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I retrieve the food dish from the sled itself and glance over at my mate. "I still don't know why we're bringing food to Lord va'Rin. He can afford to feed himself."
"It's called 'manners,' Victor. When I grew up, you didn't visit company without bringing a dish. Doesn't matter how rich the company is." She smiles up at me with that delightful, managing smile of hers and loops her hand into the crook of my arm. "And you're just fussing because you're nervous to meet Mycrul."
"Maybe," I grumble. "But…what if he wants to fight?" I don't know if I want to fight another version of myself. It is one thing to be my mate's protector and to guard her office, to loom threateningly over males that are abusing their females. We've had a few incidents since Bee started her job that have made me glad for my fearsome demeanor and massive size, because those keep most in line without having to resort to violence. But this Mycrul…I don't know what to think.
"He won't want to fight," Bee reassures me. "Mina says he's very gentle now. I told you he works with animals for a living, right? Mina said he's almost finished with the first level of testing to be an apprentice animal-medic. Stock-medic." Her nose wrinkles as she thinks. "Whatever they call it here. A veterinarian."
I grunt. "You sound proud of him."
She smacks my arm. "Be nice. The social worker in me is just pleased he has an outlet for his energy, like you."
Do I have an outlet? I think about my mate, and how she rode my tusks as I licked her cunt before work this morning and then laid her on her back and pumped her full of seed until she was crying out my name. It was rather enjoyable, now that she mentions it, but I do not see what it has to do with Mycrul and his animals. "I guess."
"Don't be nervous," she reassures me. "I talked to Mina a little and she said he's very excited to meet you."
Which is why we are heading to dinner at Lord va'Rin's estate, with a dish of stewed veg under my arm, in my most uncomfortable tunic, instead of reading a book at home with Bee and then making my mate come at least twice under my ministrations. "We shall see."
I am silent as we pass the guards, several of whom I recognize from my time in my cell, back before they let Bee come in to greet me. Those days seem very long ago, and I wonder what my life would be like if my female had not turned her charm on and decided that I needed a friend, and that friend was her. My life is completely different now, my days filled with guarding Bee and the humans that visit her, and my nights filled with pleasuring my mate and enjoying her company. I never even think of championships or gladiator duels.
Maybe that is why I am nervous to meet Mycrul, I think, as we are escorted in by a uniformed servant, dressed in the house colors and symbols of Lord va'Rin. I am happy and I do not want him to drag me into a life that I have unpleasant memories of but have never experienced.
As if she can sense my unease, Bee squeezes my arm. "It's going to be fine, love. Wait and see."
We step inside the grand foyer of Lord va'Rin's house, admire the artwork he has on display (including a large portrait of him, his small, red-haired mate and their equally small children), greet the lord and his mate when they arrive, and I hand the dish of food over to Milly va'Rin.
"Oh, you're so thoughtful, Bee. Thank you both." Milly beams at us as if we have given her a prize. "I'll just set this on the table. Mycrul and Mina are in the sitting room." She gestures at a pair of closed double doors and moves down the hall.
My collar turns chokingly tight. Lord va'Rin exchanges pleasantries with my mate, who squeezes my arm again and gestures at the room across from us. She's telling me without words that I should go inside and introduce myself. I press a kiss to the top of her head and then stride over to the double doors that must be the sitting room. Before I go inside, I can smell…myself, but not. It's strange. It's like me, but a slightly spicier scent and a different soap. There's also the smell of an unfamiliar female mingled with his.
I open the door and step inside.
There's a scrawny female sitting on one of the chairs. She has thick, slashing brows that seem huge in her small, pale face. It's the only noticeable feature about her, so I turn toward the male at the far end of the room. His hands are on his hips, his back to me, as he stares at a crystalline vase with a frown on his face. It's like he's no more comfortable here than I am.
