Page 36 of The VaDorok’s Unexpected Mate (The Mate Index: Dorok #1)

Katie grinned as she watched Trish spin the basket carefully between her hands, its beaded tassels swaying with the movement, while her male, Ladox, held up a slightly larger and less ornate basket. He glanced down at the smaller basket skeptically and sighed.

“Ulukska, this basket is far more practical. What could you possibly put in that?” he grumbled.

“Hush, it’s cute,” she replied. “I could put all kinds of small things in it while still being able to enjoy the basket holding them.”

He grunted in reply but tossed an almost accusatory look in Kull’s direction. “I do not recall seeing you make such small, frivolous baskets before.”

Kull shrugged. “Having a female around has broadened the scope of the horizons for me. Why not make something that might appeal to a female who may wish to keep her ornaments or other small belongings in?”

“I never believed you to be that interested in what females enjoy,” Ladox replied. “But if it will please Trish, here is my token so that you can find something for your mate.”

He placed a small carved stone on the low table that they had erected and departed with his mate as she happily carried her treasure away. Katie picked up the so-called token and peered at it curiously.

“Is this some sort of currency exchange?” she asked. “I thought everything was a matter of barter.”

Kull glanced at her quizzically and nodded.

“It is. Privately, among ourselves, we directly trade goods, but we incorporate a different system for gatherings. All of us keep a bag full of tokens that we may redeem with each other. Eventually, the tokens make their way back to their owners. Those that are not redeemed may be kept until the next gathering. Here this one is mine so you can see the difference,” he said as he handed her a token from a pouch at his waist.

She lifted it up so that both tokens were held side by side and inspected them.

Although both bore deeply scratched markings that she couldn’t decipher, she could definitely see the difference between them.

Handing Kull’s token back to him, she turned Ladox’s token around slowly in her hand.

Smooth and flat it had to be a small river stone of some kind.

She turned to hand it back to Kull as well, but he curled her fingers around it and gently pushed her hand back.

“You heard Ladox... it is for you to spend,” he replied gruffly as he picked up a half-woven basket and began weaving more grass straw into it.

“But I couldn’t,” she protested. “You are the one who made everything here, not me.”

“Are you not cutting and sewing leather?” Kull asked, not even looking up from the basket he was working on. “Besides, between my mother and Ren, word has spread that we are pleasure-mates. If I do not make an appearance of doting on you, it will bring unnecessary attention to us.”

“Oh.” Katie glanced down at the token in her hand. It was all part of the illusion, then.

Unexpectedly, his expression softened. “And it is what I wish to do and should do.”

Okay, no problem. She understood his reasoning.

Despite the fact that there wasn’t any genuinely romantic intention of that kind behind it, it didn’t lessen the gesture.

It was still a gift. She imagined walking around together, and Kull hovering close behind her while she shopped, but he cut a brief glance her way before nodding to the other tables.

“Go see if there is anything that you like.”

Her hand tightened around the token, though her heart immediately plunged.

He was just sending her off on her own. She didn’t know why she had anticipated.

.. and hoped... for something different.

She felt like a fool for believing that, just because he was taking full advantage of their charade to thwart his mother’s efforts, that something real had begun growing between them.

It seemed that it was all in her mind. Why wouldn’t it be?

After all, the sex had been a one-off that had happened the night before they departed for the gathering grounds.

He had made no indication that he wanted to repeat the experience or whether he even wanted to make the whole pleasure-mate thing legitimate.

But then again, she couldn’t blame him for his lack of interest—hadn’t she given him a list of rules to begin with, which ensured a certain guarantee of distance maintained between them?

And what happened—she was now experiencing a one-sided infatuation that she hadn’t wanted to begin with.

Sure, the sex had stomped all over her rules, but she had initiated it. .. hadn’t she?

Regardless, it was best to put an end to whatever tender feelings she’d unwittingly developed.

Despite his gruffness, he had always treated her kindly.

Even the reminder of the distance between them was its own brand of kindness.

One that she appreciated. It would have been difficult to keep the terms of their arrangement in perspective.

She would have eventually humiliated herself.

She should thank him, actually, for saving her from herself.

Her lips pursed thoughtfully as she jiggled the token in her hand. Perhaps that was the best way to spend the token?

“Sure,” she replied, forcing a smile to her lips.

His eyes lifted to her once more, but Katie turned away and joined the VaDorok wandering among the low, assembled tables.

The other humans had retreated to the fires to doze with their males a short distance away while the fragrance of cooking meat filled the air.

In result, she was the only human weaving between the tall aliens as she moved from table to table.

She tried not to feel jealous of the others and instead focused on perusing the various goods on display.

Her eyes trailed over them. Utensils, cookware, decorative items, perfumes, various vessels.

She didn’t see anything that could appropriately demonstrate her gratitude.

At the far end, she caught sight of the tall, blue reptilian alien that she recalled from her rescue.

