Page 1 of Rhaz’s Redemption (Shifters of Valo Prime #6)

Rhaz

“She has a strong spirit,” Karo commented as he held the newest member of our dekes.

Little Tabby held tightly to his finger as he held her. Tarak and Gabby smiled as the elder held their child.

“She likes you,” Gabby said between bites of her breakfast. She had healed well from the delivery and with the help of the dekes there was very little need for her or Tarak to do any chores while they spent time with their new baby girl.

Orsu and Julie were behind the cook fire restocking supplies.

Orsu pretended to find a bit of syrup on Julie's face and made her laugh when he kissed her cheek in an attempt to clean her off. Her belly was swollen with their child who would be the next new member of our dekes. Julie was doing well. Kayla, however, was not. Her weak heart was struggling against the strain of pregnancy and despite Sozu’s efforts, she was not thriving.

Drovo doted on her constantly. He made her a chair that hung above the ground with ropes. It worked on a pulley system and she could easily use it to go from room to room, but she rarely got the chance. He insisted on carrying her everywhere.

“It is not every day a male gets the chance to carry his mate and child all in one go,” he pleaded with her when she looked like she was about to argue. “Please let me carry you both.”

“Drovo,” Kayla sighed. I’m just going from the table to the cushions to sit with Taylor.

Taylor held a hand over her belly. There hadn’t been any formal announcement that they were with child, but it seemed obvious by the way Brexl hovered over her and how she smiled when she patted her belly that there would be an announcement soon.

“It takes a lot of muscles to move from here to there and you should use mine instead of yours.”

“Fine, go ahead.” Kayla sounded annoyed but the corner of her mouth turned up in a smile as Drovo took her in his arms.

He set her down next to Taylor and Brexl and the two of them laughed as they got to work knitting baby clothes together.

While I’d never seen Drovo happier than what he was right now, this was the first time I’d seen Brexl happy at all.

Ever since he’d benn mated to Taylor he was nothing but smiles.

She was the light of his life, that much was obvious.

I was happy for him. He had carried a deep sadness within himself since we were very young and I was glad to see him shedding that sadness like an old skin, worn out and no longer useful.

I shifted my gaze to Beatrice like I often did.

I couldn’t help myself. She was like a beacon of light and I was powerless against it.

I felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

Her radiance called to me and I wished more than anything to draw closer to her.

I wanted to run my fingers along her warm brown skin, and through her soft curly hair.

I wanted to be the reason why she laughed and smiled.

I wanted to give her the same joy her existence gave me.

Luminescence had chosen us for each other. I had no idea why. She deserved so much more than me. I would not let her be brought down by the curse that burdened my own soul.

I dared to look at her again. She pursed her lips and my cock hardened as I thought about what it would be like to have those lips pressed against mine.

The humans brought that tradition to our dekes and the other couples seemed to like it well enough, but I wanted to know what the fuss was about myself.

These thoughts are what had made that lonely luminescense night torture.

I stroked myself many times over that night and even though I’d find release I never found relief.

The lust kept coming back in waves. I would picture Beatrice naked beneath me and quickly spill my seed, but then I would just grow hard again not long after.

She sat at a table next to Fatima. She said something and they both laughed. She was happy and I wanted to keep it that way. Which was why it was so important for me to stay away.

Beatrice

“Fess up already. It’s been five days and you’ve yet to tell me what happened that night,” Fatima nudged my side with her elbow as she demanded answers.

In all fairness she’d been quite patient with me, far more patient than most of the other people here.

Which, was admittedly a low bar considering how much everyone craves gossip around here, but Fatima had respected my boundaries nonetheless.

“What was it like? He seems so…distant,” my closest and dearest friend said as she spared a quick glance in his direction. “I can’t imagine him being sweet or romantic.”

“He wasn’t,” I shook my head and sighed.

Fatima’s eyes grew wide. “Was he…rough…” she let her words linger hoping I’d get her meaning.

“No,” I shook my head again. “Walk with me.”

