Page 25 of Warrioress

“How much do I owe you?”

Ann looked over the goods and quoted a shockingly low price that had her eyebrows flying up in surprise.

“You know, compensation for them. All things considered, I can’t think of anyone who deserves a bit of charity more,” Ann whispered with a faint jerk of her chin toward the waiting warder.

Uma gave her a grateful smile as she collected her order and stepped away from the counter. “You truly are a saint, Ann. Thank you.”

With a nod toward the woman, she turned and skirted around the warder and her companion. She offered them both a hard, knowing smile. Ava, despite being nearly the same height and similar build, shrank but from her, her jaw-length dirty blonde hair falling forward to obscure her expression. Despite that, she didn’t miss the mulish expression that darkened her face.

Let her think she had something to say about how the citadel was run now. Uma rather wished a bitch would.

“You can thank me for coming back to share a cup of hot cider soon,” Ann called out, and Uma looked back over her shoulder and offered her a cheerful grin.

“It’s a date,” she called back and gave a wave before stalking out into the snow with her collection of treats.

She couldn’t wait to see the boys’ surprise when they saw what she brought them.

Chapter 19

Kam peered at the strange squishy food clasped lightly in his claws. “What did you say this is?”

“It’s called a custard pastry,” Uma replied as she continued to unpack the sack in front of her.

Now that they were finally out of the worst of the rut brough on by the Withering Days, the cell had been unlocked and they had been given the privacy of the cleansing room to clean themselves as much as possible. Kam still felt disgusting, and he suspected that it would take quite a few more washes before he felt like himself again, but at least it was an improvement. It was a pity that it hadn’t occurred to him in the midst of the rut, when he was spraying his seed everywhere, what it would feel like coating his fur and every inch of the space he was forced to live in.

He could not even blame Uma. She did her best to provide for them while ensuring her own safety. Part of him had still thought her measures were a little excessive when he willingly entered the cell for the Withering Days, but having experienced that level of urgency he was not so sure. He would have liked to believe that they would not have seduced her into mating, but the frenzy of need had been overpowering. And what would she have done if she had refused them? She did not possess the defenses of a female Ragoru to protect herself from the unwanted advances of males. It made his blood run cold as to what could have happened, and suddenly the appetizing smell of the treat in his hand soured as his stomach twisted.

They never should have come to the citadel so close to the Withering Days. What were they thinking?

Uma was right. There had to be something strange going on, but what? He could not even think of when the urge first took hold, or which of them had suggested setting out even though they had not intended to go far from their den in the winter. The impulsive urge to find a mate had been inexplicable. He recalled vaguely of being caught dreaming of it, even during the day. He scratched his muzzle. Was there a strange scent on the air in those days? He remembered the scent of smoke and had thought maybe some humans were traveling by their territory. It was not unusual to catch hints of campfires, despite how far the paths were from the edge of their territory. But there had been something else too other than the common scent of smoke that teased at the edge of his memory.

“Are you going to just stare at it, or eat it?”

He blinked down at Uma to find her looking at him, her eyebrows raised. On the bench an assortment of food was set out on papers along its length, some of it in varying degrees of sweetness and others rich and meaty. There were also open jugs filled with something sweet and fruity. His gaze drifted back to the pastry in his hand, and he swallowed before forcing his usual carefree smile to his face and glancing over at her once more.

“Are you certain that it is safe to eat and it is not another one of your tricks?” he countered.

“Well, if you don’t want it...” She stood, brushing her braids over her shoulder as she reached for it with her other hand.

Kam quickly shoved the pastry in his mouth, his mouth twitching up at the corners around it, his ears flattening playfully. A bark of laughter escaped Uma, and she shook her head wryly as she brushed her hands off along her thighs. He grinned back at her, the action forcing his teeth to sink deeper until a spurt of something thick and sweet hit the back of his throat. He reflexively gagged at first and snatched the pastry out of his mouth in horror until the flavor finally hit his tongue, igniting a shiver of pleasure through him.

Awed, he stared down at the food in his hand. What was that?

A chuckle from the female beside him brought his gaze reluctantly back to her to find her grinning at him with amusement.

“That would be the custard. Good, isn’t it?”

“I have not decided,” he admitted.

The consistency was a strange, thick substance that did not quite qualify as liquid. The thought of swallowing it down made his throat reflexively tighten with disgust and yet the flavor intrigued him. He glanced over at Laro to find the lead watching him curiously, a half-eaten twisted pastry in his hand. The male was staring at him as if Kam had lost in his mind. Meanwhile his chosen pastry had an equally pleasant, sweet smell coming from it with a hint of something that made Kam’s nose tingle with interest. And there was no hint of custard there.

He went to set his pastry down in favor of the other but hesitated, his ears flattening and tipping disconcertedly as Vrin’s keen gaze followed his movements. The male’s eyes lifted to Kam’s face and his tongue slid over his teeth. Kam frowned back at him, his hand tightening slightly on the pastry. Was he making the right decision setting it aside? There was far too much interest on his brother’s face, and a tiny growl vibrated in his throat as he tucked it close to his chest and hastily reached for one of the twists, snatching it up before either male could interfere or have a chance to tease him. Vrin’s smug eyes followed him as he withdrew, but Kam cleared his throat and peered over at Uma.

“All of this is for us?”

She shrugged as she picked up a pastry and took a bite of it. “Mostly. I certainly couldn’t eat all of it.” She paused mid-bite as she watched Vrin pick up one of the flaky pastries that smelled of meat and sniff it suspiciously. “Look, I’m not trying to prank you guys. Really,” she insisted when Laro glanced warily down at the half-eaten food in his hand. “I have brought a variety here, everything from custard filled pastries and fruit tarts to meat pies.”

Meat pies. That had to be the especially fragrant lumps that Vrin was sniffing.

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