Page 38 of Keeping His Mate

He nods, his expression warm as he reaches for the mashing tool and starts mixing a pot of boiled root vegetables together. “I understand this. It is a good life.”

I want to scream that his life would be better with the clan’s stunning inventor by his side, and that he should make a move already, but I focus on scrubbing the crumpled, drying tea leaves from the mugs instead. It’s not really any of my business.

By the time my dish shift ends, and the last bowl is placed on the drying rack, I notice Krahn, one of the hunters and the backup cook when Waldric needs a break, coming to begin the lunch shift.

Score!

While the two of them discuss the meal selections for lunch and dinner, I sneak over to the compact freezer that sits beneath the storage shelves along the back wall of the meal hall, my pack in hand. It’s right next to the dirty rag box, so I fold a few on top, pretending to look busy. Then, after I check to make sure they aren’t looking this way, I pull out a thick slab of raw kuhnypa meat and shove it in my pack. Then I fiddle with the rags for a couple extra minutes for show.

I drape the strap of my pack over my shoulder and shoot Waldric and Krahn a quick wave. “Bye, guys!”

“Oh, Elle-noor! Before you depart…” Waldric trails off as he jogs over to me.

Shit, shit, shit.

“You forgot this,” he whispers as he holds out a strip of fabric that looks like a padded compression sleeve.

“What is it?” I ask because it’s definitely not mine.

“You will need it to preserve the raw kuhnypa meat you took.”

He saw me? I really thought I nailed that little food caper. I go to reach for it, but he pulls back. “You must make a promise to me.”

“Okay,” I reply timidly. Does he know I’ve been observing the tr’gorys up close? He can’t know. No, there’s no way.

“Whatever it is that you are doing, keep yourself safe,” he says, his eyes swirling with concern like a big brother. I love him for it. “You do that, and I will not tell a soul about the items that have disappeared from the hall as of late.”

I nod as he hands me the cold pack. “I promise.”

He gives me a sly grin before turning back to rejoin Krahn at the grills, and I head home with a tasty snack for Nanay and her babies, that definitely won’t go bad now.

I shout Bruvix’s name once I get inside, but he’s clearly not home. Probably still at a training session. So, I take a leisurely shower and spend the next few hours reviewing the overnight footage from the security cameras.

By the time Bruvix gets home, I’m frustrated. Nanay, Stanley, and the rest of the litter are nowhere to be found on the feeds. The all-adult pack is captured as they do their nightly stroll through the village, but Nanay and the babies aren’t with them.

“I am going to work in the garden, Elle-noor,” he says, leaning down to kiss my forehead as I check the different perimeter cams from other angles, slowing it down to see if I can catch a glimpse of a tail or a flash of red eyes.

“Mmm-hmm,” I mumble, not looking up from the screen. I don’t understand why she doesn’t want to be seen. Or how she’s even able to avoid the cameras when they’re set up all over the damn village. Does she take a super long back way to come up from behind the falls? Is she doing it intentionally? We really need to set up another camera out there.

When I’ve looked through the feeds twice more and find nothing, I throw in the towel. Hopefully, I’ll be able to see her tonight and figure out how she remains so elusive.

A heavy knock at the door pulls my attention, and I jog downstairs to answer it. Swinging the door open, I find Ava and Ahlvo wearing matching apologetic smiles.

“Hey, Eleanor,” Ava greets with a small wave.

“Elle-noor,” Ahlvo says, his tone grave. “I wish to apologize for my comments about Bruvix’s face...and his scars. I apologized to him at the training session, earlier, but I wanted to tell you as well that it was not my intention to offend. It was merely a joke. A terrible one that was not humorous at all.”

“Thank you,” I reply, pleasantly surprised once again by the kind hearts of this clan. “I appreciate you saying that.”

“Yeah, it’s a joke the guys have been throwing around for years,” Ava adds. “I don’t think they realized how cruel it was until you pointed it out.”

“I get it,” I reply with a nod, remembering the times I’ve repeated an insensitive joke because I knew the group I was with would laugh. Sometimes you need an outsider to call you out in order to see that your behavior is toxic. “We’re good,” I say to Ahlvo before we exchange good-byes.

“Elle-noor!” Bruvix hollers from upstairs, just inside the door to the roof garden. “I wish to show you something.”

He’s leaning against the door with his arms crossed, a lazy smile lifting the corners of his lips when I meet him on the top floor. His hair is mussed and a layer of dirt and sweat glistens on his face and bare chest.

“You’ve got a surprise for me?” I ask, leaning up on my toes to press my lips to his.

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