I hand one to Tracy and take one for myself. We crawl into the tent when we're done chewing on the leaves.

  We lay down on our sides, facing each other. Tracy presses her forehead to mine, "I really liked today, Lorth," she said.

  My hope was that this time together would bring us closer, that it would strengthen our bond with each other. I'm now just realizing, that having these moments with her, just the two of us, is a win all on its own. The last couple of months have been a whirlwind. We've barely had any time together without being interrupted or having to stop in the middle because we have prior commitments.

  I entwine my fingers with hers and bring our joined hands to my chest. I rest them above my hearts. "So did I. It was nice having you all to myself," I said.

  Smiling, she presses her lips to mine. Her tongue sweeps across my closed mouth, wanting in. I part them, and our tongues meet in the middle tangling together. Tracy moves her body closer to mine. Her chest shoves up against mine, locking our joined hands between our bodies. She is demanding. Her tongue spars with mine and when she does not get enough of what she wants, she pushes me onto my back and straddles my waist.

  Unclasping our hands, Tracy places her hands on the ground next to my head. She leans down, recapturing my mouth.

  With my hand free, I grip my mate's luscious ass. I elicit a moan from her when I give a rough squeeze. She settles more snuggly on top of me, pressing into my aching groin. I begin to rock her back and forth on my cock.

  She breaks the kiss and sits up straight. She places her hands on my chest and takes over the sensuous glide of her body on mine. My hands don't leave her ass. Squeezing her cheeks between my fingers, I sit back and watch my mate take her pleasure. Her face is flushed, her breathing heavy. Her chest rises and falls quickly. She picks up speed with each stroke of her body.

  "Lorth," she moans.

  Hearing my name on her lips when she is about to come, causes my cock to harden into a point of pain. Groaning, I start grinding my hips into hers, about to come. She gasps my name at the same time I hit my climax. My fingers dig roughly into her skin. Her nails rake down my bare chest. When she is done, she collapses on top of me, panting.

  "You think we'll ever get to the real thing?" She looks up at me with a smirk.

  "Eventually," I said. I roll to my side with her still in my arms. Tracy kisses me gently, before resting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes.

  "You know, it would be fine if the rest of our nights together were like this. I want to spend my life with you, and it doesn't have to be more than since. As long as you're by my side, I'll be all right," I whispered.

  Tracy takes so long answering me, that I begin to believe she might have fallen asleep. I let my head fall onto the pillow, getting ready to settle in for the night, right when I'm about to drift off, Tracy answers.

  "Me too."

  Chapter Nine

  Tracy

  The next couple days fly by. Most of the time we hike through the woods and down by the river, talking the whole time. I end up learning a lot about Lorth's family and him. He tried being a blacksmith, working with his father and brothers but it didn't suit him. When Aaga mentioned the idea of a garden Lorth was beyond excited, this was something he knew he was good at and would have fun doing. Lorth began going on trips with Graviel and his crew, after Havrick got old enough to really start helping out more at their father's shop, that way their dad didn't have that much work to do. He enjoyed seeing new parts of the universe, meeting people he knew he would never have met if he stayed on Ghegion his whole life. He said that he probably won't be going on any more flights with Graviel, or whoever takes over the ship now that Graviel has a mate, he prefers to spend his time in the garden and with his family.

  I mention to Lorth about my dad, what it was like growing up with a father who could be unstable at times. Don't get me wrong, I loved my dad, but I would have liked it if he tried to keep a steady job and stayed out of prison. He went to jail twice in his life but was arrested and sent to court more than that. He spent five years in prison when I was a baby and then when I was still in high school he had to serve two years. It was all minor things, not like in the end when he got caught with meth.

  It's nice being able to talk openly with Lorth. He's not the type to judge. I opened up to him about everything. How much I loved spending time with Gran instead of coming home to my parent's house. My mom was great, but I couldn't stand how she would make excuses for Daddy. I knew that he wasn't the best father or husband. I just wished that she would have admitted that at least once. It would have made coming back home easier. When I had to quit being an intern it sucked, and I honestly didn't want to do it. I resented her for getting herself in that situation. But she was my mom, one of my best friends, and I would have done anything for her. I still would.

  On the fourth day, we are out here in the middle of the woods, Lorth asks if I would like to dig up some of the edible greens near the river here. "They don't grow near our tribe, and I haven't had the chance to transplant any into our garden," said Lorth.

  "Sure, I think that we do need to start gathering some more plants. We want to expand the garden, to do that we need more varieties of plants to grow." I follow Lorth deeper into the forest. So far we've only traveled up the river, toward the north. He takes us down where the foliage becomes dense, and the air feels more humid, closer to the river. "Are we heading toward the sight where we landed?" I asked when everything starts to look familiar.

  "It's further ahead than where we are going, but yes, we're going in that direction. We might have come through this area on the way to the village."

  Huh. It's odd realizing that we arrived here on this foreign planet not even almost three months ago. Time has gone by really quickly. Quicker than I thought it would have. Since I've been busy with the house, Lorth, and just life in general, I haven't really thought much about how much time has past since coming here.