There were too many eyes and ears in this room and I didn’t want anyone else to hear what I was about to confess to my best friend.

We both got up and she followed me to our shared living quarters where we both donned our coats and headed outside.

“Spill,” she said as soon as the cold air of the great outdoors touched my face. She’d clearly run out of patience.

“He never came back,” I confessed.

“What do you mean he never came back?”

“You remember when he and I glowed for each other and he left the cavern shortly after?”

“Yeah, I just assumed he needed to collect his thoughts. Are you telling me that mother fucker never came back?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I admitted. Anger still churned in my gut. Why hadn’t he just talked to me about it?

“Do you know why?” Fatima asked.

“No, I wish I did. We could have worked something out. I would have much rather spent the night helping each other out than suffering alone.”

I didn’t like the idea of us going back to strangers after a night of passion, but at this point I’d take anything. It just seemed like the logical thing to do.

“That bad huh?”

“You have no idea,” I sighed.

I’d never experienced such intense arousal in my life.

As a librarian and an avid romance reader, I’d read about such things many times over, but experiencing it was no joke.

I had to move my bed to an unused cave so I could relieve myself in peace.

Staying in the room I shared with multiple other women simply was not an option that night.

“Why did you say that something had happened that night when it didn’t?” Fatima looked at me confused.

“I didn’t,” I growled. “I don’t like having that much attention on me so when all the women gathered around and kept asking me what happened the only thing I could think to say was that I don’t kiss and tell.”

That had seemed to satisfy most people, but it also meant that it had left the impression that Rhaz and I had spent the night together when we hadn’t.

I wondered if that rumor had reached him yet or if the guys had pestered him as much as the women had pestered me.

Drovo and Lumod seemed to thrive on gossip and now Brexl, as shy as he was, had recently started asking more questions when people recounted their stories to him.

I suspected this was due to Taylor’s influence.

He was a fast learner, I’d give him that.

The familiar sound of the cave entrance door opening and closing drew our attention back to the mountain.

We hadn’t strayed far. It was too cold out to walk beyond the clearing, and since Ashley had taken that little adventure recently, the guys had requested we all stay near the base of the mountain until the spring.

The familiar silhouette of the grumpiest blue alien in our dekes appeared.

Rhaz. He glanced in our direction and I could feel the heat of his gaze from here.

But his eyes did not linger long on me for long.

He turned and headed for the fire pit that had remained unused ever since the weather turned cold.

“I don’t know why he didn’t join you for your luminescence, but what I do know is that he follows you around like a lost puppy,” Fatima observed.

“He does not,” I argued. “Look, he’s just sharpening his bone knife out here in the fresh air.”

“Have you ever seen him sharpening his tools out here before?” Fatima countered.

“No,” I sighed. “But I don’t think he’s out here because of me. It wouldn’t make any sense. If he liked me, then why avoid me as much as he does?”

“Men are weird. Even blue ones,” she shrugged.

I looked over at him again. He wore a serene expression as he sharpened his knife against a stone.

Completely unbothered by the world and everything in it.

Had our luminescence effected him at all?

Maybe that’s why he didn’t seek me out. There could also be another reason.

A reason I’d refused to dwell on. He could be angry he was bound to me.

Maybe he found me unattractive and if that were the case maybe spending a lust-fuled night alone was preferable to spending it with me.

The most frustrating part was that I had no idea.

He refused to speak to me. He seemed to sense when I find enough courage to approach him and made himself scarce.

What would he do if I approached him now?

He couldn’t pretend to be busy. He couldn’t slip into a conversation with someone else. Maybe I should.

“Tarak has an announcement to make. He’d like everyone to come back inside,” Lumod yelled from the entrance.

Fatima and I looked at each other in surprise. What could this be about?

Rhaz stood but did not move toward the door. Instead he tracked Fatima and I as we walked from the clearing to the entrance of our mountain home. Once we were safely inside he joined us and put the large boulder we used as a safety precaution in front of the exit.

“Let’s see what this is all about,” Fatima wondered aloud as we walked arm-in-arm to the main cavern.