Page 78 of Habibi: Always and Forever
CHASING HIS LITTLE BEE
TOR
“T hat’s enough.” Torranock grumbled, running his hand through his dark hair before pushing out from behind his desk. It was well past lunch and the drakonid had been locked in his office for hours with Joraza and Perrin.
They were part of his pack and lived at the edges of his territory on large swaths of land. Neighbors who shared a border, they were fighting over a patch of land they each claimed as their own.
Joraza, the mother to one of the pack’s guards, Kellen, wanted to grow more fruit for next year’s market. Perrin was looking to extend his herd of Aprus, a boar-like creature native to The Crimson Reaches, which he bred for competition and meat.
The thirty feet of difference on either side of their fence really made little difference to either operation.
They both had hundreds of acres of land, places to expand their ventures far away from their shared border.
Yet, they both wanted those thirty feet; and as Alpha of the pack, it was Tor’s job to help them come to a compromise.
The pair shut their mouths, scowling at each other from where they each stood as far apart as they could get in Tor’s office.
With a heavy sigh, Tor made his way around his large wooden desk, coming to lean on the front of it, arms crossed over his chest as he looked back and forth between the pair.
Need Cin and food. Tor’s inner beast was grumpy. The skipped lunch and lost time with his newly found fated grated on his nerves. Of course, he was always happy to help any creature in his pack with real issues. But that was clearly not what this was.
“Do you two think we can be mature adults about this and stop yelling?” Tor raised a brow.
“I didn’t-”
“It’s not my fault-”
Talking over each other, the two demons increased their volume with every word. Tor cleared his throat and they both clamped their mouths shut sheepishly.
“This is not about the land, and you both know it.” Tor gazed in each of their eyes, hoping for acknowledgment but only finding denial.
“Of course it’s about the land! I went through my supplies so fast last year. That spot has perfect light and soil-“
Tor held a hand up to halt the speech Joraza had already given multiple times.
“I understand you’ve spent a long time focused on your farm, Jor, making sure you could take care of your children.
” Tor commended her. Her chosen mate had died when their children were young, and Joraza had found her way to Tor in hopes of gaining his support.
He’d gladly given it, helping her find land to build on, resources to get her crops started, childcare when she needed it.
“What does that-”
“They’ve all grown up now, and if you both would stop yelling at each other for five seconds, you might realize this tension is about something a lot different than a small bit of land.” Tor watched as Joraza’s face turned in a scowl and Perrin glared at Tor as if the idea was preposterous.
“Now, I’m going to find my fated.” Tor uncrossed his arms, stretching out his back from the long session in his uncomfortable chair. “You two are welcome to find a room for the night and share dinner with us. Split the land in half and work out your personal issues without me next time, please.”
Tor didn’t let either speak again, striding purposefully out the door, and closing it behind himself without a backward glance.
Walking away from his office, he couldn’t help the smile at the thought of the state he’d left the pair in.
The attraction between them had been obvious to everyone but themselves for years.
Hopefully they would have the time to work things out now.
Tor nodded at some of his pack mates where they lounged throughout the front hall on his way past.
“Alpha Tor.” Kellan’s voice made him slow his steps, but he didn’t stop heading toward his destination, food and water calling his name. He waved a hand at the young guard to join him on his way to the kitchens.
“Did my mom leave? She didn’t say goodbye.” The hybrid’s large, wolf ears swiveled atop his head. Tor smiled at him and patted his back as they stopped in the kitchen doorway.
“I invited her to stay for dinner and grab a room for the night. I’m sure she’ll find you when she has a moment.”
“Oh.” Kellan frowned, looking back toward the front hall. “Did you work out the land claim?”
Maybe Joraza and Perrin aren’t the only ones ignorant of their attraction to each other, Tor thought. “It’s all sorted. I need to grab some food and find Cin. Have you seen him?”
“Not since this morning when he headed for the gardens.” The guard shrugged before leaving Tor, hopefully not going to track down his mother.
Tor was sure his fated was still in the gardens. It was his favorite place to be, and Tor couldn’t blame the fae for it. The drakonid might have been the one to build the garden, but since Cin had started taking care of it, the vast space had truly bloomed with life.
