Page 75 of Bride of Choice

“Sensitive. Sense marks,” he grunted out haltingly.

My hand went to my neck again, my fingers slipping inside my coat, under my shirt, to gently rub the spot. Shivering, I jerked my hand back abruptly. He wasn’t kidding. I’d never noticed until I started to trace over parts of the area, hitting just the right spots.

A deep rumble issued from him, his eyes getting a look I recognized.

“Nope. None of that,” I warned, clapping my hands loudly, reassured when he let out a sharp noise and then looked less hypnotized by tinglies induced by mark touching smells, and more himself. “This isn’t how we work,” I lectured him, gesturing between us. “I’m the one that piques your curiosity but unsettles you, and then you go running off from me like I’m the most disgusting thing you’ve ever had to deal with in your life.”

“No think Joadknee ‘gusting,” he rumbled out softly.

“Can the others smell it, sense it, whatever, my mark?” I asked quickly. “The other Lo denaii?”

Frowning, Bum-bum shook his head. Well, that was a relief.

A small, self-deprecating laugh left me. “The thought of pretending to be my courter had you ready to chuck me into the river. That’s not something I’d easily forget.” Rolling my eyes, I decided it was time to wash my hands of this weirdness and be on my way. I’d pop by Booger’s later if I didn’t catch him at Rosa’s, if it wasn’t time to go, and tell him what all went down. The Boogster was chill with shit like this, I’d like to think, because he knew I could handle myself in many a situation, or perhaps he was simply aware that he was no match for Bum-bum.

“No mean… hurded Joadknee,” he said softly in response, so softly I’d almost have missed it.

“It was a stupid idea. Impulsive on my part.” Collecting my basket, I was all set to take off but I kept hesitating. “I just- I want to know why he didn’t want me. I need to see him again and ask him face to face. I want closure. I need to know… what I did wrong.”

“No thing wrong Joadknee,” Bum-bum grunted out, sounding choked up.

Maybe that was a bit more truth than he’d been expecting from me. Whatever. I was in a new era. This was my Glamazonian year. I would own this fucking bitch!

Waffling, to leave or not to just take off and leave, I pulled one of my wooden boxes free, the one I’d been saving for my lil ol’ self, a bit of everything I liked in there, and set it down on the ground a short distance away from him. “Take it or don’t but don’t read into it. This has nothing to do with you momentarily losing your mind during Krampy season or whatever and licking me. I heard some of the hybrids can tend towards super frisky during certain times of the year. I was near and you had a momentary brain fart. I just had an extra box and I’m giving it to you like a peace offering. No big,” I muttered, then took my leave. “Go back to looking at me like I’m insane but you’re still willing to tolerate me, and coming to my rescue in the 11th hour and all that, business as usual, everything will be peachy.”

“Jo… hurd?” he called after me.

“Now why would you go and ask a silly thing like that?” I tsked, adding more hips-swinging swish to my walk as I sauntered off, like I didn’t have a single care in the world or fuck to give.

“Smells hurd,” he rumblingly replied.

“It’s good for me.” My hand lifted and I tapped my head. “This thing won’t get so big it pops off and floats away.”

Right as I was about to turn a corner and disappear out of sight, I dared a peek over my shoulder. Bum-bum was nowhere to be found. Neither was the wooden box. My lips tipped up as I carried on. I felt like my heart smiled, silly as that sounded, as I headed straight for Rosa’s.

Chapter 12

Rosa’s place was chaos— the good kind.

Her family dynamic was one to envy. One of her mates was always with her and they worked as a team.

Zhuii handed Tohkrii over to his mama as the wee one exclaimed over his owie, with Kehko hovering nearby, in tears herself as she asked repeatedly if he was okay.

This had Zhuel crying as well because why not? Everyone else was!

The whole thing made me smile, laugh, and smirk inwardly. One kid at a time, I told myself, with a significant age gap between them to save my sanity. That’s how I planned on doing it. Two at once had its advantages but what if my baby daddy did indeed end up being Rek?

My god, dealing with Rek and a baby?! It would be just like having two! What would I do with three?

“Mo Jojo!”

At the first excited cry of my name through loud tears, I set down my things and couldn’t get my ass over there fast enough. “What happened, bub?” I asked the injured party.

“Owies!” he told me, making gimme hands until I did as he wished.

“C’mere, fuss monster,” I crooned, swooping right in. “Show me your battle scars, little warrior man.”

“Goot mama,” Zhuii rumbled out sweetly as he nodded at Keke, giving her permission to peel a fruit to share with her chuchbuhs.

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