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“What is it that you want, Kyx?” she whispered. “If you could have one choice for yourself, what would it be?”
His normal flirtatious nature ebbed away as he regarded her seriously. He leaned in and whispered. “Unlike the others, I’ve always known that this was possible, but I never imagined the connection to a human female would be this strong. I understand now what my fathers have. All I dream of is you, Arie, but that will be enough until that dream is yours too.”
Chapter
Sixteen
Kyx eyed Rager speculatively. The male was crouched over the fire, feeding more wood into it with one hand he possessively cradled Arie closely to his chest. Of course, he wouldn’t see it as such. When Kyx had pointed out this tendency several days ago, the male had snarled at him and pointed out that he could do no less for a female under his care.
Under his care… puh! As if that were all it was. Kyx didn’t believe that for a moment and knew very well that Rager didn’t either. If it was a matter of simply keeping her warm, he would have been happy enough with any of them sharing their body heat with her. He wouldn’t insist on holding her against him as if he were afraid that she might expire on him the moment he set her down. He could tell even Arie was getting restless with it, though she regarded the whole situation with a surprising amount of good humor. Kyx smothered a chuff of laughter as she smiled up at the enormous male curled around her, her blue eyes darkening with an unmistakable look of affection that he recognized on her sweet, human face. She stroked and patted Rager’s arm soothingly when the male’s other hands began to fidget fussily with the numerous furs he had wrapped and then piled over her.
Not that his brother wasn’t right to be concerned. Even Kyx felt anxious when the temperatures dipped low knowing that Arie didn’t have the sort of natural protection that they did. The furs of other creatures were not as efficient as having one’s own pelt. Drafts could still find her by seeping beneath their edges. Nor did she have the thick, tough hide that Ragoru had. She was alarmingly vulnerable to the elements, which made him appreciate all the work that his fathers had done to their den to improve upon it for their mate’s comfort. He wished he could do the same.
Despite the supplies his family brought in, it was particularly cold day, and their little female was suffering the brunt of it. Kyx grumbled quietly in his throat as he cast a disparaging look around the den. It hadn’t seemed so cramped and drafty when he’d made use of it as a young male. Even with the new hide covering the opening, the entrance hadn’t been shaped by a careful hand to make it symmetrical so that a hide would fit snugly over it. It was nearly impossible to cover it entirely, much less install an actual door like his parents’ den possessed.
But that wasn’t the worst of their problems.
Kyx’s ears flattened warily as he watched Warol stride inside and drop the plump ground birds beside him, the snow falling off his fur. Tension immediately filled the air as Rager’s pale eyes leaped to the male and narrowed. A warning rumbled in his chest, but Warol ignored it as he approached. Crouching at their lead’s side, his arms opened for Arie.
“Come, rya. I have missed your embrace while I’ve been scouting,” Warol invited in such a warm voice that there could be no doubt as to the male’s feelings for her, even if he wouldn’t completely admit it.
Arie leaned in toward Warol and Rager protested, his rumble deepening with displeasure that was aimed directly at the other male beside him. Arie was in no danger of being harmed in the least, of that much Kyx was certain, but as the tension escalated so did his anxiety as he watched the exchange between his triad brothers. To his relief, the mounting hostility broke as the female buried her fingers in the icy scruff behind Warol’s jaw and laughed.
“The surface of your fur is freezing,” she teased. “I’ve missed you as well but all of that melting snow and chill will make me cold and wet. You should come snuggle with us, instead, and get warm. Right, Rager?” She craned her head back to peer up at the male holding her as she stroked the fur on his chest with her other hand.
The harshness in the lead’s features melted away as he glanced down at her, his face softening with indulgence. “Of course, rya,” he murmured as he shifted to make room at his side for Warol by the fire.
Warol gave him a wary look but smiled down at Arie as he tucked in close at Rager’s side until their flanks pressed close together and Arie was practically held between them. Laying her cheek on the lead’s arm, she continued to pet them and Kyx wondered if her actions were deliberate or if it was just a happy coincidence that she was so sensitive to their needs that she responded to their aggression instinctually. Whichever the case may be, it had an immediate effect on them as the males relaxed into each other in a familiar and companionable manner.
Kyx watched them as he stripped the feathers from Warol’s kill and set them aside to clean and save to make comfortable cushions for Arie. Thankfully, Warol had cleaned them far from the den, as was their habit, so that there was nothing foul to be disposed of. These he spitted and set over the fire in no time, his activity causing no more disruption than his brothers calmly regarding him. He could have been insulted that he didn’t garner the sort of extreme reaction that they seemed to set off in each other but then he wasn’t succumbing to it just yet either. He decided that he preferred it that way. They couldn’t all be at each other’s throats and still be able to properly care for Arie. But he wasn’t deluded either. The closer the Withering Days came, he would begin to feel it and, without an outlet, have the same aggression become triggered.
They couldn’t continue this way and as the only clear-thinking male between them currently, it was his duty to make Rager see that.
He saw his opportunity some time later, after bellies were full and Rager transferred a sated Arie to Warol’s embrace, if somewhat reluctantly. Their lead stood and gathered up the small pile of bones, throwing them in a woven basket. Tucking the basket under one arm, he unlashed the leather “door” and ducked out through the entrance to dispose of them a safe distance from their den. Kyx immediately rose to his feet and followed after him, garnering only a curious glance from Warol as he passed by him. The moment he was outside, Kyx picked up his pace, following the lead’s trail. By the time he caught up with the male, Rager was crouched low, scrubbing the empty basket with clean snow. He looked up at Kyx, his ears pricking as his brow raised in silent inquiry.
“We need to talk about Arie,” Kyx explained in a hurry.
Rager sat back and set down the basket, his attention now entirely focused on him. “What about Arie?”
There was a subtle sharpness to his question that made Kyx shift unhappily. “I’m worried about her safety here with us.”
Rager’s expression morphed into one of confusion. “How so? Being under our care is the safest place she can be.”
“It was,” Kyx agreed slowly. “But we did not anticipate having her with us with the approach of the Withering Days,” he pointed out and then rushed to add, “not that I wish for her to leave us. I want her.”
“You want her.” Rager repeated the words slowly, his expression giving nothing away regarding his thoughts or feelings on those three words.
Kyx sighed heavily. He didn’t know how his lead was going to take what he had to say. They had never discussed any other course of action than taking Arie to The Citadel. Nor had they discussed the potential of mating with Arie, though he’d seen the speculative way they regarded her after he introduced them to his dam. And they certainly hadn’t discussed any change in feelings toward her, though they all must have surely noticed as much as he had. Nor did he miss that it was that part of his explanation which Rager had focused on.
“I don’t want to take her to The Citadel,” he clarified. “I want to keep her… as our mate.”
Rager’s ears didn’t flatten entirely but the look of discomfort was clear enough that it confirmed for Kyx that the male’s thoughts had turned in that direction at least once or twice even if he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Kyx could work with that. It was far better than the alternative.
“And I think that you and Warol want that too,” Kyx added, pushing more than was probably wise.
It was a risky statement to make but Rager merely stared at him for a long moment and released a long sigh as he scrubbed one clawed hand over his face.
“It’s not so simple, Kyx.”
