Page 17 of Keeping His Mate
“Keep me apprised of any patterns you find significant,” Varrek hollers as Elle-noor and I start walking.
We stop at the meal hall, and I fill four plates with junasii bread, roasted kuhnypa meat, and berries, handing two of them to Elle-noor to carry. Waldric tells Elle-noor he is looking forward to getting to know her better when she begins dish duty the following day, an arrangement Aye-vah set up for her.
Elle-noor is quiet as she follows me to my home, and I know it is because the unknown location of the tr’gory and her pups weighs on her. Perhaps the new mother is fine and healing nicely following the birth, but since Elle-noor does not know for certain, she assumes the worst and carries that burden inside her kind heart.
I kick the front door open with my foot since I do not have a free hand, and we put our plates on the shelf by the water spigot so we may remove our boots. Then I guide her to the second floor where my security system is located and offer her the comfortable seat at the center of the table. I take the creaky wooden chair with uneven legs, and Elle-noor begins eating as I ready the recordings.
I start with the perimeter camera view from the earliest known date the tr’gory pack started entering the village at night, a little over three moons ago. Between bites, I share any information I think she might find useful about them: what a particular stance indicates, how fast they run, where the view is being captured in relation to the meal hall. Though I am unclear which tr’gory is the alpha of this pack, I show her how to identify each of the adults by markings in their fur. She asks questions and jots down notes on the screen pad I gave her.
“You may keep that one,” I tell her, nodding to the device in her small hands. I am constantly upgrading my equipment and have at least three or four that are not currently in use.
“Oh no, I couldn’t,” she says, blood rushing to her cheeks and turning them that captivating pink color.
“It is not the generous gesture you think it is, I assure you,” I promise her as she tries to return it to me. “I will not use it. Truly, it is yours.”
She holds it against her chest and smiles when she thinks I am not looking and warmth pools in my chest at the sight.
Eventually, I compile the views from the dark vision cameras and link them, so they play continuously from one eve into the next, skipping the daylight footage entirely. She scribbles and scribbles as the vid plays, and I turn my chair slightly away from her, so I can check the recording from near the falls during the previous eve. We work like this for a long time, silent but focused on our tasks.
I growl in frustration when I discover the camera we have positioned near the falls is not facing the area in the location of the blood. I find nothing that shows a tr’gory existed there.
“What is it?” Elle-noor asks as she stretches her short arms and legs and lets out a loud yawn.
“This mysterious tr’gory seemed to position herself out of view as she gave birth,” I grumble, slapping at the keyboard as I rewind the recording. “I have no view of her.”
“’S okay,” she mutters, yawning again.
“Do you wish to resume this work tomorrow? You should rest,” I tell her, rising from my chair and stacking our empty plates.
“No, I’m good,” she replies, shaking her head. “Promise. I just need to stand up for a sec.”
She follows me down to the first level of my home and looks around at my entryway, which is not much more than a spigot, a compact fire pit, a cold box, a few shelves with mugs and plates, a deep wooden basin filled with the casks of the different ales I have brewed, and a small washroom off to the right. Above the basin is a shelf lined with glass jugs filled with the various seeds and petals I add to my ales to give them flavor. “This is so cool,” Elle-noor exclaims as her gaze lingers on the more colorful piloi petals.
They remind me of your lips,I almost say. But I do not. Elle-noor has a mate, so I cannot say the things I wish her to hear.
“I wish to show you something,” I tell her. Knowing how to keep that wide smile on her face, enhancing that indent beneath her lips. If she were anyone else, I would be tired of her company already, and would tell her it is time to leave as I gave her a nudge toward the door. But Elle-noor… she looks as if she belongs here, in my home.
I guide her to the top floor and open the door to the roof where my garden is located. If anyone will appreciate this place as much as I, it is Elle-noor. And I am proven right when she steps out from behind me and lets out a gasp as she looks around. The breeze hits her skin, pushing the little hairs of her mane off her forehead, and I watch as she inhales deeply, taking in the many scents of my garden.
“This is so lovely, Bruvix,” she says when her eyes finally open. She bats her long lashes in my direction, and I am no longer a fierce warrior. I am merely a boneless puddle of a male who lives for the smiles of a human female. What is happening to me?
Is this how Varrek felt when he first met Cloh-ee? Or Ahlvo with Aye-vah? Is this merely the tether, telling me I must tie myself to this human? Or do I feel this way simply because Elle-noor has been kind to me?
Kindness, conversation, trust, long looks lacking in fear––these are not things females often give me. I assume it is because of the way I look, but it could also be due to my surly demeanor. I must be careful not to confuse Elle-noor’s warmth with genuine interest. I must–
“Oh my god, you have blackberries here?” Elle-noor shouts from across the garden. I had not even realized she left my side. “These are my favorite!”
When I reach her, she is plucking a handful of plump dark purple berries from the pistil of the newly bloomed vakopurri flowers. “Berries?” I mutter to myself. “I did not realize this flower contained berries at all. I purchased the seeds based on the sweetness of the stems.”
She pops one in her mouth and moans when her tiny teeth sink into it. “H-holy cripes, this is even sweeter than an Earth blackberry.”
A muffled grunt escapes my lips and I quickly turn away. I adjust my hardening cock, tucking it beneath the waistband of my pants. If she is going to continue moaning as her eyes roll back in her head, I am certain I will spill my seed all over myself. And soon.
“Here, try one,” she says between bites, tossing one to me. I catch it and pop it in my mouth, and the flavor explodes on my tongue. Tangy and sweet, but not too rich. It is divine. I eat another, and another, and as the juice slides down my throat, I wonder if Elle-noor’s cunt tastes this good.
“Ah, man!” she says with a pout as she scans the vakopurri flowers once more. “All gone.”
“No more berries?”