by Lily Thomas
“You stay, Daerk,” Tira said, “we three will leave.” And then she quickly ushered the other two men out of the tent, but not without giving Daerk a nod of support. And with that simple nod, she sent him all the courage he needed to stay. His mother knew Tor and Rir were like brothers to him.
Eron poured one skull of hot water over the wound, doing his best to cleanse it of dirt and disease. Then he threw a mixture of flowers and leaves into a stone bowl and began mashing them.
“May I?” Daerk approached and bent down, needing to do something for his friend rather than standing there uselessly.
“Here.” Eron handed it over eagerly, his aging hands needing the opportunity for rest.
“He’ll live.”
It wasn’t a question Daerk was asking, but a statement. After everything their clan had been through he needed Tor to be by his side. He couldn’t lead without support and his friends.
Chapter 6
“What’s going on?” Ezi asked Aiyre the moment she sat down around the village fire and noticed the buzz in the air. Everyone’s had their heads pressed together as they whispered. When the child in her arms fussed, she bounced the child on her hip as she folded her legs under her butt.
Aiyre nibbled her lip a little as she studied Ezi.
Ezi’s eyes narrowed on the small movement. “What?”
“Tor is back.” Aiyre blurted in a rush.
Ezi sucked in a harsh breath as his image flashed in front of her. Those piercing blue eyes of his, eyes that seemed to engulf her until she was left gasping for air. Shaking herself, she glanced around the village, “Where is he?”
“In his hut.”
“Maybe I should head back to mine.” As Ezi made movements to get up, Aiyre held out a hand, stopping her.
“You don’t have to worry about him trying to convince you to join him in matehood right now.”
“Why not?” Ezi settled back down, trusting Aiyre’s word that there was no reason for her to worry.
“He’s gravely injured. Turns out he thought he could hunt a wholly rhinoceros on his own.” Aiyre shook her head with a heavy sigh.
Ezi let it sink in for a few minutes. She may not have wanted to accept his mate hood, but she would never wish him ill because he had always been a nice man. He’d never pushed the mate hood on her.
“Will he die?” The baby reached up and pulled lightly at one of the strands of her hair. Ezi shifted her head away, so the child wouldn’t be able to yank out a clump.
“Eron’s doing his best for Tor.”
“He is in his hut?” She had no idea why she was asking… it wasn’t like she ever wanted to set eyes on him. If he died, it would take care of the only problem she had in this clan. Living with sabertooths was hard, but being a sabertooth’s mate was impossible.
“He is.” Aiyre looked over at her, studying her. Then her eyes shifted to the child in Ezi’s arms. “How is Flosa?”
“Fussy as ever.” Ezi sighed. “I don’t think I’ve slept well in days.” She was sure there were shadows under her eyes. If Drakk was still alive, she’d be able to share some of these duties with him, but instead she was all on her own…well, maybe not all on her own. She did have Aiyre, who adored Flosa.
“Would you like to hold her?” Ezi offered. “I could use some time to sleep and eat.”
“I would.” Aiyre all but lunged at her, yanking Flosa free and then cooing at the baby in her arms. “Maybe she will keep my mind off of Tor and what Daerk must be going through.”
Flosa smiled up at Aiyre, and her arms came up as she tried to play with some leather strings hanging off Aiyre’s shirt, but her clumsy baby hands found it hard to capture the moving strings.
Ezi felt a pinch of bitterness in her heart. Aiyre was always better with Flosa than she was. Sometimes she wondered if the gods had blessed the wrong woman with a child. Aiyre and Daerk were trying everything they could think of, like having Eron ask the gods of fertility for their blessing, and drinking certain bitter brews of tea that Eron and Tira served them. Tira was skilled with her herb use, and she was Daerk’s mother, so if anyone was going to help them succeed in their dreams, it would be her.
The baby gurgled in delight as Aiyre waved her braid near the child’s hands.
