Page 48 of I'm Not Your Pet

After a moment of quiet deliberation I decided what I wanted most was to know how Huu-goh was fairing on board.

“Ask him how he’s feeling, please.” My pulse fluttered, and my limbs went icy all over again.What if I had read himwrong?What if his wiggles, his tinkling laughter meant he was frightened, rather than excited? What if all that I’d learned about him was backwards?

I couldn’t stomach the thought.

“How ahre youh feehling?” Ushuu asked Huu-goh, carefully annunciating his words, though they fit just as awkwardly between his teeth as they did between mine. I memorized the sound of them as best as I could so that I could later replicate the question.

Meanwhile, I studied Huu-goh expectantly, rigidly awaiting his response.

I was sure my spots were gray with anxiety, the negative emotion playing close to the surface. I didn’t have to wait long. After Huu-goh’s initial reaction—his jaw dropping, his eyes popping wide—he burst into speech so fast I had no way of making sense of the words.

Bless Ushuu, because he did.

After listening intently, and asking Huu-goh to repeat a few things, the older Sahrk turned back to me with a gentle smile. “He says he is happy, but wants to know why we keep feeding him bark.”

He is happy.

He is happy, he is happy, he is happy.

Rigidity melting, I twisted to peer at my huu-man fondly—trying to ignore the fact that Ushuu was watching us with affection of his own. A few wayward tendrils slipped free of the surface of my body to give the back of Huu-goh’s neck a grateful squeeze. He made a pleased sound and glanced up at me through his lashes with a questioning expression.

Probably waiting for answers, my curious little beast.

His dark gaze stroked over my spots like a caress as Huu-goh opened his sweet mouth and spoke again. His words ended on ahigher note, something I was beginning to understand meant he was asking a question.

“Now he wants to know why your spots change color,” Ushuu explained after waiting patiently to parse through the foreign words. He blinked and cocked his head at me. “Would you like me to translate?”

I nodded. Distracted by the emotions that danced across Huu-goh’s expressive face. “Our spots are mood indicators,” I explained directly to him, keeping my voice soft. Ushuu translated for me, though it took quite a while for him to find each word. I didn’t mind. It just gave me more time to look at Huu-goh.

Plus, I was grateful this was an option at all. Though part of me felt like an idiot for not seeking it out sooner. I tried not to dwell on that emotion too long. It would only waste my energy when I could be speaking to Huu-goh instead.

We didn’t have long before Ushuu needed to return to work.

Huu-goh nodded very seriously when Ushuu finished speaking. When he turned his attention back to me he searched my gaze. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but I hoped he found it.

“The ‘bahrk’ is highly nutritious. You are small and I worry that you were not being properly nourished before you came here,” I added, making sure to answer both of his questions to the best of my ability. “There are healers better equipped to check on you when we reach home, but even then, I am unsure if they will have enough knowledge of your species to be able to tell me what your dietary needs are. So for now, ‘bahrk’ it is.”

He was important to me, therefore his questions were important.

Ushuu relayed my words, and I waited for Huu-goh’s response, unable to take my eyes off of him as he mulled this new information over. His hairy brow furrowed, sweet eyes swirlingwith emotion like he was remembering something unsavory. The tendril on the back of his neck pulsed to soothe him, and he sighed. The expression cleared, and Huu-goh’s smile returned, eyes blazing with what I hoped was affection as his gaze focused on me once again.

“Whaat doo rehd spahts meen?” he asked in his own language, waiting patiently for Ushuu to translate.

Whatever he said made Ushuu bark in amusement, his eyes creased with mirth. “He wants to know what red spots mean,” he translated.

Oh no.

Oh no.

Mortification burned through my body as I ducked my head, covering my face with one hand in embarrassment. I almost wanted to beg Ushuu not to tell him, because it was more than a little embarrassing to have the man that was practically myfathertalk to my mate about something so deeply intimate. However, like I’d stated earlier, I found being uncomfortable well worth its pain if my answers benefited Huu-goh—and by extension, our relationship—in the long run.

“Explain,” I said quietly, burning from the inside out as I waited. I peeked through my fingers at Huu-goh as Ushuu spoke, watching his reaction. I had never been more humiliated.

Huu-goh’s grin was wicked as he listened intently. His eyes danced with mischief. It was attractive. So goddamn attractive. Huu-goh glanced over my spots again thoughtfully, before he spoke to Ushuu again. I waited with bated breath to understand what he’d said in response—my dignity be damned.

“He says,” Ushuu barked again, “‘That’s what he thought it meant.”

I snorted through my nose, unable to help myself, and Ushuu joined in, obviously as delighted by Huu-goh as I was. I made a mental note to ask for his help again later. Perhaps I couldlearn Huu-goh’s language faster if I had a tutor of my own. Additionally, Ushuu might have more resources about huu-mans if his knowledge of their language was any indication. I owed him an apology for avoiding him for so long. Even though a small, immature part of me wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to look him in the eye again.

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