Page 45 of Own To Obsess

“Like what?”

“So… free?”

Kardos smiled. “Yes.”

They spent the morning speeding across the landscape, stopping only for the dogs to rest and drink water at one of the unfrozen lakes. Shaya was attentive the whole time, her head turning constantly so she saw everything, and Kardos pointed out things he didn’t want her to miss, like the bright and varied colors of the jey flower—the only flower to bloom in the current season and only in a very specific place. They passed a lake that looked purple, a hill shaped like a Western Lands’ house, and the changing formation of the retter-goose as they flew low preparing to shit over every inch of one particular hill, causing tribe members to name it “shit-hill” in Mayaros. Shaya giggled and gasped in her excitement, and Kardos wished he could see her face as she took in the beautiful sights of the Nyek landscape.

When they finally returned home, and Kardos returned Shaya to his bed, there was no doubt of a drastic improvement in the bond. It was much lighter, and the dark coldness within it had mellowed. They spent the afternoon eating, sleeping, and sating their need for each other, and Kardos made sure she slept deeply.

For the next three days he took her all over the island. He showed her one of the trails of the most recent tobo competition and pointed out all the dangerous places that some of the riders had skidded off the path. He took her to the vast training grounds where all variations of combat were learned and practiced; swordsmanship, rockpulting, archery, and Tasa Kylesh, a hand combat art that increased strength and agility specific to Nyek only—no other tribe had created or used their own hand combat technique. They traveled at various speeds as he showed her what his pack could do, like flare out into a diamond shape when turning a sharp corner, and was amazed when she said she wanted to name them.

“Why?” he asked incredulously, as they stretched their legs one morning while the dogs drank. “They don’t need individual names.”

“But they are individuals,” she said stubbornly. “Especially this one.” She pointed at the troublesome one, and Kardos almost growled in frustration. That little dog had caught her attention since she saw him—he couldn’t understand why she was enamored with it.

“He looks he could be called….” She thought for a moment, scrunching up her nose in thought, and Kardos was lost for words staring at her. He’d never seen that expression on her face before and fuck… she was adorable. “Yepa!” she said finally, turning to him, grinning. “I name him Yepa.”

Kardos picked her up and took her back to the tobo where he lay her on her back behind the seat. “You can name him whatever you like,” he said huskily, reaching underneath her layers and tunic to rip off her panties.

“Kardos,” she gasped, looking around frantically. “We’re out in the open. Anyone could see us from miles away!”

“Good.” Kardos roughly bunched up her clothes and spread her legs as he lowered to his knees. “Then they’ll know not to approach us while we’re busy,” he growled, pressing his nose into her inner thigh and feeling himself harden further at the sweet scent of her pussy. “And anyway, you have eleven more dogs to name—I suggest you concentrate on that.”

Of course she wasn’t able to do anything like that while he was feasting on her. All she could do was writhe and grip his head, and fly beautifully on his tongue, much to Kardos’ satisfaction.

On the fourth morning, Kardos didn’t prepare them to go out. Shaya became restless, even though he’d pleasured her when awoke and purred for her constantly. The bond was in a delicate state. It fluctuated depending on what they were doing at any one time, but although a pulse and tremor had returned, it was still shrunken.

As he settled her in his arms in bed, she finally asked, “Are we going out today?”

Kardos’ tilted his head to look at her. “Do you want to?”

Shaya held his eyes and nodded

Pleased, he said, “Then we will go.”

This time, Kardos took her to the villages.

“You see those mountains?” he said, when they were halfway there. “That is where most of Tribe Nyek live. They build their huts in and around the mountains.”

“Inside the mountains?” Shaya asked. “How is that possible?”

“Some of the mountains have natural dips and crevices that can protect from the worst weather. And some of them we created.”

“What about the white mountains on the Central Island… that is natural, isn’t it?”

Kardos nodded. “Yes, those are the discovery mountains.”

Shaya angled her head to look back at him. “What does that mean?”

“They’re very special to the Isles. They help Islanders discover themselves and the Isles.”

Shaya pursed her lips. “How?”

“I can’t say. The discovery mountains have a bit of mystery surrounding them.”

“This whole Land is a mystery,” Shaya sighed as she turned back to the face front.

As they traveled into the valleys between the mountains, he slowed the pack down to walking speed. Shaya tensed as she saw the Nyek people, but he slipped his arm around her waist and held her secure against him. These were her people, and she needed to learn to feel safe around them, regardless of what happened.

---