Page 35 of His Human to Chase
Skylar lets out a loud breath of air and narrows her eyes at me. My smile is too wide and much too amused. She knows I purposefully did not tell the males everything because it is much too fun to watch them panic. I did the same thing with the last batch, and it brought me endless entertainment.
“No,” Skylar says finally after she is done glaring at me. She may pretend to be upset for the males I am mocking, but she will laugh in bed with me when this is all over at how scared they all looked to be sniffing females. “The change is very small and will affect the females more than they affect you.”
“Unless you are a chosen,” I flex my arms slightly, showing off the ample muscles that fill out my frame. “Then you will change completely.” I look over each of the men as they try to keep their curious gazes focused on the wall behind the females. Most of them take peeks at the females, some of them look at my mate and her swollen abdomen, which makes me want to gnash my teeth, and some even look over at me after I make the comment of being a chosen.
“Okay, first male.” Skylar motions for the male closest to the edge of the table to step around and begin sniffing each of the females.
I stand in my place, watching him and my mate in case she needs me to interfere with her directing him on how to sniff. Every male that has come to the tribe for the choosing ceremonies has been respectful of the humans and even more respectful of Skylar and Olivia when they aid their sisters in the ceremonies. Anything they say is treated as though the words are coming from the goddess herself.
When the first male finishes, the second steps up. The process is repeated over and over again until there are only a few males left in the room. After each finishes, he is dismissed back to his room or to help in the trade he was sent to aid in while he’s here.
“Can you get on your knees for me?” Skylar gently asks the largest male from the group.
He immediately does as she asks. He doesn’t question, doesn’t grumble. He just falls to his knees as quickly as he can.
“Thank you, you’re one of the bigger ones, and it can be intimidating for my sisters since you have to crowd around them more to bend over to smell their necks.”
“No problem at all.” The male gives my mate a soft nod before wobbling over to the first female on his knees. He makes it through the line much slower than the others, but Skylar is right about the females relaxing more with him on his knees. I forget sometimes that our size can be frightening for the unmated females.
The last three males finish sniffing the females much faster, and then it is just my mate, the thirteen unmated humans, and me left in the room. I quickly take a chair on the side of the table where the males were all standing and address the humans.
“Did any of the males stand out to any of you?” I ask as cheerfully as I can. It is not hard since I have found much amusement in watching the males try and fail at nonchalantly sniffing the humans.
I listen to the humans speak about the males they may be interested in as Skylar jots down notes as quickly as she can. I will go and speak with the males later in the evening and ask them the same questions. We will know tomorrow more about who will be mating who, but it is good to see if they are interested in one another before the nose soul has time to figure out who will be the humans’ mates.
“You can all return to your rooms or hang out in the great hall,” Skylar says as she goes to open the door. “We ask that you remain inside the great hall for the remainder of the day until we complete the choosing ceremony in case the pheromones of one of the males entice you before we have a chance to explain to them how to handle you in those situations before you accept them as mates.”
The females all say thanks to Skylar and me before they exit the room, and then it is just my mate and I left all on our own. I admire her beauty as she stands near the doorway, a hand on her head as she rubs at her temples. She cares very much for her sisters. She wants them to find happiness in this place, and sometimes it causes her to worry over nothing.
“Come sit with me.” I wrap an arm around her growing abdomen where my young is forming inside her. “You have worked hard this day. I will have them bring us food, and I will feed you. Then, I will take you home, rub you everywhere, and then when you are nice and relaxed, I will hold you until you find sleep.”
“Then you’ll find all of the males and tell them about the changes in their pheromones,” Skylar grumbles as I pull her into my lap and start licking at her soft neck.
“Of course,” I whisper to her. “But first, my mate needs to relax.”
She stays stiff in my arms for just a moment before she kicks her legs up into my lap and lets me hold her like a babe in my arms. I hold her tighter, wishing for her to find the serenity she deserves in my arms. When Olivia pops her head into the room to ask us how the first part of the ceremony went, I ask her to bring some food for my mate, who has thankfully found some sleep in my arms. I brush a lock of her pale hair behind her ear and whisper how much I love her as I continue to hold her while she dreams.
One day soon, I will have a babe to hold like this as well, and then I will know that I have been the most blessed male in our tribe. A wonderful female, a beautiful young, and all of the rest of my life to cherish and protect them both. Yes, I have found true happiness, and I will never let it go.