Page 13 of The VaDorok’s Unexpected Mate (The Mate Index: Dorok #1)

Katie wandered through the food storage room, her wet hair tightly wrapped in a drying cloth on top of her head, and stomach groaning in protest. The den was uncomfortably chilly, but she only had one mental space to worry about one thing at a time for the moment.

.. and currently it was more important to find something to nibble on before she looked for something flammable to toss onto the fire so that her extremities didn’t feel quite so icy.

She didn’t recognize ninety percent of the stuff stored within the various pots and baskets on the shelves, but Kull kept little snacks stored in there that he made in advance. .. and that was what she was after.

Her stomach growled louder as she peered into the baskets and briefly glanced at the contents of the pots as she picked up the lids and set them down again.

Ground powders, roots, different chunks of dried and preserved plants.

.. nothing was looking very promising. Pressing a hand against her belly, she grimaced.

Did Kull make more of those little pots of fruit mash?

She didn’t recall him mentioning it that morning but was certain that she had seen Ren eating one earlier.

While the mash wasn’t much to look at, it at least tasted pretty good.

From what she recalled, the small pink pots that the mash was stored in were smaller and more delicate in appearance than those used for regular storage. .. and nowhere to be found.

“Did he seriously eat them all?” she muttered in exasperation.

“Looking for this?”

Katie jumped at the unexpected sound of Ren’s voice behind her and spun around, her arms crossing in front of her body defensively only to come face to face with a small pink pot held right in front of her nose.

She blinked at it in surprise and gingerly lifted her hands to accept it as the male grunted and stopped just short of shoving it at her.

“I was planning on eating it, but I decided to save one for you,” he said, offering her a faint smile.

She returned his smile and glanced down at the little pot now in her hands. Lifting the lid, she sniffed the contents. Despite bearing some resemblance to porridge mixed liberally with pureed berries, it actually smelled pretty good.

“Thank you, Ren.”

He shrugged in response, his horn spikes tipping toward the pot slightly as he nodded to it. “Make sure you eat all of it. Kull wakes up early to prepare these on the mornings he decides to make them.”

“Of course,” she assured him. “I have no intention of wasting a bite of it. I’m starving.”

He slanted an unreadable look at her and nodded. “Good. Kull disapproves of any kind of waste.”

Clutching the little pot to her chest, she nodded in agreement. She certainly wasn’t going to kick the snack provider in the mouth. Licking her lips, she lifted the lid, but Ren’s hand covered hers, forcing the lid back down again.

“If you could... just wait until you are alone to eat it. I can’t stomach the thought of watching an alien eat,” he said with a pinched expression.

She frowned at him in response. That was unnecessarily insulting. Rolling her eyes, she waved him away. “Fine. Go do whatever it is that you plan on doing and leave me with my snack in peace.”

Ren eyed her for a moment but then smiled with a look of relief and dipped his head. “Perfect. I am going to go outside and gather sticks to refill the bin. Take your time enjoying it.”

“Oh! Do you think you can stoke up the fire a bit?” she asked. “It’s a little chilly in here.”

The male gave her an impatient look. “I will do it when I return. It doesn’t require it yet, and it is a good time to refill the bin before it starts getting dark.”

If that was the case, then why was it so cold?

Brow furrowing, she followed him out of the storage and back into the main room, her eyes falling on the fire in the hearth.

The flames were flickering low over the charred wood and briefly jumped to life when he stopped to poke at it with a long metal rod.

“See. Just wrap in a fur until I get back if it is a little uncomfortable for you,” he instructed as he returned the rod to where it hung beside the hearth.

“Okay,” she replied, though she doubted that he heard her since he was out the door before she was comfortably seated on the cushions with the thickest pelt drawn around her. “He’s certainly in a hurry,” she quietly observed as she set the small pot on the table in front of her.

Shivering a little from the cold, she lifted the lid from the pot and set it aside. The pinkish mash appeared slightly darker than usual, and a quick sniff test verified that it smelled sweeter too.

“I guess Kull found a really good batch of berries out there.”

