WARREK

I head back toward the fire.

When I arrive, I look for Shail. She shares quarters with Suh-mer. She will know where she is at. But Shail is gone with Vaza and Rukhar. Kate sits near the fire, her snow-cat in her lap, watching her mate with shining eyes. She gives a nervous giggle. Nearby, several of the mated hunters are watching Harrec with open skepticism.

“There he is!” Harrec points at me. “Warrek, come. I have been telling them about your discovery and they do not believe me.”

Wary, I move forward, joining the others. Haeden scowls at me as I approach, Salukh, Erevan, and Rokan his audience. Mah-dee stands with Hassen’s arm around her shoulders, and she has an amused look on her face.

“I am telling them of the she-spot,” Harrec mock-whispers at me. “They do not believe me.”

Ah. I shrug, glancing around at the edges of the fire in case Suh-mer wanders near. “My female told me of it. She said it was a pleasure spot for humans.”

“That is the third nipple,” Haeden says, clearly displeased.

“There is another,” I tell him. “The she-spot.”

Haeden grunts, skeptical.

“I wish to know more,” Ereven says, a grin on his face. “Anything to please my Claire.”

“Does this truly work?” Salukh asks.

“Oh yeah,” Kate says dreamily. She gets a funny look on her face and focuses on petting her snow-cat.

“It does work,” Mah-dee adds, a little smile on her mouth. “And it’s not that much of a secret. Hassen has always found my G-spot.”

“I have?” Hassen seems clearly surprised by this.

Mah-dee crooks a finger and Hassen leans in. She whispers at him, and then he chuckles.

“Ah, that spot. Yes.” He grins, pleased.

“Tell us,” Haeden demands, turning to me. “I wish to know more about this.”

I clap a hand on Harrec’s shoulder. “You tell them. I must find Suh-mer.”

“And her she-spot?” Harrec teases.

Salukh leans forward and taps on Harrec’s shoulder. “Focus. Tell us about this spot.”

I head away before I can be trapped into a story. Kate’s high-pitched, nervous-but-pleased giggles follow me into the night.

All I want to find is Suh-mer. As the day wears on, I find that I crave her company more and more. Already I miss her presence at my side. Is this how it will be now that we have returned to the village? If so, I do not like it. I see now why others have dragged their mates away from the tribe to spend time privately with them. It is tempting to do so, but for now, I must remain. The tribe is in turmoil with the discovery of twenty newcomers, and every hunter will be needed.

But it does not mean I do not think about it. A lot.

Suh-mer is not in her hut. The privacy screen is up, but there is no fire lit inside, and it is too cold a night to go without. She is somewhere else, then. The need to see her fills me with longing. She must be here somewhere. I will search every hut if I must, but I need to hear her voice and see her smile.

The craving to see her, the need to know she is safe, intensifies with every step I take through the village. When I finally find her in one of the empty huts, pushing aside storage baskets, I feel a sense of overwhelming relief. I do not know why I am reacting so strongly to the thought of her leaving my side, but I cannot shake the possessiveness I feel. She is mine.

It will be difficult to leave her behind to go with Vektal and his band of hunters, I realize as I watch her slight form move in the darkness. Who will look after her when she charges ahead? Who will make her calm when her mind—and her mouth—are full of worries?

I had hoped to make a chessboard with her, to talk more of the game she loves so much. Now it must wait, just like everything else. I feel a stab of resentment, which is surprising for me. I do not try to let many things get under my skin, but the thought of leaving Suh-mer makes me want to snarl.

I am becoming just like Bek.

She turns, and at the sight of me in the shadows nearby, gives a small, startled scream and jumps. “Oh my god! You scared the shit out of me, Warrek! Why are you lurking?” She collapses to her knees and puts a hand to her chest. “If you wanted to say hello, you should have done so. Is something else wrong? Or is there a problem? Is someone looking for me?”

Her stream of quick, flurrying questions is comforting. I step forward and take the basket from her hands. “I was looking for you. What are you doing here?”

“Oh.” She pushes her mane back and takes a deep breath. “Well, between Gail and Vaza hooking up, and Kate and Harrec, I figured someone is going to claim the hut. I mean, I guess I could stay, but the thought of sleeping there while they’re all making out isn’t my favorite. I know we did a little heavy petting by the fire and all, but I suspect they’re going to be doing more than petting. And really, new couples deserve their privacy. So I thought I’d see if I could move into one of these huts with minimal fuss. This one has a nice roof on it, and I don’t mind sleeping next to baskets, but I need a spot to put my bed and maybe a fire pit and—” She glances around, sighing. “I didn’t think it’d be much work, but now that I’m in the weeds, it feels like a ton.”

“I will help,” I tell her, moving the basket to the far side of the small hut. This one is heavily decorated with the carvings of the tribe that lived here long ago. Pictures etched in stone cover the walls, and I gaze at the strange, four-armed people in the carvings for a moment. Were they taken by the orange-skinned strangers, I wonder? Is that why they are all gone? The uneasiness grows in the pit of my stomach, and now, more than ever, I have to fight the urge not to leave Suh-mer behind.

