Page 9 of Unforgivable

He ignores me, a tough little bastard, he knows when I'm serious or not. "She's pretty," he says.

I turn from watching Lyri to see Inuit, with his little shadow, Sarg, not far behind, looking down at Lyri in surprise.

"They talk about her in school. They say she's a... a bad female. That she seduced the alphason."

I glance back at Lyri, relieved to see that her nightmare has ended, but she's not awake to hear Inuit's innocent but barbed question.

"This is Lyri, Inuit." I don't address the rumors of Lyri being a bad female. I don't know her well enough to form an opinion, though I hope that changes.

He creeps forward more. "Will you keep her? She's pretty."

I suppress the chuckle. If only life were that simple. Just keep her? "I hope she'll agree to stay, but she's been badly hurt and-"

"Is that why the females is always cryin'?" Sarj pipes up.

"What?" I grab a clean blanket to tuck around a shivering Lyri.

"Some of the females... in school... they say if they break the rules they get," Sarj takes a deep breath, "a punish-pun-punish-ment." He breathes again after struggling to spit out his words.

I give him an encouraging smile despite the seriousness of the question. Two years ago, we found the two pups in the wild while traveling back to Genom after visiting my parents. Sarj was underweight, a scrawny pup, and Inuit wasn't much better off. Sarj didn't speak to the three of us for five months. He's still a quiet pup, and when he does speak, he struggles to get his words out correctly.

If Lyri stays, I'm hoping a female presence will help Sarj feel more comfortable. It can't be easy to be raised by hard males with nothing to soften life.

"Who are these handsome males?" A soft voice makes me jerk around.

Lyri is gazing at the pups in surprise, her eyes soft and the tiniest smile curving her lips.

"You're pretty," Inuit blurts out.

"Thank you," she says, some of the softness dims, sorrow flashing across her face.

"Hi," Sarj whispers.

"Hello," Lyri says to him, her smile brightens again. Goddess, she's a pretty female.

"Do you want to have breakfast today, Lyri?" I ask her on impulse. "With us," I amend.

Her eyes look at me, studying me. I know she's wondering what I'm up to, but I'm not ready to go there, to take her there.

"Sure," she says, looking back at the pups.

"Cool!" Inuit bounces from the room, hollering over his shoulder, "I'll set the table!"

Thjis comes into the room just as I predicted he would. He's scowling, but he doesn't fool me. I may have forced him to be her caretaker, but he likes doing things for her. I'm not letting him take over, though. Not this morning.

"Let's get her ready. Then I'll bring her to the kitchen," I say casually.

Thjis' eyes narrow on me for a split second, but that's the only reaction I get.

Lyri blushes when Thjis pulls the covers off of her. "How are you feeling after the bath?" he asks her.

"Better," she responds. One word that can mean many things.

Thjis grunts in response. Neither Lyri or I look as he takes the bag from her and disappears into the bathroom. I stroke her cheek, keeping her eyes on me as he does what he needs to. Her body is trembling slightly, and Thjis growls out, "she needs something warmer to wear."

He stomps out of the room and returns with a pair of Inuit's long johns and one of his own long-sleeve shirts.

I hide my smirk as I help him dress her. So, my brother wants his scent on our-the female.

"OK, pretty, you ready?" I ask her.

"Careful of her stitches and the bag," Thjis snaps, glaring at me.

I lift her carefully and have to pause. She's light and soft in my arms. The scent of medicine can't hide the femininity underneath. She's a little stiff in my embrace, but she's not fighting me. I wonder how that will change when she knows what I did to her? When she remembers, if she remembers?

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