Page 17

Tori

T he rules for tonight are the same as last night.

We all meet in the same partitioned area of the dining hall.

The males stand in their little squares on the ground, waiting for a female to approach them.

The biggest difference is that if we want to claim a male as ours and they're receptive to it, then we can leave the mating ceremony.

There are a few rooms in the great hall where we can take our males if we want to get to know them more intimately, or if we trust them, we can let them take us out of the great hall.

I intend to grab Marron's hand as soon as I find him and drag him to the nearest possible private space so I can finally get my hands on him in all the ways we haven't before.

I push some of my hair behind my shoulder and take a deep breath. I'm not nervous about what's about to happen. Maybe I should be. I'm more anxious to get to be with Marron already.

"They're all getting set up now," Diane says as she walks back into the room where we are waiting. "We'll give them two more minutes, and then go out. I'm sure some of you are anxious to get out there."

My cheeks heat even though I know she's also talking to other women. Still, it feels like I'm being called out. Not in a bad way, but it's still enough to have a blush covering my cheeks.

Some of the other women chat amongst themselves, but for the most part, we're all pretty quiet.

Two others are more than willing to mate with their demons tonight.

The other eight women don't think they've found their mates, but they're still open to seeing where things go with the unmated males.

I wouldn't be surprised if they also find themselves with some private time.

It's not against the rules to bed any of the males, even if you don't mate them.

Something that some of the women talk about with hushed whispers and pink cheeks.

"I'm going to say we're good." Diane claps her hands together and motions for us to all get in a line. "Reminder, you need to tell me or the other chaperone that you're leaving with a male if you do decide to spend time with them alone. It's for your safety. No one here is judging anyone."

Diane opens the door, and we all file out in the same line we did yesterday.

I'm a few women from the front, but once we get to the mating ceremony area, no one will try to beat me to my mate.

As far as I can tell from the one mating ceremony I've been a part of, the women don't fight each other over males, and just like Diane said, no one really judges the others.

Everyone who goes through the mating ceremony is looking for the same thing, so it'd be unfortunate for one of us to make the others feel ashamed. Not to mention how hypocritical it would be. We're all here trying to find happiness, and none of us should be shamed for that.

"Any questions?" Diane asks as we near the hallway opening.

I twiddle my fingers in front of me, hoping that no one has any questions like they did last night.

We stood in this hallway for what felt like an eternity yesterday when a few women had questions about what we were and weren't allowed to do.

The not allowed list consisted of 'don't do anything that constitutes mating and don't do anything the males don't want to do. '

"How early can we leave with our mate?" one of the women who's made it clear she's interested in a male named Gere asks. I don't mind that question because I need to know if there's a time limit we have to reach before leaving.

"You may leave as quickly as you want, so long as you tell me or the other chaperone, and the male is receptive to leaving with you," Diane answers.

She keeps her tone factual and soft. It helps to make this all seem more normal than it is compared to what life was like on Earth. Not that I ever did anything other than a few awkward kisses and too sweaty handholding. What can I say? Not everyone's great at dating at sixteen.

"So, hypothetically, if I want to leave as soon as I get there, I just tell you, and I can leave?" the same woman asks. I nod along with her question, showing my support and that I'm just as curious as she is about it.

"Yup," Diane pops the p at the end and gives us a big smile. "We want you to find your mates. Once you have, we don't want to keep you away for any longer than necessary."

I want to roll my eyes, but it's not her fault I've been kept from Marron. It's my own damn fault for not ever going through this earlier. I feel silly now that I know how easy this is and how excited I am to be with him.

"No more questions?" Diane asks, looking down the line at all of us. Her hands rest on the top of her belly, and then she spins back around. "Alright, let's get you back with the males."

We follow her into the dining hall and toward the partitioned-off section.

A few of the males are standing a bit taller than usual.

Marron is one of them, which leads me to believe the other two are the other males getting mates tonight.

I make my way over to Marron, not wasting any time as I wrap my arms around his waist.

"Hey," I say as I look up at him. His bruising has gone down, and the swelling is lessened enough that he can open his eye a little bit.

"Hey," he murmurs back.

He lifts his hands to cup my cheeks, his thumbs rubbing softly over my skin. He has a clean bandage on his bite mark, and my stomach flutters at the memory of sinking my teeth into him last night. He smiles brighter when he sees where I'm looking and lifts one of his hands over the wound.

We stare at each other for another moment before Marron kneels in front of me so we're eye to eye. "You told me that one day you're going to tell everyone I am yours."

