Page 34 of Ragoru

He inclined his head silently. No other words needed to be said, it seemed. Two days would be gone fast enough. There was no need to dwell on it. They just had to be ready.

CHAPTER28

Vrishna peered around from their high vantage point. He could see the outstretch of the mountain side, and in the distance he could see the hint of what he believed was the village. But beyond that he could see the big water—or the sea as Evie had called it. His hackles rose, disconcerted, knowing that they would soon be left there while their mate ventured down the crumbling foothills to the village nestled within the mountains. The winding narrow trail down the mountain and foothills to the village was his most immediate concern. It had dismayed him to note that the rocks of these mountains were just as treacherous as the northern crossing that he had traversed with Thral.

He glanced over at their lead, noting the tension that ran through the male as he likewise scanned the descending path. Thral looked up and met his eyes, and the male grimaced before turning away to rejoin their mate. Vrishna peered down, squinting at the tiny village in the distance. He didn’t like it in the least.

But they had agreed.

Sighing, he turned his back on the view and rejoined his family. Sabol glanced up from where he was crouched by the fire beside Evie. Their female smiled welcomingly as Vrishna joined them and he rumbled with pleasure at the warmth licking his fur. Although their kind seldom had a use for fire with their thick pelts and preference for eating their meat raw, he believed that they were all developing an appreciation for their mate’s need for the warmth of a fire.

Naturally, there would be no fire once she parted ways with them. The only reason they had one at all was because she needed it to cook her food, and because it made her happy they sustained it well into the evening by feeding it branches. There weren’t many that they’d been able to find blown upon the rocks, and so he doubted that it would last long into the night. But for now, it was pleasant and something he knew that he would sorely miss in reminder that she wasn’t with them. No doubt Sabol shared that sentiment which was why the male held her snugly against him.

Vrishna glanced covertly at the pair with longing. Although he knew that Evie didn’t show any preference between them, he was still reluctant to outright force his presence on her unless the situation absolutely called for it. He knew that it was mostly in his head, that part of him still couldn’t believe that she would truly desire the company of a damaged male like himself, but it was ingrained in him to act on the side of caution and maintain distance until she invited him. Or unless they were resting together. That sort of comfort was naturally shared and rarely had any meaning of favor attached to it or even anything sexual. Though he would never forget the way she’d taken his cocks in hand. That memory reminded him that, although he had lain beside her with no intention but to warm her and rest with her—despite being unable to prevent himself from extruding—she’d initiated contact between them.

Then there were the times that she chose to turn to him in the heat of their mating. She didn’t just submit to Thral and Sabol’s rut but had welcomed him as well. He lived for those moments, though he cautioned himself not to expect them. Even if she refused to welcome him into her cunt, he knew that his triad wouldn’t let him suffer. And she enjoyed that too. Her eyes had heated with desire when he had rutted Sabol beside her.

He ducked his head, not wanting to betray the direction his thoughts were going and so he appeared less oversized than he was. He turned to cast the scarred side of his face and ruined eye deep into the shadows as he returned Evie’s smile. Sabol craned his neck and peered at him curiously over Evie’s head. A calculating look filled the male’s eyes, and Vrishna watched him suspiciously.What is he up to?

The corners of Sabol’s mouth lifted with amusement in response, and then he suddenly lifted Evie off her butt. She squealed with surprise and laughed as he scooted them both closer until she was firmly enclosed between them. Vrishna froze, wanting to castigate the male for forcing her to be close to him despite the warmth that curled through him with the press of her small body against his. His words died on his tongue, however, when she didn’t protest but continued to laugh softly as she rubbed her cheek against his arm as if there was no other place she wanted to be.

Thral chuffed at them from where he stood beside the nest they’d made. Such as it was. On the rock it was near impossible to dig a comfortable indention in which to curl up and finding soft things to put under their bedding was nearly impossible. He gave it an understandably grim look and sighed. Vrishna understood that sound. Their nest wouldn’t be comfortable, but it would have to do.

“You guys will be okay up here while I’m gone, right?” Evie asked as she peered up at each of them uncertainly and then over at the nest.

Vrishna knew her concern was more about their comfort than anything else since she’d been wearing a frown most of the day when she saw just how rough and barren the chosen spot was. There was no softer spot, however, unless they went back down more into the foothills, but if they did so, it would force them to wait for her at an even greater distance and without a vantage point overlooking the twisted path down to the village. None of them was willing to sacrifice that to achieve the small amount of comfort that they’d been able to have so he wasn’t surprised when Thral smiled reassuringly and inclined his head.

“We will be fine. We have a good view here, and we can take turns hunting in the lower foothills.”

She worried her lip with her blunt teeth. “Okay. Good.”

