AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My beast of a man.
Despite being as hard and harsh as its people, the Braxian countryside held an undeniable beauty. The buildings within the compound, although simple in their mostly square and rectangular design, stood proud and elegant under the shimmering silver sky. Once again, the similarities between our worlds struck me; with Guldan’s own sky also shimmering but in hues of gold. Built in different shades of grey stones, white, maroon, or silver accents decorated their facades. Most of them had the same kind of ornate carvings in evenly spaced vertical stripes as I’d seen on the walls of Ravik’s bathroom.
My jaw dropped as we approached the stables. Outside, many Braxians stood next to nightmarish creatures. The six-legged beasts vaguely resembled horses in their shape. Thick scales covered their bodies, including their draconic heads. Razor sharp, dagger teeth filled their massive jaws. Horns of various sizes rode from the middle of their snouts up their foreheads. Fan-like appendages sat folded on each side of their faces. I suspected bad news followed if they ever opened. A long, scorpion tail and massive, sharp claws at their hoofed feet completed the tableau. Despite my height of 6’4, my chin barely reached the back of the beasts.
Although not afraid, I gave the creatures the proper respect—and space—they deserved.
“They are karvelis,” Ravik said, “the distant cousins of the Xelixian cavas.”
My eyes widened, the similarities now visible to me, although the cavas only had scales around the face, neck, and underbelly. A soft, leathery skin covered their backs.
“Are they as smart?” I asked, intrigued.
“As much as I’d like to say smarter than the cavas, equally would be the honest answer,” Ravik said, gazing upon the creatures with pride. “My clan breeds them. In times past, they were the greatest battle steeds a warrior could have. Now, they make formidable hunters to regulate predator population near vulnerable cities and villages. Some of our clients use them for search and rescue missions. More recently, we’ve been raising a new breed that is proving quite phenomenal in animal racing.”
I perked up. “Oh Goddess, I love racing! Can they be mounted?”
Ravik frowned. “Well… yes. But it’s dangerous.”
My back stiffened. The look on my face must have said it all, as he took on an uneasy expression.
He sighed. “I do not challenge that, given the opportunity, females can perform as well as males on many fronts—better, even, in some.”
“But?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
“But, karvelis are scaled to Braxians dimensions. They do not tolerate saddles or reins that would give the rider something to hang on to. With their size and phenomenal speed, few species can safely ride them while racing,” Ravik said, in a reasonable tone. “Once the hunt is over and you’ve had a chance to look into your brother’s business, I’ll take you to see the new breed. Whether you get to mount one, let alone race with it, is still to be determined.”
Although aggravated by the finality in his tone, he’d made a strong case. Being raised according to Veredian values, while also learning about my Guldan heritage, made me extra sensitive to any male behavior that even remotely hinted at male superiority. I’d done stupid things in the past in response to that, deliberately putting myself in harm’s way to prove a point, that having tits and a pussy didn’t make me inferior or incompetent. I still struggled with that knee jerk reaction but had greatly improved since, forcing myself to pause and assess arguments against what I wanted.
The heavy stare of Clan Leader Caldes drew my attention. He didn’t avert his eyes when mine connected with his. His disapproving expression made no mystery of how he felt about my participating in the hunt. But his buddy, Hagan Lorvis, reeked with aggression. He and a few others had expressed open hostility towards me from the moment I’d set foot on Braxia and throughout last night’s meal. That they showed the same level of animosity towards Ravik and his close friends provided little comfort.
Keran walked out of the stables, followed by two massive karvelis—one slightly darker than the stones that paved the street and the other a striking shade of dark blue.
“Let me introduce you to Voltar,” Ravik said, raising his palm towards the midnight-colored beast.
The creature approached us, stopping right in front of him, and tilted his head down to press the flat front of his snout against Ravik’s hand. Ravik rubbed it in a gentle caress then held his hand up while the karvelis opened his mouth and closed his dagger-teeth around it. I gasped and placed my hand on Ravik’s forearm, ready to pull him free. He chuckled, his free arm wrapping around my waist.
“Do not fear, little bird,” Ravik said. “It is the common greeting. Voltar reminds me of how lethal he is. And I am stating that I acknowledge his strength and trust him to never use it for ill against me. Voltar,” Ravik said when the creature released his arm, “this is my female, Ravena. She is mine. She is pack.”
I stared at the beast in awe. The vertical slit of his pupil widened as his yellow, reptilian eye examined me. I instantly realized that Voltar was assessing me. The cavas also needed to accept you into their pack to allow you to mount them. Once they did, they would go to any lengths to keep you safe, even at the cost of their own life. I assumed the karvelis behaved in a similar fashion.
Moving his face away from Ravik, Voltar pressed his snout against my crotch and sniffed audibly.
I recoiled and cast a disbelieving look at my man. “Is he for real?”
Ravik’s arm tightened its hold around me, keeping me in place while his ‘pet’ sniffed away. “Relax,” he said, visibly amused with my discomfort. “He’s memorizing your scent.”
Scrunching my face, I let the creature have at it under the mocking stares of the other Braxian hunters, gathered outside the stables. Once done ‘memorizing’ the odor of my privates, Voltar raised his head to stare me in the eyes. He emitted a threatening growl and bared his teeth, sending a shiver down my spine.
Ravik held even more firmly. “Do not run,” he whispered. “It’s okay.”
“Do I look like I want to run to you?” I asked, my voice heavily laced with sass.
I instinctively knew that Voltar was testing me, evaluating my worth as his friend’s mate. If he were anything like the Xelixian cavas—and my gut said they were even more evolved than that—then his intelligence shouldn’t be underestimated. Although he couldn’t speak himself, he could understand and react upon most basic conversations, analyze day-to-day situations, and take actions accordingly.
Holding his stare unflinchingly, I removed the bracer on my right arm and raised my hand before Voltar’s mouth. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ravik’s lips part in shock. A hush descended over the men assembled around us. My gut had told me to respond to Voltar’s challenge with one of my own, but I now wondered if I’d been too bold. Guldans valued strength and despised weakness. Ravik hadn’t needed to tell me not to run; I wouldn’t have. But, with this gesture, I was forcing Voltar’s hand into accepting me and pledging not to harm me. Would he view this as a show of trust—which it was meant to be—or as arrogance and a misplaced sense of entitlement?
To make sure he wouldn’t assume the latter, while I didn’t break eye-contact with him—which could have been construed as a show of submission—I slightly bowed my head as a display of deference to his superior strength. The threatening growl turned into a rumbling purr, indicating his approval. His mouth opened and closed over my limb, his front teeth stopping just shy of my elbow. The pointy edges of his teeth pricked my skin like so many needles, but didn’t draw blood.
