Page 40 of Theirs to Crave

I tried to keep my breathing even, but every inhale and exhale felt like dragging my lungs over broken glass. I curled into a tight ball, burying my face in the sweet smelling cushion to muffle my ragged pants. Thoughts chased each other through my mind, pulling darkness with them.

I didn’t notice when I finally slipped into unconsciousness.

Chapter 12

Litha

Revik pulled me close as I crawled onto the sleeping cushion. Zaf cuddled against my back, and when my fingers bumped his as I stroked down Revik’s firm stomach, we wove them together. Their touch, their closeness, settled me.

Estrayuh had seemed to find a similar peace earlier. I’d been surprised when—half asleep—she’d snuggled into me, but when I’d wrapped my arm around her and felt her tension flow away, I couldn’t stop the purr that rose.

I had frustratingly little understanding of the strangers’ ways. Estrayuh’s upset upon waking had been obvious, but I didn’t knowwhy. The reactions of the others were equally confusing. From most of them, I’d scented amusement, happiness, and even a hint of sorrow. Her brother had not been pleased—for reasons I didn’t understand—but he’d bowed to the others’ wills and left her with me.

We’d made good progress today, with Svixa’s help, and could communicate basic things with the strangers. But I wasimpatient. I wanted to understandthem, their hearts and histories, beyond the simple ability to know when they needed food, or to relieve themselves.

“I think the storm will pass tomorrow,” Zaf murmured.

Revik’s chest vibrated with his grunt.

The patter of rain through the trees had been lightening, the pauses between gusts growing longer. I thought of what waited for us beneath clear skies, and my expression grew grim.

“Saytireka will not be pleased we made the strangers kin.”

Revik sneered, and Zaf’s hand on mine flexed as he let our mate feel his claws.

“No,” he agreed. “But she won’t deny the bond. Her pride will not allow her to do less than the Svestrix did in a similar situation.”

The stump of my arm ached. Purring rose from either side of me as my mates scented my distress, and Revik’s tail wrapped sinuously around mine. I sank into them, allowing their warmth to return those memories to the past.

“My mother will come around,” Zaf crooned, nuzzling me. “She would have offered kinship herself, if she’d been there that night. It is having the choice made for her that will chafe.”

“It’s what she might do while her pride is stung that I worry about,” I answered. “There are decisions to be made that cannot wait. Wherever the strangers came from, they will be with us at least until the end ofilot va’regnev. Journeying through the storms is too dangerous, and if their home was near, we would know of them.”

“They will need somewhere to live...” Zaf said thoughtfully.

“Not with us.”

I huffed at Revik’s quick refusal, and he chuckled, squeezing us both.

“Not all of them,sh’irirra. They are too many.”

He was right. I knew he was. The food we’d gathered this morning wouldn’t be enough to feed us all through tomorrow. Whether the storm had passed or not, we’d have to go out again, and every time we went out under raging skies we courted danger.

“One of the unmated dens?” I suggested, though regret curled in my chest. “There are two empty in the village. Their care and teaching could be spread among many, then.”

“A good solution,” Zaf said thoughtfully. “What they’ve gone through has left them heart-hurt. It would be best if they could remain together, I think.” I felt his sudden grin against my fur. “Svixa’s going to cry when we tell her she can’t take them all back to her den. She hasn’t complained once about her wounds—too busy chatting.”

“She’s not the only one fascinated by them,” Revik purred. “By one of them, anyway.”

I grinned at him, but Zaf grew still against my back. When the silence grew heavy, I shimmied around until I could see his face.

Zaf’s ears were pinned back in embarrassment, and he did not meet my eyes.

“Sha’vail?”

His jaw firmed, and finally he looked at me. There was a passionate mix of fear, love, and defiance in his beautiful face, and my breath caught.

“I desire Estrayuh.”

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