Page 20 of Warrioress

From his secondary eyes, he caught movement as Kam and Vrin drew up behind him, their eyes flattened with hostility. Laro’s ears tipped toward a sudden sound, and his gaze snapped to the triad’s other silver male cautiously drawing away a female with lank brown headfur and pale coloring as he held a small human offspring of similar appearance close to him. Laro frowned. The male was unusually protective as if defending his mate and offspring... Had he misunderstood the situation?

“Stop your posturing.”

He startled at Uma’s sharp tone and his head jerked around to meet the gaze she turned on him over her shoulder. She gave him a disapproving frown before turning to the other female sheltered in the Ragoru’s arm and offering an apologetic smile.

Why would she apologize? She should be pleased that he and his triad would prioritize her protection. He snapped his teeth in irritation, his ears flattening, all of which was lost on the female since she did not deign to look his way. She was definitely not a suitable mate.

“Sorry about that. I’m afraid I was a bit distracted with this lot. Guess I didn’t realize what a handful of irritating cusses I was getting saddled with when I volunteered to escort them out of the citadel. They were a bit naughty, so The Lucky Bull had them thrown into the cells. But I was too softhearted to just let them rot in there until after Mother’s Night. I see you’ve got a set on you too... and they seem to know each other. How wonderful,” she quipped cheerfully with a curious look aimed at the two males.

Laro wanted to tear their faces off. She was looking at other males. They were likely mated but it did not matter. Why was she looking at them like that? And why say so much? The triad did not need to know anything about them. The citadel was not their own territory any more than it belonged to Laro and his triad.

The male with the dark markings bristled, but he inclined his head in agreement. “These are the males who tried to kill Yeril,” he growled.

Laro gaped at the outright lie and grew more affronted as the female in the arms of the other silver male gave him a horrified look.

“You used darkwort on your own species? You’re damn lucky he survived, or else these males would likely be tearing you apart right now,” she scolded.

He immediately glowered at her in turn but stumbled back in surprise when Uma whirled on them in shock.

“Darkwort!” Her shout rang down the street, suddenly making him feel very confused as a sense of shame descended on him without reason. Why was she angry at him? “I know Ragoru are hard to kill—you’ve told me enough times—but why would you sentence one of your own kind to the miserable death that darkwort would cause? I’m surprised he survived.”

He balked at the accusation and shook his head when she leveled him with a dark glare. He raised all four of his hands in entreaty.

“We had no intention of killing him. Competition among triads is fierce, and you do whatever you must to give yourself the advantage—not that it worked,” he growled the last part in a low voice to himself. “We paid coin to a human in the tavern to make him ill, nothing more. We wanted him out of the way for the evening. Not dead!”

Uma pinched her lips together and sighed, finally looking back to the other female. “Unfortunately, they are probably telling the truth. I really don’t think this lot is clever enough to have known to instruct someone to use tri-petal darkwort.” Laro growled in offense at that observation, and though Vrin and Kam’s growls echoed his own, Uma took little notice of it. “It’s not exactly common and doesn’t grow anywhere in the Great Forest. I will have them give me a detailed description of who they asked and point him out to me if necessary. Won’t you, boys?” she asked, eyes narrowing on them.

Laro laid his ears back unhappily but reluctantly nodded. It was clear from the displeased expressions Kam and Vrin also wore that they would not be eager to volunteer anything more than they already had to benefit their rivals. It would be best if Uma just stayed away from them altogether and did not get involved as far as he was concerned. Laro did not poison them, so if someone had then it was not something he wanted her involved in.

Uma gave the female and her triad a wide grin that made her scars pucker and waved merrily that seemed a little forced in Laro’s opinion, but even then it was too much. She did not need to wave at them like that either. “Don’t you worry. I will sort this out, and these boys won’t be causing any more trouble around here.”

“We will not return,” he interrupted disdainfully.

Let the triad be masters of the citadel’s territory if they thought they could manage it. He would be glad to be far away from them where any future mate of his would not be anywhere near them.

Uncomfortably aware of the other female’s gaze inappropriately on him, he flattened his ears and gave her a sharp look only to find that she was looking at him with wide, shocked eyes. He peered back at her, wondering what exactly was going through her head. She shrank back slightly in the big male holding her, and for a moment he was struck with the realization that their rivals had found a female exactly like his triad had been looking for—and he was not the least bit sorry to have lost the opportunity.

And even less sorry to part ways with the family when Uma turned onto the street, leaving the female behind.

“Why did you not tell that female that you cannot find the male Laro paid?” Kam asked as he pushed forward.

“It does not make sense to when there is no other satisfactory answer that I can give her. Regardless, we don’t really know who he is or where to find him at the moment, so I didn’t necessarily lie except for omitting that you’ve already told me everything you knew, and I’ve arrived at a dead end. No sense to worry her needlessly that he might try again when it is unlikely.”

Laro nodded. That was reasonable. Kam, however, made a small disgruntled sound low in his throat as if unhappy about it.

“If that were my mate, I would want to know,” Kam murmured, and Uma glanced over at him, raising her eyebrows at the solemn note in his voice. “A mate is too easy to lose, and a triad would grieve hard for losing a good mate.”

She sighed and dipped her head in agreement. “You are right. I will be sure to do that if nothing turns up before we leave the citadel.”

He rolled his eyes at the winning smile the male gave her.

“Do you not need to find out where that female lives if you plan to speak to her later?” Kam prodded.

Laro gave the male an annoyed look for even suggesting that Uma approach that triad again, but the infuriating male ignored him as he often tended to do on whim when it suited him.

Uma shook her head, and relief filled him until she spoke. “Not necessary. I recognize her. I do not know where her house is, but I know what quarter she resides in and who the warder is. If necessary, I can get the information with little difficulty.” She slowly rotated her arm that had been caught in the collision and offered them a faint smile over her shoulder. “Now, I think that is enough excitement for the day.”

Laro rumbled in agreement. He would now be quite happy to be back at the station and alone with his triad and Uma again if there were a chance of running into any other triad here.

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