My cheeks heat as Marron talks, reminding me of what I confessed to him before the party. I didn't know that he knew anything in English at the time. Now, here he is, reminding me that not only does he understand me, but he has no problem reminding me of what exactly I said.

"You also made me promise to fuck your brains out," he hisses low enough that I'm the only one who hears what he says. My stomach does a flip-flop, and my core clenches.

" I didn't know you could understand me, " I tell him in English. My face burns red as I say the words. Embarrassment and arousal course through me in equal measure.

"How long have you been trying to seduce me with words I might not understand?" Marron asks, pulling me closer to him. "Should I remind you of everything you've wanted to do to me? Of all the things you want me to do to you?"

" Take me somewhere more private, and I'll do anything you remind me I said. " I give him the most seductive look I can manage.

I'm proud of myself for how fast Marron's brows rise. He gets up from where he's knelt. His head whips around until he catches someone's attention.

"I am taking her home."

"Has she agreed to this?" Diane asks, trying and failing to keep the laugh from her voice.

"I have," I barely get the words out before Marron has me thrown over his shoulder and is stalking out of the partitioned-off area.

"Be safe!" Diane calls out, drawing more attention to us than we already have, with Marron carrying me like a sack of potatoes.

"You just passed the hall," I say when we pass the hall where the private rooms are.

"I am taking you home. I just said this." Marron sounds smug as he says it, and I wish I could see his face.

As much as I twist and turn in his hold, he doesn't let me budge. Part of it is his male pride in carrying his mate off like some grand prize. Especially when we're outside the great hall, and he's carrying me around in front of everyone. Even more proof that I'm his and no one else's.

"Hey, Marron?" I ask as we walk outside the tribe's walls and head down the path to Nia's house.

"Hm?" he asks as his hold tightens on my thigh. He likes it when I say his name, and I'll use it a lot because I like how much it affects him.

"Where are we going?"

"Home," he says, as though it answers my question even a little bit.

He chuckles to himself but doesn't give me any more of an answer. Not that I mind much when he starts to move his hand up and down my thigh. I whimper as he gets close to where I want him to touch the most, and I'm not even shy about trying to spread my legs to give him easier access.

"Needy female." Marron clicks his tongue before stilling his hand high on my leg. "Are you slick for me?"

" Pull my shorts down and find out. " I smile when his footfalls stutter and even harder when he makes a soft grunting sound in response.

"Soon, little mate," Marron says, his body betraying the easy calm he's trying to portray with his voice. We walk for a little while longer before he comes out of the trees onto the unseeded fields of the farm next door to Nia's.

"Wait." I turn in his hold on me, jerking around to look around as though he's about to tell me this is a joke. "Marron, wait, is this?"

"Our home, little mate," Marron answers my question before I finish asking it. "It's a large house. I'll need your help to fill it."

My stomach flips again, warmth spreading through my body, and a fresh blush on my cheeks. "You want a family with me?"

"I want everything with you, Tori," Marron says, carrying me through the front door to the house and not stopping until he has me laid out on a bed in the furthest bedroom. "But first, I need to make a fire so you can see me when I claim you as mine."

I watch as Marron turns to the fireplace set in the bedroom wall. I admire how he moves, and his muscles bunch and tense as he rearranges the wood in the fireplace.

While he works on starting the fire, I shimmy out of my clothing.

First, my shirt and a tentative look in his direction.

He continues his work, knowing that I'm half-naked in our bed.

Next are my shorts, and as I bend over the edge of the bed to place them on the ground, Marron decides to turn around.

His fingers wrap around my ankle, and he drags me across the bed until my ass is close enough that he can grab it without having to lean over the bed.

His fingers curl on the hem of my underwear, stroking the skin underneath.

He hisses softly before releasing the underwear and moving his grip to my hips.

He rolls me onto my back in one swift movement and then hisses again, louder this time, as my nipples harden under his gaze.

"So beautiful," he murmurs, using the back of his fingers to stroke down my chest, over my breasts, and back toward the hem of my underwear.

I arch upward, hoping he'll help me remove them so I am entirely bare for him.

Instead, he lowers himself to his knees, pulls me closer to the edge of the bed, and throws my legs over his shoulders.

"Leave these on." He nuzzles his face between my legs, his jaw rubbing against the fabric of my underwear, pressing the damp material against me. Making both of us aware of how badly I want him. "I want these soaked, and then we can trade."

I moan a soft, desperate sound and know that I'm at his mercy, and something tells me that won't be the worst thing.