With a frown, Ezi turned on a fur booted heel. She had some place she had to go, and she couldn’t watch the way the two of them interacted.
Weaving her way away from the village fire, she passed several large huts where women in this clan stayed until they were married to a man who had his own hut for her to call her own. Unfortunately, Ezi hadn’t been given her own hut, and she was currently living in one of the communal huts. When she’d first arrived, she hadn’t been thrilled with staying so close to sabertooth shifters… not after they decimated her clan and her family.
Now, she could be around them. They had proven over and over again that without the fear of punishment from a deluded clan leader, they were all good people at heart. She still had trouble trusting them fully, but she was trying.
Then it came into sight.
Tor’s hut.
Ezi stood stock still as she stared openly at the hut just a rock throws length away from her. With just a few steps, she could look inside and see for herself. Her tongue darted out of her mouth, curled, and her top teeth came down, pinching the piece of flesh as she debated with herself.
Then she took a few cautious steps towards the hut.
Laughter had her head snapping around to see two young sabertooth shifters headed her way, gabbing about something.
Ezi turned tail and darted away from the hut before she was seen near it. It was no secret in this clan that she was the reason Tor had left in the first place, and she was sure her presence would get people wondering.
Knowing her child was in good hands for a little while, Ezi raced towards the edge of the village, the huts and people streaked past her, and once she got to the edge, she stripped her clothes off, and shifted.
In a matter of seconds, she was in her pronghorn form. She stamped a hoofed foot in excitement. It’d been so long since she’d been in this form. The pregnancy had prevented it, and then she’d been too busy with Flosa.
Her long hears flickered back and forth, rubbing against the two horns on her head. The sounds of the village were a little more amplified, her prey senses always looking for sources of danger.
With a jump into the air to stretch all four of her long legs, she sprinted into the nearby forest, eager for a refreshing run to help clear her mind. Tor might be back, but she wasn’t about to let him ruin the peace she’d created here for herself amongst the sabertooth shifters.
“Thank you for watching her for me.” Ezi took the bundle of furs into her arms and saw a tiny face fast asleep.
“You know I am always here.” Aiyre sent her a smile. “How was your rest?”
It was like her friend and fellow pronghorn shifter knew she hadn’t gone and rested like she’d said. Aiyre was smiling like she could smell the shift and romp through the forest that Ezi had enjoyed.
“It helped.” Because the run in her pronghorn form had helped her. It had relaxed her and helped her to see clearly. She’d been so close to letting her curiosity take control of her, and if she’d been caught snooping on Tor? She was positive it would have created some questions in the clan, like why she even cared in the first place.
Which she didn’t care.
He could die, and she would never shed a single tear.
“Thank you again.” Ezi sent Aiyre a smile as she turned to head back to her hut with Flosa fit snuggly in her arms. With night approaching and Flosa finally settling down, Ezi wanted to take her chance at a goodnight’s rest. Something she rarely got with the baby and the nightmares.
“I’m always here for you,” Aiyre called out.
Ezi slowly walked through the clan she now called home. It was a decent-sized clan, and probably one of the largest in this area, so it felt safe. Or as safe as a pronghor
n could feel amongst so many sabertooths. It went against her every instinct, but strangely, her pronghorn side hadn’t protested where she was living. Maybe because it knew there was nowhere else that would be safer for them.
Or for the child in her arms.
She glanced down at Flosa.
Aiyre had promised to help Ezi leave this clan once the spring melted the thick layer of snow on the ground, but now that she actually had the child in her arms, she realized she wouldn’t be able to make such a journey. She wasn’t even sure where the closest pronghorn clan lived.
She approached her hut. A communal hut. It was large and provided enough room for the women inside, but Ezi wished for her own hut. Large mammoth bones and tusks held the taunt furs up, and a trickle of grey smoke rose from the top where a hole had been cut in the top fur to let out the suffocating smoke.
