Arie’s heart picked up. Warol!
“No, this woman is mine,” Morosh snapped. “You go lay for him, Essi. We all know you are wanku. All of the village knows you are eager to serve beast-men.”
The picture suddenly became clear for Arie. The beast-men that the feral men spoke of were the Ragoru, and there were some of their number who were trading meat for sexual favors. She felt sick as she wondered if her guys had been among those who made such transactions. Was that how he knew the blond woman? Perhaps they’d had an arrangement before, and he had used his relationship with Essi to find Arie. It wasn’t improbable. Feral humans were quite different from those he had a grudge against. Although the thought of it made her irrationally jealous, she was grateful all the same that he was there and pressing his claim against that of the feral men.
One of the older men a short distance away cleared his throat. “Morosh, we don’t want any harm from the beast-men. If he has prior claim to the woman and she is his mate, it takes priority over your claim. You know the rules of the ehurmuvale.”
Men and women nodded their heads as they moved away from the site of confrontation. Essi grinned victoriously but didn’t spare her even a glance. Arie knew, without a doubt, that the woman in front of her didn’t care for her wellbeing and was only interested in asserting her influence. She didn’t even look at her when she spoke.
“Go away, flat-face. I don’t know why the beast-man wants you, but you go to him and leave us. I don’t want you here,” she said as she finally turned her head in Arie’s direction and bared her teeth. “If it was my choice, I would kill you here, but that would make the beast-man angry,” she said.
Arie didn’t get more than two feet when Morosh wrapped both arms around her and hauled her to his chest.
“No! This woman belongs to my family. We will destroy the beast-man. We will not yield her!” he shouted, and his brothers came up in a half-circle behind them. They growled their own crude agreement as they lifted long spears toward the forest.
Warol let out a piercing howl before bursting out from the trees with such speed and that he was nothing more than a blur of silver that meted out death wherever he struck. He hit the ehurmu with the full savagery of his fury and bodies were flung in his wake. They were no match for him, and though they managed to get their spears past his defenses several times, it did not slow him down.
Arie’s blood pounded in her ears as she watched Warol’s demonstration of strength with awe. Although she knew that he was perfectly capable of such actions, that he was doing it for her sake made her blood run hot. So much so that she instantly ran to his side as he stood over the wounded men, his muzzle wrinkled up as his lips pulled back from his wicked fangs. One of his secondary eyes turned her way as if reassuring himself that she was okay, and he shuddered as he turned toward her.
But then the unexpected happened. Blood soaking his sides from numerous wounds, his yellow eyes suddenly rolled back in his head, and he dropped to the ground in front of her. Arie let out a shout of dismay and crouched over him as she tried to gauge just how bad his injuries were. From a glance, she could tell that a number of them were older injuries likely incurred from their fall, but a strange smell coming from the spots where the spears pierced his hide concerned her.
The ehurmu whispered among themselves and crept forward. The elderly male who had attempted to reason with Morosh, who smelled better and was more groomed compared to the younger members of his village, crouched down beside her and frowned as he looked over Warol.
“You should give him up for dead,” he said. “Our spears are dipped in vorok poison from the frogs that share these parts of the forest with us. He will be very sick and is likely to die. Few of our men survive one accidental piercing with the poison. The beast-man endured several. It is not good.”
Her heart sank but she clenched her jaw. “I won’t give up on him.”
“Arie?” a weak voice whispered from beneath her. She glanced down and met Warol’s weak gaze. “Please don’t leave me to die alone.”
Arie swallowed back her tears. “You aren’t going to die. You are a horribly stubborn, foul tempered Ragoru. You will be just fine.”
Brush from the trees broke in a crash, and all around her the ehurmu began to shriek and dart into their shacks. Even the elderly man moved away and, with a final lingering look of sympathy, retreated into his own dwelling.
