Stolen (Tribes #2) - Milana Jacks Page 0,47

recording what’s happening as we talk?” I ask.

“Of course. It is why I’ve been so busy and have little time to spare for scripting events I’ve already written on the wall.”

Stephanie chuckles. “He’s politely telling us to learn how to read.”

“After the gazebo.”

“Priorities,” she says and turns up her nose. She wiggles it in a human way, not in a predator way. Stephanie’s senses have grown more acute lately. My eyes changed too, and now I can see the portals’ golden lines. I navigate some, simple ones, mainly, but I’m determined to learn everything about them. Vacationing on another side of this planet at whim is a freedom unlike anything on Earth. My sense of smell should develop next. I’m very excited to be able to hear and smell when my mate is nearing home the way she can scent Hart.

I turn and spot Hart and Nar coming up the bridge. Standing, I wipe my hands together. “Thank you, Sha,” I say, but he’s already painting and waves me off. I stretch out my hand to help Stephanie stand, and she takes it, fixing her fur tube top once she’s on her feet.

Hart marches inside the hall, Nar lingering at the door with another male.

“Caught an ored.” Hart pats the deer-size, white-furred animal slung over his shoulder. Blood drips all over his clothes. I’ll never get used to this, and apparently neither will Stephanie, because she bends at the waist and vomits on Hart’s boots.

Bile rises in my throat, and I step away, looking anywhere besides his feet.

Hart stares at his boots.

Stephanie wipes her mouth. “I’m soooo sorry. It came out of nowhere.”

Hart lifts his gaze. “No ored, then. Nar!”

Nar jogs inside and stands next to me, sneaking a hand under my skirt to grope my ass. I blush because I’ll never get used to his public displays of affection either. It doesn’t matter that these two people are my closest friends now. Nar’s so sexy and dirty, and my thoughts, when he’s around, are inappropriate. Some nights, he collars me and puts me in the corner, then spanks me, calling me a bad pup. I’ve never felt dirtier and sexier in my life. Most nights when we fuck, I don’t know who’s worshiping whom, but I do know I’m eager to hear if Stephanie is pregnant. The entire tribe awaits good news. They pray nightly. The Sha-male even suggested Mas should leave for some place inside Ra territory where Sha believes the Ra hold a captured Ka tribe Sha-male, a younger male who can handle all the rituals and scripting without tiring.

Stephanie walks back a few steps, looking pale and sickly. She plugs her nose, shaking her head. Hart catches on quickly. He slings the catch off his shoulder and pitches the animal toward Nar, who grunts at the impact.

“You eat it,” he says to Nar and slowly stalks Stephanie until he’s pinned her to the wall. I know I shouldn’t think it, but I’m thinking it anyway. Hunters corner prey, and watching Hart corner her is like watching porn.

“What awkward thing is happening to you, Amti?” he asks. “I worry.”

“I don’t know, Hart, but the smell is making me sick. I need a bucket.” She pushes his chest, bends, and vomits again.

Poor Stephanie. We’ve dined together since I arrived, and I’m fine. The ored scent is inoffensive to my nose, so… “I think you’re pregnant,” I announce. Lord, I hope I’m right.

The Sha-male turns.

Hart snaps his head my way. “Why do you think that?”

“Pregnant women get sick often in their first trimester. They’re sensitive to smell and have nesting needs.” Stephanie thought of the gazebo and tables, and I’m sure she’ll ask for a nursery soon.

“Oh,” Stephanie says. “She’s right.”

I jump up and down. “We’re going to have puppies!”

“Girl, no, I’m having babies.”

I rush to her and give her a hug before Hart can recover and snag her for the next eight months. I imagine how protective he’ll get now that he’s sure she’s carrying his pups. “Sure” is a loose term. We don’t have checkups here, ultrasounds, or anything of the sort, but a woman knows what she knows. And when I peel myself off Stephanie, she smiles and touches her belly.

I return to Nar, and we leave the couple with the stunned Sha-male in the hall to walk back to our hut, Nar quieter than usual. When we enter, he pins me against the door, lifts my leg, and parts his verto. He enters me.

I’m dry.

It’s