“What about you?” she asks, breathless. She reaches for my cock again.
“Shh,” I tell her, and push her hand away. “Let me hold you. You are tired.”
She protests a little, but I can hear the exhaustion in her voice. I ignore the needs of my own flesh and hold her closer, and she’s content to lie in my arms. Her head rests on my chest and her fingers lightly stroke my arm.
I imagine them stroking my cock the same way and it takes everything I have not to come right then and there.
“The kit is dancing in my stomach,” she says after a moment. “Want to feel?”
I move my head down to her belly and lightly press a hand against one side, my ear and cheek on the other. There is movement in her stomach, though I’m not entirely sure it sounds like much. Then, something pushes against my face and I feel her entire belly ripple.
She giggles as I jerk back and mock-shields her face with her hands. “You nearly got me with a horn there.”
“It just…startled me.” I move down to her belly again, my mind full of wonder. My kit is in there, bouncing and lively. The moment I put my ear back to her stomach, it moves again, and I imagine a smaller version of myself, tail flicking with irritation at being trapped in such a small space.
I…have never seen a kit. I try to picture it but I cannot imagine how the horns do not tear her belly up. Maybe it is like my soft mate and has no horns. I picture a little girl kit then, with freckles and reddish hair, a smaller version of my mate.
I like that thought.
Har-loh’s hand plays with my hair, smoothing it back. “I’m still worried, you know.”
I caress her belly. “The healer will take care of you.”
Her chuckle is soft and she gives my hair a tug. “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about you and me.”
I lift my head then, surprised. I take her hand in mine and kiss the palm. “You and I are for always, Har-loh. There is no need to worry.”
Her smile is soft and sweet. “It’s going to be a lot for you to take in. Just promise me you’ll be open-minded about everything. That you won’t attack anyone.”
“I will not attack them if they are helping you.”
She raises an eyebrow. “You looked ready to attack Raahosh earlier.”
Raahosh. The one that looks like my father. I grow silent at the reminder. I have a sibling. “I did not know what to think,” I admit.
“It was a lot,” she says softly, and pats the blankets, indicating she wants me to lie down with her again. I do so gladly and she moves into my arms. “So your name…Maarukh?”
“I do not recall.” I stroke her back as she tucks herself under my shoulder. “My only memories are of my father calling me Rukh.”
“But it is your name. Just part of it.”
I grunt agreement.
“Are you pleased to have a brother?”
“I do not know.”
“It’s a lot of change for one day,” she says again. “Earlier today, it was just you and me and the beach. Now we’re leaving and everything is changing.”
It’s obvious I’m not the only one worried. I hold her close to me.
RUKH
Har-loh sleeps heavily through the night, and the next morning, she looks more tired than usual. She rubs her side when she thinks I am not looking, and swears she is fine.
This only reinforces my desire to take her to see the healer. It is the right thing to do. Before, I was angry that the bad ones showed up on our beach. Now, I am grateful. It feels strange.
As Har-loh nibbles on a bit of dried meat and sips water, I pack up the last of the things we will need for our journey. More meat, more water skins. More furs for Har-loh, and the puffs she likes. Her tunics, the soft wraps she’s made for the kit, and everything I can think to carry. By the time Leezh and Raahosh show up, my pack is bulging.
But I will not leave behind anything that my mate might need.
In the morning light, Raahosh looks even more like my memories of my father. When he turns to the side and his scars are hidden, his profile looks just like Vaashan. I’m hit with a bolt of remembered loneliness so strong it staggers me. My father has been gone a long, long time and yet I still miss him. Perhaps I will always miss him.
Does Raahosh feel the same? Does he remember him like I do?
As I watch, Leezh settles in next to Har-loh and eats her own food, chatting. I study my brother, then set my pack down. “Come.”
He glares at me, his own pack on his back. “Why?”