Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Maybe I’m not so unlucky after all. I slide my arm around I’rec’s waist and hold him tighter, and he cups my head, then scratches at my scalp, the move familiar and comforting. “You are positive it is a welcome visitor?” I’rec says. “In the glowing bird?”
“It’s a ship,” Daisy reassures both Shadow Cat men. “And I’m not an expert on mesakkah spacecraft, but that does look like Niri’s freighter. Or it did. It’s gone now.”
“Croatoan isn’t in that direction, right?” I ask, and O’jek shakes his head, pointing farther to the south. “So she didn’t go visit Mardok. Maybe she’s the one that stole all the fruit?”
Daisy frowns. “Why in all the planets would Niri need to steal our fruit? She could buy it for cheap on any station.”
“I don’t know, but it makes sense. And maybe the metlaks saw her ship and that’s why they’re fleeing?” I feel as if all the pieces are coming together. “Do you think she dropped another passenger off?”
“Oh dear. That’s a good question. I suppose we should check it out.” Daisy looks unconvinced. “But we were supposed to go to the ship. I really want to see what the ancestors wrote on the walls.”
I’rec keeps a hand firmly against my back, but he gestures at the darkness. “Do you mark that mountain in the distance, O’jek?”
“I do,” O’jek says. “And I am in agreement.”
“Agreement over what?” I ask, glancing up at I’rec.
He gives me a possessive look. “We will split up in the morning. D’see and O’jek will go to the Ancestors’ Cave as planned and check the message that was left. You and I will travel to that mountain and retrieve what this N’ri left behind, and we will meet back up there.”
Oh. It makes sense. The last time Niri showed up, she left a pod full of supplies and a person—Daisy. It’s entirely possible she left another person behind…or even a crate of noodles, if she stole all the fruit. “I guess we should get whatever it is before the metlaks do.”
“Then it is decided,” O’jek says, his gaze on Daisy. “We will go our separate ways at dawn and meet up again by the mountain. Shall we split our supplies?” His mouth twitches as he regards I’rec. “Or did you need more time alone out here with your mate, my brother?”
“Bah,” I’rec says, and his tail flicks in that impatient sort of way.
But…he’s not saying no. And he’s not going inside. His hand remains on my back, just above my ass, and I decide that I’ll be the one in charge right now. So I give Daisy and O’jek an impish look. “We need another five minutes alone.”
Daisy giggles. O’jek just gives me a knowing smirk.
And I’rec? I’rec holds me tighter. I think he likes my boldness. He’d better. If we’re going to be a mated pair, and if he truly wants to be with me? He’d better be prepared for the entire world to know that we’re together. I don’t plan on keeping anything a secret.
Besides, I could use a distraction. That ship has me rattled. Daisy might not worry about it, but I can’t help but wonder what sorts of changes it’s bringing to our world.
Chapter
Eighteen
I’REC
F’lor curls up against me in the furs, her sleep fitful and restless. It is clear to me that she is afraid, and the appearance of the bird with the colorful lights—the ship—is responsible.
It makes me unhappy, this worry of hers. It is not something I can fix with my hands. It is not something I can order about. It is not even something I can hunt or chase away. I am supposed to protect my mate, and I cannot protect her from this. If it is a ship, it is full of people like M’dok, with strange abilities and ma-sheens that do things I cannot even fathom.
I have always felt I could handle anything the wilds could throw at me—with the exception of the Great Smoking Mountain. Now I feel that same sense of overwhelming fear, of things beyond my control I cannot change…and that it will somehow frighten my mate. So I do not sleep. Instead, I stay awake and I watch over her, holding her close against me.
“Mmm,” F’lor says before dawn, rousing. “You’re holding me kinda tight, I’rec.”
I release her reluctantly. “My apologies.”
She rests her chin on my chest, gazing up at me with sleepy eyes. “Bad dreams?”
I shake my head. “I worry I am not a strong enough mate for you.”
That makes her sit up. She blinks down at me in surprise, her teats bare and enticing as she gazes at me. “Are you feeling all right?”
What a strange question. “I am fine.”
She leans in and pries at one of my eyelids, peering at my eyes. “Did you hit your head? Because you don’t sound like I’rec right now.”