Page 51 of You're Not My King!

“Sprytes.” I was not sure he would understand the word, but from the way he nodded, I suspected he could. “They nurture the forest and all who reside here.”

“Wow.” His eyes glistened with tears, though I did not scent sadness, only a hint of regret and overwhelming fascination. “My sister was awb-sess-d with mee-thee-cull creatures. She would have loved to see this.”

I let him reflect, removing myself from his side for a brief moment as I reached for the pouch on my harness, revealing a small rah’bayr leg bone, offering it to my mate. He cocked a questioning brow. “Place on the rock,” I said. “A boon. They will regard you as friend.”

Roo-bin cringed mildly, but curiosity overtook him. He pinched the bone in his fingers and tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the pink altar at the water’s edge before scurrying back to me. We waited in silence for the sprytes to notice the gift, and once they did, they swarmed upon it, a swirl of eagerness, inspecting the tribute before lifting the bone into the air and carrying it off to their den with a fluttering sound.

“Did they like it?” Roo-bin asked, hopeful, and I nodded.

“They accepted. You are in their favor, be assured.”

He beamed brilliantly, and I could not resist leaning in to nuzzle him, basking in the quietness of the forest and enjoying the last moments of calm before the time came for us to return to our duties. I placed my lips on his one last time before re-dressing him, chuckling softly at his grumble of the fabric sticking to wet skin, but as soon as I suggested he go bare, he was quick to cease his complaints.

We headed back to camp, hand in hand, and before I had the chance to leave him there, the little creature scurried back into our hut, returning with the scaarf he had used to teach me his skill. It was a wild clash of green and blushing pink, the flawed chains of my work glaringly obvious in the center.

It was glorious.

I smiled as he handed it to me, his fingers rubbing at the back of his neck in nervous anticipation. “I want you to have this. We made it together.” He shrugged as if he had not just given me a treasure. “I thought yew-duh like it.”

“I shall cherish it,” I promised before capturing his lips, never tired of the feel of them shifting against mine. It was all the appreciation I could show without throwing him over my shoulder and taking him to bed.

If I did that, he would not move for a week.

“Here,” Roo said as we parted, taking the scaarf. “Let me put it on for you.”

I nodded and crouched to his height, watching his nimble fingers work to slide the bulky rope around my neck and knot it at the front. It was soft against my scales, and snug, the heady scent of us oozing from the intricate stitching as if his arms were looped around me instead. Though overheated, I wore the creation around my nape for hours, until I could no longer stand the temperature, but I did not wish to part from it. Instead, I added it to my waist strap, tying it there as I would a sash or trophy, content to carry the symbol of our bond wherever I went.

I completed my tasks for the day, still spirited from our earlier endeavor, and decided to chase more of the high. To seek out my mate and offer to share another meal, but as I rounded the healer’s tent, I noticed Roo-bin strolling alongside Nie’tr, deep in lively discussion. The scene itself offended only a little, but what had my temper blazing was the instant my inelegant hoo-man tripped over his foot coverings—or air, I could not determine which—and tumbled straight into my cousin’s arms.

I was grateful that my clansman had caught my mate, protecting him from harm as he had failed to do before. What I did not appreciate was the lingering grasp on my Roo-bin’s waist as he steadied himself.

Within a blink, my fangs were bared and a clawed hand was wrapped around my clansman’s neck, pinning him roughly to a tree, snarling in threat. “Do. Not. Touch.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Roo-bin chanted, voice laced with panic. “What is going on?”

Nie’tr raised his palms in supplication, yielding to me without hesitation, but still, I could not shift the call for violence in my gut, the beast inside howling for blood.

A small hand rested on my side, tentative and unsure. “He did nothing wrong,” my hoo-man said. “Let him go.”

“Touched,” I growled, struggling to find an explanation my mate would understand. “Not his. Never his.”

There was a flicker of intrigue in Roo-bin’s eyes before he blinked it away. “Saved me.”

Why would my blood-cousin even suspect Roo-bin had eyes for him? He had me. The Great Leader. The best in all aspects. He did not need another. How dare he assume?—

“Vo’ak… please.”

As if compelled by the enchantment of my mate’s voice and touch, my head cleared of such thoughts, and I softened, glancing between the two. Nie’tr had accepted his fate with dignity, whatever outcome I decided. He trusted my judgment as Great Leader entirely, and for that reason, I loosened my hold, offering mercy.

“Be careful with your hands,” I spat in warning, and my cousin bowed his head in acknowledgment.

Before leaving, needing time to calm myself, I turned to my hoo-man, cupped his chin in my hand and tugged him close. Our lips were a hair from grazing. “You, mine.”

Roo-bin’s breath hitched, his throat bobbing on a swallow as he stared into my unwavering eyes. It was only once he had nodded that I stalked off, the musky scent of desire strong in my nose. I did not retreat far, stalling behind the closest hut to regain composure and settle my nerves.

And listen.

I heard the hoo-man scoff, but I had already sensed his interest. “You awl-rrite?”

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