Page 18 of The VaDorok’s Unexpected Mate (The Mate Index: Dorok #1)

Kull ventured out into the woods as far as he dared and hunted for much longer than he usually did before he began to head back.

His hunts were usually short so that he could quickly get back to his den where Ren was waiting for him.

But Ren, while still young, was old enough to be trusted, and Kull had to admit that it was unlikely for the male to get into too much trouble while Katie was there.

It allowed him some reprieve to escape from the confines of the den, the lust clawing at hm, and every emotion and need that surged demandingly to the fore because of her and the thrice-damned ulukskinon.

It had begun to intensify unbearably as their contact with each other increased.

Especially after what had happened in his nest the other night.

It was the reason that he was taking his time in returning as he took it upon himself to follow random trails of tracks and check traps.

He snorted quietly to himself and shook his head.

He wondered what else he would have to endure over the next several days.

The ulukskinon was unpredictable when it came to what it would respond to, and as long as they kept their distance from each other it had done nothing more than simmer deep within his blood.

He had not believed she would have ever gone so far as to actually touch him, not after what she had experienced at the hands of the Agraak.

That she had done so shocked him as much as his reaction to it.

She possessed a surprisingly powerful will.

It was just a shame that she did not possess an equally strong body.

She might have had a shot at surviving at Dorok if she had.

Squinting at the sinking sun, Kull continued to trek back to the den at a somewhat quicker pace.

It would soon be dark, and he would need to cook still in order to make sure everyone was adequately fed.

He grimaced to himself as he crested the top of a slope, his gaze settling on his den tucked amid the trees still some distance off.

From his position, he could tell if there was any smoke rising from the cut vents.

Did Ren remember to keep the fires maintained so that Katie did not become chilled?

The male was often unintentionally thoughtless about the comfort of others, despite his reminders that a human would likely quickly sicken in the cold.

Perhaps he should not have been gone for quite so long. What if she were lying half-frozen somewhere within?

Picking up his pace to a brisk jog, the sack filled with burrahs bouncing against his back, Kull frantically crossed the remaining distance to his den.

By the time he reached the entrance, his heart was hammering anxiously, and he threw open the door to barge through the entry.

Ren’s head shot up from where he sat in front of a blazing fire, his look of surprise morphing rapidly into one of confusion as he sprung to his feet and hurried toward him.

“Kull, what—?” he began, but Kull pushed by him, his swinging from side to side as his eyes shot around the room until falling at last on the dainty figure curled amid several cushions beneath a thick fur.

Kull’s breath left him in an enormous sigh of relief.

The fire was built up quite high, and Ren was probably not entirely comfortable, but she was safe and warm.

That was good. He was able to breathe a little easier as she glanced over at him.

Her brows lifted in surprise as she sat up a little straighter and the pelt slid down to her lap.

“You are back,” she observed. “With dinner, I presume?”

He inclined his head, but his gaze suddenly caught on something white, furry, and absolutely forbidden within his den. He stiffened and pointed a claw at the durwa, whose overly large ears tipped toward him.

“ What is that thing doing in here?” he demanded.

Its long whiskers, normally flattened against the sides of its face and obscured beneath its fur, snapped forward at his sharp tone.

The whiskers trembled as the durwa searched for the subtle vibrations in the air that might warn it of impending danger.

It did not bolt away as he expected it to do, however.

It was as if the little beast no longer possessed any of its natural fear.

It should be scampering to safety, not blinking its small, pink eyes from beneath its fur as it sat safely on Katie’s lap.

“Isn’t he... she... it adorable ?” she gushed.

“No,” he replied surlily. “It will eat everything it can get ahold of. Including the leather and fur we have here. Vermin are not adorable. They are filthy.”

“Filthy?” She glanced down at the durwa curiously.

“I’ve been holding it for hours, and it seems like the cleanest animal I’ve ever seen.

It also hasn’t tried to eat anything other than what I’ve given it.

I think he’s just paranoid,” she trilled in a higher, squeaking voice that made him frown in confusion.

“You’re such a good furry baby. Aren’t you, Gremlin? ”

She lifted the fat durwa up against her cheek and hugged it close as a look of pure delight brightened her expression.

It was a look that momentarily rendered him incapable of thinking.

He blinked, trying to refocus his thoughts into something coherent when she placed a smacking kiss on the top of its head.

His lips curled in disgust but, when she caught his expression, she merely laughed.

“Not a pet-person, huh?” she said lightly.

“Don’t worry. I bathed the little furball earlier.

