"Your mate can't be easy to deal with.I've heard her urging the other females to abandon us," he shot back.
Ah, so that was it.Adak feared his mate would flee from him.
"I gentled her less than an hour ago, I doubt she'll be nagging at your mate anymore."
He snorted."These females are not like the ones we knew on Oska.Gentling is not enough to settle them."
I didn't like the flicker of doubt his words sparked in me.I'd held off on gentling Taz, recognizing the way she watched me with distrust and wanting her full commitment to our mating.When she'd accepted my claim outside of camp, I'd believed she had seen how good we could be together.
But I couldn't deny the distance she'd put between us immediately after our consummation.She smelled of me, and the whole camp would acknowledge thatUltohad been fulfilled, but Taz herself was another matter.
"Love takes time to grow," I admitted."But our mates surrendered to us in the way of our people."
"The way of Oska."Adak crossed his arms and let his head fall back.I followed his gaze, seeing the same unfamiliar stars above us as he did."This is a new planet.The humans are not like us, we can’t pretend otherwise.Even if our mates come to love us, we don't know if they can bear our sons.How long will they stay with us if we can’t give them children?What happens when their males creep out of hiding and try to seduce them away with the promise of families and the company of their own people?”
I ground a hoof into the dirt and mulled over his words.He brought up valid points but I refused to live in fear of the future.When I'd fought my last battle in the Pit, I had no way of knowing a few days later I'd be a free male, and a few days after that I'd have claimed Taz.
"It's not like you to despair, brother."
He sighed and clapped a hand to my shoulder.
"No, it is not.Ignore my words, I'm weary tonight."
"Tomorrow we’ll organize these males into patrols, give them something besides eating and fighting to occupy their time.Give this world a chance, Adak, we can build a new life here."
When he didn't answer, I lowered my voice.
"I will take my mate with me when I patrol.Tomorrow at least, you will not have to worry about her whispering in your female's ear."
Adak's ears dipped and he shook his head.
"None of that matters if the thought of leaving me lives in her mind.Penny will stay or leave of her own volition."With that grim pronouncement, he wandered away from the smoking tent and disappeared.
26 Taz
Idug through the pileof scavenged clothes in front of me and almost flashed a boob to the whole camp.The blanket toga I'd been rocking since yesterday was not working for me, and I was still pissed that Dargo had dumped me in our tent in nothing but my shredded jeans.
