Page 35 of The VaDorok’s Unexpected Mate (The Mate Index: Dorok #1)

Kull stormed through the gathering grounds, seething, his anger fueled to even greater heights by the unresolved torment of the ulukskinon.

He was worked up to the point to where, after dealing with his mother, he was going to either have to fuck his ulukska into mind-numbing pleasure or find a cold river to submerge himself in, as he did every morning, to keep him from killing any male who so much as looked at his female wrong.

How dare his mother interfere! She must have intentionally had their kin watching for him to arrive and reporting back to her.

It is ridiculous that he had to deal with her mechanicians.

Because of her interference, he was not with Katie where he belonged, setting out the leathers and baskets for trade.

Although her skills are still rudimentary, teaching her this aspect of their life was something that he had begun looking forward to.

Leave it is his mother to try to ruin everything.

An impatient growl rattled in his chest as he walked along the familiar route to where his mother and extended kin always set up their camps.

As expected, she was in the midst of a crowd of females, talking excitedly.

He could see how animated she was even from a distance as she gestured to several young females to come closer to her.

His nostrils flared with his outrage. Let her see how far her efforts would get her.

Did she not learn adequately enough the last time?

Without hesitation, he strode through the crowd of females, startling gasps of indignation from several of them as they were forced to move quickly out of his way while others watched with open curiosity.

“Mother,” he growled.

Zalla’s shifted to him in shock, but that surprise was quickly covered with a look of joy as she rose from the boulder draped with an ornately embroidered cloth, her arms open to him.

“Kull! You have come. Join me, I wish you to meet—”

“No, Mother,” he snapped, and she jerked with a wounded look.

“But Kull, they—”

He cut the air with a hand in a sharp demand for silence. “Enough. We have had this discussion before about your interference in my life. I told you then that I would tolerate no more manipulation.”

“I am not trying to manipulate you,” Zalla protested, and her braids swung wildly around her shoulders as she gestured to the gathered females. “What I am doing here is for your own good. Any one of these females can—”

“Do absolutely nothing,” he interrupted, refusing to allow her to have any opportunity to speak. “Did Ita’s humiliation demonstrate nothing? These archaic laws to save the pride of our females have never, in the history of our tribe, successfully won anyone over.”

“Ita’s case is different. Vidok has an ulukska. But you—”

“Have the female I want. I do not want any others. This tradition must stop here and now,” he replied flatly.

“If you try to coach any of these females to make a challenge, I will refuse each and every one of them. Borax can punish me if he likes, but I will not take a single one of them to my den, nor will I ever return for another gathering where you are present.”

“Kull, you would speak to your mother this way?” a young wiry male stepped forward, his jaw jutting.

Kull narrowed his eyes at him in recognition.

Jegar, the cousin that his mother raised, seemed to have finally reached full maturity.

Judging by the beads in his mane, he had just recently completed serving his term as a scout and was now considered an adult member of the tribe.

He curled his lip at him in disgust. Of course, the male would demonstrate loyalty toward his mother over everything and interfere where he did not belong.

It seemed that she taught him well on that.

Kull did not owe either of them anything, least of all did he owe the male any kind of reply.

With one last sharp look of warning to his mother, Kull spun away and stalked back toward the central gathering grounds in search of his ulukska.

“Kull, wait,” a female called, jogging to his side.

Biting back a snarl of annoyance, he slowed just enough to glance back at Tev as she caught up with him. She grinned as she matched her stride to his, her tail playfully flicking at his leg.

“I believe that this time it is going to take Zalla some time to recover from all of that,” she teased. “You just had to speak everything in front of half of the tribe.

He grunted and scowled back at her. “She was sufficiently warned the last time she tried to play games with my future.”

“She loves you, Kull. Naturally, she wishes to see you happily mated,” Tev pressed, but he shook his head.

“If that was the case, then she would have been pleased to welcome the mate I had chosen and happy to be a good second mother to Katie, not attempt to manipulate ulukskinon again.”

Tev sobered at his words and nodded. “Are you really going to try to change the mate-challenge laws of the tribe?”

He nodded. “It is past time for them to be abolished. For generations, such ridiculousness has been allowed for the sake of our females’ pride, and all it has done is create more pain.”

“For the challenge against an established ulukskinon, I would agree. But Kull, the right to testing is something that has been long-standing with the tribes since before off-worlders came and began mingling with us. There are too few matings.”

“Who is to say that this is preferable for life?” he growled.

“If we fail as a species, then we fail, but we aren’t going to accomplish anything by trying to force matings.

Ulukskinon cannot be forced. If someone is already mated, even if it is a pleasure-mate, they should be allowed to enjoy it in peace without the females of the tribe trying to push their way into their lives.

With more off-worlders finding us, we should see it as more potential opportunities for growth and just allow for nature to happen rather than cling to these outdated methods of force. ”

“I agree,” Borax rumbled, startling him.

He had not even heard the male approach with Vidok.

Apparently, his argument with Tev had drawn more attention than he realized, as a number of males and females were openly watching.

Nor had he realized that Tev had gently maneuvered him into the vicinity of Borax and Vidok rather than in the direction he had intended to go.

His gaze shot to the female, and she smiled smugly. He gritted his teeth in frustration at having been so effortlessly maneuvered by her, but he had to admit that he also had to thank her if this accomplished what he wanted.

“Borax,” he muttered in greeting with a short nod of respect to the male. “I did not intend to disrupt the entire gathering with this.”

The chief held up a hand, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“You did not say anything that did not need to be said. My thoughts have been dwelling on the same matter for some time. I have been reluctant to act in the past, but seeing that these traditions are becoming more of an issue, and are now disrupting the peace within our tribe, then it is time that these laws are abolished. If Zalla attempts to orchestrate a challenge, I will stand with your decision before the tribe.”

Kull’s shoulders sagged with relief, the tension within him draining from him. “Then I am relieved of my worries. Thank you. I should find Katie and inform her so that her first gathering is not disrupted any further with such worries.”

Vidok smiled and nodded toward where there was a small cluster of VaDorok milling about with their human mates. “I believe you will find her with the other humans.”

Murmuring his thanks, and with a nod of appreciation to Tev, Kull jogged over, eager for his ulukska’s company.