Page 18 of The VaDorok's Unexpected Mate
She pasted a smile on her face. “Thank you, Ren. That is very thoughtful of you.”
“Hurry and open it,” he urged, barely able to contain his eagerness.
Katie smirked to herself, her fingers going to the twisted latch. She undid it and slowly lifted the top. Her brows beetled slightly as something along the side of the wall shifted. Theinterior was so heavily shadowed by the firelight that she couldn’t make it out, however. Shifting it slightly to get it at a better angle with the light, she nearly dropped it in shock when something the size of her hand and closely resembling an enormous ball of incredibly fluffy white fur popped out at her. It landed on her hand and promptly scurried up her forearm. She immediately froze and stared down at it as its little pink eyes stared back at her through the dense fringe of fur falling over its face. Now that it was still, she could see that it had a long, fluffy tail, prominent, round ears that dwarfed its nearly invisible head beneath all the fur, and a narrow snout that a hedgehog would be envious of.
It was adorable. And with her luck, something so cute would be the deadliest thing on all of Dorok. Just casually sitting on her arm.
“What is wrong, Katie? Do you not like it?” Ren asked with a snicker. “It is just a harmless little durwa.”
Somehow, she managed to smile politely at the laughing beast mocking her. “She is cute... what exactly is a durwa?”
His smile slowly fell to be replaced with a look of annoyance. “They are flesh-eaters.”
Katie’s eyebrows rose.Flesh-eater, huh?She squinted down at it speculatively. Ren didn’t say predator, so she didn’t think she had to worry about it trying to gnaw off her hand or anything. He didn’t say anything about it being venomous either. A carrion eater, perhaps? Like a vulture? She pressed her lips together to refrain from giggling.
“So, it eats dead animals?” she clarified.
“Yes.” He squinted at her. “Why are you not afraid of it? Females dislike durwa. Even Kull says that they are filthy little creatures that I am to exterminate on sight if I see one in the den.”
Katie’s brows rose. She could understand that perspective if a mouse or roach got into the house, but the durwa was too much like the guinea pig that her childhood best friend had... except cuter and even more ridiculously fluffy. It opened its little mouth then and yawned, displaying a mouth far larger than the narrow end of its snout indicated and an impressive number of sharp little teeth. No, not a guinea pig. It was more like a fizzwig from the movie The Dark Crystal, but smaller and cuter. She loved that movie! Who knew she would grow up and acquire her own little fizzwig.
“What, this little thing?” she queried, gesturing to the critter on her arm.
Smiling down at the little durwa. She extended her fingers toward the fluffball. It didn’t so much as move in response. It just continued to watch her with its bright pink eyes as she stroked two fingers over its fur. Its entire body began to vibrate as its eyes slid shut, and a loud purr rattled from it. It was like having a mini floofy version of Kull. Precious!
His frown progressed to a scowl. “Yes. I better get rid of it now,” he muttered as he rose to his feet. When he moved to take it, however, she danced out of reach and smiled back at the look of dismay that crossed his face.
“Sorry, I can’t let you do that.”
“You cannot seriously intend to keep it,” Ren replied, his dismay shifting rapidly to horror.
Katie shrugged, and she was surprised to see that the movement didn’t even jostle the little creature that seemed to be stuck to her arm like Velcro. That at least explained the mystery of why it didn’t roll around in the basket. “Why not? You did give it to me, after all. That means the durwa is mine. She will be an excellent companion. Thank you, Ren.”
The male shook his head rapidly. “No, Kull will kill me if he returns and sees you with that thing. I swear I will give you something else... anything.”
She almost felt bad for the kid, but not bad enough to let him kill something she’d already fallen in love with. The durwa was hers, and she wanted to keep her new pet. It was obviously quite intelligent and sweet as far as she could tell.
Giving him an apologetic smile, she shook her head. Without another word, she headed to the cushions that formed the sitting area just behind the short table and lowered herself onto them. She crossed her legs and sat there as she continued to pet the durwa, who in turn seemed uninclined to leave her arm. Ren hovered over her for several minutes, as if half-convinced that she was just joking with him, before finally drifting away with a look of disgust only to return moments later to unceremoniously drop a bowl of dried fruit and meat in front of her.