I made Ren show me what you use for cleansing yourself with.

Gremlin is all clean, so you don’t have to worry about him soiling the furs.

In fact, I think I have litter box trained him with that bin full of wood shavings. ”

His jaw clenched. It was being fed and given a place to relieve itself.

.. on the fragrant wood shavings that he had been collecting over the months for kindling.

It was no wonder that it didn’t have any true sense of self-preservation.

She was treating it like it were her own youngling.

A durwa was cunning enough to pick up on the fact that its safety was right there in her arms. A pet, she said.

His head turned slowly, and he squinted suspiciously at his little brother.

“Where did Katie acquire this pet , Ren?” he said from between his teeth.

The male had the grace to look shame-faced.

“It was meant as a joke,” he grumbled. “I did not know she would wish to keep it. I really tried to get it away from her, Kull. But she would not give it to me. Nor did she let it out of her sight for even a minute.” The juvenile gave him an earnest look that made Kull rub his brow where he could feel an evil ache growing behind his eyes.

“You brought a durwa into my den... and gave it to her?” he repeated in disbelief.

“I was trying to scare her,” the male mumbled, and Kull let out a bark of laughter, his arm swinging as he gestured in his would-be ulukska’s direction.

“Does she look scared to you?” he demanded.

Ren winced. “A miscalculation,” he admitted. “Females do not like durwa. I thought it would frighten her when it jumped on her.”

Kull’s eyes slid shut, the corners of his mouth tightening at the sound of her laughter. His lips down-turned as something she said came back to him, and his eyes cracked open to glower at her.

“Why would it be anywhere near the furs?” he growled.

Her brows rose again as if mystified by his question. “Well, where else is my pet going to sleep except beside me in bed?”

He dragged a hand over his face, restraining and muffling his initial reaction to that bit of news until he could look at her with some measure of control.

“No.”

“No?” she whispered. Guilt immediately assailed him with the bereft look she gave him.

Her eyes dropped sadly to the durwa’s ridiculous ears as she stroked them.

“It’s so hard to sleep well since leaving the laboratory.

I don’t think you understand the nightmares I’ve been having.

I just know that having Gremlin there will help me sleep better.

But... if you really insist...” her voice trailed off, her bottom lip trembling visibly.

“The nightmares aren’t too terrible, I suppose. ”

Kull tried to brace himself against it, but it was no use.

He felt his resolve crack and crumble into ash at the look of pure misery on her face.

If it truly comforted her, was it too much for her to ask?

He gritted his teeth, absolutely loathing the idea of a durwa in his bed with them, but he shook it off, reminding himself that it was merely a temporary situation.

She would doubtlessly take her pet with her when she left.

And then it would be someone else’s problem.

And Borak did say to make sure she was comfortable.

If he visited as promised and discovered that she had been distressed by removing her pet from her, then he would never hear the end of it.

He shuddered with distaste and turned away from her. “Very well,” he grumbled. “If you truly need it... it may stay.”

“Really? I don’t want you to feel obligated to do something you disagree with,” she replied in a choked, tearful voice.

“It is fine. Keep it with you so that you have a... companion,” he finished after a moment of thought.

It was not like companion animals were unheard of among the VaDorok.

His ulukska befriending a durwa would only make him the joke of the entire tribe.

If he kept her that was—which he assuredly was not.

“You give me your word?” she whispered.

He scowled impatiently. “Yes, already. I have said as much. I promise it will not be taken from you.”

“Excellent!” The word burst from her so brightly that he startled and swung around to face her. She cuddled the durwa to her chest and beamed back at him. “So... what’s for dinner?”

Somehow, he felt as if he had been tricked.

His eyes narrowed at her, and he grunted incoherently as he srt about making their meal.

He did not miss how close she lurked and watched as he prepared it, and his irritation almost subsided in her obvious interest. And it nearly disappeared entirely at the way she enthusiastically ate the food he prepared for her, even while sharing bits of meat with her “pet.” It returned fully by the time they bedded down, and the durwa burrowed its fat little body between them to curl up against Katie’s breast with a content purr.

His brows lowered peevishly at it, but he could not hate it too much when he watched a peaceful look of contentment stretch across her face.

Perhaps he could suffer with it after all.

She may have tricked him but he understood why.

His tail flicked against his leg idly as he watched them, his eyes slowly drifting closed as her even breathing relaxed him.

He was barely aware of his tail drifting across her hip, certain that it was just another part of the dream that wrapped around him.