Hannah's Hero - Ruby Dixon Page 0,20
so he will not mock me over it. I look him in the eye. “H’nah does not wish to give you the furs.”
“Because she needs to count everything?” His lip curls. “Because she needs to control the camp since she cannot control resonance?” When I give him a warning look, he tilts his body so he can look at H’nah from over my shoulder. “If you were mine, I would not allow this nonsense.”
“Then it’s a good thing you haven’t resonated to anyone, dickface!”
The insult is a dangerous one. I straighten to my full height, flexing my arms even as S’bren’s camouflage ripples in color with his anger. He looks at me, clenches his jaw, and then turns and walks away.
I turn to my mate, my gaze searching her lovely face. She is all rounded softness, my H’nah, even if she scowls up at me as if I am the problem. Her arms are wrapped tight around the fur in question, as if she would protect it from the much stronger, much taller S’bren. I move closer to her, my body humming with the need to touch her, to pull her against me and protect her from the world. The safest place for her is in my arms, but when she tilts her head up defiantly, I know she will fight me. So I stand close, just enough to shield her from the curious gazes of others that gather, but far enough that she will not panic.
I lean in, pitching my voice low so only she will hear it. “Do you wish me to have words with him, H’nah? I do not like that he yelled at you.”
Her mouth crooks up in a half smile, but she shakes her head. “It’s okay. I think the situation’s all right for now.” She raises a hand to shield her eyes, and I notice her fingers tremble. I bite back the growl that rises in my throat, the need to protect her from everyone becoming nearly unbearable.
“Do you want me to go hunt for you, H’nah? To bring in more skins?”
She sighs. “I know you’re trying to help, J’shel, but I just want you to leave me alone, okay? You didn’t have to get involved in that argument. I don’t want to get everyone mad at you, too.”
Does she think I will sit idly by while S’bren yells at her? “I will never leave you alone.”
“Great,” she says sarcastically. “Just great.”
“What is the meaning of this?” R’hosh strides up to the supply tent, his newborn kit in his arms and another riding on his shoulders, holding onto his warped horns. R’jaal is two steps behind him, an angry S’bren at his side.
I instinctively move in front of H’nah, glaring at the others. “Leave my mate alone.”
“J’shel, this is foolishness,” R’hosh says, even as he pats the back of the kit in his arms. It belches against his shoulder and he gives it a little pleased pat. “I was helping with the feeding of my daughters and heard yelling. What is the meaning of all of this? Fighting over furs? Why not fight over snow?” He shakes his head. “H’nah, just give the furs already.”
“My mate is protecting us,” I say, putting my arms out to shield her. “She worries over our supplies.”
“She worries too much,” R’jaal says, a sour expression on his face. I have never liked the tall hunter, and my distaste for him grows as he narrows his eyes at H’nah. “I have spoken with R’hosh and she is causing too much trouble. No more of this counting. No more of any of this.”
“Any what?” H’nah protests behind me. “What am I doing wrong?”
“Furs are for any to use,” R’hosh says, adjusting the tiny kit in his arms. He tucks a fur around her small body tightly and then winces, tilting his head. “Aayla, you are sitting on my mane.”
“Sorry, Papa,” the one on his shoulders says with a giggle. She lifts one leg and R’hosh jerks his head to the side, freeing himself.
“You can’t seriously be banning me from the supply hut,” H’nah says, stepping forward past the protective shield of my arms. She has left behind the fur she clutched so protectively to her chest, and her hands are now on her hips. “I do inventory for the good of all of us.”
“You are causing problems,” R’jaal says flatly. “We all must live here on this beach. All the supplies are for all hunters and humans to share, not