Page 12

Rallan

“ G et off the bed,” I grumble as I walk over to where three of my brothers have found fit to make themselves comfortable.

Honestly, I cannot blame them. It has been a long push to get to the tribe today.

We thought we might make it early, but there is still too far to go before darkness is upon us.

I was hoping that my brothers would all have made it and it would only be Simone and me in the safe house. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

“Sorry,” Thalm says. He is the first to stand, allowing the others to shimmy off the bed behind him. “We did not know the female was joining us.”

“Do not call her that,” I snap a bit more harshly than I mean to. Again, it has been a long day.

Unlike my brothers, who must carry their luggage and supplies, I must do that and also carry Simone when her legs begin to ache and her feet begin to blister.

I always know she is well and truly exhausted when she asks for me to carry her because she does not show weakness to anyone, least of all me.

“Sorry.” I turn toward Thalm and hope he hears my sincerity in the word. “I am tired, and it is making me foul.”

“Rest,” he says with a pat on my back. “You will feel much better in the morning. Your mate’s tribe is not much further.”

I do not correct him in saying Simone is not yet my mate. Firstly, because she is in all ways except physically. Secondly, she is asleep in my arms, so she is unable to huff and puff about it. So, I grunt in acknowledgment of what he has said and place Simone on the bed.

I scoot her as close to the wall as I can before turning back to my supplies. I rummage around for bandages, salve, and some sort of seed oil that Simone told me is good for her hair if it’s diluted in water. She often mentions needing a spray bottle, but I do not know what that is.

The three males, who were too slow to reach the tribe tonight, are already chatting amongst themselves on the pallets they have now made on the floor.

None of them complain, none of them bicker.

They are all more than happy because soon they will be in a tribe where they can be useful males who have the chance to woo the humans.

They watch me as I set out supplies and begin to clean the wounds on Simone’s feet.

I hate that she allows herself to be injured before asking for help.

I hate that if I suggest she needs help, she lashes out.

Most of all, I hate that it seems as though I cannot take care of my mate when all of my brothers can see how her already bandaged feet need even more care.

No one speaks to me as I tend to her. The first night, a few of them asked questions of me, but when it was clear all the responses they would get from me were grunts and nods, they stopped.

Normally, I am a cheery male, and I will be once we are back in the tribe.

For now, I am irritable and a little grouchy.

Who would not be when their mate is hurt and continues to inflict hurt upon herself instead of accepting aid?

When I finish cleaning her feet, I apply the salve. Then, I wrap her feet tightly in fresh bandages and crawl close to her head so I can begin work on her hair.

I set out a small bowl of water that I mix with a small amount of oil she likes. I dip my fingers in, flick the excess off, and begin to apply the mixture to her hair.

“What are you doing?” Thalm asks me, peeking his head over the side of the bed. He has been in the safe houses with me every night, so he has seen me do this three times now. I do not know why tonight is the night he decides to ask his questions.

“Her hair is dry. She says it needs tending, but she is too exhausted to tend it herself,” I answer. I’m as surprised as my brothers when I say more than a single grunt.

“She does not know you do this for her every night. I have seen how she responds when she wakes up close to you in the mornings. It does not seem like a mate who knows how much care you give her. Should we tell her? Maybe this will make her happier to wake in your arms?”

“She knows all I do for her,” I murmur more to myself than to him. “I know she does because she would not lash out so much in the mornings if she did not.”

“Strange,” Thalm says. He stares at me for a moment longer, but I turn back to Simone when he doesn’t say anything else.

I continue working the mixture into the ends of her hair and work it up the length of her locs. When I get to her scalp, I run my claws against her skin until the bumps on her arms appear even in her sleep.

“So her soul has called to yours?” Thalm asks, startling me because I did not know he was still watching me take care of my mate.

“It has,” I say, not turning to face him because I would like to finish soon so I can hold Simone through the night.

“And does yours call to her?”

I let my lips pull up in a smile even though I feel too tired for the motion. “It does, and she hates that it does.”