  Lorth holds back a thick group of hanging branches for me. I duck my head and walk under his arm into a small clearing. We left the side of the river a little ways back, and even though I couldn't see it, I could still hear the sound of running water. A small creek runs through the clearing. Taking my hand, Lorth leads me over to the edge of the water. Clustered around a small set of rocks are a group of leafy green plants.

  "I didn't think about bringing something to dig them up with," said Lorth. He crouches down, my hand still in his. I drop down to my knees beside him. "It doesn't look like their roots are very deep. We could probably dig them up with our hands," I suggested.

  Lorth sticks his other hand into the water. He pushes the plants around, looking at the roots planted into the muddy earth. "I think you're right. It probably won't be that hard." Releasing my hand, he takes two wooden bowls from the pack he wears on his back. He sets them to the side. "We want to take the two that are about to flower. That way we won't have to wait long for more of them to sprout."

  I scoot closer to the creak, and my knees sink into the mud. My once light blue leggings are now stained with mud. We get busy with the digging. It doesn't take us long to uproot two of the plants. After they are safely replanted in the bowls, Lorth cleans his hands in the creek's water before pulling two leaves off of one of the plants still buried in the creek.

  He hands one to me. "I love these, but some of the tribe doesn't. You mentioned that you missed having turnip greens from back on Earth. I don't know if they are similar, but they might be."

  "We can eat them raw?" I look down at the leaf in my hand questionably.

  "Yes, though they taste better when cooked all day above a fire with meat and seasoning," said Lorth
.

  I rinse the leaf off in the creek before taking a bite of it. It's not exactly like turnip greens, but it's close enough. "We'll have to try and make some of that stew you were talking about."

  We sit by the creek eating. Lorth talks about the River tribe, some of what he says make the tribe worth checking out. Some of the other women want to check out the market that all of the tribes have near the River tribe's land, I didn't want to go, but I think I might have to talk Lorth into taking me. Who am I kidding? All I have to do is ask the man, and he'll do whatever I want.

  The walk back to camp is filled with Lorth making jokes about his brothers and some of his friends. When I first met him, I thought he was quiet and sweet. If someone were to tell me that he is actually funny and is hardly ever quiet, well I probably wouldn't believe them. Lorth has really changed since I first met him and if I'm, to be honest, I would say that I like the man in front of me better. He's doesn't seem as perfect as he did way back then. I know about his flaws and quirks. That makes me like him even more.

  "I was planning on leaving in the morning. Is that okay with you?" Lorth asked.

  I sit down on one of the logs by the firepit. "Yeah, I'm good with that." Lorth sits down next to me. I let my head hit his shoulder. Smothering a yawn, I ask him, "So what's the next trial?"

  Lorth wraps his arm around me and presses his lips to the top of my head. "It's a test to see how well we know each other. There are questions and situations we will be asked how the other person would answer. We'll each choose a person for our potential mate to work with, and they know the answers to the questions, we'll be tested on how well we know each other through those questions."

  That doesn't sound that bad. I think I know Lorth pretty well by now and I'm certain he knows me like the back of his hand. "I think I can manage that. When do we begin?"

  "We'll take a short break before we start the final trial. I figure we'll start a few days after we get back, that will give us some time to rest and relax," said Lorth.

  ∞∞∞

  Lorth offers to make the stew he talked about earlier. I argued that it was my turn to cook, but he wouldn't relent, so now I'm sitting on the log while he stirs together a delicious smelling meal on the fire.

  My stomach growls. He chuckles, hearing it from where he sits on the other side of the fire. "You're just in luck the stew is about done."

  "Thank god! I'm starving," I said.

  He ladles the brown stew into the two bowls he set down beside him on one of the logs. He comes over to where I sit and hands me one of the bowls. Sitting down next to me, Lorth begins eating his food. I smell the thick brown stew before taking a bite of it. I've been eating plenty of meals on this planet, but some of what the tribesmen cook up doesn't always look edible. Well, it smells pretty damned good, so I guess it's safe to eat. I take a small bite from the bowl. Hmm, it tastes all right. A little spicy, but not too much that it ruins the meal.

  Since we have to get up early in the morning to head back home, we call it an early night and decide to go to bed right after finishing our dinner. I've never been up in the middle of the night with Lorth sleeping next to me, and most of the time he's either awake before me or right after. As I lay down next to him, unable to fall asleep for the first time in a while, I find out that Lorth is a terrible sleeper.

  He sleeps on his back and snores loudly. His legs flail around under the covers, knocking into mine. He has his arm slung over his face with his mouth wide open. It's adorable. He's even cute when he's asleep and sounding like a helicopter. I don't know why I think that; I've never had before with any other guy I dated. I know things with Lorth have gotten serious. I mean we're about to complete the mating trials. Here soon we'll be an official mated couple. It doesn't terrify me like it used to. The only thing I can think of that feels wrong is that my family will never meet him. That when we have kids, they'll never know my side of the family, only Lorth's. They're great, and I know that they would dote on any kids Lorth and I had, but it isn't the same.

