Page 4 of Barbarian's Treat

"Coward," Asha laughs.

She's right. In this, she's absolutely right. I'm not looking forward to running the idea past Vektal at all.

CHAPTER

THREE

GEORGIE

Ever since Ashtarleft after his last visit, my poor mate has been...well, the best word for it is “overwhelmed.”

"Read his words to me again, Georgie." My mate has his head in his hands as he sits by the fire. "I need to hear them once more."

"They're not Ashtar's words. They're Tia's, I think. Or that new woman, Rosalind. The one that was the librarian. It's written in English and I don't think Ashtar can write in English. Someone else penned it." I don't move to get the scroll, because we've already read it twice this afternoon. "Not that it matters, but he's just the delivery guy."

"I am starting to dread seeing him in the skies," Vektal mutters. "At this point, I think I would rather see a skyclaw."

I try to hide my smile. Ashtar's visits for the longest time were just him and Veronica coming to visit, or to carry messages between Croatoan and the beach village, Icehome. But then there was the message about Flor and I'rec finding more people in stasis pods in the snow. And then this most recent message with them saying that Tia had found more people underground.That they looked like the “ancestors” of this world and Tia had mated one and gone to live with him, and three others were living at Icehome Beach now.

To be fair, there have been a lot of changes for his people since we humans arrived. It's like Not-Hoth was quiet and peaceful for a thousand years, and suddenly the past decade or so has been nothing but chaos. "It'll work itself out."

He wraps his arms around my waist and buries his face against my stomach. "My mate, I worry for our village."

"What? Why?"

"We are living intheirhouses."

Oh. Is that what he's worried about? "These areveryold ruins, Vektal, love. I don't think they're coming back for them. And anyhow, they abandoned them. They're ours now. And if they show up on our doorstep, well, there's plenty of room for everyone."

"I am just so tired of change, my Georgie." He sighs and holds me close, one of his horns digging into my breast.

"If things remained the same, you wouldn't have a single human here," I point out, running my fingers through his hair. "You wouldn't have two daughters and a son and a growing tribe."

He grunts. "True. Fine, then. I would like for things to remain the same foroneseason. Just one season."

I chuckle. "You act as if your hair is turning gray from all the stress, but I don't see a single gray strand here." I make a big show of looking through his thick mane. "No grays. That means you're not as worried as you think. And you know why? Because you're the chief that can handle anything."

"You have such faith in me."

"I do. You're a wonderful leader. And besides, these people probably already have their own leader. You just need to meethim, say hello and be friendly, and then go on your way. No one needs to join our tribe. Not everyone has to live together."

Vektal pauses, and I can tell from the look on his face that this idea never occurred to him. It reminds me of just how small the population here has been. For so long, the entirety of the planet's citizens (as he knew) were his responsibility. No wonder he's fretting over the idea of newcomers.

I continue on this train of thought. I stroke my hand through his hair. "Raahosh and R'jaal are doing a good job at the beach, right? You don't have to oversee their every move. It can be the same with these new people. Be friendly, but let them do their own thing. They have all this time, right?"

"Mm." My mate isn't convinced. His hand slides to my backside and he rubs it absently. "I have yet to even see the new humans and taters and now we have mountain people. What next?"

There's a jingle at the front door as a visitor runs their fingers through the shell chimes we have just outside. "Knock knock," Claire calls out. "Is this a bad time?"

I arch a brow at Vektal and eye him. "Is it?" I whisper. If he says the word, I'll feign a headache or cramps or whatever is needed to give him time to process. Vektal grouches for a day or two in private, and then he's full of plans. I think he doesn't like change because he's afraid it'll interfere with his ability to keep the tribe safe and happy. He's an amazing leader, but he needs time to process and come up with a plan, just like anyone else. Even if the “mountain people” aren't coming here, I imagine Vektal will want to visit to assess the situation. It's the responsible side of him that he can't get away from, and I adore him for that.

But he shakes his head and gets to his feet, pressing a kiss to my brow. As if discarding a cloak, Vektal's shoulders straighten and his expression smooths. He's becoming “the chief” as Iwatch, the capable leader that everyone expects him to be. "It is not a bad time," he calls out to Claire. "Come in."

She has a cautious look on her face as she ducks under the door flap, a smile pinned to her face. "Hi guys. This won't take long, I promise."

Vektal smiles at Claire, who's always a little nervous around him. "You are always welcome here."

"You say that, but you might not after you hear what I'm asking about." She titters. "I was thinking it was time for us to have another holiday, something to look forward to. I was thinking Halloween, and I have a lot of plans, but I wanted to run them past you first."

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