Page 9
Tori
" Y ou talk to my ward without me there and accuse her of something you have no right to accuse her of!" Beren is pissed. He has been since Jen and I showed up at the house with Ralleth and Olivia with us.
After I threw up, they thought it would be better to have this conversation somewhere more private, and I told them I wouldn't feel comfortable unless we were at my house.
"There was no accusing." Ralleth holds his hands next to his head, the same way he's been standing since we arrived.
"Then what do you mean to do by telling her that you know she has been alone with a male?" Beren asks, obviously not caring about the answer, because he continues. "Which male and who told you this?"
"Beren," Ralleth says his name like he's trying to appease a child throwing a fit.
Speaking of children throwing fits, Olivia's babe is fast asleep, strapped to her chest, while we all listen to the grown males arguing.
"Let us discuss this with everyone in a calm way, yes?
We do not mean to cause insult, and we most certainly do not mean to upset you or your wards. "
"You have upset me," Beren snaps, his arms crossing over his chest as he takes a deep breath. He and Ralleth are arguing on the front porch, but he looks inside to see all of us women sitting in the living room, patiently waiting for them to finish so we can have an actual conversation.
"Then I apologize," Ralleth says, his hands finally coming down to his sides because Beren is relaxing. "May I go inside and explain the situation to everyone?"
"Fine," Beren huffs before entering the house and standing behind the couch. Nia, Jen, and I are all sitting on it.
I sit with fidgeting hands and worry pouring from me.
Nia and Jen both look upset at the whole situation.
Arms crossed, scowls in place, and bodies so tense I'd be worried if I were Ralleth.
The only thing that makes me feel better is the soft sounds Olivia's baby makes when she shifts in her sleep.
Olivia doesn't seem to mind any of the bad moods in the room.
She's more interested in her daughter and offers us small smiles of reassurance as we listen to the males.
"What exactly were you told?" Beren asks Ralleth when both males are situated behind their mates, comfortable and not as tense as they just seemed.
I don't know where Lyath is, but if I had to guess, it would be keeping Marron and Thro—mostly Thro—distracted so they don't overhear this conversation.
Marron will blame himself even though we both were part of breaking one of the only rules we have to follow.
Thro will probably tell Ralleth that we were alone and fell asleep together.
He might even throw Marron under the bus for visiting me when I bathe because I'm sure the sneaky little male has some idea of what his brother is doing when he says he forgot something on the farm and has to return.
"Someone in the tribe told us you have been seen with an unmated male on more than one occasion.
" Olivia gives me a soft smile. "First, we're not judging you for that.
We wouldn't care about it if not for the fact that we're doing everything to keep all of the males following the rules so we don't have issues with males trying to take the women. "
"No, no, that's fine," I wave off her justification.
The way everything is set up here is so that human women are kept as safe as possible after some males came to the tribe to kidnap women they wanted for themselves.
I understand why they have rules, and I also know that I frequently disregard them.
"Who told you I was meeting with Marron? "
"You've been meeting with a male?" Nia says in the fakest surprised voice I've ever heard. I would be trying not to laugh if I weren't so nervous. "Why, I never… and under our noses?"
Olivia covers her laugh, but her lips quirk up on the sides. "Look, as far as I'm concerned, what happens on the farm stays on the farm."
"Then why are you here?" Nia asks, her tone shifting to something more serious. "I already told you what was happening and that we were keeping an eye on it to make sure no one was taken advantage of. Why's there an issue now?"
Jen and I both snap our heads in Nia's direction.
Nia looks at both of us with an unimpressed flick of her eyes.
"Do you think we didn't know about all of that?
We're not idiots. We just needed to make sure you two didn't go around flaunting that we were letting you date when no one else gets the opportunity. "
"We had a few unmated males come to us with concerns of Tori being seen with another unmated male, and when I talked with him, he told me that you were allowing him to woo you and say your name.
