by Belle Harper
But now, even when she was present in front of me to help her gather branches to make cups, I was rendered speechless once again. My cloth straining and my cock begging to be touched by her, her scent wrapped around me like an embrace. Something I haven’t had in many years, but with Quinn I craved it. I wished to hug her and to make her scream those words she did for Eren as I gave her my seed.
These thoughts were all punishable in Clan Zaali, but here in the free lands, in our Clan Wolf, the female chooses her mates. She selects who will sleep in her nest at night, who she will grab the tail of, and maybe that was why I was so quiet. I worried she would not like me. I had fear that I would say the wrong thing, and now my words were stolen I couldn’t speak to her at all.
“So, Nvaa…” She spoke my name and my tails swayed happily. I couldn’t control this reaction to her. I turned to her and she gave me a small smile, not one that reached her eyes like when she spoke to Koh earlier. So beautiful her eyes, a color I had never seen on another Aashi.
“What do you like to do the most?” she asked. I stopped beside a large klaven tree and thought of her words. I was a warrior here in the clan, but what did I like to do most? I did not understand the question. I opened my mouth to speak and I watched her eyes at the movement. She was waiting for me to reply, and I wanted her to know that I could speak her words.
“Hut.” I replied. Proud that I used her human word. But her brows furrowed together and I didn’t know what this meant. Did I do the human word wrong? I like to build huts with Koh, I enjoy using my hands and I want to build her the best hut, but Koh had more experience than I. I was learning though, and soon Quinn would have the best hut in Clan Wolf. Like Luna has the best hut, they will both be equal. Luna likes all things to be the same.
I didn’t wait for a reply, I was worried about what she would say, so I scaled the tree as fast as I could to retrieve the branches for her cups. She would need a small cutting stone or bone to make the cups. I was sure that Koh would be happy for her to have one of his.
* * *
Up in the tree canopy, I selected some thick branches for use and snapped them off the tree. I saw something move in the corner of my eye. I moved further along a branch to see who went there. We had been trying to send all new outcast males to Daku, he would accept the males he thought were best for Clan Wolf. But this one was gone by the time I chased him away.
“You must speak to Daku,” I called out after him. “Without his approval you will not be allowed to enter the clan lands. And it will be seen as a threat.” I didn’t know where he went, but I was sure he had heard me when I heard a knocking sound, like someone tapping a tree with stone.
I descended the tree and realized for the first time, I shouldn’t have left Quinn alone and unprotected like that. That male had walked right into our clan lands and could have taken her. Eren would not be impressed by this. He respected me as a warrior with the ability to protect his mate.
When I returned to Quinn, she was sitting at the base of the tree. She picked strands of grass and threw them on the ground, discarded. Why would she do that? Did it have a purpose?
“Oh, Nvaa. They look great. I think next time I will just wait back at camp. You took a long time to only bring me two branches.” The sound of my name off her tongue made my tails vibrate. But her words through the translator were not happy. She wasn’t happy that I brought her two branches. She could make more than two cups with these. How many did she wish to make? I should have asked her instead of running away.
She held her hand out and tried to take a branch from me.
“It is heavy, female Quinn,” I told her. I was worried—she was so small—she couldn’t carry it, and I would be happy to carry it for her. She made a look on her face I hadn’t seen before and it was almost as scary as when Luna did such a thing, although then it wasn’t directed at me so I did not care. But today it was, and I didn’t know what I had done that would cause such a look.
Quinn did not yell like Luna did though. No, instead she turned around and made a huff sound before heading back to camp. My tails stopped vibrating. In fact, they stopped moving completely as I hunched my shoulders over, unsure of what I did.
If I didn’t speak she was sad, when I did speak she was mad.
