Page 65 of Keeping His Mate
Bruvix stares back at me, grinning from ear to ear as he lounges in the flower bed.
He didn’t say that out loud, I realize. “Whoa.”
Yes, inara. It worked. We are linked.
Holy shit!I send back.This is so cool! Okay, I’m thinking of a number betw-
Twenty-six,he interrupts.
Aah!I mentally scream.I can’t believe this is a thing.
Do you wish to have me guess the numbers you envision for the rest of the day, Eleanor? Or would you like to go see Stanley?
I wanna go see Stanley,I reply instantly.Wait, you said my name correctly. I… don’t like it.
I have been saying it incorrectly?he sends.
Yeah, you say it with a pause in the middle. Can you go back to saying it like that?
Elle-noor…he sends.Yes?
Yep!I send back. Tying my hair into a low bun, I use a towel to wipe the dirt from my skin. After a few minutes of this, Bruvix and I realize that only a shower will get us clean, and that can wait until later. We throw some clothes on and head outside.
Stanley greets us by jumping up and slamming his giant paws into my chest, and I stumble backward. Then Bruvix steps in front of me and scolds the pup with the point of his finger. “No, Stahn-lee. Jumping is bad.”
Stanley’s head tilts side to side as Bruvix speaks, and when he’s done, the pup lets out a frustrated grunt. Since the attack, our bond with the tr’gorys has strengthened. Nanay greets Bruvix and me with a wagging tail. We’ve played with the other adult males in the pack, and the pups are always all over us. Bruvix doesn’t even seem that afraid of them anymore, which amazes me.
Hungry?I send to Bruvix. Now that we’re up, we might as well eat.
Always, he replies.
Before we make it to the meal hall, the screen pad in Bruvix’s pocket starts beeping frantically. “What is it?” Bruvix says when he answers.
“Come to my training room,” Varrek says, his tone stern. “Queen Ekoya has an update to share.”
The comm disconnects, and we run toward Varrek and Chloe’s house, Stanley trotting alongside us. I can’t imagine what this update could be, but I can’t imagine it’s good. Bzzsil Chi is dead, so what else is there?
We meet Ava on the way as she steps out from the med room. She greets Stanley with a bright smile and a scratch behind his ears.
“Any update on Nalba?” I ask. “Or Jo?”
Ava nods, but the dark circles under her eyes tell me that neither are fully recovered. “Nalba is okay, but her memory is still wiped. She’s frustrated, as you can imagine, but we’re working on creating a system using her notes that will hopefully trigger those memories.”
“How far back is she missing?” Bruvix asks.
“Well, the last thing she remembers is getting on a ship to leave Trovilia,” Ava replies with a sigh. “She doesn’t remember anything about Oluura, or how she’s spent her time here over the last five years.”
My god, that’s awful. “And Jo?”
“Jo’s doing well, actually,” Ava says. “She likes the caves and being with Kate is good for her.”
“I’m sure being away from Tibik also helps,” I add.
“Mmm-hmm,” Ava replies with a look that says,You don’t even know.
I’m still not sure what went down that night, between Jo and Tibik––why he put up such a fuss over her using her power to take down Bzzsil Chi, and what the dynamics are between them, but a little break certainly can’t hurt.
Stanley plops his butt down on the dirt just outside the front door to Varrek and Chloe’s, waiting for us to return.