Transcendence(65)

She doesn’t let me mate her at night when we go to bed either.

Or the next day.

In fact, she doesn’t let me try to put a baby in her again until her bleeding stops several days later. By then, I feel so tense, I only manage to thrust inside of her a few times before my seed empties into her.

I’m glad I made sure she felt good beforehand. As soon as I’m done, I fall asleep.

Beh is in good spirits the next day, and she tugs at my hand when we approach the lake. I try to stay away from the water’s edge because I have a sinking feeling she is not just planning on bathing herself, and the day is definitely a cold one. All I really want to do is take Beh back to the cave and try putting a baby in her again—I want to make it last longer this time—but she is intent on making a whole lot of noise with her mouth and washing every piece of clothing and fur she has touched in the last few days. When she is done with that, she lays the pieces out to dry and pulls my wrap from my shoulders.

I hold tight to it for a moment but then realize as long as she has my wrap in the cold water, she is not trying to wash me.

I should know better.

She lures me with her mouth and her hands to the water, and even though I know what she is doing, I can’t help myself. I try to get behind her, but she turns and moves me to the water instead. As I plead with my eyes, she makes me immerse myself, just as she has. I shiver and wonder what she will demand when there is a layer of ice near the shore. Will she still want me to get in the water?

Not a chance.

Not even for the opportunity to put a…

Well…

Maybe.

She wraps a clean piece of fur around my shoulders and gathers up the rest of the bedding she brought with us. My mate is thorough in her washing, and I realize she is planning on washing everything we have been sleeping on or wearing, regardless of the cold of the day. With a groan, I lie down on my side and cover up with a dry fur to rest.

Beh makes constant mouth-noises as we head back to the cave.

I’m exhausted from being cold and wet. I don’t know why, but resting near the water has made me more tired than I felt before. Beh, however, appears to be energized. I try to block out her sounds, but she doesn’t stop.

The furs are still damp, and they are cold and heavy on my shoulder. Beh is carrying all the grain we collected as well as some cattail roots, nutgrass, and puffball mushrooms. She has a handful of reeds as well, and I wonder if she is going to try to make another basket with them.

She makes more sounds. The noise is constant. She even waves her hands around a bit when she makes all that noise.

I blow a long breath out my mouth and look at her sideways. She glances over to me with a bit of a smile and continues with the noise. I don’t understand why she has to do that all the time. It’s annoying, and even though I would do anything to protect and provide for my mate, I can’t take any more of the noise.

I finally stop in my stride, drop the furs to the ground, and grab Beh by her arm. She halts in her tracks as I pull her beside me. I take my hand and place it over her mouth firmly as she looks at me with wide eyes. I growl low in my chest as I stare straight into her eyes. When I release her, her eyes narrow at me, and she huffs through her nose as she turns and starts back down the path to the cave. She is thankfully silent the remainder of the journey.

When we get to the cave, I drape all the furs that are still a little damp where they can dry before I tend to the fire. Once the fire is burning brightly, I sit in front of it to warm up and eat some of the grain and nut concoction Beh made for breakfast along with some of the dried antelope meat. I hold out some of the meat for Beh, but she doesn’t take it from me or look at my hand.

Actually, she turns away from me a little, tightening the fur wrapped around her shoulders.

“Beh.”

She doesn’t look at me. In fact, she turns away a little more. I call out to her again, but she doesn’t respond at all. I crawl over to her and hold the meat right in front of her face, and she shifts to the side again, nearly turning her back to the fire…and me.

Maybe she just isn’t hungry.

I bring her water, but I get the same reaction from her. I bring her the wood carving for her hair, and she jerks away from me. Confused, I shift back on the dirt floor of the cave and away from her. I glance back up, and Beh opens her mouth briefly but then snaps it shut before she turns her back to me again without making any sounds at all.

I sit back on my heels and try to figure out just what is wrong, but I can’t think of anything. I reach out with one finger and poke her arm, and her eyes finally meet mine. They are blazing with anger. I quickly look back down and sit on the dirt floor. I pull my knees up to my chest, wrap my arms around them, and duck my head a little behind my legs.