She smirked as she nibbled on the food and entertained herself by petting her little companion. He could stomp off and look disgusted about it all he wanted, but beneath it she could see his growing anxiety and the way he fidgeted worriedly throughout the day. This wasn’t going to earn his friendship quickly, but she didn’t care. Neither would giving in to him. It was his respect that she wanted, even if that put them at odds with each other. She hoped that the experience would teach him a valuable lesson about trying to screw with her, but she doubted it would be that easy.
So, she didn’t let it bother her. Instead, she focused on playing with the durwa throughout the morning. It eventually released her arm enough to crawl curiously up and down her body and explore the space just in front of her crossed legs with its tiny paws. Although it refused the bits of dried fruit, it accepted the bits of meat she fed it, its purrs becoming trills of delight. Even its purrs grew more enthusiastic. She chuckled,charmed by its little sounds and its shuffling little scamper, but she was even more delighted when the critter eventually scampered trustingly into her lap and curled up there to sleep while she petted it. Apparently, its heart was most definitely through its stomach. It was also obviously smart enough to know that she was its safe place, just as she understood Kull to be hers. It certainly didn’t wander far from her when Ren was nearby and shooting dark looks at it.
Eventually, Ren moved on to do something else to keep himself occupied, ignoring her altogether. Even so, he remained in the same room with her as silent company rather than outright leaving her completely alone as he could have done. He worked on the pile of furs and leather at his small table and at times stopped to play some kind of game by himself that involved several colorful stones that he rolled from a pot and scooped back to roll again. It reminded her a little of playing dice. She wanted to ask him how it was played and if there was a value system attached to the colored stones, but she refrained. He didn’t appear to be in the mood to even acknowledge her existence at the moment.
She sighed to herself. Well, at least the durwa loved her, even if it was for her dried meat snacks. Hopefully, Kull wouldn’t hit the roof too hard when he saw her new pet.
Chapter 15
Kull ventured out into the woods as far as he dared and hunted for much longer than he usually did before he began to head back. His hunts were usually short so that he could quickly get back to his den where Ren was waiting for him. But Ren, while still young, was old enough to be trusted, and Kull had to admit that it was unlikely for the male to get into too much trouble while Katie was there. It allowed him some reprieve to escape from the confines of the den, the lust clawing at hm, and every emotion and need that surged demandingly to the fore because of her and the thrice-damned ulukskinon. It had begun to intensify unbearably as their contact with each other increased. Especially after what had happened in his nest the other night. It was the reason that he was taking his time in returning as he took it upon himself to follow random trails of tracks and check traps.
He snorted quietly to himself and shook his head. He wondered what else he would have to endure over the next several days. The ulukskinon was unpredictable when it came to what it would respond to, and as long as they kept their distance from each other it had done nothing more than simmer deep within his blood. He had not believed she would have ever gone so far as to actually touch him, not after what she had experienced at the hands of the Agraak. That she had done so shocked him as much as his reaction to it. She possessed a surprisingly powerful will. It was just a shame that she did not possess an equally strong body. She might have had a shot at surviving at Dorok if she had.
Squinting at the sinking sun, Kull continued to trek back to the den at a somewhat quicker pace. It would soon be dark, and he would need to cook still in order to make sure everyone wasadequately fed. He grimaced to himself as he crested the top of a slope, his gaze settling on his den tucked amid the trees still some distance off. From his position, he could tell if there was any smoke rising from the cut vents. Did Ren remember to keep the fires maintained so that Katie did not become chilled? The male was often unintentionally thoughtless about the comfort of others, despite his reminders that a human would likely quickly sicken in the cold.
Perhaps he should not have been gone for quite so long. What if she were lying half-frozen somewhere within?
Picking up his pace to a brisk jog, the sack filled with burrahs bouncing against his back, Kull frantically crossed the remaining distance to his den. By the time he reached the entrance, his heart was hammering anxiously, and he threw open the door to barge through the entry. Ren’s head shot up from where he sat in front of a blazing fire, his look of surprise morphing rapidly into one of confusion as he sprung to his feet and hurried toward him.