She paused, watching him for a long moment, noting the few superficial similarities he shared with the Agraak.

It was enough to make her reluctant to approach, but she swallowed back her anxiety and walked purposefully to where he sat among tables laden with exotic fruits, sweets of some sort, piles of fabric, and various items that were clearly luxuries.

Clenching the token tightly in her hand, she looked over what he offered while simultaneously trying to ignore the way the male’s eerie black eyes followed her.

“Is there anything in particular you are looking for? Perhaps I can help you find it,” he murmured.

She shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I will know what I want when I see it.”

“The human females have shown great favor for the sweets from Edokora. Perhaps you would like to try a sample?”

She shook her head again, a cold sweat breaking out over her skin. Although she knew that he meant no harm by his light flirtation, it made her stomach turn with anxiety. “N... no thank you,” she whispered.

His head cocked as he regarded her, and to her relief, he stepped back and nodded. “Just let me know if there is anything you want.”

She nodded wordlessly but continued to methodically explore his goods until her eyes fell on a carved flute fashioned from some kind of unfamiliar wood of an amber hue.

She didn’t recognize it since it was starkly different from the trees of the surroundings woods—or at least as far as she could outwardly tell—but the style of the instrument was exactly the same as the flute that had recently broken.

The color was of such a rich golden hue that it nearly matched the beads carefully threaded into Kull’s mane.

She picked up the flute and held out her token. “I will take this.”

The alien’s eyes fell on the flute in her hand and shifted to the token. The corners of his mouth curled, and he nodded as he plucked it from her fingers.

“Excellent. I had planned on liberating him of many of his leathers and furs before I returned home anyway. I will be sure to return this token among the others that I will be using.” His expression turned curious as he picked up a long, narrow bag and held it out to her. “Is this a gift for your mate?”

Her fingers tightened around the flute for a moment, but she forced them to relax again.

She refused to show a hint of fear or intimidation in front of the Edoka.

She accepted the bag with a small nod of thanks and promptly shoved the instrument into it.

Tying it at her waist, she gave him a wary look. “Does it matter?”

“Of course not,” he replied with a game smile. “I was merely curious.” He craned his neck to where the tribe was gathering. “It appears that the feast is about to begin. Please go and enjoy yourself.”

Nodding stiffly, Katie drew away from the Edoka’s table with every intention of doing just that, but she didn’t get more than a few feet before colliding with a tall male who came out of nowhere on her left.

Leaner and wirier than many of the other VaDorok, he was taller and more filled out than the juvenile males, which made his appearance far more intimidating, especially with his mature horns rising like a crown from his head.

But it was the coldness in his eyes when he caught her arm to stop her short that made her nervous.

He stared down at her as if she were something that he was studying in order to discover the right way he wanted to take her apart.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, and she tried to back away, except that his grip did not leave her arm. He held her firmly in place, his fingers biting into her skin as he tightened his hold.

He smiled then, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes as he tugged her closer. “Exactly who I was looking for,” he rumbled.

Katie’s mouth opened to protest, but he bent and yanked her up and over his shoulder with enough force that her breath exploded out of her as he whirled with her in his arms. She gasped, desperately drawing in air as the Edoka’s eyes widened and he shot to his feet.

“Stop! Put that female down!” A’Jular snarled, but it went ignored by the VaDorok as he sprinted through the crowd, hauling her from anything remotely resembling safety.

All the while, Katie inwardly screamed as she battled for breath that wouldn’t seem to come as terror rolled through her.

In her mind, she was caught in a nightmare of being seized by the Agraak, who had hunted her, and by the Buto, who had cornered her, each male capturing her while she was defenseless.

She wheezed in panic, barely getting a scream out as her fingers slid over his fur helplessly.

She considered striking him with the flute and praying that she didn’t break it against his hard head, but it was pinned between their bodies, and no amount of wriggling was successful in helping her retrieve it. She was powerless.

No. No! She couldn’t think like that. She wasn’t defenseless or helpless.

She jerked her body hard to the right and then the left, breaking his hold bit by bit.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to give her the mobility she needed to accomplish her goal.

Turning in his arms, she was able to leverage her weight enough to grab a large handful of his mane and yank his head back.

He jerked in shock and then howled as her teeth violently tore into his soft ear.

The taste of blood and his howl of pain were rewarding despite the male’s attempt to cuff her upside her head.

She didn’t relinquish her grip on him, savoring it, but in the end, nothing sounded better than Kull’s outraged roar that sent the male holding her into a panicked, awkward run, despite his ear caught firmly between her teeth.

She growled and bit harder, and the male howled again as he stumbled and ran again, all while Kull charged for them with murder blatant in his eyes as he thrust through the crowd.

She smiled at him around the bloodied ear caught in her mouth and saw the way his eyes widened when he got close enough to notice.

Let him take note! She would never be a male’s victim again!