Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
She just blinks. "Um, you want more?"
"No. I need to be swift this day, not weighed down with food." I grin and lean in conspiratorially, because D'vi is a pleasant female, if strange in her admiration for dead fish. "Today, I will catch the most meat AND I will claim my mate."
Her eyes go wide. "Do I dare ask?" She pauses as if talking to herself and then shakes her head. "You know what? I'm not. I'm just gonna let it ride. Good luck, A'tam." She gives me a little nod and then returns to the fire.
Let her think what she wants. Nothing can contain my excitement. I look for B'shit's familiar form, but she has not arrived yet. O'jek appears, a pack on his shoulder and spear at hand. He nods at me from across the fire, and there is a competitive glint in his eyes. I grin back. We both think we will win this day, but he is wrong. I have more reason than any other to win. Not only is there one of the sharp knives at stake, but I want to show B'shit what a good hunter I am. I want her to look at me with pride.
"I'm here," D'see cries from afar. "Don't start without me!"
I look over at my partner and fight back a groan. I told D'see to wear her finest hunting leathers. That means warmth. She needs to wear practical clothing, because the weather will be cold in the mountains, and the snows deep. She will need a spear, too. Even a kit can use a spear with some skill.
But D'see has arrived with her mane artfully pulled up atop her head, a few curls teasing around her face. The fur she wears is dyed bright yellow—one of Buh-brukh's failed dye experiments. Her boots jingle with the chimes of decorative seashells and her tunic has beaded fringe that makes noises when she walks. She has no spear. I bite back a groan at the sight of her. D'see does not know better. She is new to this world and to survival.
Even so, I am disappointed in the sight of her and her clothing.
This is a terrible idea and D'see will scare away all game if she even gets close. The yellow of her furs will make us stand out, too. I move to my partner's side, ready to chide her for her poor choices in hunting gear, when B'shit arrives. I shove my spear at D'see. "Hold this." And I go to speak to my mate.
B'shit, I am happy to see, has taken the hunt seriously. Her mane is braided tight against her scalp, and she wears bright white furs in thick layers to protect against the cold. Snowshoes are slung over her shoulder and she carries a spear in her hand. She looks fierce, and I am foolishly pleased by this. She is not my partner in this, but I am still proud of my mate.
Now if she would only accept that she was my mate, I would be even more pleased.
I approach her, smiling. What was it D'see told me I should say to her? Ah yes, I should tell her she is attractive and then ask to word on her. I nod at B'shit. "You look like a hunter, B'shit."
"Bridget," she snaps irritably. "And why wouldn't I look like a hunter? That's what we're doing today, right? Hunting?"
Why does she not accept my compliment? I try again. "You are quite appealing holding that spear."
The human female gives me a puzzled look. "Is…is that a sexual innuendo?"
"It depends." I lean in close. "What is in-you-en-doh?"
B'shit blinks at me twice. Her mouth twitches. Then she looks over my shoulder and her face breaks into a full-blown smile. "Uh, you might want to pay less attention to the way I hold my spear and more attention to the way your partner does. I think she needs help."
I turn around and look for D'see. The female is easy to find—like a piss stain on snow in all that yellow—and she holds the spear I gave her between two fingers as she chats with R'jaal and I'rec. Both of the males look as if they are doing their best not to laugh.
I bite back a sigh. "Something tells me this hunt will be…interesting."
Before I go, B'shit grabs my arm, stopping me. "Just…don't be hard on her," she says. "Daisy's still learning. She's spent her life being someone's pampered pet. It's not her fault she doesn't know how to hold a spear yet. Be patient, okay?"
I look down at the hand she has on my arm, and I want nothing more than to take it and raise it to my lips. To feel her soft skin against my mouth. But O'jek appears, spear at hand, and B'shit turns away from me. I bite back a sigh of frustration and move to join D'see and the others. I'rec smirks as I approach, clearly thankful that he has a competent partner instead of an attractive one.