“Strange,” Thalm says again, and this time, it’s the last thing he says to me.

I finish with Simone’s hair, put away all the supplies, and then curl my body tightly around hers. In her sleep, she molds herself against me, and soon, we are both drifting.

“If you try to touch me one more fucking time, I’m going to cut your hand off,” Simone snaps at me as she swats my arm off her shoulders.

I may have attempted to wrap my arms around her a few times today.

Maybe more than a few. I lose count considering she has had my cock aching for her since she first glared at me and told me not to do any of my wooing today.

I have never been so certain of a challenge in my life.

If she did not want my pursuit she would not offer me such fun games.

“I’m serious,” she huffs and holds out her hand to push me away. I’m too far, and her hand swats at the air. She stares at it for a long moment as though the air itself has done something wrong and then throws an accusatory glare up at me.

“Would you like me to step closer so you may push me away?” I don’t expect a response, so I am not surprised when she makes a groaning sound much too loud and much too whiny to be anything other than adorable. She stomps past me to the open doors of the great hall.

All of the other brothers have gathered in the dining hall.

Many of my brother’s tribe are curious about the newest males to join their tribe.

Most made it last night so there is just a handful of us who are now joining them.

I was told by Almaac when I first arrived that the newest males were allowed to sleep in the great hall for the first night since they arrived so late, but no one was to speak to them until they were given a moment to rest and take in their new home.

“Do not touch me. Do not make wooing eyes at me. And do not call me your mate,” Simone says as we enter the great hall.

Some of my brother’s tribe are standing along the walls, wary and unsure of the new males joining their tribe.

Others are already mingling with my brothers in an attempt to get to know them.

I know the males we have chosen will be good males to the human females.

I hope they are good brothers as well. It would be unfortunate if they did not get along.

“Why am I doing all of this pretending?” I ask.

I do as she says, though. I make sure to keep my hands down by my sides, my eyes are straight ahead, and the word mate has not left my lips at all.

“Your tribe knows you are my—“ I stop myself before I fail at her requests so soon.

“They know you are mine, and so do my brothers. Why pretend?”

I get my answer in the way Simone’s eyes harden into icy dark pits, how her jaw flexes, and how her nose crinkles at the bridge like she wants to bare her teeth. This is not the fury I receive from her. No, the fury I get, I am now realizing, is only a fraction of her potential.

I follow her gaze to a peculiar-looking creature sitting next to Ralleth. A creature with glowing white eyes that seem to be staring at me with the same anger that Simone is glaring at him. I am not a stupid male. I know who this male is as soon as I see how Simone reacts to his presence.

As much as Simone and I bicker and fight, we also have conversations about our lives.

So I know who Vex is before he has a chance to be introduced to me.

I know who he is and what he did to my mate.

It is clear almost immediately that none of the others know.

Ralleth would not have Vex sitting next to him as though they are friends if he knew how my Simone was treated by the male.

“Rallan and Rallan’s mate,” Ralleth stands as I near where he is sitting with his mate. His creature stands as well, her eyes moving between all of us as though she’s trying to gauge what’s about to happen.

Simone doesn’t correct Ralleth for calling her my mate, but I think it is because she is too busy killing Vex with her thoughts to have noticed.

He notices, though, and the glowing in his eyes becomes brighter.

Simone told me of this as well, so I am not concerned when I see how different he is from her and me.

“Ralleth, Ralleth’s creature, Vexarionaxnoryndrik,” I say the male’s name as if to show him that, yes, I know who he is, and I do not feel threatened by him.

It also makes it clear his name has been shared enough between Simone and me that I can say it easily.

He has a claim on the other half of Simone’s soul, but even that I am not worried about.

I am not threatened because he does not deserve that claim.

“Rallan, Simone,” Vex doesn’t seem shocked to hear me use his name and doesn’t even hesitate to use Simone’s.

“Don’t say my name,” Simone snaps. Her words are harsh and dry as they crack through the air. Heads turn in our direction, at least the few who were not already watching because of how Vex is glowing from his eyes.