I don't like to lie, but I also don't want anyone to know, not when my mate is glaring at me as if she is furious.
Raahosh is scarier than most.
Her words cut. She is smooth and pale and weak, and yet I am the one lacking? I shrug and shoulder the pack. "It matters not. We will see what happens when the khui are in the humans."
"I didn't resonate." Aehako looks glum, his broad features downcast. "Do you think more will resonate when they come into season? Perhaps they're not in season." He gives me a hopeful glance.
"Do I look as if I know human seasons?" I snap. "Finish your bag. We need to hurry if we are to get the humans close enough to the sa-kohtsk to hunt it."
Aehako sighs and returns to work. I tell myself he is young. In fact, he might be the youngest hunter in our clan. He will get over his disappointment, or another human will resonate for him later. Or even a sa-khui woman, perhaps one not yet born.
All I know is that I am resonating for one of the dying humans, and if she dies, she takes all my hopes and dreams with her.
I have never had a mate. Never had a lover. Women are few in our clan, and women that want to mate with a scarred, surly hunter even fewer. I never dreamed that I would have a mate of my own.
Now that she is here…I'm not entirely sure how to act. So I remain silent and it takes all of my energy to will my khui to remain silent when the humans stand up and begin to ready for the long trek back to the clan caves. Hunters have returned with furs and one is being cut up to make foot coverings. Others are securing their flimsy clothing, and Vektal's new mate, Shorshie – she of the tongue-tangling name – helps another wrap a thick fur cloak around her.
Only a few of the humans are not readying themselves. The one with dark skin and hair like a tuft of sweet-weed lies unconscious under her furs. Vektal says she is one of the sickest. There is another who has a broken limb, and she leans heavily on Pashov for support to stand.
And then there is mine. My human, who ignores everyone around her and resolutely huddles under the blankets.
She is stubborn. My khui chose well in that aspect. I am stubborn, too. Together, we will make very stubborn kits. A bit of the resentment in my heart leaves at the mental image of the human holding my child to her breast. I would have a family after so long.
"Ready all the humans," Vektal says as he passes by, heading for Shorshie. "We leave very soon."
"What about the ones that cannot walk?" Zolaya asks. "Or the one that cannot be woken?"
"Then we carry them. We do not leave any behind."
Shorshie gives Vektal a loving smile and turns to hug him. "You're so good to us. I can't thank you enough."
He touches her cheek. "You are mine. That is all that matters."
I pretend not to see when she playfully nips at his thumb with her mouth. It is no sin to be affectionate in public, but knowing that my own sick mate sits in her corner and scowls at me makes it difficult to see. She is not happy at the thought of a mate.
She is not happy that it is me. She finds me hideous.
Raahosh is scarier than most.
I grab one of the furs, angry, and storm toward her. It doesn't matter if she likes me or not. The khui chooses the mate. She will simply have to accept it.
"Wake up," I say as I stride to her side and pull back the blankets. "You–"
Her head lolls and she slumps against the floor. She is not willfully neglecting my attention, then. She is unconscious. Fear strikes my heart and I cradle her against my chest, pulling her against my warmth. Her skin is so cold. Can she not retain heat? How will she possibly survive? For a moment, I panic. This must be how Vektal feels when he looks at Shorshie. Helpless in the face of her fragility. I cradle the woman against me and tap her cheek.
She rouses after a moment, and then recoils at the sight of me. "Captain Obvious. I should have guessed."
I ignore the sting to my pride. I don't understand who this ‘Captain Obvious' is. A lot of the human words don't make sense. At the ancestor's cave, we received the knowledge gift of their language, but it's clear that things don't match up properly. Sometimes when my human speaks, I don't understand her.
Though I understood her disdain for me well enough.
I prop her up against my chest and help her to her feet. She hisses with pain as she does, and falls back against me. Her small back hits my chest and my khui immediately stirs to life…as does my cock.
I close my eyes and concentrate, willing both to remain unaffected. Now is not the time.
The human struggles against me, shoving aside my hands. "Quit touching me! Let me go!"
Let her go? She cannot even stand. I won't let her go. I ignore her slapping palms as I run a hand down her bare legs, looking for wounds. She bats my touch away, but not before I see that three of her many toes are swollen and bruised. They are likely broken, and she does not have a khui to heal her.