Page 15 of Their Human to Entice

“We?” Beren and I both snap at Erkoz and narrow our eyes at him. There is no we in this at all unless we are talking about Beren and me. Erkoz is not part of this at all.

“Fine, fine,” Erkoz grumbles as he shakes his head. “I will excuse myself, but I think you should think about a way that does not include killing to get your mate to notice you.” Another pause as Beren and I try to think of a plan, and Erkoz watches the confusion on our faces. He barks out another laugh and then continues. “Maybe also think of a way to get others to think you are interested in females. That might help your female to see that maybe she can go to you for lovemaking.”

“She should already know this,” Beren hisses but does not lunge for Erkoz this time. No, it is much worse this time because I can see the hurt on his face. “I have mated her. Why would she not first come to me with this?”

Erkoz ponders this question for a moment, his head tilting, thumb rubbing his chin. Then, he shrugs and turns away as though he has said all he wants to say and wants to return to the great hall now. I mean, there is not much more for him to do since it is Beren’s mate. That is the problem. Well, not even a problem, but she has a problem, and she has not brought it to him. He is a wonderful male, and he will fix her problem in an instant.

“I can go speak with her,” I say when Erkoz has vanished around some of the trees on the perimeter of our lot of land to start our farm. “She was friendly enough with me. Maybe I can ask her why she did not come to us for her use and is instead thinking of using other brothers?”

“No.” Beren shakes his head as he speaks. “She obviously does not feel comfortable enough around us yet. Offering her my cock is not going to make her trust us more.”

“It is a glorious cock, though,” I say, hoping to earn a smile from my mate. He, of course, loves hearing his praises and gives me a nip on my shoulder in response.

“We should go collect my other mate before it is much later,” Beren says when he releases my shoulder. “I do not want her thinking she is to sleep in the great hall again. No, not anymore.”

“Well, I finished her room, so she has a place to stay.” I wrap my fingers in Beren’s and pull him in the same direction Erkoz went, back to the tribe.

The walk is not long because we chose one of the abandoned farmhouses closest to the tribe. With females coming to us every month, we thought it would be smart to start up a bigger farm than the small garden we had inside the tribe’s walls.

When I was younger, my family was very prominent in tending the farms outside the walls. When the sickness came and took all of our females, my brothers left for other tribes, and my father moved himself and me into the tribe walls. He could not tend the farm and raise me at the same time while I was still so young.

Now, I am excited to get to start back up what my family did. It is hard work, but it is work to be proud of, work that sustains our growing tribe. Beren may not be as excited as me, but when I spoke of wanting a garden, he built it for me. When I asked about expanding, he found us this home and made it livable again.

When we near the great hall doors, Beren pulls me to a stop and nuzzles his head close to mine so our horns lock against one another for a moment.

“I want you to get my mate and then take her home.” Beren pushes away from me. His dark eyes offer me nothing right now, which means he is determined to do whatever he is thinking about right now. I doubt he will tell me his plan before he has done it. I will ask him later in bed what he has done, and he will confess it all. “If you do not think it is safe to go, wait for me where we normally sit, and I will be there shortly.”

“You will be safe?” I ask, needing to know that he will not be too foolish tonight.

“The safest.” He nods and gives my shoulders a squeeze.

“Then I will make sure both your mates make it home.”

Beren looks at me with a smile that I try very hard to make sure I can imagine in my mind forever. He cups my cheek, his thumb rubbing me twice before he opens the door to the great hall and motions me inside. He slips into the first hallway, leaving me to find his mate and get her home. It’s an easy enough task, especially when I see her with her head on her arms, already fast asleep while some of her sisters and brothers chat around her.

“I am taking Beren’s mate home,” I say when I approach the table.

Dath’s mate, Deja, looks up at me with a bright smile as she nods. “She can stay with us if you both want your privacy. We know you just got the new house set up.”

My brows furrow, and a frown takes over the smile that was on my lips. “She shares a mate with me now. It makes sense she would share a home with me, too.”

Deja’s brows rise on her forehead, but I care very little for whatever else she has to say. I am upset that she would even offer her room to Nia for even longer when she has a perfectly good room with Beren and me. Erkoz was right when he said no one in the tribe knows we are interested in females. They really think Beren mated Nia so she could stay on this planet and for nothing else. I push those thoughts to the side, knowing it is more important to get Nia back home safely.

“Beren’s mate,” I whisper softly near her ear as I jostle her shoulder. I would very much like to say her name, but Beren is not here. If he knew I was saying it without him, he would be very unhappy with me. I would love to share a bed with her, but it is something that would be a group event.

Nia wakes with a groan, her head rolling on her forearms. Then she stops her movements, her body going limp again. I let out a huff of breath in amusement and repeat the process. When she looks at me from the crook of her arm, I offer her my kindest smile.

“Hm?” she asks.

“We should get you home, yes?” I ask, not wanting to move her anywhere against her will. She did not go back to Deja’s room or any of the other female’s rooms to sleep tonight. I am hoping this means she was waiting for Beren and me to fetch her. Perhaps she knows tonight is the night we will all be together in one home.

“Yeah.” Nia rubs at her eyes, blinking them open just to squint them like the low lighting in the dining room is too bright, even though most of the fires have started to dim. “I’m ready for bed.”

“Can you walk?” I ask, hoping the answer is no so I can hold her in my arms for the journey back. “I can carry you if that is okay?”

“Yeah.” Nia nods, her head falling back against her arms as she tries to settle back in for more sleep.

“Up we go, then.” I reach one arm under the crook in her knees and the other behind her shoulder blades as I scoop her into my arms. I expect more of a reaction from her since it is my first time carrying a female in this way, and I am not the most graceful. Instead, she grumbles something under her breath and nuzzles against my chest, trying to hide her eyes from any light that might try to sneak under her lids.

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