  I want my mom to be there when I give birth, when they take their first steps, and when they're old enough to have mates for themselves. But that will never happen. I try my damnedest, not to think about them, it's easier that way.

  I try to find a more comfortable position to sleep in, rolling onto my back, I stare up at the tent's ceiling. Lorth turns onto his side and throws an arm across my middle. I move my head to look at him. I sigh. Why does it feel like I have to choose? I can tell I'm falling in love with him, that is if I'm not already. I want to make a home here. To not feel guilty when I realize I'm smiling and laughing. I want to let them go, but I can't.

  I can't help but think about what Lorth said to me on that first day here. Sometimes I believe that it would have been better if I didn't have such a loving family. I could have let them go if I couldn't stand them. Hell, even if they were slightly cold to me, maybe then this wouldn't hurt so damned much. I don't think I can go on feeling this way for the rest of my life.

  Lorth is stronger than me. He's this beam of light and strong enough that the bad shit in life doesn't cause him to break. That's not me. Tears fill my eyes. My chest tightens and shudders from the sobs building inside of my body. I cup my mouth, silencing my cries.

  It isn't fair. I want them back. It fucking hurts that I know I never can, though.

  That night I don't sleep. I stay up crying quietly. I know what I have to do, but it's not going to be easy.

  Chapter Ten

  Lorth

  Tracy is gone from the tent when I wake up. She isn't near the live fire neither. I call out her name when I don't find her anywhere near our camp. I start to become worried.

  Tracy is capable of taking care of herself, but she isn't that familiar with this area. There aren't many dangerous beasts near the River tribe, but sometimes the Mountain tribes clawed beast come down in search of food. It rarely happens, but I think of those moments when it did nonetheless.

  I shout her name a few more times, and when she doesn't answer, I begin walking through the forest. I head toward the river. She said that the sound of the water rushing by clears her mind, maybe she is there this early in the morning.

  The strain in my chest lessens when I find my mate sitting on a large rock by the water. Standing there, I stare at my mate. She looks sad sitting there with her knees pulled in tight to her chest. My mouth flattens. Why is she upset? Last night she seemed happy. She was even looking forward to the next trial. What happened between then and now?

  I stride across the damp ground toward Tracy. At the sound of my approach, she swivels her head in my direction. She looks defeated. "What happened?" I extend my arm to touch her, but she slides down from the rock, steps away from me and crosses her arms. I furrow my brow.

  "Lorth, we need to talk," she says, not looking in my eyes.

  "Okay."

  She takes a deep breath before beginning. "I've been thinking... and I think it would be for the best if we took a break."

  I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I thought everything was going fine. What did I do? "I don't understand? Why?"

  "It's everything!" Tears spring to her eyes and one spills over, tracing a line down her cheek. "I love you, and this has nothing to do with you or our mating. I need to come to terms with what's happened to me. I lost everything. My home, family, life, and even myself, I was forced into this new world, and I'm now just beginning to feel at home. I can't move forward with you until I let my past go. I have to say goodbye to my family."

  My hearts stop. It feels like someone ripped one of my limbs off. It doesn't make sense. We were doing fine yesterday. If she needs time to grieve her old life, she can have it, but why does it have to be spent away from me? "If that's what you need." It kills me to say it, but if that's what's best for her right now, then who am I to stop her.

  Tracy begins to cry. Each tear that falls causes a pain in my chest. It isn't easy letting her go. "I don't know what else to do
," she said.

  "It's fine, Tracy. I want you to be happy, and if that means giving us some time apart, then that's okay." I wrap her in my arms. She rests her head on my chest.

  Sighing, she says, "Have I ever told you how amazing you are?"

  "Perhaps, though I don't mind hearing it again."

  She laughs lightly. "You're really are the best guy, Lorth."

  ∞∞∞

  Back at the village Tracy and I go our separate ways. I don't want to be alone, so instead of going home to wallow in my heartache, I go to the shop. It isn't ideal to be around some of the nosiest tribe members, but it will be good to be around family. It is mid-day, but the shop isn't busy. Havrick sits by the table and is eating. Exxil works on shining an ax, while Pops sharpens a sword.

  "Ho! I thought you would be staying longer out there in the wild with your mate. I know that I would," said Havrick. He takes a big bite of his food, and says around the mouthful, "Where's is the mate anyhow?"

  Pops put down the sword. He looks at me with his brow creased. "What happened?"

  With a sigh, I tell them everything.

  "That's terrible, brother," said Exxil. "It's not forever eventually she'll come back to you."

  I know that he is probably right. This isn't going to be for the rest of my life, Tracy and I will be back together and ready to complete the trials before you know it. It's the time until then that I don't look forward to facing. Tracy needs this, and I want to give this time to her. It's going to be tough, but I can do it. I'll just fill my time by working in the garden and helping Pops out at the shop in the evenings. Yeah, it will go by quickly.

  Hopefully.

  "Well, now that you have some time to yourself, maybe you can help me convince Exxil to accept Lucia's help." Pops glares at Exxil.

  At least it won't be boring while working here. "Did Lucia actually offer her help, or are you assuming she will?"