Page 17 of Feast

She had never seen anything like this in her life.

But she was totally unprepared for what happened next.

The ukkur’s body shuddered as he lost control. He let out a rough grunt, jutted his hips forward, and a long jet of white fluid spurted from his tip. This was followed by another and another—long ropes of a sticky substance that steamed in the cold air.

At that sight, something clenched in Ika’s hot center.

The tingling sensation in her nubbin suddenly exploded through every muscle of her pelvis. Her body spasmed with ripples of pleasure, and a sharp sob of surprise and ecstasy broke from her lips before she had a chance to stifle it.

Ika had never known pleasure like this before. She had never even imaged that it was possible.

But the sensation was short-lived because a moment later a voice growled aggressively from the moonlit riverbank ahead of her.

“Who’s there?” the ukkur snarled. “Show yourself!”

CHAPTER 7

Ika snatched up her spear from the ground and bolted into the woods.

She knew the ukkur would be faster than her, but she had a few advantages on her side. For one thing, this was her territory. Ever since she had been old enough to run about, Rolf had taken her around these forests to explore, teaching her how to hunt and track animals. Ika knew every hill and gully and stone.

And she had another advantage as well.

Her size.

Being as small as she was, Ika could easily slip under tree limbs and dart through the underbrush faster than a startled finnik. It was a skill she had developed from her earliest days when she would play hide and seek with Rolf.

Of course, that had only been a game.

Tonight, however, her very life was at stake.

But it seemed to be working. Ika could hear the growling ukkur tromping through the woods behind her, but his bestial grunts and snarls soon receded as he got caught and tangled in the interwoven limbs of the densely packed trees. There was a crackle of snapping branches as the ukkur tried to force his way through, but by then Ika was long gone.

She didn’t slow down.

But she was leaving a trail in the snow that was easy to follow, knocking powdery snow from limbs as she sped past. Plus, she knew that she was leaving a scent trail that the ukkur could follow.

Why had she done it?

Why had she disobeyed Rolf by sneaking out at night?

Why had she lingered to spy on that frightening ukkur while he conjured sap from his long, hard pole?

Ika pressed on, running low to the ground. At times she used her left hand as well, loping along like a three-legged animal while her right hand clutched her spear.

She did not take a direct path homeward, but she followed a circuitous route—anything to throw her angry pursuer off her trail. She kept out of the moonlight as much as possible, sticking to the shadows, relying more on her ears and her knowledge of the terrain than her vision.

Ika’s heart was thudding in her chest.

Her blood ran hot and cold with fear and panic. If only she made it back to the den in one piece, she would never do anything so stupid ever again.

Ahead of her was another small clearing.

It would leave her exposed, but she was fairly certain that she had left the ukkur far, far behind. She sprinted hard, darting across the clearing.

Suddenly, something loomed from the shadows ahead of her. A tree trunk where one had not been just a moment before.

Ika was running full tilt, and she slammed into the tree so hard it rattled her teeth and filled her vision with starbursts.