There wasn’t anything good about it—they all knew that. This was necessary at best, and every mark of the sun crossing the sky without her would be painful for them. For all of them because he knew their mate too well. She would worry about them from the moment they left her sight. She was already worried. He could tell that from the anxiety crossing her face and filling her scent though she worked to hide it.

He also recognized her more obvious cues in the way she shifted her weight frequently, and her words spilled out of her unnecessarily as she tried to reassure herself. It was something she obviously needed, and so they silently allowed her to say everything she needed to say—even if it was all things that they already knew—to soothe and prepare herself for the separation that was coming. Even though she wasn’t yet their mate in truth by her decision, she was exhibiting all the signs of separation anxiety.

It made him want to wrap her up in his arms and run all the way back to their territory with her, where she would be well hidden from any danger. Including whatever potential danger lurked near this human village. Surely their territory was far enough away that it wouldn’t ever be able to find them there. Yet Evie and Thral wanted to know what the threat was—if there even was one—and so Vrishna remained silent on this too even if his instincts screamed at him to do otherwise.

“I’ll be setting out at first light. It shouldn’t take me more than a day or two to make my way to the village. I’m hoping that once I’m there I’ll be able to conclude my business quickly once I can speak with the person who reported the sighting. Once I’m sure that my notes have all the information I need, we can continue to the coordinates,” she hastily explained as she pulled her bag over to her side and began to rummage through it. “The cover is crap up here, but there are plenty of spots where you can take advantage of the natural rock formations to hide. That it’s upwind and at a safe distance should serve you well enough.”

Vrishna murmured in assent and tucked his muzzle close against her neck to breathe her in. How was he going to manage going without her for days? His eyes closed blissfully as her fingers stroked along his heavy jaw.

“I’m going to miss you guys,” she whispered sadly, and his ear tipped toward her as his own heart broke a little at that. “I didn’t think I would get attached so quickly. I thought this was easy since it was just going to be a few days, but I’m really going to miss you every day until I get back here.”

“We will be here waiting,” he rumbled softly. “We won’t dare leave our spot.”

She chuckled softly, her fingers sliding over the fur on his chest. Not even thinking, he dragged her into his lap, ignoring Sabol’s annoyed huff as he did so. The male would get over it. He was too mesmerized by the gleam in their female’s eyes as she gazed up at him. She raised her hand, and he stilled as her fingertips traced over his scars, including the cruel one that ruined his eye. He watched her face closely for any sign of disgust. Although she’d claimed that they didn’t bother her, he didn’t understand how anyone could not be disgusted by his eye. Yet he didn’t see any of that on her face as she continued to gently touch him, her face softening with an emotion he knew was more than mere affection. It was filled with words that they were all feeling but none of them had yet dared to give voice to.

Her head tilted, a small smile playing about her lips as she watched the path of her fingers as they stroked through his scruff and over the thinning fur over his chest. Her scent became fuller, and he took every opportunity to breathe it in as much as possible. The bloom of her body preparing for theirs, and the initial heat of arousal drew him by the nose until he panted beneath her, his muscles quivering. She smoothed both hands over his chest, gliding them together over his fur as if she were memorizing the shape of his muscles. But then her hands dipped, and his breath left him in a whoosh as they slid over the taut planes of his abdomen. To his horror, he extruded, his cocks slick with his lubrication as they strained against her belly, dampening her shirt.

He cast her a worried look, but rather than seeming angry, her smile widened as her fingers trailed down further to trace along the seam of his sheath and around the thick base of his cocks. He grunted softly at the touch, his hips tilting into it, as much as he safely could while keeping her seated upon his lap. He sensed movement at his side and turned his head just enough to peer over with his good eye. Sabol met his gaze as he inched closer, his own blue cocks making an appearance as their tips began to push through from his sheath. Evie followed his gaze, and Vrishna shivered as her tongue slid over her bottom lip with unmistakable hunger as she too noticed how close Sabol was. But she only looked over at him for a moment before tipping her head back to peer up at Vrishna.

“Let’s enjoy this night,” she murmured. Her hand slipped around his breeding cock and gave it a single firm stroke as her scent deepened further with the slick he was certain he could scent on her thighs. “I want tonight to last us for all the nights we’re going to be apart.”

A soft moan broke from him, and he nodded in agreement. He wanted that too.

Her tongue slid over her bottom lip again, drawing his focus the damp trail it left as she squirmed in his arms. He released her reluctantly but was glad that she didn’t push his restraint by moving too far from him as she stripped off her clothes, starting with the material that covered her teats. He rumbled with approval, and the low growls from Sabol and Thral joined the chorus as the other two males edged closer, their cocks slipping out eager to claim her. Vrishna’s growl rose in warning, his hackles going up. She’d initiated with him, and he wasn’t allowing either one of the males to simply snatch her away to rut before he had a chance to be buried in her tight cunt.

Or in her ass. He wasn’t picky, though he was a large male and worried about hurting her if he claimed her there now.

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