Page 20 of Bred By Fafnir

A gasp breaks through my ranting. My wide eyes slamming to Elat at my side before her eyes meet mine. “Maybe you should stand.”

I stumble, nearly falling on my ass in my rush to get to my feet and all thoughts blank, like hitting the delete on a holo message halfway through.

Fafnir leads the group, his long-plaited hair mussed, spear strapped to his back. His eyes are narrowed, I can’t tell from here, but I know they’d be rimmed red if I were closer as he scans the crowd for—

Me.

My chest heaves as my eyes drop to the equally as giant, blue toned…

“What are those?” I whisper.

“Valkyra.” Another woman whispers back.

Valkyra?

Mynickname.

They look like giant elk, their blueish antlers dusted in glittering frost. He’s dragging them behind him, antlers gripped in his fists. Their white, shaggy fur smattered with a deep blue… blood?

“They’re incredibly elusive,stubborn, hunting parties see maybe one or two a season. They’re hard to kill, like a delicacy.”

He killed two.

Another woman says something in their native language, a few more chiming in.

My eyes snap to Valoryx, lumbering out of the wood line, and now it makes sense why, like the other mounts, he isn’t hauling his master’s kill.

He was full already.

“It’s a shame he’s war mad,” another female offers, and I can’t help the way my chest swells with pride.

Fafnir eats up the ground between us like it's nothing, and soon enough, he’s in front of me. Dropping the two giant beasts at his back as he leans down, pressing his forehead to mine. The hint of red fading into brown. The crowd around us giggles and laughs as other males make their requests of a bed partner known. “Little female.” He gruffs, making something deep in my belly flutter.

“Y-you’re choosing me.”

“If you find me worthy.”

A crazed, breathless laugh escapes me as I stand up on my toes, my hands flying out to grip his horns, suddenly desperate to have his lips on mine.

“I offer myself, human,” another gruff voice cuts in.

Moment gone.

Fafnir freezes, red flaring in his eyes before he shakes it free, rising as another male lingers back, glaring right back at him, a large spikey… dog creature tied to what I assume is his mount. Judging by the way Valoryx halts his lapping at a nearby trough and snarls in his direction. The deep growl builds in Fafnir’s chest as his bloody hand comes to rest on the back of my neck. His squeeze should feel threatening, given what I know, but it's anything but. It’s warm… safe.

The new male eyes the action with no small amount of confusion and concern in his expression. He doesn’t want me, per se. He wants Fafnir not to have me.

“Thank you…but I choose Fafnir.” I answer, trying to hide my smile as a burst of breath rushes from my giant.

Even with being the clear winner of the hunt by a landslide… and maybe a little overkill, he was still worried I’d choose another over him.

The man lingers like he wants to argue but thinks better of it, bowing his head to me and shooting daggers at Fafnir before calling for his mount to follow. He doesn’t approach another female but drops his kill in the pile.

Fafnir turns to me again, frowning deeply as I reach up, gesturing at him to bend for me. He does, his earthy smell dancing along my tongue. My fist grips the base of his horn, my lips tickling his ear, making it twitch, and judging by the gasp that surrounds us, perhaps I shouldn’t be doing this, but I ignore them. “It seems we have a lot to talk about.”

His eyes turn to mine, a challenge there. Daring me to continue, I don’t, but I don’t release him either. My thumb rubs against the base of his horn, where rough bone meets soft hair. His strong jaw clenching and unclenching a few times before he grunts. I release him, ensuring he sees my pointed glare as he lifts me off my feet, hauling me onto his shoulders. Vertigo hits me hard, the height dizzying as I grip his horns again, frowning at how much warmer they feel. Fafnir is silent as he regains his grip on theValkyra,dragging them to the pile with the others. I know I’m only up here because Valoryx is currently occupied, but it doesn’t slow the butterflies in my stomach.

Fafnir

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