" Olivia holds my eyes when she says it, and the only reason her words don't have me spiraling is that I can see her baby's arm reach up from the sling she's in and start to grab at Olivia's tunic.
It helps to soften the reason they're here.
"Marron would not have admitted to it," Beren says from behind us.
I'm glad he's here to tell Olivia precisely what I'm thinking. We've been alone, and he's been wooing me and saying my name, but I can't see him telling Olivia that. Not when he always seems so nervous to be caught alone with me.
"He wasn't one of the males to come to us," Ralleth says.
The fact has everyone in the room confused. Well, Olivia and Ralleth aren't confused because they already know who talked with them. Still, the rest of us wonder who would've said they were wooing me.
"I know I've been sneaking around with Marron, but there's no one else."
The words make me flush again, and my hands are sweaty from more than just how warm this planet is.
If this was them telling everyone I've been with Marron, that's one thing, but whatever they've been told is a lie.
I don't want them to think it's true. I don't want them doubting me.
I look around at Olivia and then up at Beren.
There's not an ounce of disbelief on their faces, just pure anger.
I'm glad I am not on the receiving end of.
"Who is telling lies about my ward?" Beren asks, his lips pulling back in a snarl that would have me peeing myself if it were directed at me.
"If I tell you, they will be dead by the time the clouds have darkened," Ralleth keeps his voice calm, and it's clear he won't tell us. "We came here to think of ways to fix this."
"I can fix it as soon as you tell them their names," Beren offers.
Nia nods like she's all for letting Beren deal with the males who have decided to make up lies about me.
I don't know why anyone would want to, and I don't know how many people they've told since I'm not in the tribe very often.
For all I know, everyone in the tribe might think someone is wooing me.
Marron could think I'm letting someone else woo me.
"Are you going to cry?" Olivia asks me, moving from her chair to stand in front of me. She scoops her daughter out of the sling and rocks her in her arms, the laughter making me smile. "Don't cry, okay? None of this is your fault."
"Well," Ralleth starts to say, but Beren's loud hiss cuts him off, and he holds his hands up again, saying he's done.
Olivia plops her baby into my arms, not even asking. It's okay with me because her bright red scales and big black eyes make me want to snuggle her close and see if I can get her to giggle like she did for Olivia.
Since realizing I had a calling to Marron, I've felt a stronger and stronger urge to have kids. This tribe is big on family and growing their families, so it makes sense that it would rub off on me the longer I'm here. Now, staring at Azaana's cute little face has me wanting it more and more.
Olivia moves to sit back in the chair and addresses all of us.
"We need to know how you want to deal with the rumors.
We can tell everyone that you're not entertaining any males, but we'd need to keep you separated from Marron, too, so no males feel like he's being given special treatment.
Or, you can go through the mating ceremony.
We're pretty sure that's why the males who spoke with us did. "
"They wish to force my ward into the mating ceremony," Beren snarls. His claws are digging into the couch, and Nia frowns at the gashes in the fabric before shooing his hands away so he doesn't make the tears worse. "They think they can force her to mate them. You realize this, yes?"
"We assume that's the plan," Olivia shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know how they're planning to make it succeed, considering it's clear she's already responded to a different male, but we weren't about to tell them that."
"So I either join the mating ceremony or stop seeing Marron?" I ask.
"Unless there's a different plan you'd feel more comfortable with," Olivia says.
"We wouldn't even be taking it seriously if we weren't hearing from other males that they think the rules are softening.
Gossip spreads fast in the tribe, and the male who says he's wooing you has made it very clear to many of the brothers that he's the one wooing you. "
"Banish him for breaking the rules," Beren snaps, cutting Olivia off and causing Ralleth's eyes to flicker red for a moment. This time, Beren lowers his eyes, an act of submission we don't usually see from him, but Ralleth is his tribal leader, and there's still a hierarchy to these things.
"I would if it wouldn't give his rumors more merit.
