Page 12 of The VaDorok’s Unexpected Mate (The Mate Index: Dorok #1)

Kull shook the snow from his fur as he entered the den, the warmth of the fire in the hearth rapidly drying his fur.

Ren sat in his accustomed spot on the fur in front of the fire, fashioning beads with his small metal file.

He glanced up at Kull sourly as he entered but refocused on his work, his mouth tightening with displeasure when he remained standing expectantly at his side.

Kull sighed. This again. The younger male had worn the same look the previous day when he had returned, but he had thought nothing of it since it had been the first day that Katie had truly inhabited the den.

“How is Katie?” he prodded. “Is she settling in comfortably enough?”

Ren shrugged as he continued to methodically work. “If by ‘settling in’ you mean has she been trying to stew herself in the bathing chamber on a daily basis... then yes.”

Kull frowned. “That does not sound healthy. She has no protective fur or thick enough skin to sustain being constantly wet. Did she appear okay after she emerged today? Did she appear disturbed by something?”

Perhaps it was a reaction to something that the Agraak had done to her. His fingers curled inward, his hands fisting with his anger that those males had harmed her so terribly that she was obsessively cleansing herself to such a degree.

Another shrug. “That is something that would be her problem, not mine. It may just be a human thing, for all I know, to inconveniently take over the bathing chamber, regardless of whom it may inconvenience. I would not have cared to look closely enough to notice either way. Or to ask her about it.”

Kull frowned. “You can muster the attention to notice she is doing something that annoys you or inconveniences you, but not enough compassion to ascertain whether or not she is well?”

“I did not ask for her to be here,” Ren muttered. “Why should I care? It is enough that I am here tending to the welfare of a female that I did not invite. It is bad enough that I have to watch her cling to you when you are home.”

“You did not,” Kull agreed. “I appreciate what you are doing, but I am not asking you to entertain her or go out of your way to do anything for her. Just make sure that she is well. As for clinging—” he shook his head in disbelief.

Katie only touched him when it was entirely accidental.

It was to the point that the ulukskinon was aching with the need for it. “You cannot describe her as clinging.”

Ren’s lips twisted in a disgusted look that the male wore all too frequently over the last couple of days. “Maybe not physically, but she is too demanding and needy. Why do you even want a pleasure-mate, anyway? Females always expect too much,” he grumbled.

“It seems that you are not just speaking of Katie,” Kull observed.

“It does not matter. Your female is weak, and the females of the tribe are demanding. Even Mother Zalla will not let you have your peace, but at least we could escape it here. Before, our den was perfect. It would be better if she left and never came back.”

It seemed that things were as he had feared.

It was natural for males to be territorial, but Ren’s hostility toward Katie just proved that he had reared the male to be too accustomed to their simple life far outside the tribe.

It went beyond territory and straight into resistance to change and her presence as a female within the den.

“You do not get to decide that,” Kull growled.

“My issues with Mother, aside, you do not get to bring judgement on every female who breathes on Dorok just because their presence is inconvenient for you. I have had complaints about your aggressive and surly attitude during gatherings. In my opinion, being here with Katie is good for you. If it teaches you some respect for females, then I will consider being a worthwhile lesson for you.”

“Unlikely,” Ren grumbled.

“Ren,” Kull warned. “Whatever your problem is—work it out. You are nearly of age to be a scout. You will have plenty of time to enjoy your solitude then. For now, you will, at minimum, be polite and respectful. Do not think I have missed your comments or attitude toward Katie. I let it slide before as she had just arrived, but you will not continue.”

“Understood,” the younger male muttered. Lowering the metal tool in his hand, he gathered up his things, stood, and stalked from the room, leaving Kull alone in the central chamber.

Kull shook his head as he watched him go.

Ren’s petulant reply was not encouraging, but he knew that it was the best that he was going to get.

Sighing heavily, Kull laid out a large, oiled leather mat and sat upon it as he placed the first of his catch on the mat in front of him.

While he had gutted it in the woods, he had waited until returning to strip the hide and prepare the meat for cooking.

He had pulled off the fur from two burrah and set them aside when his ear turned at the sound of Katie’s footsteps that immediately faltered to a stop.

“Shit... is that what dinner looks like before it’s cooked?” she asked in a weak voice.

He looked up to find her staring at him—or rather, the burrah—with a pinched, nauseous look that oddly made him want to laugh rather than frustrate him as he thought it would.

He had guessed that she was not a female accustomed to the necessities of hunting.

In his admittedly limited knowledge of the major species that comprised the Intergalactic Union, he knew that many did not hunt their own food or were capable of surviving in the wilderness with few tools other than their wits.

He had correctly guessed that the fragile female he had taken home with him was similarly lacking in experience.

The look on her face not only confirmed it but made him feel even more certain that she would struggle to survive on Dorok if she could not even look prey in the face without becoming sick.

He nodded and, grabbing the fur that he had split on one end, gave a sharp tug, peeling from the dark pink meat in one smooth motion.

His eyes never left her face, and he watched as she swallowed thickly, battling for control as he drove a spit through each of them and hung them, stretched out over the fire.

“Yummy,” she replied from behind the hand pressed to her mouth, and the corners of his mouth hitched with reluctant amusement.

How was it that, despite her frustrating weakness and incapability, she made him smile and want to laugh so easily?

“You seemed to think so when we ate it earlier,” he agreed as he rose from the mat and wiped it down with a damp rag before storing it once more.

Katie watched him skeptically from where she stood, as if she were uncertain of whether or not she wanted to venture another step closer to him.

He watched her from the outer edge of his vision as he crouched by the fire, careful not to look directly at her.

She looked like she wanted to bolt and hide, and an ache filled his chest. Of course, she would be frightened after seeing him rip fur from small animals.

“Are you afraid of me now?” he asked, keeping his tone mild, almost bored in order to help ease her tension.

She did not respond for a long moment, but he let out a slow breath of relief when she shook her head and slowly crept to his side before lowering herself onto the fur Ren had vacated.

“I admit that seeing you do that a little too easily took me by surprise, but after thinking about it, I think rabbits back home are supposed to be the same when it comes to taking off their fur... I think,” she added again, unnecessarily.

“It did strike me that you are big enough and strong enough to probably be able to do that to anything... or worse... but... I also know that I’m not a small animal that you are interested in eating, so I’m willing to bet that I’m safe. ”

His lips twitched again, but he nodded. “You are safe. I would not wish to even scratch or bruise your skin, much less harm you.”

She nodded again, a pink hue rising into her cheeks. “Yeah, for some reason, I know that, too.”

Her lips twisted in a faint smile, and she rearranged the heavy leather skirt that he had provided her around her legs.

Thankfully, it had taken little work for him to adjust his clothing into something suitable and far warmer for her to wear that morning.

They sat companionably in silence as he cooked.

There was no need to talk. Her presence seemed to fill the space perfectly, and he allowed himself to simply bask in the pleasure of it as he rotated the burrahs over the fire.

He felt a stillness—a peace he had not felt in some time—settle within him.

He glanced over at her and then smiled. She was curled peacefully on her side, her head just a short distance from his leg, dozing.

That she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep beside him.

He looked back at the fire and stared into its depths. Perhaps that feeling of peace was something that they both needed and had somehow found within each other.

An illusion of the ulukskinon playing with their minds—he was sure of it. But it was one illusion that he was content to leave alone and enjoy rather than fight against it. For both of their sake. They would enjoy the moments of peace wherever they could find them.