AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My jaw dropped—again—as I watched the graceful female approach Ravik and press her snout to his palm. Her gaze, however, never strayed from me, assessing me with the same intense scrutiny Voltar had. I, too, examined her with new eyes. There was something regal about her that said ‘don’t fuck with me’ and yet that also felt utterly enticing.
“Dajia, this is my female, Ravena Mercy Vrok.”
For the second time, it struck me that Ravik had introduced me to the creatures using my full name. I wondered if there were any significance to that. But before I could ask, Dajia shoved her face in mine, sniffing at it as if to catch the scent of my breath. Her snout lowered to my neck then my breast, and then my stomach, each time pausing to inhale audibly. As expected, she concluded her exploration with a good sniff at my crotch, although it thankfully lasted a lot shorter than with her mate.
She backed up two steps. With a hiss, Dajia bared her needle-sharp teeth at me, her split, black, lizard tongue shooting out between them. Although fright-inducing, I perceived no menace in her stance. Shifting her head sideways, she slowly stretched her long, gracile neck, the sun reflecting on its lustrous scales. Tail whipping from side to side in an almost choreographed dance, the racer turned to expose her flank, lean, elegant, and strong. Even her long legs had something sexy to them, despite their vicious claws raking the ground like one would swat a bug.
How did I not immediately realize they were females?
It then struck me that Dajia was showing off. Had she been a single male, I would have called it courtship.
Maybe it is…
Was she seeking my approval just like I was hoping for hers so that I could ride on her back?
“You are truly magnificent, Dajia. I can see why Voltar would choose one as beautiful as you for his mate.”
Dajia snorted and threw her head back in a sharp nod, her reptilian eye giving me a sideways glance. Lightning fast, her scorpion tail struck each of my horns with a dry ‘tock-tock’ sound. My startled yelp died in my throat, sounding like a single hiccup.
Eyes wide, I turned to Ravik, busy chuckling at my stunned expression.
“I guess that means she approves?” I asked.
“The first hit meant that she agreed with your compliment. The second meant that she thinks the same of you.”
For some strange reason, that touched me. Looking back at the karvala, I gave her another appraising once over.
“Sassy female. I like you,” I said, then blinked as Dajia double-knocked my horns again with her tail. Ravik and Cormak burst out laughing. I glared at them and then at the racer. “But I don’t like this part so much.”
Dajia snorted, her front clawed-hoof raking the ground.
“Is she laughing at me?” I asked, disbelieving.
“Yes,” Ravik and Cormak replied in unison.
“Brat,” I muttered under my breath, annoyed yet totally smitten by the karvala. A thought suddenly crossed my mind. “Wait a minute, if she’s Voltar’s mate, why is her stable at the other end of the city? Well, of the compound?”
Ravik smiled, his big, callused hand gently caressing my left horn. “Because the karvalas have no time and no use for males when outside of their mating heat.”
My eyes bulged. “Seriously?”
Ravik nodded. “The females consider the males too needy. They represent too much work to keep around.”
I raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
“The females are faster, which makes them better hunters. They usually catch smaller kills than the males can, but in larger quantity. Since they have a pack mentality, they feed everyone, not just themselves or their offspring. Problem is that the males tend to eat the largest portion while contributing the least, and then relentlessly pursue the females for sex. But they run too fast.”
I snorted. “Sounds familiar.”
Ravik playfully glared at me, which made me grin.
“Every time we’ve tried to keep males and females together, the karvalas eventually end up chasing the males from the pack, only allowing them back during their mating heat.”
“Smart ladies,” I said with a smirk.
Dajia and Sheeroh both snorted in agreement. I really liked these creatures. I made a mental note to speak to my sister about them. She loved riding the cavas but wouldn’t be able to bring them to Haven, the new Veredian settlement our people were building. Unlike Xelix Prime that had no winter thanks to its two suns, Haven did. Such cold climates would kill the cavas. But Braxia had a similar climate to the new Veredian home world which the Tuureans had completed terraforming a few years ago. This would be one perfect trade opportunity between our peoples.
The introductions completed, Ravik offered to help me up onto the back of Dajia, but I insisted on doing it on my own. While staying with my mother and sisters on Xelix Prime, I’d ridden quite a few cavas without needing assistance. The racers were smaller still than those mounts; the perfect size for me. Although Voltar’s horns and spurs had been bigger, Dajia’s were more accessible—at least for me—and ideally positioned along the back of her neck to give me a good grip in a comfortable forward-leaning position during a race.
