Page 33 of Theirs to Crave

“Estrella, come join us,” Cass’s voice was chipper, but her body was tense and her eyes skittered back and forth between my brother and Zafett. “We’re learning vocabulary with Svixa.”

“I’ll be right there!” I called out with forced brightness. Then I pinched Mariano in the back of the arm, hard. “Let it go, fool,” I hissed. “Look at him. You scared him off. Not to mention upset Cass.”

I stomped to our impromptu classroom muttering about bullies under my breath, Shane chuckling beside me. Mariano took another second to flex before following, stopping twice in the handful of steps to stare back at Zafett, who flinched.

Yin slanted me a look of amusement as xe scooted over, giving me room beside xem.

“Don’t you start,” I grumbled, trying to get my legs to fold without hurting or flashing anyone. But I was glad to see that sparkle back, even if it was at my expense.

Xe trilled a quiet laugh and patted my knee.

Playing “What’s this?” with Svixa was interesting, but my attention kept straying to Zafett, who kept himself occupied on the other side of the palapa. I wanted to ask him questions too—and not only to hear his gorgeous, thrumming tenor voice some more.

When Revik and Litha didn’t emerge, I finally asked Svixa about them. Her explanation was confusing and involved a lot of miming, but eventually I understood that they were out in the storm somewhere, not sleeping snug in their bed.

From our game of charades, my best guess for what they were doing was swimming...but that didn’t make any sense.

Thunder crashed overhead and kept rolling, a barrage of sound that stopped everything until we could hear again. I wanted to ask Zafett if the others going out had anything to do with us. I wanted to see his face, see if he was worried.

But both Mariano and Shane were firmly seated between him and the rest of us, and shook their heads at me when I looked his way too long.

Men were idiots.

A particularly strong gust of wind spattered my back with rain, and I shivered in the muggy heat. Wherever Litha and Revik were, whatever they were doing, I hoped they were okay.

Chapter 10

Revik

“Rek!” I cursed through gritted teeth, gripping the head biting my thigh.

Litha’s laughter filtered through the rain, and my ears flattened even further. My spear slipped cleanly beneath the skull of theshej, and the water around me calmed. Snarling, I pried its teeth loose, tossing the long slippery body into the basket on my back.

I shifted, testing the weight. Enough. The storm would pass in a day or two, and we would hunt more then. Not forshej, though. Disgustedly, I scrubbed water into the bites scattered over my legs. It did little to stop the stinging, and I grimaced. No moreshej. Not for a long while.

I hadn’t had to suffer through a storm hunt since I first moved from my parents’ den. But we weren’t prepared for eight extra mouths—not even small ones—so here I was.

Svixa’s screams for help echoed through my mind as I slogged towards shore, and again I saw the strangers fighting the much larger, stronger creatures. Wounded, but not beaten.

What were a few bites and some rain in comparison to that?

I stepped into the trees, shaking off some of the wet as they sheltered me from the worst of the downpour. I slanted a look at Litha as she dropped down next to me, eyes dancing.

“Good hunt,sha’vail?” she purred.

I grunted.

She laughed and turned, presenting me with her basket. My mouth watered at the sight of palesusuelaberries, anticipating the burst of sharpness. Beneath them, the basket was heavy with ripesorufruit, Svixa’s favorite. My nose wrinkled as I tied the straps, securing her basket for the return run to the den.

“Lellek?” I complained, having seen a flash of yellow roots peeking from beneath thesoru.

“Lellek,” she huffed, flicking an ear. “It will help the wounded regain their strength.” Then she turned, saw my face, and grinned. “Don’t worry, you’re strong enough already. You don’t have to eat it.”

I snorted and nipped her chin, but when I turned to let her secure my basket, I flexed, just a little. The lingering caress of her hand and the intimate brush of her body along mine were my reward. Following her strong, agile body as it raced through the storm-lashed trees, I smiled.

My mates—both of them—were so much more than I’d ever dreamed of. I would never be worthy of them, not of their openness of spirit, their grace, or their clever minds. But I would honor them, and I would willingly brave every storm to prove how grateful I was that they chose to entwine their lives with mine.

I pushed harder, closing the gap between Litha and I. Running in the rain was dangerous. The trees could be treacherously slick, and the wind gusts were unpredictable. But we didn’t slow our pace.

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