Arie felt their presence as they collected behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she met the worried amber gaze of Kyx as Rager surveyed the village with cool regard for any sign of dissent. His dark fur was bristled with such aggression that Arie doubted anyone would be so foolish as to step out and confront him. She ran her fingers against his leg, drawing the attention of his primary eyes while his secondary eyes shifted continuously.
“Rager, please! Warol has been poisoned. We need to get him out of here, to some shelter where I can attempt to heal him,” she said.
His gaze trailed over to Warol, and he grimaced as the other male watched him with unfocused eyes from where he lay. Rager shook his head.
“See what all your antics bring about?” he grumbled as he pulled the other male up over his shoulder. “Kyx, see to Arie,” he said.
The red Ragoru grinned at her with a sweet lopsided smile and opened all four of his arms to her. She rushed into his arms with a sob of relief. She clung to him as his arms closed around her, bringing an undeniable safety. Tucked high against his chest, her face buried in the scruff at his throat, she allowed herself to find sanctuary in his embrace as he followed after Rager at his customary high speed.
11
Rager scowled as he looked over Warol lying on the mound of furs that Kyx had hastily piled. The male was a mess. He was in such poor condition that it was a stroke of good fortune that Rager had recognized the area. Arie had needed someplace safe to attempt to tend to the ugly wounds if she had any hope of saving him, if the gods were merciful. As close as it was, it had still taken them some time to arrive at the hollow they had painstakingly dug out many revolutions ago.
He cursed Warol for not delaying his attack until they could join him. As soon as he’d caught scent of him, Rager had bellowed a greeting that was almost instantly returned. He’d felt a moment of relief, but that was replaced with concern when another call echoed to him that he was tracking their female. Arie hadn’t been with him. Warol, as was typical for him, had ignored his order to wait for them. Foolish male. Rager shook his head, sending his dark braids whipping around him. The male never had the patience to wait for anything, even when it was in their best interest.
And this was now the result of his folly.
Warol panted in his feverish state, shifting on the furs in agony. The stench of poison was so strong that Rager wrinkled his muzzle. He didn’t want his brother to die. Ragoru didn’t deal in poison and had no natural defenses against it, but they had become familiar after a number of their kind turned up dead from a huntsman utilizing it. He’d never heard of one surviving such a heavy dosage.
From the stubborn set of Arie’s jaw and the narrowed focus of her eyes as she scrutinized their fallen brother, it was obvious she had no intention of allowing that to happen. Rager knew she would do anything in her power to save Warol, and he had stepped back to give her the necessary space to see to his second.
As soon as he’d laid Warol on a pile of furs, she had summoned Kyx to bring her the sack he carried around for her, a bowl of water, and clean strips of leather. Rager had never once seen her remove anything from the bag, but now she pulled several containers out and set them by her knees. Most appeared to be filled with plant material. One, however, appeared to be filled with a dark dust. She caught him watching and a tired little smile pulled up at the corners of her mouth.
“None of this will hurt him. I really don’t know with any certainty what I need,” she said, her brow furrowing. “I have never treated wounds inflicted by a weapon coated with a poisonous compound, but I am go
ing to try to make a poultice I have used on snake bites. I am hoping that, between the medicine and his immune system, it will give him a chance to recover.”
Rager understood what she did not say. She wouldn’t give up on Warol, but there was a good chance the male would not recover. Sorrow weighed on his chest, but he choked back a keening sound of despair. He would not sing Warol to the ancestors until it was time, and not a second earlier. He clung to any spark of hope that he would be well again.
Kyx crouched beside Arie, his ears drooped slightly, and his two sets of eyes looked over the injured male with worry. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Arie nodded. “He might thrash in his state of delirium as I attempt to clean his wounds and bind the poultice over them. If you can hold him still, that would be helpful.”
The male nodded and shifted himself until he was crouched over Warol’s head. He braced one set of hands on the male’s chest, and the other pair on his shoulders. Rager snorted. He doubted that would do much good if the male attempted to jerk away. Warol outweighed Kyx by a considerable amount.
