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She gives me a sweet smile that promises me very unsweet things, but I cannot take her up on her offer right now, and she knows this. “I am taking them out hunting with Almaac and his sons.”
“Oh,” Kendra’s smile falters for a moment. She does not like going out into the trees, and I do not blame her after what has happened. They are safe enough during the day, though, and we need to be training the young how to hunt so they can take care of themselves once we are gone. We will not always have Almaac here to feed us, even though it would be best if we could.
“We will be safe.” I caress her cheek with my thumb as James and Frank appear behind her. Frank isn’t big enough to hold a bow yet, so he will watch all day, just like his father.
“I’m sending Xoth with you,” Kendra says as she disappears into our bedroom. She says something softly to Xoth, who groans and whines like the babe he is. Of course, I would whine too if Kendra woke me from my sweet dreams to tell me to go out into the trees to hunt with Almaac, especially when he was going to get to spend the day alone with our mate because I was not going to make him come with us.
I look over James and Frank’s clothing to make sure they are not wearing their new tunics Kendra and Diane just made for them. No, there is no reason to take nice clothing out into the trees. Really, there is no reason to want to be out in the trees, but we must eat, so we must go out there.
“Where is your sister?” I ask my sons. Xoth is moving around loudly in the bedroom. Obviously unhappy that Kendra is having him join us, but he will not deny her request. She wants our young safe, and what is safer than having their fathers out there watching over them? Almaac watching over them, but we are a close second.
Marilyn comes walking down the hallway just as Xoth joins us. He forces a smile onto his face before ruffling James’s hair and pulling Marilyn in for a quick hug. “We leave now? Hopefully, we’ll return before your mother convinces the other humans to drink the alcohol.”
“Shush,” Kendra sways her hips softly as she walks past all of us. I miss the days when humans had no pants to wear because my mate was always accessible. Now, she wears pants like Xoth and me, so I cannot just grope her when I want. It is probably for the best since we have young, but still. It is not fair how good she looks, and I am supposed to keep my hands to myself when I am around them. No, I will pull her to me for just a moment. Just one small, early morning, hopefully, I don’t die hunting, kiss.
“Erkoz,” My mate shrieks my name as I wrap an arm around her and pull her against my body. I make sure we are not facing the young when I lick her neck and pull her lips close to mine. She kisses me quickly and then pushes me away. “Go and teach your children how to hunt or do whatever you and Xoth do when Almaac hunts for you.”
“That is the plan,” Xoth says as he ushers all the young out of the house. I know James and Marilyn are scrunching up their nose at me, giving their mother affection. Young are apparently not appreciative of their parents loving one another. I am sure they will be happy once they are older to know their mother and fathers were very happy with one another.
I follow behind my small herd and smile. James has grown much in the last year and is now taller than his mother. We were worried he would be small for one of our kind since he looks so different from us, but he is strong and growing still. Marilyn’s scales are just as pale as Kendra’s skin, and her hair is dark like her brothers. Even Frank looks just like his brother, which means Xoth and I do not know who our young belong to. That is more than okay, though, because it means they are equally both of ours, and they can never think that we love any of them more or less than the others. That was never a possibility, but now they know for certain.
“You are late, brothers,” Almaac’s voice is far too cheery for being awake so early in the morning. Even his young seem happy to be out before the light in the sky is bright. They are unnatural. There is no other explanation.
“You should be happy we are here at all,” I laugh. “You know Xoth and I are lazy when it comes to the hunt. Hopefully, our young are more enthused.”
“It was James’s idea to come hunting with me,” Almaac smiles and nods in my young’s direction. “I do not know why we have not done this sooner. We could have been out there with James and Blake for years, but at least we are starting now.”
“Is this true?” I smile down at James, my eyes wide that I could ever be a part of a young who found any interest in hunting. He rubs his horn like he is embarrassed and nods his head. “Well, then I am more excited to go.”
“Yes, if our son is interested, we are ready to try,” Xoth says as he places a hand on James’s shoulder. “Maybe our three will be the best hunters in the tribe when Almaac passes.”
“Come on,” Blake, Almaac’s oldest son, calls. “I’ll show you guys the bows we picked for you.”
Marilyn and James follow Blake, Therrek, and Araan over to a small pile of supplies they must have picked out before we arrived. Frank tries to follow them, but I pull him back with me. He scrunches up his nose at me, and I know he’s going to tell me he’s a big boy, and if the others can, why can’t he? Well, he cannot because he is too young.
“Diane is watching our youngest two if you want Frank to stay with her,” Almaac says.
“He will stay with Erkoz and me,” Xoth answers. “He is almost old enough to hold a bow. He can see what it is all about.”
“I can hunt now,” Frank tries to argue with the three of us, but he will not get far.
“A bow is the same size as you,” I say before he can start to whine. “You will stay with your fathers while we watch the others, and when you are big enough, you can have a bow.”
Xoth comes up next to me before picking Frank up and putting him on his shoulders. “You will probably find that you enjoy how your fathers hunt more than how Almaac hunts.”
“This is very true,” I say as we walk out the gate. The young are already chatting and full of energy. Almaac matches their energy somehow, even though he is normally stoic and more of a bore. Apparently, our young wanting to partake in something he is good at means he is a happy and cheery male for the day.
“Come on!” James smiles as he calls back to Xoth and me, who are strolling because this is how we usually kill our time when it is time to hunt. Today, though. Today, it seems we will at least be enthused enough to support our son if this is what he wants to do.
Anything our young want to do, we will support. How could we not when their smiles bring us so much joy? Their happiness is all we ask for, and thankfully, they are very easy to keep happy. So long as they continue to grow and stay healthy, they will never want for anything. This is the promise I made to their mother many years ago, and we intend to make sure it is forever kept. If a male like me is blessed so fervently by the goddess, then yes, I must repay her kindness in everything I do with my young and with my mate. They are what is important, and they will always know this.
