My foot catches on a root, and I go down hard, my ankle flaring in pain, but it’s not broken. I’m running on instinct, with no destination or direction in mind. Just away. I have to get away.
My lungs expand, desperate for more air. I finally stop and grab hold of a tree while I catch my breath. That’s when an eerie silence surrounds me. I don’t hear the monster following me, but like a deer in the sights of a hunter’s rifle, I can feel his eyes on me.
He’s here…watching me.
VERIG
My gorja racesinto the woods in the direction Baloq took my female. Not knowing if he kept true to his path or veered right or left, my insides tighten. He could be anywhere, and tracking by moonlight will slow me considerably.
Too many thoughts invade my mind. Nothing has been as expected with this raid. Finding Paloma, my grak’s mate, in the human’s prison did not surprise me as much as learning she’s pregnant with Atox’s youngling. She thought Atox was dead, and he’s been a ghost of himself without her.
And now I’ve encountered this golden-haired female who…stirs me.
Not since Haaka have I had any interest in a female. Why now? Why a human?
So much confusion over the past few months…years, even… I must focus. Baloq has my female.
I do not trust him. The look in his eyes tells me he is eager to claim her, despite our grak’s orders not to touch the females.
As I’m about to turn back and look for tracks where the path splits, I catch a most delectable scent, like sossa blooms sitting in the midday sun of Orcos. Not much on Kovos reminds me of home, except the scent of this female.
Vekk, how can I take another female when I swore myself to Haaka? Death ends a mate bond, but still….
I rub the spot over my heart. The spot I often held Haaka’s hand and told her that’s where I felt her, even when she wasn’t with me. I still feel her there, but the connection fades more every year. What if I forget her by taking another female?
A twig snaps a hundred yards ahead of me, tearing me from the past. My future lies ahead of me in the form of a human female…if I can find a way to make her mine.
Baloq is nowhere to be seen. I have the opportunity to take her. Except he declared her his. If she ran from him…Hmmm. The law is murky on this. Better to have her in my possession, and let Baloq object if he dares. Our grak can decide.
Quietly, I slide from my gorja and draw her scent into my lungs while I debate if I should leave here without her and let her return to her colony. Having a female will only complicate my life, but vekk, her scent, light and sweet, reminds me of Orcos.
Home.
Haaka.
Except the female before me is not Haaka. She’s human, with no ridges above her eyes, a smaller frame, a surprisingly narrow nose, and no tusks—that will take time to adjust to—but her eyes…Vekk, they are so blue I could swim in them. Even covered in dirt, she smells delicious. Better than sossa blooms.
I don’t deserve this female, but there’s an allure that won’t allow me to walk away from her, not a second time.
I vekking want this female.
I’d gladly remove every leaf and twig tangled in her golden hair myself before wrapping her locks around my hands, holding her steady, and thrusting into her warm cunt.
Not only from behind, either. I will take her from many angles, even facing her. There is more to a female than the ridges on her forehead or the length of her tusks. And this female has pleasing features, for a human. She will warm my furs nicely.
If I’m fortunate, she will not be weak of mind. Haaka understood there are times even a neld questions his path.
Like now.
My cock twitches at the idea of conquering the human female, making her mine, having her share my furs. Maybe one day she’ll prove as loyal and smart as Haaka.
No, I’m expecting too much. Having a female in my furs will be enough. I don’t need anything from her beyond what her body will give me.
“Stay away,” the human warns as I approach. Her knuckles turn white as she grips a fallen branch to use as a weapon. Shestands tall and fierce, ready to strike me the moment I approach her.
Yes, I will enjoy taming her.
When my lower lip curls back, revealing the length of my tusks, her eyes widen, and she grips the branch harder.