The drakonid managed to down a cup of water and stuff some dried meat in his mouth before Shilya, head of the kitchen, kicked him out of her space due to his distracting presence.
“It’ll be your fault if I wither away before dinner.
” Tor teased, grasping his grumbling stomach as he pouted in the doorway.
“You have food in your rooms, you big baby.” Shilya laughed at him, turning back to her chopping.
“But that’s all the way upstairs.” Tor’s pout turned into a large smile as Miteanon shoved fresh bread and cheese into his hands before shoving him further out the door. “You’re the best.” Tor sent an pleased tug to the teenaged demon boy through the link they shared as a member of his pack.
Scarfing down the food, Tor made his way to the gardens.
It was midday, the sky a bright pink above him with no clouds in sight.
Hacken, head gardener, was packing up supplies in the shed when Tor entered the sanctuary.
Every plant in sight was flourishing well beyond normal levels.
Of course, that’s what happened when a pollinator fae happily called somewhere home.
“Have you seen Cin?” Tor asked. The gardener was a Leshy, a protector of forests, and had been around for a very long time.
The drakonid had never seen his true form, Hacken chose to appear as a short, plump mostly human man when he wanted to be seen at all.
Tor was lucky to call the creature part of his pack, as Leshy tended not to be social.
Hacken was old and withered with time, slow in his movements, but still sharp as anything in his mind.
He was a secretive creature, rarely seen around the property.
He’d taken to Cin like a proud grandfather and the pair spent hours talking about plants and dirt. Tor had seen Hacken more in the weeks since meeting his fated than he had in the decade prior.
“We shared lunch and then he wandered off.” Hacken smiled fondly, closing up the shed. “We’re planning a hike in the forest next week, if you want to join.”
“I’ll have to make sure my schedule is free.
” While the lands surrounding his home were part of his territory, they were also wild and full of many potentially dangerous creatures native to The Crimson Reaches.
Tor trusted his fated with the Leshy, though.
Hacken patted Tor on his forearm, disappearing through the gate toward the animal pens.
The garden was silent except for the sound of bugs, the splashing of the waterfall in the pond, and the wind in the trees.
Tor could have used their bond to zero in on where Cin was hiding out, but decided it was more fun to hunt the fae down.
He prowled through the neat garden beds, glanced over at the fenced-in play structure, continued past the pond, and finally arrived at the wildflower fields.
At the edge of the field sat a pile of clothes, obviously discarded during a shift.
A predatory smile graced Tor’s lips as he carefully waded into the field.
The flowers were all native to The Crimson Reaches, towering between three and five feet tall.
Fingers grazing the tops of the different plants as he went, Tor made it to the middle of the field before coming to a halt.
There in front of him was a tall purple and blue flower.
A rare plant that usually grew deep in the mountains but had thrived under his little bee’s touch.
Propped within the petals, legs dangling off the edge, and his adorable ass pointed into the air, lay Tor’s fated one.
Cin was in his small form, only about eight inches tall.
Tor could hear the little snorts and snuffles as the fae snoozed.
“Well, well, well…what do we have here?” Tor’s smile spread even wider as he used two fingers to gently grab his little bee by the ankle and lift him into the air. Bringing the fae to his face, Cin dangled upside down.
The jostled movement brought Cin awake, his wings beating to right himself as he looked around in confusion. “The fuck?” He shouted and then shrieked when Tor gently shook him to get his attention.
“Tor! Put me down! What are you doing?” Cin fluttered his wings faster, twisting his body to right himself, but the drakonid kept him dangling. His fated was red in the cheeks from his nap, the rest of his skin pale and deliciously bare for Tor’s gaze.
“I seem to have found a pest in my garden.”
“The fuck you have!” Cin protested, using his wings and core muscles to swing up, grasp Tor’s thumb, and bite at his knuckle. The drakonid chuckled, his little bee’s tiny teeth not able to do any more damage than an actual bee.
“But I skipped my lunch and you look like such a tasty treat, little one.” Tor’s beast rumbled deep in his chest, his cock throbbing as he gazed at Cin.
The struggling fae huffed, letting himself hang without resistant as he glared at Tor. “Apologize for interrupting my nap and I’ll let you chase me before you eat me.”