Page 107 of Return of the Nine

Cavos stroked her hair slowly as they waited.

“We need more. The fish are fine for a while, but they are not enough for us. If we don’t have the meat, we lose the ability to shift or trigger our ruts. It neuters us.” Tidae whispered the last.

“Fine, then, you just have to decide, do you want to go bigger or meaner?”

Cavos dragged her into their tent and told the Wilders, “You have until morning to decide. I will try to gain her assistance from the outset this time.”

Nik was scowling at her bond mate when she heard Morro say, “He is a selfless man, taking one for the team.”

Cavos held her tightly as she tried to clamber out and kick Morro’s ass.

He was laughing silently. “Two weeks ago, you wouldn’t have been able to flail around like that.”

He pressed soft kisses to her neck and started to undo her coveralls.

“Two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been in a tent with you. How are we going to manage this with them close by?”

Trusk’s helpful voice said, “Don’t worry, we can’t hear a thing.”

Cavos’s shoulders were shaking as he pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “Perhaps it has to wait.”

Niika grinned. “Oh, no. If they want to listen, let’s give them a concert that will send them running.”

“Oh, I do love a challenge. Ancient custom?”

“New tradition.”

He kissed her and bore her back to the bedding. “I may be a historian, but I can adapt.”

She laughed as her clothing was peeled away and her new flexibility was challenged by the close confines of the tent. She had always loved a challenge.

Designing

Return of the Nine Book Seven

By

Viola Grace

Chapter One

The heap of leather and metal on the table was drawing a lot of speculation as to how a primitive with limited resources managed to repurpose an instrument of torture.

“I cannot understand how the Gaian understood the tech, let alone reprogrammed it.” The head engineer of the Nine warship scowled and prodded the leather. It contracted immediately.

“She has a talent for it, much as the other men and women who have been coming to our attention. I wouldn’t put anything past the Gaians at this point. They are surprising us at every turn, Father.” Deniir laughed.

“I want to talk to the engineer who created this. This is an amazing work of design and practicality.”

“That will be difficult, Father. She has retired from active use of her talent and has withdrawn to the cliffs. She sees no one.” Deniir frowned. “She has even cut herself off from her friends.”

His father shifted his shoulders restlessly. “How do you know that?”

“I asked. Cavos’s mate is a friend of the designer. She is the one who used to wear the harness. Her spinal cord had been damaged, and yet, this woman rigged the straps to keep her friend upright and mobile for years before it failed.”

“Extremely impressive. For a primitive to take apart and reassemble Tokkel technology is a feat that deserves to be investigated. I would like to interview her.”

Deniir frowned. “She will not leave her home. Even her friends do not have permission to visit.”

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