Chapter Eleven
Quinn
When I got back to camp, I found Eren and Tyee standing around and speaking with Zezii. I pulled them both by their tails to our hut. I needed a conversation about which males would make good mates, because so far their suggestion had not been a great one. I trusted them, I knew they wouldn’t let any guy be nasty to me like the other Chosen I had. But Nvaa wasn’t a prince charming like Eren had made him out to be. He was a sexist pig who barely spoke, and he basically just told me because I was a female I was weak.
“Quinn, you wish to mate?” Tyee was very confused on why I was holding his and Eren’s now vibrating tails. I dropped them both and watched their faces worry with concern.
“What has happened, our mate?” Eren asked, his hands reaching out for me. Tyee paced a little on the spot. I shook my head.
“You said Nvaa would make a great mate. I was just with him and no, he won’t. So I’m going to be asking you a question… I am serious about this. If you want me to take more mates, you need to listen.” I was now pacing. Ugh, why was I so hung up on this? Was it because Nvaa was rude? But then…
“Yes, enoh. We are listening,” was Tyee’s response. Eren looked like he was going to murder someone. I ran my hands down his lower arm and it seemed to settle him a little.
“Can I ask again? And I’m serious. If Zezii was to be a great warrior, he is huge, like, bigger than the other males here, he is nice to me… Why can he not be my mate? Do we need to wait until his birthday? Or when he is considered an adult here?”
I had to know, because if I had to pick another mate today, Zezii would be my only choice. I was pissed off and getting a little crabby and my stomach hurt. Ugh… maybe it was cramps and I was getting my period. Which would surprise me, with all the sex we were having I was hoping to be pregnant.
“Quinn, you expressed you did not wish to take Zezii as a mate. He is a young warrior, yes, he is unskilled at battle. He never left warrior training, but not because he is not adult, but because there had been no need for many years.”
I paced a little, worrying my lower lip between my teeth. So he was just not a full trained warrior. That was all? That’s the only thing Eren had against him?
“He is a young male, he is full-grown. Zezii will not grow more. Only in knowledge. But young males are not suitable for mates. This is why they must wait for prime mating age.”
I rolled my eyes. Why weren’t they suitable? Because they were inexperienced… Oh, that sounds just like these two guys. I shook my head.
“So he technically could take a mate?” I asked. Eren’s jaw tightened but Tyee nodded.
“It is unheard of, but if you wished to take him as a mate there would be nothing anyone could say. He is a young male, but he is considered full-grown. The Aashi female usually go to a new clan when they are of age, which is twenty. But there have been females younger. They sent off the daughter of one of our females at eighteen.”
Okay… okay. Well, I just wanted to have that option open, that was all. Yeah. Just in case I wanted to you know… climb him and keep him as mine. He was older in human years, he wasn’t as young as they said. If they said twenty-three, I would have thought him a perfect match for me. But then, I didn’t live until I was one hundred and fifty. So I got the whole starting later in life mating stuff.
“Okay, I just wanted to be sure. I wasn’t going to do anything about it now. Just wanted to make sure to keep my options open.” They both nodded and I wrapped Tyee in a big hug, his tails vibrated and wrapped around me.
It had been a week and I finally moved into my new hut. Holy shit, Koh was talented. This hut was built with such care, I had never actually built a hut before and I think it w
as best that he did it without me. I didn’t think I could have done any better, to be honest. You could see all the time and effort that went into this place. Koh had help of course, and I thanked Apak, Xell, and Qrux. And Nvaa, even though he didn’t look happy to see me. Actually, he looked like he had been in a fight.
There had been a few new males join the clan this week. I had met a couple, but Eren liked to chase them away. And I had tried to suggest he not come with me while I bathe but the guy just didn’t listen. Luna had taken Axoh with her the last few times, just to stop Eren from arguing with Vallyn. I was glad it wasn’t just one-sided, they both were as bad as each other.
“Nvaa has given you a gift, Quinn,” Tyee said when he walked over to me inside the hut. There were windows and they were open, but if you moved this branch then it closed a little flap. I did it and watched it close. It was too good to be true. I think Koh was getting better because I felt like this was better than Luna’s hut. I could fit ten Aashi guys in here and it would still feel so spacious.
