Or rather, that Vektal can. I mostly just stand around and look proud that I brought him.
The girls have been giving me shit for hours. I don’t mind, because I do deserve it. After being taken captive by aliens, I show up with a new one who’s calling me his mate? Who kisses me and drags me against his chest every chance he gets?
Who fucked the hell out of me for hours last night until I nearly passed out from orgasms?
Yeah, I totally deserve all the shit I get.
I’m just so freaking happy at the moment. Vektal’s getting us fire and food, and all the girls are alive. I’ve fussed over them for the last few hours, making sure they’re warm and retrieving snow to melt in one of the makeshift basins so they can wash a little. They’re weak with starvation, and Tiffany’s toes and fingers look like they’ve got frostbite. Josie’s listless and weak, and Megan has a deep, racking cough that shakes her entire body. But they’re alive. We can fix everything else. Food will go a long way toward making them feel better. In addition to the hairless rat things （which have a thick layer of blubber that Vektal insists we eat, and no one is brave enough to try yet） we have something that looks like a cross between a boar and a pony that he calls a dvisti. The meat’s roasting on the fire, and even my mouth is watering, so I can’t imagine how hungry they are.
“What’s khui-sickness?” Megan asks, a worried look on her face as she crouches nearer to the fire.
“I don’t know,” I say with a small shake of my head. When I ask Vektal, all he does is press a hand to his chest and then to mine.
“The khui lives here,” Kira translates with a shrug. “No clue.”
“You just need some food and a warm place to stay,” I tell Megan, trying to soothe the worry from her face. “We’ll deal with one thing at a time.”
She nods. I’m afraid she’s going to question more, but Vektal pulls one of the legs off of the hairless rat, and it looks just like a drumstick. He automatically hands it to me.
“Oh gosh,” I say, embarrassed. “Don’t feed me, Vektal. I’ll eat last.” I immediately hand it to Megan.
She scarfs it down before someone can take it from her, and Liz gives me a gleeful look and makes more kissy faces. “He’s feeding his mate, Georgie. Give the guy a break.”
My cheeks heat again. I feel like I’ve spent all afternoon blushing.
He pulls another leg off and raises a brow at me. I shake my head, and he offers it to Kira instead, who takes it gratefully. One by one, the women are fed. I only take small bites of the dvisti as it cooks, leaving the majority for the others.
This displeases Vektal, who insists on feeding me more. I give the others an unhappy look every time he shoves another cooked piece into my hands.
“Don’t piss him off,” Tiffany says, licking her dirty fingers to get the last of the grease. “If it makes him happy to feed you, eat.”
So I eat. Once everyone is full, Vektal crouches next to me and pulls me against his chest again, and he starts purring. He strokes my hair and touches my face as the others talk quietly. We discuss our kidnappers, who haven’t returned, the planet, which seems to be getting snowier every day, and our situation.
Which is grim.
That casts a pall over the conversation, and everyone gets quiet. Liz switches places with Megan, who’s helping herself to more food. She sits next to me, cross-legged, her furs draped over her thin form, and she studies me as Vektal runs his fingers through my tangled hair.
“So you and the big guy, huh? Can’t leave you alone for two seconds without you getting hitched to the nearest alien.”
I shrug uncomfortably. “Seemed like it would help the survival odds.” Even as I say it, it feels wrong to make my relationship with Vektal sound like it’s just survival. There’s attraction, too, but I feel like I’m betraying my fellow captives if I admit to it.
Liz nods and stares at Vektal’s horns for a bit. Then she looks at me again. “He’s kinda possessive of you.”
“Yeah.” He is, and I don’t hate it. Kinda like it, actually.
“How’s he going to act when he finds out we don’t want to stay on Not-Hoth?”
I don’t respond. It’s not something I’ve thought about yet. I’m still adjusting to the fact that Vektal thinks I’m his mate. I don’t want to think about how he’s going to act if I get on the first bus ride home. Or the depressing idea that there might not be a ride home.
Liz is still looking at me, waiting for a response.