If your ward wishes to go through the mating ceremony, it will be clear that the rumors were the tellings of a male thinking too highly of himself and willing to spread lies to force a female into a mating.
He will be shamed enough to leave the tribe on his own when it is clear your ward isn't his mate. "
Ralleth's plan makes sense, but it hinges on me going through the mating ceremony.
I'm still unsure if I'm ready to be mated to Marron.
I'd rather be mated to him with communication issues than not be able to see him at all.
If those are my options, I'll have to learn the language even faster.
Marron might even be keen to help me once we're together.
"I'll do it," I say before Beren can get himself even more upset by thinking about a male making up lies about me.
I know he's going to go to the tribe as soon as this conversation is over, and Ralleth will have to rush back to get others to help him keep Beren in check.
He'll kill the male when he finds him. It sounds dramatic, but these males can be very dramatic.
When the others learn Beren's killings are due to lying about capturing a female's soul, they'll all nod and murmur their understanding.
"Are you sure?" Olivia asks.
In my periphery, I can see Jen staring at me with wide eyes and Nia looking at me as if she's unsure if she needs to intervene and tell me we can come up with another idea.
"I'd rather have him in my life than not." I shrug. "Can you make sure Marron is one of the males in the next mating ceremony?"
"Of course," Ralleth says. "The males have already been chosen, but I will talk with my brothers to see who will be understanding of our situation."
"And the male in charge of these rumors?
" Nia asks, her voice holding the same amount of venom that Beren's has this whole conversation.
I'm surprised he's not the one voicing the question until I look over and see he's holding the back of the couch so tight that his claws are fully pressed through.
They're going to end up with holes through the back of the couch, too.
"He will be there," Ralleth answers, making it clear that he doesn't plan on lying or softening this. This is just a shitty situation, but at least he's not letting me be blindsided. "That is probably why he has been spreading it so much in the last few days."
"You knew of this for days?" I ask, my fingers wrapping around one another until they're pressing almost painfully together.
"We did," Ralleth says. "We did not wish to ruin your party. We knew we needed to speak with you soon, though, because the next mating ceremony is in a few days."
"It would be best if you didn't see Marron until then," Olivia adds, "Just to make sure no one thinks there's anything suspicious going on."
I nod, my thoughts racing at how fast this will go now that I've finally agreed to go through the mating ceremony. The first day of the mating ceremony is in three days, which means I could be a mated female in as little as six days. I could be mated to Marron.
On the one hand, I'm more excited and happy than I have been in a long time. On the other hand, I'm so nervous there's a good chance I'll throw up again.
"Ralleth and I will go find Marron and tell him of the good news," Beren says in a tone that suggests it isn't good news.
He stares down Ralleth until the other male kneels down to his mate and whispers something in her ear that makes her blush. She swats him away, and then he's waving over to Beren and allowing him to lead him out of the house.
"Alright," I sigh when the boys are out of the house. "Can you explain to me exactly what's about to happen?"
Nia was in charge of creating the mating ceremonies, and she still has a hand in updating them and ensuring they run smoothly.
I've never really asked her about it because it was something I wouldn't be going through for a little while longer.
Now that it's been decided that I'm going to do it, I realize I wish I had asked a lot more questions during the time I've been living here.
"I'll go make some food," Nia says as she stands from the couch. "I heard you threw up everything this morning, so let's get something else on your stomach."
"Thank you," I murmur, more appreciative of her support in all this than I have the words to tell her right now.
Nia isn't very far from us as she cooks. As Olivia begins to explain what I'll need to do during the ceremony, sometimes Nia interrupts to clarify or explain more about some parts of it. At some point, more food is dropped off in front of me, and I eat it all.
By the time Ralleth returns to take Olivia and his daughter back to the tribe, she and Nia have explained everything to me and answered most of my questions. The only thing left to do is wait three days until I can see Marron again and make sure he's okay with all this happening.