I looked over to where Tyee was holding a black rock that kinda sparkled, it was pretty. I hadn’t spoken to Nvaa since the whole branch getting issue. Actually, I hadn’t spoken to many of the guys here. I decided I needed a week off. Especially with so many new guys in the mix, I didn’t want to start smiling or talking to one and give them the wrong idea, since they all knew I was looking for mates. I could thank Eren for that announcement.
“Nvaa… He gave me a rock?” I held my hand out and Tyee placed it in there. One side of it was very sharp, I touched it with my finger gently. Was it a weapon?
“Enoh, do not touch the edge.” Tyee’s voice startled me. I looked up into his big dark eyes. “It is for your cups. He said you were to make them, and he saw you didn’t touch the branches he gave you. He thought if you had your own tool you would be able to make the cups you wanted.”
I remember after I spoke to Tyee and Eren about the possibility of taking Zezii as a mate, I had left the hut and saw the two branches Nvaa got for me sitting outside. Either he heard me and left them, or he left them because I was too weak to carry them. But I believed it to be the first one, as he had not looked my way at all this past week. Even Luna said he wasn’t himself when she spoke to him and it made me feel a little guilty. I keep forgetting the guys here are different than humans, it just infuriates me when someone thinks just because I was a woman I couldn’t do something. I could do anything. I was in college before here. I was going to be an architect, but the death of my family rocked me a little and I wanted a change… I got a change, alright.
“Thank you, Tyee.” I carefully placed the rock down on the window ledge. I smiled a little at the thought I could actually make something. I didn’t touch the branches because I didn’t have the tools. Koh offered me some but he was using them to build the hut. It was more important that he finish the hut than me making cups.
Actually, there were a lot of things I could think of that I could make. I looked around the empty room and dreamed of all the things I could fill it with. Baskets and blankets. A rug for the floor. Table and chairs—real chairs not the stools they use.
I needed to thank Nvaa for the tool he had given me, and all the possibilities I could use it for. It was like that saying, “Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” You could give just me a cup, but give me the tool to make cups and I will make them for everyone. Well you know what I mean… blankets, tables, and chairs. I could now make them all for the clan.
“Enoh, are you okay?” I turned to see Eren in the doorway. He held a green flower for me in his upper right hand. I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across my face.
“I have never been better.”
Chapter Twelve
Eren
My Quinn had been happy this day. Yesterday, we moved into the hut—our hut. It was large and had many windows. There was a platform out the front which Quinn now sat on, her legs dangled over the edge as she looked out at the water hole she bathes in each morning.
“What you up to, babe?” she asked out to the open. She didn’t even turn to see it was me. She already knew. She always knew.
“I am standing here and looking at a most beautiful sight, enoh.” She stopped what she was doing in her hand and looked up at me, her smile meeting her eyes. Such expressive eyes for my expressive Quinn. I could watch her face all day and never tire from it.
“I love it too. The water just looks so peaceful, especially as the day goes on and it gets hot as hell out here.” I laughed at her words. I had learned more of them and needed the translator less. She pulled her clothes away from her body as if fanning herself with it.
“I was not speaking of the water, my heart, but of the beautiful sight in front of my eyes.” I bent down low beside her and handed her the green flower I picked for her. She giggled and took it, giving me a kiss on the lips before placing it to her nose. She said they smelled amazing, I thought she smelled amazing.
I had noticed she had not been herself the last few days. The mating many times a day had stopped. She told me she was tired, I worried she was sick, but she said she was fine. I had seen her take naps and Zezii slept outside on the platform when she did. He had been invited in by Quinn to sleep in the corner of the hut. I didn’t like this and Zezii knew, so he told her he preferred to see the stars. I knew he wanted to be in her nest beside her.
