Page 37 of K'Vella

"Don't listen to her," I say against her hair. "She's an overeager little sister who wants me to mate and have babies."

"So why don't you?" K'Vella sniffles and brushes away her tears before giving me the chance to.

I chuckle at her question. "I'm trying. I just happen to have the most stubborn female that I'm trying to court, and as far as the babies part, well, we're both working on that, aren't we?"

K'Vella stiffens in my arms a bit more, but I chalk it up to her being uncomfortable with what my sister said. I grab the plate of food and set it in her lap, knowing she's not going to say no to her favorite food.

"We need to go to the great hall today," I tell her, wanting to get this conversation over with. It's not like this conversation can get even worse, not when Helna already made it awful. "We just need to go once to appease the clan. I'll introduce you as my mate, and it should be enough to keep the others from bothering us."

"Is anyone going to be accepting of your choosing me?" K'Vella asks between bites.

Her voice is stronger than I expect it to be, and it makes me wonder just how much she's forcing herself to be strong right now. I already know she's a tough female, but she shouldn't haveto be this strong. Not in my arms, not when I'm here to carry some of the burden for her.

"My mother will love you. My sister will as well once she's done scheming." I brush K'Vella's hair behind her back and run my hands over her shoulders. "No one else matters. It's not like we'll be here long enough for their opinions to mean anything."

"Okay, so how do I need to prepare myself for going to the great hall?" K'Vella asks. "How many females are going to try to steal you away from me?"

I growl low in my chest at the idea of any female coming over to me when I have this perfect female in my arms. Thankfully, I already have a plan that should keep most females from bothering us. There will still be some who will push harder than others, but they'll be easy to scare off.

"There will be females who attempt to sway me into being with them," I say, keeping my arms locked tight around K'Vella. I don't think she'd run from me, but I don't want to take the chance. If I go out without her by my side, it'll be even harder to convince the others that I want nothing to do with them. "They don't do it to be disrespectful. With my kind, females can pursue anyone except a scent matched male, and the same goes for my males, but most of them let the females lead since they're so straightforward."

"So you're going to have beautiful women coming up to you all day offering to sleep with you?" K'Vella asks with a pathetic laugh. "Right in front of me, no less."

"They might, but I'll deny each and every one," I tell her, pressing a soft kiss to a bite on her shoulder. "I'm perfectly content with you. I've already told you this."

"I don't want to witness females throwing themselves at you," K'Vella says. "Not when I know one of them could be perfect for you. Even your sister thinks so. They're all going to think so. It's going to be humiliating for me. All those people out there knowthat I'm not your scent match, that I'm not your mate, that we're just playing some game here."

I snap my teeth against her fresh bite until she whimpers. The sound is music to my ears as I drag her onto her hands and knees. I let my body fall over her, setting the small remainder of her food aside. I hike her dress up above her hips, my palm cupping her sex and rubbing gently to get her warm for me.

"Are we playing a game, K'Vella?" I ask in a low growl. When she whimpers in response, I pull my cock from my pants and slide into her as brutally as I did during my ruts. "Are you saying this is a game? This isn't real?" I thrust into her hard, sucking on her neck as she bucks underneath me.

"Answer me," I growl with command, but it doesn't work on K'Vella. She's not Rytharian, so I can only hope she'll do as I command, even though she has no biological desire to do so.

"It's not," she cries out as I pull out to bottom out inside her again. "It's not real because you're not my mate, and we're not supposed to be like this, and it was never supposed to be this real."

K'Vella cries out the last of her words, her tears falling onto the carpet and her eyes squeezing shut like she can't even look at me right now. I bare my teeth at her but bite my tongue to stop myself from telling her I'm almost certainly her mate, even if she might not be mine. It will only make her feel worse, and I won't have that.

I slow my thrusts, taking her more gently and waiting for my knot to grow before purring up against her back. "I'm so happy that we're together, K'Vella. I'm so happy to share a nest with you, to wake up every morning with you, to live a life with you by my side. It's enough for me. It will always be enough for me. I don't need scents telling me who I should be with. I choose to be with you. No matter what, I choose you."

K'Vella sobs harder as she rubs at her wrists. It's my turn to whimper softly because I want so much for her markings to show. I want to take the pain from her, to give her some physical proof that she's mine and I'm hers.

Nothing I do has made them show up, so I wrap my arms around her, hold her tight to me, and lock us together. I whisper against her pelt how much I love her, how much I care for her, and I don't stop until her tears have dried and my knot is softening.

fourteen

K'Vella

One of the biggest differences between Varons and Rytharians, besides all the physical stuff, is the clothing. The females who greeted us last night dressed much more conservative than the clothing Holoth's sister is wearing when she brings me something to wear to the great hall.

"I wanted to apologize for this morning," Helna says as she sets the furs and leathers down on the dresser in Holoth's room.

Her eyes keep straying over to the nest that I made sure was perfect the last time Holoth and I woke in it. I ignore the questions bubbling up in Helna's features because she hasn't voiced them. Maybe it's petty of me, but she was trying to convince Holoth to take out his blocker earlier, so maybe I'm allowed some pettiness.

"I appreciate your apology," I tell her, looking at myself in the mirror and fixing some of my braids.

Helna stands in the bathroom entryway, her short but filled stature leaning against the frame as she crosses her arms overher chest. The fur skirt she's wearing barely covers all of her, and the top is a loose section of leather tied in two places to keep it covering her large chest. Yes, I am very different from these females, and I'm not excited to see what clothing she's brought for me.

"If it makes you feel any better, I told my friends that my brother's taken," Helena says, chewing on her lip and giving me a curious look.

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