Page 46 of Hooded

“But you are going to nest for me here.” I withdraw my hands to get his attention. “Because that’s what you want to do.”

A pair of dark eyes rest on mine. “If I am not dying, then I will make you the best nest a Gryn has ever made,” he says.

“Watch out, Fenes,” Narlix says. “It has no idea what is going to hit it.”

FERN

Beebie chuckles to himself in my pocket. The little creature was, thankfully, completely unaffected by our sojourn with the Tormelek. His presence remained undetected, and because he’s a clever little thing, he was able to scavenge food while keeping hidden on my ship.

The Fenere are more welcoming than I think Klynn expected. In fact, a couple of them have been helping him source materials for his nest over the past few nova-days.

Of course, he wouldn’t let them help him build it. The mere suggestion was met with a snarl I’m pretty certain could be heard from space.

“I think you’d probably best leave the nesting to the Gryn,” I overheard one of the Fenere say. “I suspect he’s best at it anyway.”

And yet, they haven’t kicked us off their planet, and today is the day I get to see the nest for the first time. Excitement bubbles up in my stomach, and it’s the reason Beebie is squirming, sensing how I’m feeling. He sticks his sleek, dark head out and then, with a push, he’s gone, snuffling over the forest floor and into the undergrowth.

I let him go. He’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him and that’s a good thing. We should all be happy. Subconsciously, I have put my hand over my stomach. I’m hardly showing.

“Little fury.” A deep, dark, feathered voice murmurs in my ear. Arms and wings surround me. “Are you ready for my nest?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I say. A large hand covers my eyes, making me giggle. “Is this necessary?”

There’s a hesitation in Klynn. “I’m not sure,” he eventually says.

This is as much a voyage of discovery for him as it is for me. And after his revelation he wasn’t going to die because his heart beat faster when he was closer to me, I know we both have a lot to learn, not just about the life growing within me, but about each other and ourselves too.

I’m going to roll with it, with his hand over my eyes and my steps hesitantly following his strides, because he doesn’t know what this is all about any more than I do.

“I need to carry you, little fury,” he murmurs in my ear. “Just a short flight.”

I’m lifted into his strong arms, my face pressed against his broad chest. Klynn’s great wings open, and he beats down twice, lifting us into the air before landing, light as a feathered god, and I’m allowed to return to my feet.

“Let me…” Klynn rasps, attempting to clear his throat. “Let me know if you like it.”

I turn away from his delicious abs to be faced with something I wasn’t ever expecting, even after what he did in our cell on the Tormelek ship.

The nest rises up in front of me, a jagged, interweaved jumble of living wood. There is a large opening through which I can see lights and colors. We have to be a couple of stories up in the canopy of the forest, made up of trees akin to conifers onlysignificantly larger. I’m stood on a sturdy platform which leads into the nest itself.

I walk forward, through the entrance, and into a place I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams. Above me, it extends even higher, and dotted through the weaving are pinpricks of artificial light. These twinkle off mirrored surfaces, placed all around to make the entire roof looks like a disco ball.

Metal things chime in the breeze, and colored fabrics flow from the walls down to the floor, along with a myriad of other items. Pieces of discarded tech are placed in intricate patterns. One piece seems to be made out of spoons, another is crafted from colored leaves.

I can’t believe Klynn did all of this in a matter of days.

“Do you…” he murmurs behind me.

“Like it?” I ask, turning slowly on the spot because I have to take it all in even though I’m not sure I can.

Klynn is holding his breath, that much is clear. His liquid black onyx eyes don’t leave me for a second.

“Klynn.” I say his name slowly, carefully, as he leans in closer. “I love it,” I whisper, so it takes a nova-second for the words to register.

In a blur, I’m on the large bed he’s created, caged by my huge, feral Gryn, his entire body vibrating, feathers rattling, need pouring from him.

“I made it…for you,” he grinds out. “I need to claim you, in my nest. I need to make you mine.”

“I am yours, Klynn,” I say, taking his hand and placing it on my stomach.

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