Page 31 of The VaDorok's Unexpected Mate
Kull shook his head as he continued to drag the comb through her hair despite her swiveling to look back at him. “No. It puts it into a framework he socially understands in accordance with our ways. It demands a certain level of tolerance and respect even if he does not like it, which is why he only resorted to jokes that might have frightened you or made you angry. He would have tried harder to push you out otherwise if he had perceived you as nothing more than an intruder in our den.”
“Dramatic,” she muttered as she relaxed into his administration, drawing a quiet laugh from him.
“A little,” he agreed. “He is at that age. He is on the cusp of adulthood and will soon enough be a warrior venturing out across the wide expanse of our territory as a scout, but as he is not yet of age, he is dealing with a lot of difficult instincts. It can make him overbearing and difficult at times.”
“Youare overbearing and difficult at times. Don’t tell me it’s just an age thing,” she retorted.
“We are very territorial,” Kull agreed, “and possess a preference for a solitary life unless unmated or caring for younglings. If you recall, I told you this before. At his age, this instinct becomes paramount, replacing the clinginess of younglings.”
“But you took in Ren and me despite that,” Katie pointed it. She cocked her head as she peered at him. “Why?”
Very gently, Kull turned her head so that she was facing forward again, and he began to braid her hair. “I was never a particularly smart male,” he replied.
“Liar,” she teased, sending a curl of warmth through his heart.
Was this what mates did? Did males brush and comb their females as they talked with each other and teased each other? His time with Siouli had been too brief and many revolutions ago, but all he recalled was the passion that they had shared, which had resulted in the quick breeding of their youngling. They had not enjoyed much time together to settle into living together as mates beyond what they had shared with the consuming need of the ulukskinon dominating their relationship. He certainly had never sat with her in such a way. Everything felt different with Katie. Not necessarily better—but different. Comfortable. Though the ulukskinon was difficult forhim to ignore—and it would not allow him to ignore it forever—he felt an odd peace and contentment being with her.
Drawing her braids through his fingers, he smiled and gently laid them across her shoulders. “There. Done.”
Lifting a hand to them, she turned and smiled. “Thank you.”
He inclined his head as the warmth continued to spread through him. Was it happiness? It had teased him the previous night when they played Falling Sticks, but it seemed even more potent. “Of course. It is what I should do if it pleases you.”
Her cheeks grew pink as her eyes shone with obvious pleasure. This time that pink color seemed to be a good sign, and he smiled in response as he stood.
“You must be hungry,” he rumbled. “Come.”
A look of surprise crossed her face once more. “Oh, you aren’t hunting today?”
Kull shook his head. “Ren wished to hunt, so I will be here with you today... digging roots,” he added, his lips twitching with amusement when she groaned.
“We don’t really have to dig roots, do we?” she whispered. “No offense, but that sounds like digging a potato out of a block of ice—in other words, back-breaking labor.”
He did not know what a potato was, but given the context, he suspected it was a root that her people ate. Good. Although he prepared many of their meals utilizing roots, he doubted that she had noticed. At least now he knew that she would not be too picky once she realized that a good part of VaDorok diet, aside from meat, often came from roots.
“It will not be as difficult as you think,” he reassured her as he stood. “The roots are close enough to the surface to be uncovered easily once you know what to look for. But first, I will have you work to build the fire while I prepare what we need for the meal.”
The groan that she groaned when he turned away and headed for the door brought a smile to his lips. She did not argueor complain. Just that one weary groan. She was determined enough, however, that she would get it soon. And then there would be no stopping her from learning how to do everything she wanted and needed to do.
He was eager to see that day come. The day that she did not need him was the day that he could probably allow himself to hope for me.
Kull shook his head, pushing the thought away. He would not think of such things. Not yet.
Chapter 24
“Come on,” Katie whispered as she steadily clicked the fire-starter.
She was so focused on her task that she didn’t see the tiny spark land until a tiny puff of smoke began to rise with the smallest flicker of flame. Her eyes widened, but she restrained her excited urge to flood it with wood shavings as she had before, and instead carefully fed it until it began to steadily grow. Only then did she allow herself a small gasp of excitement as she turned to look over at Kull.
“I did it! Look!” she squealed.
Kull looked up from the half-frozen slices of meat that he was patiently skewering for their meal and smiled. “You did. Well done. Keep feeding it like I showed you, and then we will put this meat over it.”
Glowing from his praise and feeling a sudden burgeoning of self-confidence, Katie leaned forward and placed some knots of grass straw around it before eventually adding small sticks as the fire grew bigger. By the time she slid a small log into place, Kull was at her side with the tray of meat, and she shifted out of the way so that he could properly place the skewers to cook. Among the meat, she noticed skewers loaded with some sort of pale lavender, fleshy vegetation that reminded her of a potato except that the pieces were long and thin, and more like a carrot in shape.
“What are those?” she asked, pointing to the vegetation.
“It is one of the roots that we will be digging for today,” Kull explained as he adjusted the skewers. “There are five principal roots that we commonly eat, and another that is made into a beverage that we drink. This root here is the most plentifully found and is available all year round because of the conditionsof the plant’s growth and because the root itself grows mostly across the surface of the ground.”
