Page 10 of Warrioress

“Of what exactly should I be frightened?” she replied casually. “You are the leader of your triad, which I imagine means that you are intelligent. And with all those scars, I gather it means that you are a survivor and a cautious one at that. Smart and cautious enough to not risk everything by playing dangerous games.”

“You are scarred as well, female,” he retorted, his eyes slitting as he stared bluntly at her face. She raised her eyebrows and waited for him to get to the point even as she resisted the urge to bring a hand to her face to cover the ruined side of her face. “Would you say that makes you cautious as well? Yet you speak boldly and fearlessly to a male who could crush you and permit yourself to be locked in a room with a strong triad.”

“Maybe you should be concerned about my sanity then,” she retorted. “Perhaps you should ask yourself why you are not afraid of what I might do.”

His head cocked in consideration, and she fought the urge to laugh. Was he really taking her comment seriously? It seemed that he was. Finally he huffed and stepped back a pace.

“You are not,” he replied flatly yet something like amusement seemed to briefly glint in his violet eyes. “If strength and self-assurance were madness, then every lead male would likewise suffer. You are a lead by nature.”

“I am the captain of this station,” she reminded him. “That means I am in charge and responsible for everything that goes on here—including your wellbeing. I could not fulfill my duty if I were cowering and rushing away in fear. As for the other guardswomen, they cannot afford to either if they wish to serve the citadel in a meaningful way. Now that we are living with Ragoru among us, things need to change. And that starts here as far as I’m concerned.”

Laro regarded her at length but dipped his head in what appeared to be agreement before peering over her shoulder at where the weights and various supplies were stacked.

“What is the purpose of this room?” he asked, deftly changing the direction of the conversation.

Uma felt tension that she didn’t even realize she had release from her back and shoulders as she followed his gaze. “This is where we store our exercise equipment. I saw you playing with a hand weight and thought you might be interested in something more challenging. The barbell over here,” she instructed as she pointed it out, “can be loaded with the weights over there.”

His gaze followed to where she pointed with interest, his ears pricking, before his gaze returned to her face, his expression once again thoughtful. Uma wished she could read the direction of his thoughts, but Ragoru facial features were far less expressive and harder to read than a human’s. Whatever the direction his thoughts had headed, he seemed to come to some conclusion because his gaze shifted to something that looked almost like respect as he nodded.

“I thank you,” he rumbled.

And just that quick, something seemed to shift in the dynamic between them in a way she couldn’t put a finger on but for some reason filled her with elation. Perhaps being stuck there through the storms around Mother’s Night wasn’t such a terrible thing after all if it meant getting something accomplished that would benefit the citadel. This was an opportunity that she hadn’t even fully realized that she had been given, much less appreciated.

That had all changed now.

Chapter 8

Laro’s eyes followed the female—Uma—as she slid past him. Their bodies did not touch and yet he was still aware of its heat and feminine scent whispering past him. His skin shivered reflexively and Laro drew in a deep breath of fragrant air that did not help at all. She was admirable but she was not what their triad had agreed on. They wanted a soft female with a sweet and giving nature.

A female that Vrin would likely terrorize.

He winced at the stray thought but could not set it aside completely. It was not entirely wrong. Vrin was the one who insisted that any female they take as their own be submissive, sweet, and easy to please, but Laro’s gut tightened anxiously at the thought of such a female in their den with them. Vrin in one of his moods would eat her alive, and as for himself... Laro knew that he not always tractable and agreeable enough. It was not just his scars that frightened so many of the females away at the tavern. He was moody and silent in a way that made him seem even more foreboding than he was when taken with his appearance. The only male who truly would be one that a gentle female would feel safe turning to was Kam.

For a moment his mind drifted to the small female he had seen with Uma. Small and soft with her light golden complexion, big brown eyes, and short dark headfur that framed her face at her jaw, she stood out amongst the guardswomen in a way that was opposite from Uma. Truthfully, she was exactly what Laro had in mind when he ventured into the citadel with his triad. She was so small and vulnerable in appearance, practically swallowed up in her armor, that she seemed more suited to reclining on furs in a den than facing off with potential dangers of the citadel.

That thought alone should have stirred his protective instincts, but he could not restrain the grimace. Vrin would eat her alive.

“Why are you over here staring murderously at a pile of metal?” Vrin asked as he stepped close to one of the large metal disks Laro had painstakingly removed from the room and nudged it with his foot.

Laro chuffed and shook his head. “You overexaggerate... like always.”

Vrin’s ears twitched and he shrugged as he crossed his upper arms over his chest. “In my defense, murderous is your default expression. It is not something I can help with if that is how you look. You see for yourself how the females run if you so much as frown in their direction.”

His observation was met by a chuff of amusement and Laro’s gaze drifted over to Kam as the male loped over to join him. For all that he had maintained that speed while he explored the farther end of the room, Laro noted that Kam was not even a little out of breath as he peered down at the collection of metal piled in front of him.

Taking advantage of the males’ open curiosity, Laro launched into an explanation of the things that Uma had called weights and the method of using them according to her explanation. As expected it spurred the males to action, and they began to quickly rearrange and put together the barbells with varying degrees of enthusiasm as they experimented with lifting them in the manner Laro showed them.

“Do you think that this will draw the attention of a female?” Kam queried as he watched both sets of his arms pump the laden metal bars he held in each pair of his hands.

Vrin grunted, unconvinced. “If that were the case, why would they have them here for their use rather than in a place where they can enjoy watching males use them? No, it is clearly just a tool for the females to acquire the strength necessary to guard the citadel.”

This observation earned a quiet grunt of agreement from Kam and even Laro dipped his head in agreement. It seemed reasonable. Uma had not expressed any interest in remaining by his side and watching after introducing him to the use of weights. It made him wonder if all humans were so unaffected by shows of male strength. It was certainly highly valued by female Ragoru and a necessity in a desirable male. But why was he thinking of her again? His ears flicked with impatience as he pushed the thought away.

“Speaking of females,” he rumbled in ragii now that his triad brothers were present with him, “what is your opinion on the small female?”

He was admittedly curious if they had experienced the same oddly visceral reaction to a female who was, of all the females of the citadel, the closest match for what they were looking for in a mate.

Vrin grimaced. “That one? No.”

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