"Dargo!"Yet another turoch headed our way and I groaned.We were never getting out of here.
"There's a feast in the main tent, join us!"A chorus of encouraging yells followed the statement and I leveled a glare at my alien that told him exactly what I thought about that suggestion.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me against his side.
"We'll walk in, grab some meat for the journey and leave," he wheedled in a low voice.
"I wouldn't have agreed to be your mate if I knew you were so popular," I grumbled, even as my tortured stomach perked up at the offer of food.
He chuckled, and I felt every female part of me shiver at the seductive sound.Dargo led me toward the massive tent that had appeared yesterday and my jaw dropped as we walked through the giant opening.The tent was wall to wall turochs.There was so much naked, red skin it looked like the inside of a chili pepper.
Most of the males were sprawled out on blankets with platters of steaming meat beside them.In the center of the tent, several spitted carcasses were propped up on stakes, and turochs were ripping chunks of roasted meat off like it was a freaking pig roast.
"Wow."Looking around the packed tent, I remembered sitting up on that hill, planning to sneak into this camp and look for my friends.There was no way I would have pulled it off.
"This will be the biggest band in turoch history," Dargo said, sounding like a proud father."Once we have an unchallenged chief, this will be a force to be reckoned with."
It already looked like a force to be reckoned with.I couldn't find a single scrawny turoch.Every male was over six feet, half of them were over seven feet tall, and there was enough combined muscle to move a mountain.
"Taz?"A voice I hadn't heard in days broke through the clamor and I turned in a daze.Standing near the wall of the tent, her arm around the waist of a blond turoch, was Hope.
"Hope?"I winced at the pitch of my voice.For all my assurances to Penny, I'd been certain Hope was dead.But here she was, all cozy with an alien and looking no worse for wear.
"Penny!"Hope yelled across the tent."Taz is here!"
I stumbled toward her in a daze, not even caring that I was bumping into turochs left and right.By the time I reached her side, Penny had appeared from the crush of aliens, her curly hair in a giant frizzy mess, looking like the best thing I’d ever seen.
"You're alive!"Penny screeched, grabbing me in a hug that almost cracked my spine."Adak said he sent his friend to find you but you never showed up!"
Relief at finding both my friends alive almost knocked me to my knees, and I searched both their faces, feeling like it had been years instead of days since we'd been separated.
“Sorry, I got delayed,” I muttered, struggling with a wave of affection for my friends.I’d never been a people person, but just having them in front of me was the best present I’d ever gotten.
"It's been days," Penny said, looking as exhausted as I felt."Where were you?"
"I was looking for you," I said.Her words penetrated my shocked relief."Wait?Days?You've been here the whole time?"
Penny nodded."Three days, Hope showed up this morning."
I felt rage eat through my relief and I pivoted to face my lurking mate.
"She was here and you made me promise to be your mate to go find her?"I demanded.
Looking cornered, Dargo held up his hands."I didn't know that when we made our deal."
I stepped into his space and jabbed my finger into his ribs.
"But you knew the whole time I was trying to get out of here, didn't you?"
A sheepish smile crossed his face and I itched to get my hands on my lost cattle prod.
"I promised your friend was safe."
"You asshole," I hissed."I thought she was dead.You tricked me."
His ears flicked nervously as he eyed me.
"Our deal is still valid.I helped you find your friend, you didn't even want to come into the tent."
