Out of nowhere, Talek comes to a grinding halt on my other side causing dust to billow up from the ground beneath his feet. Behind him, his tail thrashes wildly. His entire body vibrates with untapped energy, and the wooden staff in his hand shakes with it.
“Are you ready?” he asks. “Cecily is already on her way down there with Carter and Bazel. She will gloat non-stop that she beat us if we do not hurry.”
Without waiting for a reply, the young Tavikhi takes off running at full speed in the direction of the training arena. Gannen shoots a quick glance at me and is already on his feet.
“Go. Elodie and I will be right behind you.”
“I will see you soon,” he calls over his shoulder as he chases after Talek.
Elodie laughs loudly. “I remember when I had that much energy.”She grabs her crutches and stands. “We better get going. Who knows the scolding we’ll get if we dally for too long.”
“You should not let him manipulate your tender heart.”
“What you might see as manipulation, I see as a lonely boy who desperately craves affection and friendship, and now that he has it, is scared it will be taken from him,” she says softly, but with firmness. “Not only that, but I wouldn’t allow anyone—not even a child—to manipulate me into doing anything I didn’t want to do. I had enough of that back on Earth.”
Perhaps I have much more to learn when it comes to human emotions. “I ask for your forgiveness in how I spoke, then.”
Elodie grasps my arm and the heat of her touch brands me. “There’s nothing to forgive. We all learn and we grow.”
I cannot tear my gaze from hers as a spark of awareness flares between us. Her face brightens in color and yet again, my cock plumps and throbs. My knot pulses with the need to swell and soak her cunt with my seed. The trill of a nearby mellenje soaring overhead breaks the connection. Elodie jerks her gaze from mine and roughly clears her throat.
“We should go,” she says and hops quickly away.
My steps are slower to maintain a safe enough distance where I do not have to smell her sweet and musky scent. Still, I study the curved lines of her hips as she moves. Elodie is soft in all the places a Krijese female is hard. Sexual mating with one of our females is not about tenderness. It is battling for control. It is angry. Rough. Bloody. A male must physically fight with a female for the right to claim her cunt.
Humans are different.Elodieis different. She will never participate in battle, but will need to be seduced with gentleness and warm feelings. I fear I do not have enough of either of those to give her, even if she wished to receive them from me.
She has reached the top of the hill above the training arena and glances back at me. Each time our eyes meet, I feel as though she is speaking to me in a language I can neither understand nor hear with my ears. This time is no different. I finally step up next to her and glance around at the barren spot where we stand.
“I will find a stump for you to sit on.”
“You don’t need to go to the trouble. If you don’t mind me holding onto you for balance so I don’t fall over, we can sit on the ground.” Elodie passes a crutch to her other side so she is holding both with one hand. Her now free one grasps mine, and she begins to lower herself.
My grip tightens and my muscles brace with her slight weight until she is safely seated. She lays her crutches beside her and waves me down. “Come on. Take a load off.”
Slowly, I too lower myself until I am seated close—but not too close—to Elodie. Still, warmth radiates off her. She stares down into the arena where the kits spar, including Gannen. He is paired with Carter who blocks each of my kit’s clumsy strikes with ease. Not far from where they practice, Talek and Cecily fight. The young human is skilled and the two kits are well-matched.
“She’s really good,” Elodie remarks as if sensing my thoughts.
“Cecily has been sparring with Talek for over three sun cycles. While she cannot match Talek in strength, she makes up for it in speed and cunning.”
“It’s nice of Carter to practice with Gannen,” she says. “Even I can tell how much the older boy is holding himself back.”
“The only weapon I have any skill with is my war axe, so that is all I am able to teach him to use. Being with the Tavikhi and human kits offers him a chance to learn others. It is good for him.”
Elodie glances over at me. “It’s hard for you, isn’t it? Watching him getting older? Becoming more independent?”
I nod. “Aye. Before Gannen, I cared nothing for kits. They did not interest me. A kit was another mouth to feed when we already had so little. It was taking care of another being when I had no desire to care for anyone but myself.”
“You love him.”
I am not sure I understand the true concept of love. “I would give my life for him. He is the only thing in this world that matters to me.” Although, perhaps that is no longer true.
“Gannen is lucky to have you as his father. Not all parents feel that way about their children.” There is a note of sadness in her words.
“Were yours like that?”
Elodie nods. “They were.”