Sure enough, the moment she wetted a strip of leather and applied it to a ragged wound on his belly, Warol jerked up and raked his claws across her forearm. Arie yelped and flung herself back while Rager jumped forward to restrain his brother’s wrists. He turned his head and met her gaze to ascertain if she was okay. Tears filled her eyes as she let out a hiss of pain, but she blinked them away.
“I’m all right,” she whispered as she fetched the leather again.
Rager sat on Warol’s legs and braced his knees to either side of his thighs, squeezing with just enough pressure to immobilize his legs. Rager then leaned forward to further restrain his brother’s arms. He looked over at Arie and nodded. This would have to do. Arie sucked her rosy lip between her teeth and returned his nod as she slipped forward and once again applied the wet leather.
Warol whimpered and roared viciously, but Arie was merciful in her quick, thorough work. Before long, the wounds were bound with charcoal and strong-smelling herbs, and his brother rested despite the occasional writhe of pain over his features, or the way he twisted on the furs. There was little they could do but keep him cool, change his bandages, and wait for his fever to break.
It was mostly due to his despair that he left the cave to hunt for fresh game. Like all their caves, it had been stocked well over the summer with dried meat, so they would not have gone hungry any time soon. Rager just couldn’t bear to be so helpless. Hunting was a necessary distraction for him while Kyx patrolled the area around the burrow, keeping watch for any sign of danger.
When he returned with three fat rabbits, he found that Arie hadn’t moved from Warol’s side the entire time he’d been gone. She continued to wet the extra strips of leather she kept at her side and apply them to his brow and chest. She looked up at him and greeted him with an exhausted smile that brought an unfamiliar warmth to his chest.
Kyx, who’d apparently arrived before him, happily relieved Rager of his burden and inspected the game with a pleased expression.
“I’ll just take care of these,” Kyx offered.
“Kyx, don’t forget to use that spare skull you found and cleaned out for me. Put some of the meat you cook for me into the water once you get it boiling. It should make a decent broth so Warol will get his necessary nutrients,” Arie said without looking up from her task.
“I have a shell full of boiling water ready for you, as you asked,” the other male responded as he set a turtle shell beside Arie. The female smiled with gratitude and removed another pouch from her bag.
“Thank you, Kyx. I’m going to make a tea of ginger and meadowsweet to try to bring down his fever and help with the pain.” She worried her bottom lip. “So far, there hasn’t been any change,” she said as she glanced up at Rager. “He’s not any better, but nor is he any worse.”
Rager felt his chest constrict. “Are you well?” he asked, jerking his head toward the deep scratches on her forearm that she’d bound with a strip of leather.
“I will be fine. I have certainly cut myself worse.”
He glanced around, unsure of what to do with himself. This little human was becoming a part of their lives—more than just a female that they were temporarily escorting. Knowing that their appearance had unnerved her, he tucked his lower set of arms behind his back and tried not to look at her directly in a desperate bid to put her at ease. Humans were so different from Ragoru; Rager wasn’t sure what it would take to make her feel comfortable with him so near. Maybe if he looked more human? He closed his peripheral eyes as he settled next to her, slightly off-balance with his lower arms still clasped behind him.
Arie glanced over at him with a perplexed expression etched over her features. “What are you doing?”
“I am trying to make you feel comfortable with me,” he said, humiliation burning through his stomach. He suddenly felt foolish. That embarrassment increased when her throaty laughter surrounded him. He opened his peripheral eyes and glared at her. She held up a hand in protest.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh. But I am not sure I understand how that would make me feel more comfortable when you look so completely uncomfortable,” she said with a giggle as she measured out bits of plant material into the hot water. Even Kyx joined in the laughter where he spitted a rabbit over the fire.
Rager growled at the smaller male, but Kyx’s brow shifted with unrepentant amusement.
“I know humans are afraid of Ragoru. You are afraid of us,” he stated bluntly.