But I must go with my chief. He will need all the hunters with him, and I do not have any kits or a mate to provide for.

“You’re so sweet,” Suh-mer is saying happily, as if unaware that I am moments away from tearing off my tunic and throwing myself atop her. “But maybe I’ll just put up with the grunting for a day or two. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping here tonight. It’s a little cold, and I’m not good with fire…though I suppose I could always just steal a coal or two from the main fire pit. That might work.” She dusts her hands off on her tunic. “I’ll be right back. I’ll go grab a coal and work on the fire, and maybe we can get things started here. I really do appreciate the help. You’re nice to offer, Warrek. I know you have to be tired, and I’m sure you’ve got things to do.”

She moves to step past me, and I put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “No fire,” I decide. “I will be the one that keeps you warm tonight.”

“Oh?” A husky note enters her voice.

“Tonight and every night,” I decide firmly. “You are my female, and I will be your hunter. You and I will have a hut together, and we will play chess and hunt and mate in the furs every night.”

She gets a flustered look on her face. “Um, so that sounds okay to me. But will anyone care if we claim a hut together?”

“I do not care if they do.” I put my arms around her, caressing her cheek. “We shall be pleasure-mates in all ways.”

“Well, since it’s all decided,” she says breathlessly, and then chuckles. “For a quiet guy, you sure are decisive.”

“I know what I want,” I tell her. “That has never wavered. I have wanted you ever since you spoke of chess.” I pull on the tie at the neck of her tunic. “And since you have taught me about chess, I have decided that I am going to use such a strategy to get my female in my furs.”

“You are?”

I nod. “Right now, I am taking my opponent off-guard. Soon I shall rush into her territory.”

“Sounds dirty.”

Does it? I like the thought. I tug the neck of her tunic open a bit more, revealing the curves of her teats. She is beautiful in the moonlight, and I want to tell her such things. To give her the words she always gives me, but I have none. “If I were to play chess,” I murmur, “what would be my next move?”

“Against me?” She slides a hand up my stomach, raking her fingernails across my abdomen, and shivering. “I’d tell you to capture my pawns.”

Her pawns? The small pieces that have maneuverability? I slide a hand into the front of her tunic, cupping one teat and teasing her nipple. “And then?”

Suh-mer sighs, a look of longing on her face. “I’d tell you to take my queen. It’s been waiting ever so long.”

I groan, bending to kiss her. Our mouths slick together, and the taste of her fills my senses. Nothing has ever brought me more pleasure than putting my lips on Suh-mer. It does not matter where—her mouth, her cunt, her soft skin—all of her makes my mouth water with need. “Tonight is our night,” I promise her. “No one will interrupt. No one will tell us to hurry to our furs. No one will be near. It will be you and me and no one else around. We will mate as we should.” I drag my thumb over her nipple. “And we will take our time.”

She shivers, watching me with luminous eyes. “I like that thought.”

The wind rips through the hut, blowing my hair around us, and she shivers again. I am a fool, I realize as she steps closer, letting my body block the night breeze. She shivers from desire, yes, but also from cold. There are no furs in this storage hut, no fire. If I were to take her now, it would be on the hard-packed stone floor.

I can do better for the female that has my heart.

Reluctantly, I slide my hand out of her tunic and cup her chin. I kiss her mouth, hard and firm, my tongue stroking against hers in that possessive, determined way that always makes her moan. “Wait here,” I tell her when I break the kiss. “I will build us a fire.”

Her eyes brighten, and she nods at me, tugging her tunic closed. “I’ll clear a bit more of the floor while you do that.”

My lovely mate. My cock aches, and I want to fling my leathers off and just pull her against me, but I want this to be perfect for her. I must learn to be more patient.

At least, more patient in some things. In others, I do not think haste is a bad idea. I exit the hut and then race across the village to the hut at the outskirts that the hunters share. My things are there: my furs, my weapons, my extra clothes. I grab my tunics, my supplies bag in case she wishes to eat or drink, and then fill my arms with my furs.

Sessah enters, lanky arms and long legs folding onto his furs. “What is it you do, Warrek?”

“I am going to share a hut with Suh-mer,” I tell him. “She is mine.”

He looks surprised. “You resonated, too?”

I shake my head. “No. It does not matter, though. I have claimed her, and she has claimed me.”

“Mmm.” He folds his legs under him and watches me gather my furs. “Is it true? That there are many females in the second ship?”

“Sixteen,” I agree.

“Pretty? My age?”

I shrug. Or try to. I have so much gear in my arms I cannot see where I walk. I know the hut though, and where the door is. “I have eyes for none but Suh-mer.”

“Bah,” Sessah says. “Maybe I will join the others and get myself a mate. See which of the newcomers resonates for me.”

“Do that,” I tell him, and waddle out the door with my belongings. I hesitate a moment and then grab the privacy screen from the front of the hut and drag it along with me.

“Hey!” Sessah calls. “What are you doing?”

“You do not need privacy this night,” I yell behind me. “I do.”

He grumbles something that is lost to the wind.