Finding a utensil that reminded her of a slightly broader, flatter spoon, she resettled on the cushions and ate with gusto.

It wasn’t until she polished off every bite that she realized that Ren still had not returned, and the den was rapidly getting colder as the little flames in the hearth flickered and shrank closer to the coals.

Gathering the fur around herself, Katie walked over to the hearth and picked up the metal rod.

She poked at the fire as she had observed Ren do but, to her frustration, it didn’t have the same result.

If anything, it made the situation even more worrisome as she accidentally snuffed out two of the dying flames.

“Fuck,” she muttered as she drew the fur tighter around herself.

She stood there for a moment, debating whether to make her way back over to the cushions to sit down or remain by the fire where it was warmer, when her stomach violently gurgled.

Frowning, she pressed her hand to her belly and winced as her innards clenched uncomfortably with a spasm that accompanied another gurgle.

“Oh no,” she whispered.

Throwing off the fur, Katie raced for the toilet.

Despite the air growing colder, she was grateful that she was alone in the den when the stench of her own fart came close to making her want to throw up as she closed the door behind her.

Sweat broke out across her brow as she quickly pulled her skirt out of the way and sat down with a groan of relief that she had made it just in time before her body began to violently expunge itself.

With a whimper, she doubled over, her stomach clenching horribly over and over.

The smell made her gag, and she was grateful that the VaDorok had a kind of flush plumbing even if she didn’t really understand how it worked in the quasi-primitive dwelling.

It didn’t really matter, though. What mattered was that she was able to flush several times to help control the worst of the putrid smell.

It did nothing to diminish her shame, however, when she heard Kull’s voice.

The fact that he was scolding Ren for being gone for so long that the fire nearly went out didn’t even make her feel better.

“If you had gone out when I had suggested it, then you would have been back in time to prevent the den from getting so cold,” his unhappy rumble carried across the den to her.

“Even if you had delayed in acquiring the sticks, you should have returned with what you had and built the fire back up before continuing to gather wood.”

“I did not think it would go out quite so quickly,” Ren grumbled in reply, his voice far quieter as he obviously sulked.

Quiet enough that she was just barely able to make out his words.

“It did not die, though, and it is not that cold in here, so I do not understand why you are angry at me. I am building it back up.”

“It is too cold for a human. It is a little unpleasant for us, but it is probably miserably cold for Katie. I have warned you before about allowing the fire to die down too much. You cannot forget it like you are in the habit of doing while she is here. She is probably burrowed into the furs in the nest trying to keep warm.”

Katie groaned quietly to herself. If only. Sitting on the toilet felt like she was sitting on a block of ice in cold storage. She shivered and rubbed her arms, but she immediately bit the inside of her cheek as her guts clenched in another hard spasm. Not again!

She bit the inside of her cheek harder to control her moan of misery, humiliation burning through her as she heard Kull walk by the toilet. His footsteps stopped just a short distance past the door.

“We should probably search the den after you are finished with the fire, Ren. It is quite possible that a durwa got trapped inside somewhere and died,” he called to the younger male. “Check the usual spots they get stuck before the entire den begins smell foul.”

She covered her face with both hands, her cheeks burning.

Thankfully, nothing more seemed to be coming out, though her belly continued to spasm uncomfortably as Kull’s footsteps continued in the direction of their shared room.

She hastily cleaned herself up and was straightening her skirt when she heard her name called from the direction of the bedroom.

“Katie?”

It seemed that she wasn’t going to be able to sneak away from the toilet unnoticed. She squeezed her eyes closed with embarrassment as he listened to his approaching footsteps. Just kill her now.

“Katie... are you in there?” Kull asked, his voice quieter now and just outside the door.

She swallowed and nodded, though she was fully aware of how ridiculous it was when he couldn’t see her. She really, really didn’t want him to know that the source of that horrible smell was coming from her.

“Katie?”

“Yes,” she finally croaked miserably.

“Kull, I have not found any signs of a durwa,” Ren called, his footsteps heading in their direction. “But that smell seems to be getting stronger in this direction.”

Was that a note of glee in his voice? Somehow, she had a suspicion that he knew exactly what was going on.