Arie’s laughter died away and she looked at him with serious consideration. She pulled a deep breath into her lungs and pinched her lips together before speaking.
“You are correct that humans are afraid of Ragoru, and yes, I was afraid of you. You are another species, and one that is not only larger than me, but also an apex predator. I would be stupid to not be a little afraid.”
Bitterness twisted in his gut to the point where he could almost taste bile as he focused his glare on the fire. He startled when she placed a hand on his forearm.
“The keyword there is was. Over the last few days with you, I’m no longer afraid around you. I may be startled, or confused at times, but it isn’t fear. It’s the oddest thing,” she observed with a wry twist of her lips. “I know you are capable of killing me with little trouble, but I am also pretty certain you wouldn’t do that. You’ve had plenty of opportunities, and I realized that, since the moment you offered to escort me, you have not only protected me and kept me warm and fed but came for me when we were separated. That is more kindness than I’ve received from a human.”
He looked at her with disbelief and gestured to himself.
“You don’t find my appearance unsettling.”
Her smile blossomed into a wide grin. “Not at all. I always did think that the gods, many of whom have a form unlike humans, were magnificent and regal. I doubt I would have been able to participate at all in our late-night activities if I’d ever truly been that uncomfortable with you,” she said.
Rager froze. Never had they spoken of what happened when they woke to the smell of her arousal. The sweet musk had been irresistible to him, and clearly to the other members of his triad. None of them dared to mention it. His tail shifted over his lap as he suddenly felt wary. What purpose did she have for bringing it up? Did she wish for them to stop?
Although he knew it shouldn’t be something that he wanted—after all, she wasn’t of his species—he didn’t want to lose that one small pleasure. Those stolen touches in the latest hours of night were the only bit of happiness in his life. As the days passed, he feared going back to living without that comfort.
But Arie said nothing further on the matter. She’d returned her attention to her ministrations and tipped a bit of the medicinal tea into Warol’s mouth as she stroked his throat so he would reflexively swallow the concoction.
Two days passed with little change in Warol’s condition. Although his
fever broke on the second day, he’d been largely unresponsive. Every day Rager hunted fresh game so that Kyx could make a new batch of broth for their brother, and every day she painstakingly dripped it down his throat. At night, they huddled close to the male to provide warmth and comfort as he healed. Not once did they awaken to the sexual heat they’d experienced in the days before. They all felt lost with Warol asleep.
For the most part, they took turns caring for Warol. To Arie’s surprise, Rager took over as many duties as possible so she could rest, while Kyx seemed obsessed with the security of their location while they were so vulnerable. She would roll over and look at them from where she lay, and at times she saw such sorrow and devastation that it took her breath away. Rager’s eyes would mostly close, and his regal ears drooped to the side. Even his tail lay motionless beside him as he crouched over his friend. Knowing that he’d be embarrassed to be caught grieving, she always discreetly turned her back to them again before he caught her watching.
She brushed down the soft fur of Warol’s forehead and sighed. He’d lost weight. She hated seeing such a vibrant powerful male almost wasting away before her eyes. She no longer had to help him swallow, which was a positive sign, but she wished he would open his yellow eyes and glare at her again.
“Come on,” she whispered as she gave him more tea to help manage his pain. When she’d changed his bandages, she’d marveled at how fast he was healing. The wounds were already sealed up, but still looked raw. “You know you want to yell at me for not holding tighter to you when we fell. For not staying where you could find me. For being another stupid human.”
“You… are… not…” a rough voice whispered laboriously.
She looked down at his face as all four of his yellow eyes opened. He managed a small, lopsided smile for her benefit before groaning. She cried, tears running down her face, and laughed at the same time as she pulled him against her chest. Although he grunted with pain, one of his arms wrapped around her middle and clung to her as he burrowed his face into the crook of her neck.
Red: A Dystopian World Alien Romance Page 9
