Page 3 of Howling Eve (Ragoru Origins #2)

Chapter Three

S kal snapped up the last remaining bites of the food stuff in his hand. It was hot enough that it still burned his mouth just a little and was in a hard vessel that was overly warm to the touch, but it was so delicious that he didn’t give it much thought. He tested it with his teeth just to be certain that it was not edible before settling for licking the remaining flavor and bits from its surface as he stared at the closed barrier.

In spite of himself, he was far too intrigued by the little human who had dared to scold him like a rog.

He had not expected to find a female alone in the den. He inhaled again to see if he could catch a hint of any other humans. Certainly, a mate would not be far. With such a comfortably enclosed territory—and one that seemed exceptionally plentiful in game from what his nose had told him before he had become distracted—a male would not have traveled far from his den to provide for his mate. While the female’s defiance was amusing to him, a male would be more of a potential threat that he would have to settle quickly.

To his surprise, the den contained no other scents than the female and food things. That puzzled him. Why would she be there alone? Ragoru females, when they were mature, wandered over vast territories until they accepted a triad as worthy to mate and denned with them, but unlike humans, who were smaller than their male counterparts, females were larger and far more dangerous of the species. Seeing a human female for the first time in passing had surprised him when he noted how much smaller they typically were compared to their males. And this female seemed even smaller and more fragile in appearance than even those.

He did not enjoy the feeling of concern that tightened his chest at the thought of such a tiny female alone and providing for herself. Not that she did not have a big spirit. He smiled to himself. She had even lifted her sweeper against him. Although constructed differently, he recognized it as similar to one he had assembled himself of wild grasses and a spindly branch broken from one of the many trees that failed to thrive on his home world. His mate had trusted no one else but him to make such things as their sweepers and baskets since he had a patient and skilled hand, unlike the other males in his triad. Skal immediately thrust the memory aside, preferring to keep his mind on the present and the fascinating puzzle the female made.

She was frightened. There was no mistaking the scent of her fear. But she did not flee at his snarl or the snap of his teeth other than to block him out of that part of the den where he suspected she slept since there was no comfortable nest here. He assumed that humans were like Ragoru in this manner that they nested in a separate, more secure chamber further from the entrance. Since she did not possess the fur that his kind did, he suspected that her nest was a very fine one, lush and comfortable. He imagined her curled up in it, her delicate flesh warm and pleasant to the touch. He grumbled quietly to himself. He missed having a warm female to curl up with and breathe in her sweet scent.

He suspected that this female would be very enjoyable to nest with. He had no doubt that she would be comfortably warm without reaching a stifling heat that came with sharing a nest with other Ragoru. Not only that, but her scent was the sweetest and most pleasing he recalled ever enjoying, even if it was blunted by the barrier between them. He grunted quietly to himself, suddenly annoyed at it, but shook his head with self-disgust and set the pie dish on the table as he glanced over at the dying fire.

His mind was going in unhealthy and ridiculous directions. There was plenty of warmth here. He certainly did not need to curl up in a nest with a female who did not enjoy his company. Once was enough for that. Despite the fact that he was the lead male, and his mate chose him, he always suspected that it was born out of desperation as resources forced males to abandon old territories to hunt for new ones. He did his best to please his mate, but being tied to a female who chased him away at every opportunity was not an experience he was looking to repeat.

The fire was more than preferable, and the den was warm. There was even a sitting bench with a strange high back on it that he imagined could be comfortable enough when sitting and supportive enough to allow him to sleep on it. It was too short to accommodate his full size and nowhere near as plush as the sitting benches he once made, but it would do. But first, he would remove the dirt he brought into his new den. Dirt had a habit of creeping in on its own just fine, without more coming in on him.

Turning his back to the barrier to the nesting room, Skal went over and picked up the sweeper where the female had dropped, making short work of removing the dirt, dust, and flaky bits from his meal as he swept it all out the door. Setting the sweeper against the wall, he returned to the fire, banked it so that its heat would continue long into the night, and stretched himself over the sitting bench with a groan. His legs hung over the edge as he expected, but it was only a minor annoyance compared to the uncomfortable padding beneath him. He would have to fix that. He would hunt well to begin drying meat for winter while preparing the furs for his nest.

Idly, he wondered if the female would continue to stubbornly linger. He could not bring himself to actually hurt her in any way. The Mother would strike him if he ever dared such a thing. That he also did not have it in him to continue trying to frighten her was more surprising. She had earned some measure of respect from him. He would not be driven off, but he would not protest if she insisted on staying.

He might even enjoy it if she did.