"The boars are much smaller and less aggressive."
"The female of the species is more deadly than the male," she murmured.My tail flicked idly as I considered her words.
"That is often the case.Take you for example, no single male has ever taken me down, and yet you did within moments."
She cast a wary look my way.
"I don't think that counts, you let me."
"You caught me by surprise," I shrugged."I did not expect a human to be so vicious."
"I was desperate, I would have done anything to save Penny."Her usual fire seemed to be missing, her voice almost mournful as she stared at the percer that had almost killed her.
"Loyalty is an admirable quality.You did well."
"Yeah, and she was safe the whole time."
"You didn't know that."I didn't like the defeated tone coming from my mate.Moving slowly, I slung my arm around her shoulders and felt a burst of warmth as she rested her head on my chest.
"Is something wrong?"
She sighed."I guess not, I'm safe, my friends are safe.I'm just feeling...lost."
For the first time I wondered what my mate had lost when the sytos invaded.The moment the cruiser had crashed, my world had changed for the better.I was free, my brothers were free and I'd never again be a slave.But for Taz and her friends, their way of life had ended.
"Did you lose anyone?"I tensed, hoping there wasn't a male she was mourning while I'd been dragging her into mating me.
She snorted and shook her head.
"All I had was Penny."
That was almost as bad.Even when I'd left my mother band to roam the plains, I'd had other males beside me.I'd never truly been alone.In the Pit, Adak had my back, and in the barracks I'd had the camaraderie of other fighters.
True, those bonds hadn't been as close, knowing that any day I may be forced to fight them built walls between us.But I couldn't imagine having no one.
Surely there was someone she missed.
"What of your parents?Siblings?Where was your mother band when the sytos came?"
"Mother band?"
"The others who lived beside you, the children you were raised with?The fathers and brothers that guarded you?"Had my mate truly had no one?No wonder she'd been so determined to rescue her friend.
"I was a foster kid.I haven't seen my mom since I was twelve, I don't even know who my dad is.If I have siblings I've never met them."I didn't understand the life she was describing.Where I came from females were precious, guarded by a community of relatives from the moment they were born.If a child was orphaned, there were dozens of turochs eager to care for them.
No one on Oska was alone unless they roamed on purpose.
"I’m sorry."
"It's fine.I am used to it."She combed her fingers through her short hair and shrugged."I haven't been around this much activity in years.I just needed a little quiet."
I glanced back at the camp where even now a fight had broken out.The shouts and the clash of horns was as familiar to me as my own heartbeat.But if Taz was used to solitude, I could see how the sheer noise of it could be overwhelming.
But wandering around alone was asking to be killed when percers roamed loose and sytos still searched for slaves.
"It will be dark soon."I eyed the horizon.
"I know, I'll come back to the fire."Her voice was dull and I hated that the very atmosphere that made me feel alive was suffocating my mate.This was not what I expected when I claimed Taz, I'd looked forward to the banter and fire that we'd had while I was her prisoner.Now I felt like she was my captive, and that was not what I wanted.
