Page 5

"Thro." My brows furrow as I kneel to the ground. He is looking away from me right now. Obviously, he does not want to discuss this, but it has come out anyway. "I do think I am allowed good things. I have you, I have Toron and his mate, and Itha. You think they do not make me the happiest of males?"

"That is not the same, and you know it." Thro crosses his arms over his chest, still not facing me. "You would be happy with a mate."

"And what would you know of it?" I ask.

I am not trying to sound insensitive, but the only reason Thro cares at all about mating right now is because he wants me to mate with Tori. He has no interest in it for himself and won't for many more years until he goes through the changing.

"I know that males who have mates are happy," Thro says, turning to glare at me. "Toron is happy with his Alice. He is an angry male and always looks like he might kill someone, but when he is with her, he is the happiest. Beren, as well. How many times have you seen him smile?"

I frown, trying hard to think if I've ever seen it.

"Exactly!" Thro says as though he is making some grand point. "You have not seen it because he only does it with his Nia and Lyath in their home. He is actually a happy male, but you would never know unless you see him with his mates."

"What does this have to do with me?" I ask.

I am sure Thro has all the good intentions in the world, but I am not an angry male. In fact, I try very hard not to be an angry male because our father was angry enough for all three of us.

"You do not smile often." He rubs at his eyes and then glares at me like he is unhappy to have to wipe away his tears. "But when you saw her, you looked so happy. Now, any time we talk about her, there is a chance that you will smile, and that is what I want. I want a brother who smiles more than he looks sad. You deserve to be happy. I do not know why you do not see that."

My teeth clench together as I listen to my brother. It is true that I am not the happiest of males. Much has happened in my life and to those I love, making it hard to see happiness when others do. It is not always, but it is enough to leave a heavy weight on my shoulders, making it harder to see the brightness of our lives.

"I want to be happy, Thro." I wrap a hand around his shoulder and pull him close to me. He throws his arms around me before I think for even a second he won't. "I promise you, I am learning to be happy again. Thanks to you, thanks to Toron and Alice, and yes, thanks to Tori—do not tell Beren I said her name, or he might seal me—but that does not mean we are going to make her be with me before she is ready."

"I make you happy?" Thro asks, not turning his head from where it's buried in my shoulder.

He's fifteen, which, according to the humans, would make him close to being fully grown. He still has at least five years if he goes through the changing when I did. That is why I do not give him a hard time for needing so much comfort. He is still a young, and even grown males sometimes need someone to hold them.

"You make me so happy," I tell him, believing every word because it is true. Without Thro, I would not be in this tribe now. I would not have a roof over my head, and I would most definitely not be working on this farm where I met my mate.

"I am still going to tell her every day how strong you are and how well you could protect her." Thro pushes away from me, brushing the tears from his eyes again. "I have already told her how you protected me for many years. I do not know if she understood what I was saying, and no one translated it. I think it made them all a little sad. That is not the point, though. The point is, I will tell her every day until one day she understands and she knows that you are the perfect male to choose for a mate."

"I think I can live with that kind of scheming." I pat him on the shoulder and then stand.

My scales feel warm on my back, the same feeling I get whenever Tori is near and has her eyes on me. I turn slowly, hoping she does not know I can feel her gaze. Thro ruins any semblance of me looking nonchalant, though. He throws his hands in the air and waves at Tori.

"Tori!" he yells her name as she raises one of her hands to wave in response to him.

She is standing next to Beren, telling him something, but Thro has their attention. Tori's cheeks are already blooming in color, which is beautiful. I would like to see where else she turns pink because I have a feeling it is in all the places I will very much like to look.

"Tori, I must tell you about how Marron is so strong. He was just lifting so many things. I will tell you all about it. Yes, yes, you may leave Beren. I will keep her entertained with talk about my brother."

Tori cannot understand much of what he says, but Beren and I both can. I expect a look of displeasure on Beren's face when Thro begins to shout about me and dismiss him, but instead, he just shakes his head with his usual scowl and turns back to the house.

I watch Thro and Tori walk around the fields while he talks, and she listens. I do not know how she can be so entertained by a story she does not understand, but it does make it harder for me to stay away from her.

I want a female who cares for my blood as much as I do. I stare at them for so long that Tori's eyes meet mine, and then she's mouthing something I can't make out. She lifts her fingers in a little wiggle, waving at me before turning her attention back to Thro.

I groan as I kneel back to continue my work. I do not know how long the fiery-haired female will stay away from me, but I hope to be near her soon.

4

Tori

The world's most awkward first introduction happened four months ago, and since then, I haven't found time to sneak out to speak to Marron again. I've wanted to, and I've tried, but somehow, he's never alone. Either Beren or Lyath is always working with him in the field, or they'll walk him back to the tribe in the evenings. The one time I thought I could go, I crawled out my window just for Nia to come out the front door, asking me to help her set the dinner table.

"I'm going to bathe before it gets too dark," I call out to Nia and Jen.

They're both sewing in the living room, and I don't think they'll want to join me, but they might. I've already decided there's no way I'm going to get Marron all to myself unless I ask them to let it happen. Seeing as I'm not ready for all the questions that will follow, I'd rather not mention it until I'm ready to answer those questions.