“Where is Tyee? He said he was getting me some pixxe but he has been gone a long time.” I nodded and looked over to where I had seen him last. She placed her hand on her stomach and it made an angry growl. She giggled and I frowned. What was taking him so long to return with food for our mate? We couldn’t let her go hungry when there was plenty of food to find.
“I will go retrieve him, you stay here and enjoy your water watching.” She stuck her tongue out at me, it was in a playful way I had come to learn being with Quinn, and I laughed. I had felt better since the new hut was built. The new males in the clan had kept their distance. I spoke to them and told them all that my Quinn was looking for mates, but that all new males must speak to me first. She had asked me to find some good males, strong ones that would be able to protect her. But finding good males was harder than I thought when so many wanted to be her mate.
I jumped down from the platform and headed toward where Tyee had gone. I heard a whistle from Quinn, I looked back to her and she called out “sexy tails.” I chuckled again. My Quinn was always making me feel so special. I needed to pick the right mates for her, so she would feel special too.
“Nvaa?” I saw the large male standing off to the side, his back to me. He turned his head to face me, his eyes widened. What was he doing? Was he relieving himself so close to the huts?
“You cannot urinate this close to the huts.” It was as if he forgot. It made no sense; he had been here longer than I and knew the rules. His mouth opened then closed. Maybe his loss of words was something else. Quinn said he didn’t speak to her and when he did it upset her. Was there something wrong with Nvaa’s mouth?
“I… yes. I will go.” I didn’t get a chance to reply as he ran towards the nearest tree and scaled it fast. It was if he couldn’t wait to get away from me. He had been unusual.
“Tyee?” I called out as I walked further away from camp. I sensed some males in a tree and I knew I had gone past the clan land. It was only small lands and Tyee was outside picking the pixxe for Quinn. It wasn’t unusual for him to be this far out, but he never took this long.
“Tyee?” I called, but much softer now. I walked faster. Did he injure himself? Maybe he should have taken Zezii with him to get the pixxe. Then I heard something that wasn’t that of the forest. I quietly scaled a tree and looked ahead, I saw the scales first, they were colorful in the light. Was that… M’Mori? I climbed higher in the tree. Had they seen me? Why were they this close to us? I knew we were close to the lands they mined but they weren’t to come onto our lands. This was our land t
hey were on.
I spotted Tyee. He was closer to them than I. His face pale with concern. I must tell Vallyn this when I returned to camp. They were too far in our lands to be right. I gestured to Tyee to stay. I didn’t know what these M’Mori would do to him if they found him or me.
I watched as the two M’Mori conversed with each other while they ate pixxe. There was a tapping sound. My breathing stopped as I looked to where this sound was coming. So did the M’Mori. Then it was closer. They held out their weapons, they did not have spears like the Aashi. The M’Mori weapons were stronger and could kill instantly from afar.
We had been warned about their weapons many times. Our spears were no match for them. That was how they mined our lands. We were powerless against them.
The M’Mori males must have decided whatever made the tapping sounds were enough to move on and left fast, leaving a pile of half-eaten pixxe where they once stood.
Tyee moved through the trees. He was loud and not as quiet as me. That was why I wanted him to stay behind in camp, he hadn’t spent much time up above. He spent most his time with Quinn, so he hadn’t become swift like other outcast males.
“Tyee, I am so glad you are okay.” I was truly happy to have him close to me. We both looked back to where the tapping sound came from and saw nothing. I wasn’t too sure what it was that made the sounds, but I hoped not to find out.
“We must tell the clan at once. They were close to our clan lands. They were in our free lands. This was not the deal the Aashi people made with the M’Mori.” Tyee was right, this was not the deal, they couldn’t enter our lands.
We raced back through the trees in search of Vallyn. I didn’t want to alert Quinn to what we had seen. It would upset her and cause her to rush into picking more mates. I had come to realize she needed time to select the right ones; I couldn’t rush her. And this would rush her into choosing males she might not want.