Pushing through the hut entrance, she relaxed immediately. This hut was her sanctuary away from everyone else out there. She knew the women who lived in here well, and after a few restless nights had begun to trust them. Now it was just the baby and nightmares that bothered her.
Ezi walked over to a small mound of furs with a baby-sized dent in them, and placed Flosa in it. The child’s eyes were already shut tight with sleep, and Ezi was eager to join her.
She plopped down in her own bed which was a mere foot away from Flosa’s bed, and laid down. Her eyes watched the flames of the small fire in the hut, causing shadows to play across the animal skin walls.
It was peaceful, and if she forgot where she was, she could almost imagine herself back in her old village of pronghorn shifters.
A small smile creased her lips as her eyes sank closed. At least in her dreams, she could frolic with her old clanmates once more.
A cry tore through her pleasant dreams, dreams that showed Drakk’s smiling face, and teasing remarks.
Bolting up in her bed, Ezi’s eyes raced around the inside of the hut. Her heart thundered in her chest, but everything was quiet. Had she really been reliving the night of the attack again? It’d been weeks since she’d had a nightmare like that, and she’d been hoping it meant she never would again.
Every other woman in the hut was fast asleep, meaning she hadn’t cried out in her sleep. She earned herself several glares when she did that, even if they understood what she’d gone through. Ezi understood their glares. It was never pleasant to be woken up with screams.
She stretched her arms above her head and yawned the nightmare away. When she looked down at Flosa, she found the child still fast asleep, but probably not for much longer. The child tended to pick the most inconvenient times for a feeding.
Quickly, Ezi glanced at the entrance to her hut.
Tor’s hut wasn’t far from hers. It would be a simple jaunt over there and back, and then she could stop wondering about his condition. She didn’t want to seem too interested by asking about him, so she wasn’t sure exactly how bad it was.
She bit her top lip as she did her best to hold still.
Failing at restraining herself, she jumped to her feet, and she glanced down at Flosa to make sure she was still fast asleep. Satisfied that the baby wouldn’t wake until she got back, Ezi quickly left the hut before her resolve faded.
The village was quiet at this time of night. The only people awake would be any guards that were posted around the perimeter of the village. Brog, the past clan leader, and his friends were still somewhere out there. Everyone figured it was only a matter of time before he came back for his revenge.
Ezi’s skin prickled in fear. She could only pray everyone was wrong, and Brog would stay far away from them. Maybe he had fallen into a river and drowned, or found some other poor clan to terrify. As long as he didn’t come back.
Despite knowing no one would be out and about at this hour, Ezi’s eyes continued to scan the darkness. She didn’t need anyone catching her looking in on Tor. All she was doing was satiating her curiosity. Nothing more.
The sky above her was a maze of tiny glistening lights. Every once in a while, a white light would streak across the sky above her before disappearing. It was magical, and something only the gods would be able to explain.
As she rounded a hut, she heard laughter from within, and her feet paused as her ears perked up. There was some more giggling before throaty moans began to emanate from within the fur walls.
Ezi’s heart broke at those sounds because it reminded her of the first and only time she and Drakk had shared furs together. He’d been a kind lover, showing her what to do and taking their sweet time to get to know each other. She’d been awkward and unsure of herself, but he’d been slow with her, talking her through everything.
Shaking her head, she left the hut behind her with some quick steps.
Then she was there. Standing in front of Tor’s hut.
Sucking in a deep breath, she darted forward before any random clanmate could spot her, reached out a hand, brushed the fur flap aside, and walked inside. The warmth of his hearth fire wrapped around her in a tight embrace.
She stared at the flames for the longest time, before finally glancing over at the bundle of furs on the other side of the hut. Despite the flickering flames, Ezi found it hard to see the form on the other side of the hut he was so buried in the blankets.
Slowly, her feet drew her closer until she was standing right beside him.
Her eyes shot wide.
