Page 38 of Warrioress

Laro paced through the forest warily as he guarded Uma, keeping pace easily with her as she walked ahead of him. They had found the trail crossing over the mountain yesterday and were now on their descent, shifting from the stark, rocky landscape back into the lush growth of the outer regions of the Great Forest. And with it their moods had likewise shifted.

For days they had enjoyed a state of oblivion, unconcerned about the future as they spent days leisurely making their way over the changing landscape of the mountain and retiring early to eat and rut—enjoying the simple pleasures life offered. He had not even thought to make a real effort to convince his triad brothers into taking Uma as their mate. It had seemed as if there was plenty of time, and he had placed importance on enjoying the bonding process with their female. But now time was running out, and with it he felt an increasing amount of anxiety as if he were afraid that someone would emerge from the shadows and rip his mate away from him.

It was aggravated by the sense of being watched that had followed him ever since they reached the foothills of the mountain. He had not been able to find a source, or scent anything particularly off other than a strange, sweet smell that bothered his nose. It was not Ehurmu moving through the forest. They had their own particular odor similar to but not entirely like that of humans. Nor was it the barely perceptible fragrance of night-dew flowers that was used to cover scents. He could not determine what it was, but there was something familiar to it that he could not quite grasp. He did not even smell it all the time. Rather it came in gusts whenever the wind changed but seemed to come from different directions, confusing his senses.

He glanced warily toward his triad, uncertain if they scented anything; if they did it hadn’t made enough of an impression to alert either of them. Vrin kept at an easy pace just ahead of Uma, his ears frequently twitching and tipping back in her direction, indicating that he was well aware of everything she said and did. Although he was worried about the strange scent and sensation of being watched, seeing Vrin so attentive to Uma warmed Laro’s heart and gave him hope that the male would go along with decision. He was now fairly certain that Kam would be easy to convince now as well. Unlike Vrin, who was intently keeping watch, Kam on the other hand walked languidly at her side, matching his strides to her much shorter human ones as he chatted happily with her.

“I will be happy when we can stop for the night. I am eager to enjoy an activity other than walking,” Kam teased. “I am curious about something, however,” he said as he suddenly cocked his head and peered at an odd flowering tree that Laro did not recall ever seeing in the Great Forest before. “With all the pleasure we have been sharing in said activity, you never seem to be very sore or even uncomfortable while rutting. With there so few males and your lack of intimacy with the huntsman who courted you, I am surprised that you can take us so well. I was under the impression that human body bodies were less...” he gestured vaguely, “flexible.”

“Obviously that didn’t concern you very much at the time,” Uma countered drily as she swatted a low hanging branch of the way. “It is a good thing that having a male around isn’t the only way a woman can enjoy sexual pleasure.”

Kam came to a complete stop, his interest in the tree forgotten as he stared over at Uma with interest. Even Vrin had stopped walking to turn around and openly listen to the conversation, his eyes gleaming. Laro shook his head at the males and then grunted as he failed to duck to avoid the low-hanging branch that he had just watched Uma avoid. It cracked against his head making him wince at the sharp pain and his ears flatten.

Uma drew a breath of air sharply between her teeth. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” he grumbled and rubbed his brow. He squinted over at her. “What do you mean that you do not need a male in the citadel? Do the unmated females simply enjoying pleasure together?”

She smirked and nodded. “Plenty do, I imagine. But another person isn’t necessary at all if you have the right toys.”

“Toys?” he repeated, mystified.

“Like for rogs?” Kam made a face, his tongue lolling out in disgust. “What do you do with those for sex... or do I want to know? Will I regret asking?”

“No, not like that.” Uma chuckled, the sweet sound of it easing the day’s anxiety around his heart a little. “We call them toys because we really enjoy them,” she paused, her smile growing, “but they are things that are shaped in various ways to assist us in finding pleasure... the most common being a sexual aid shaped like a man’s cock.”

“Oh,” Kam gasped, and his gaze ran over Uma eagerly. “Do you have one with you? Can I see it?”

Their female chortled and shook her head. “I do not have one with me, you pervert. What do you think I had planned on doing on this trip? But maybe if you ever end up in the citadel again I can show it to you.”

Vrin frowned, his ears flattening a little. “A human cock? You put something shaped like a human male’s cock inside of you?”

Laro glanced over at the male in disbelief. He could not be jealous of something simply bearing some resemblance. The male’s hackles rose, and Laro rolled his eyes. It seemed that Vrin definitely could be. He was also certain that no little amount of that was due to the reminder that Uma planned to return to Old Wayfairer Citadel.

Uma’s lips pursed as she gave the question serious consideration. “Well, that depends on how you look at it. At what point can something realistically be called even a close imitation of a man’s cock when it deviates in size and shape to exist in a state well beyond any man’s hope or wildest dreams? There are some very sizable toys,” she added, a wicked smile curling her lips as she seemed to think on it with a certain degree of relish. “I have some favorites I’ve enjoyed fucking myself with that would make most men weep with jealousy, I think.”

Laro peered worriedly at Vrin, worried that the male was going to erupt furiously. However, it was Kam’s gleeful bark of laughter that drained the tension from the male and brought a small, reluctant smile to his face as their brother doubled over and continued to laugh.

“That is perfect,” Kam gasped. “The huntsmen and gentlemen’s club acting like they are the only cock around when you females create your own superior versions. It is no wonder that the club hates Ragoru so much.”

Vrin chuffed in agreement, his manner relaxing. “Angry over having to share the few females who give them attention but jealous because Ragoru have twice what they have in cock, in every way.”

Laro coughed, hiding his own amusement as he shook his head at Vrin. “That sort of attitude will not earn us friends among the humans.”

The male snorted derisively. “I do not care if human males think of me as a friend.”

“Or human females, since you get a kick out of scaring them,” Uma pointed out smugly as she began to walk again, prompting Vrin into moving again to remain in front where he would be better able to protect her.

Laro smiled as he followed after them. His family was healing. They were laughing and playing together again. All because of Uma. They clearly could not lose her. She had to remain with them. They would have full hearts with her in their den, and she would have their doting love. She could not leave. She had to mate with them and remain with them, forever. And as a good lead it was his responsibility to make sure that happened.

He would make sure that they stopped soon to make their camp. He would fill her belly and then fill her cunt and ass in a good, healthy rut. He was already aching, and he could feel the need climbing even more urgently than before through him.

His nose wrinkled as the breeze shifted again, bringing that oddly familiar sweet scent back to his nose. He only hoped that terrible scent would soon stop following them.

Chapter 28

The forest got darker and thicker the farther they descended into it, the trees looming taller than any building in the citadel overhead. Uma suddenly understood why it was called the Great Forest. At least camping in the forest proved a lot more pleasant than sleeping on the mountain and open grasslands. There were plenty of mossy logs to find a comfortable place to sleep—after the males scouted the area and made sure it was clear of tangleweed, poisonous narthrash, as well as other predatory plants. They even put blends of herbs in their nightly fires to drive away the sleep-bite insects.

All in all, it actually made her reluctant to part with them any sooner than she absolutely had to. They were considerate of her being a soft, furless human, protected her when no one had thought to protect once her full height came in, and were so sweetly attentive in their own unique ways that she adored each one of them. What would she do without Laro’s quiet, steady presence, or Vrin’s snarky mouth and playful antics? Then there was Kam, who was pure sugary sweetness that put anything baked by Ann to shame.

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