Page 18 of K'Vella

"That for us?" Jovi asks, his eyes looking hopeful. Like I said, this is his and Alik's favorite food, which makes me hopeful that K'Vella will also like it.

"No," I say simply before grabbing some water and making my way out of the kitchen with the food.

I need to find K'Vella and make sure she knows I'm not discarding her after my rut. Who knows what she's talking about with Essa and Sloane? I doubt they'd say anything bad about me. Not when they're both my friends. But they're dealing with a female who feels as though I've used her and thrown her away. If they're anything like most Rytharian females, they'll protect one of their own against a male.

"Do you know where your mate would've gone?" I ask before leaving. Jovi and Alik are leaning over the food synthesizer, waiting for what I'm assuming is the same food I made for K'Vella.

"Entertainment room," they both say without looking over at me. I trust them to know their mate, so I head that way without a second thought.

It's not until the entertainment door opens that I realize it's not just Sloane, Essa, and K'Vella in there. No, Avery, for the first time since being on the ship, is outside Phial's nest and talking with people.

I stand, horrified, in the doorway, waiting for her to cry again or start to panic because I look too similar to the male who hurt her. My purr rattles for a second, but I force it down, unsure if the male who hurt her used his purr on her. My eyes are wide, palms starting to sweat, and Avery stares at me with eyes just as wide.

"Avery?" Sloane leans over the couch to grab the other woman's hand and softly squeezes it. " Are you okay?"

Avery frowns for a moment, her lip getting sucked in between her teeth before she finally says. "You shaved."

I clear my throat, unsure if my voice is welcome here. It's one thing for me to interrupt their time together when it was just to get K'Vella's attention, but it's another to interfere with Avery beginning to heal from what she's been through.

"I shave and braid my hair now." I dart my gaze over to Sloane, who gives me a reassuring smile. "Does it help?"

"Yeah." Avery nods slowly as if she's not quite sure if it helps or if she's hoping it helps. The fact that she isn't crying or panicking right now makes me feel better.

"I used to have to braid his hair for him, but he learned pretty fast," Sloane says, giving me a wink when my face flushes at her reminder of how bad I was when I first started. "He has a female to braid his hair for him now, though, and she looks to be better at it than you or I were."

I try to touch the braid K'Vella put into my hair last night when we finished rutting and were locked together. The water canister hits my head with a soft thunk, and I feel my face grow even more scarlet.

K'Vella bites back her own smile, but I wish to know if her chest is violet at Sloane calling her my female or telling everyone she was the one to braid my hair.

"It looks good," Avery says, sounding more certain. She takes a deep breath and lets it out through softly parted lips. She perks up suddenly, and a smile crosses her lips. "I can understand you now. I'm sure you figured that out, but it's pretty cool, right?"

She rubs at her neck, and the bandage around it shifts. I force my gaze from falling down to it, knowing it's not something she probably wants me to acknowledge.

"I'm glad you can understand me now." I walk further into the room, not missing how Avery tenses and watches me warily. "I came to drop this off for K'Vella. She might be carrying my young, and I want to make sure she's cared for."

I'm almost certain K'Vella's flushing when I speak, and that's one benefit of my words. The other is that it helps Avery to soften toward me. Hopefully, she doesn't see me as a threatening male for long if she sees me doting on my female. Essa and Sloane also melt at the statement. Sloane lets out a soft "aww," and Essa smiles as her tail wraps around K'Vella's ankle. Yes, I want these females to all grow close. Maybe it will make K'Vella wish to stay longer.

"Has she been here long enough for that?" Avery asks, and then it's her turn for her face to flare. "Sorry, that's none of my business."

I beam at the question and the chance to tell everyone that there is a greater than zero percent chance K'Vella's pregnant with my young right now. But it's not the time or place. I let Avery's question go unanswered so I don't embarrass her further.

"I hope you all have a wonderful day," I say, leaving the food with K'Vella and walking back to the door.

I don't miss how she stares at the food for long moments, blinking hard like she's stopping herself from becoming emotional. Either I gave her the best food, or I gave her the worst food ever. I'm leaning toward the former.

"K'Vella, can I talk to you when you're free?"

She stares up at me when I ask her directly and gives me a short, simple nod. I can see the emotions rimming her eyes and the way she fights back a smile.

I haven't done nearly enough for that kind of reaction, but someone made her think she wasn't worthy of affection. I'll make sure she knows differently for as long as she's near.

I'll have other opportunities to convince her I want her. For today, I hope she becomes best friends with the other females. They'll be better at convincing her to stay than I will.

seven

K'Vella

"She might be carrying my young, and I want to make sure she's cared for," Essa repeats in a voice meant to imitate Holoth's.

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