He looked nothing like the man she’d known for that brief period in time. He was a wild man. His black hair was long, and she could see the knots in it. Someone would need to take a knife to it to get those knots out because no bone comb would get those out. And then there was his beard. It was almost summer, and no other man in the clan was wearing such a long thick beard.
And despite the wild man look he had, she could still see how attractive he was under it all. The man had been born with a fantastic facial structure. His sharp nose cut down his face, and his beard had a hard time hiding the fierce structure of his jawline.
“What did you go and do?” Ezi shook her head. She still believed he was a gentle man, even if she didn’t want to be his mate, and she hated to see him like this.
Then her eyes glanced down at the fur covering him. Reaching down, she gripped the edge of the fur and ripped it off of him, exposing a large bandage that Eron must have wrapped around his leg.
For one brief second, she felt a stab of pity pierce her heart. With the size of the bandage, it had to be a horrible wound. Other than his leg, he looked fine. More than fine.
Her eyes lazily moved over his naked expanse of skin. His honed body was that of a hunter. There wasn’t a single piece of fat on this man. She could see the ropes of muscles in his arms and the temptation to reach out and stroke a finger down his arm was strong, but she resisted. Then her eyes dipped lower to between his thighs.
Ezi licked her lips.
Drakk had nothing on Tor when it came to his member. The long member hung between his legs and pulled at her feminine core. Would he grow like Drakk or not?
Ezi frowned and shook her head before whipping the fur cover back over his body. She’d been gone too long from her child, the person she should be worrying about. Spinning on a heel, she left his hut and made a vow to the gods that she wouldn’t be back.
Chapter 7
Tor had never been so hot in his entire life, but it was strange. He was hot, but because of how much he was sweating, he was also shivering. Every time his eyes opened, he would glance over at the fire. All he could think about was jumping into those flames. Their flickering embrace would be sure to warm him.
He opened his mouth, but all that came out was a gurgle of nonsense. He’d been out for too long, and his throat was dry.
If he couldn’t call for help, then he would do it on his own.
Tor slumped his torso over the edge of his bed of furs, and soon the rest of his body followed him. Pain seared through his leg as he landed on the ground. He ground his teeth as he rode through the pain
, waiting for it to dissipate.
After what seemed like an eternity, the pain finally receded until he was able to open his eyes once more, and began crawling his way towards the fire. Once he felt it touch his skin, he knew he would finally be warm enough, and then, maybe then this pain would finally leave him alone.
He was so close. All that filled his vision were the orange and yellow flickers of the flames as they danced, coaxing him towards them.
“What are you doing Tor?” A cross voice hollered at him from behind.
Tor scooted faster over the ground, knowing he was about to be interrupted from his mission. His hands hauled the rest of his body across the ground as his arms bulged with the movements.
Then there were hands clawing at his shoulders, clamping down around his shoulders until the fingers dug into his flesh.
Tor growled deep in his throat, warning the person behind him to his foul mood. He tried to summon his sabertooth, but the blasted thing wouldn’t appear. Instead, it stayed hidden somewhere deep inside his body.
“Come Tor. Let’s get you away from this fire and back into bed where your body can rest.” He was finally able to recognize the voice of Daerk.
“I have to get,” he tried to wiggle out of Daerk’s grasp, “to the fire. It will warm me.”
“Tor!” Daerk yanked him up by the scruff of his neck and dragged him back to his bed.
Pain rolled through him as his leg got trapped under his body before righting itself. Black dots filled his vision, but he forced the pain away, not wanting to blackout again. He was tired of spending most of the time unconscious.
“Try not to be too rough with him.” Eron’s stern voice broke through Tor’s delusions. “I’d hate for you to reopen his wound after I spent so much time healing it.”
“He wants to sit in the fire. Not beside the fire, but in it.”
“He has a fire burning inside of him. It will cool in time, and in the meantime we will have to take turns watching him to make sure he doesn’t do something to himself on accident.” Eron bent down next to Tor. “The fire will do you no good Tor.”
