few days, there has been little exploring. Anytime I’ve begun to lick and nibble, she’s quickly demanded my release inside her.
Tilting my head back down, I look at her carefully, trying to determine if she’ll be alright without me inside her. So far, I can tell she’s a bit irritable, but she still appears to not be in pain. “That was… incredible.”
My compliment doesn’t do her skill justice, but at this point, I don’t know what else to say. She clearly has practice with this, and even though the thought of her performing this act on anyone besides me causes my blood to boil, I’m thankful for her knowledge and willingness in our nest over the last few days.
More than once, I’ve been unsatisfied with a female’s lack of experience. That’s one reason Carnell and I got along so well. Besides the physical attraction I felt with her, she’s older and willing to experiment.
“What about your questions? Do you want to discuss them before we speak with the convict?”
Her eyes widen in excitement as she realizes I’ll allow her to talk with him. She immediately lets go of me, running over to the washbasin to wring out a rag. “Can we go right now?”
Despite what she thinks, I’m totally smitten with her. Instead of answering, I study the mating claim I’ve left on her neck, wondering what the convict could have done to receive the same mark from the female he found. What specifically did he do? Did he do something different? She may have her own questions for him, but I plan to find out exactly that because it’s the one thing I won’t force her to do, but I want it more than anything to complete the bond between us.
Nodding slightly, I watch her face beam as she cleans us both up quickly. Dragging myself to my feet, I look forward to having a full night's sleep. Since my little mate has arrived, it’s been extremely busy. We’ve been searching for the convict since before she arrived, then she was immediately thrown into her heat, and now we have the convict to deal with.
It’s unfortunate that we’ll be packing up in the morning to make our way to the low dweller’s access point. Even though we’re mostly nomadic, constantly moving, foraging and scavenging during the warmer months, I look forward to hunkering down and spending some quality time with her. As the Alpha of our settlement, I’m entitled to many things, including my pick of the females I’d like. Things certainly have changed.
Sunny’s ready almost immediately, bouncing on her toes as she watches me complete getting dressed and gathering up a few things, starting with his bag on the floor. Gesturing her ahead of me and toward the flap of the tent, I command her, “Don’t speak until I tell you to.”
Rolling her eyes, I make a mental note to discuss that insubordinate action later… in our nest. I need to at least explain to her not to do it in front of anyone else. I enjoy her feistiness and initiative, but many others will regard it as defiance. And I cannot allow anyone to believe I would allow my mate to defy me.
She pushes to the flap ahead of me, coming to an abrupt stop as we come face-to-face with Truna. Her eyes are hard as she looks at Sunny, but they drop to the ground respectfully as she turns to me. “I was just coming to speak with you.”
Brushing past her, I call back, “Another time.”
“But Alpha, it’s quite important—”
“Well, then you can follow, and when I’m done with the convict, you can have a turn speaking with me.”
I don’t look back to see if she’s following, instead listening for Sunny, whose loud footsteps are unmistakably following close on my heels. Many of my people stare with interest as Sunny and I zigzag between tents and fires to make our way back to the formal gathering area we left so abruptly earlier.
I should include this patch of forest in our yearly travels. Even with all the trees between our tents, it’s an ideal spot by the water. As we enter the clearing, I see that all four of the guards are at their posts, and most of the crowd has disbursed.
When I reach the guard closest to me, I instruct him, “Draw yourselves and any onlookers back fifty paces on every side.” He moves to do my bidding without explanation, and I offer my hand to