It would make sense. People feared the unknown and suddenly having members of your community shifting into large animals certainly counted as a big unknown.
“We will rest here,” Tarak informed me as he stopped and set me down. It was nice to be on the ground again.
“Thank you again,” I said as I stretched my legs. We had covered a long distance in a short amount of time thanks to Tarak. I was eager to see the girls again and to make sure they were alright. Maybe I’d get lucky and Julie would be back.
Tarak sat down on a nearby fallen log. “I have food for you.” He held up a small drawstring sack. I sat down next to himand opened the bag. It had jerky, nuts, and dried fruit. The jerky was seasoned like a sweet meat. It reminded me of the bourbon and brown sugar seasoning I would buy at the store.
“Are we close to Orsu’s hut?” The sun had traveled from its peak in the sky down to the middle of the trees. It wouldn’t be long before it started to get dark.
Tarak nodded, “We will be there soon.” He took another bite of his trail mix, brushing his arm against mine as he ate. I’d thought he’d had plenty of room to move, but I could be wrong. I started to scoot down the log when I felt his tail wrap around my leg, stopping me and keeping me close against his side. It was an odd sensation but not an unpleasant one.
Tarak looked at me cautiously out of the side of his eye, waiting to see what I would do. When I didn’t move away he kept eating. I still couldn’t believe this sweet, sexy alien had spent years believing he was cursed and not worthy of another’s touch. Which reminded me that I wanted to know the truth about his dekes. Were they considered cursed because they were shifters, or was there something else he wasn’t telling me?
“Tarak, can I ask you something personal?”
“Personal?” He parroted my question.
“Yeah, can I ask you something that might make you uncomfortable to talk about?”
Tarak sat next to me in silence for a long moment and I thought he might deny my request when he finally spoke.
“Yes, you can ask me your personal question.”
“You said you were cursed,” I began, and his tail tightened around my leg as his whole body went stiff. “Are you cursed because you’re a shifter or because of something else?”
His expression looked pained when he replied, “There’s more to it.”
He didn’t say anything more so I scooted a bit closer to him and brushed my pinky finger against his. He looked up at me with the saddest expression I’d ever seen.
“Drovo, Axon, Rhaz and myself all shifted on the same night when the big moon was full. The elders of the dekes didn’t know what to make of us. Some thought our new abilities were a blessing. We could finally stand a chance against the predators of this world that we spent so much time avoiding, while others thought our abilities were a curse.
“That same night my mother came down with a cough. I didn’t think anything of it. None of us did, until she couldn’t get out of bed the next day. Soon after my sister fell ill, and then Rhaz’s mother also developed a cough.
“The disease kept spreading until every female got it. They were all so weak that they couldn’t get up from their furs.” His voice cracked but he continued. “My mother was the first to die. I held her hand as she passed into the spirit world. She called me her brave protector and she said my shifting was a blessing.”
Tarak looked down at the ground as a lone tear made its way down his cheek.
“My sister died a few days later. She was only eight seasons old. Then shortly after that, Rhaz’s mother died, too. Almost every female in the dekes fell to the stiffness. The Savrix was furious when his mate died. He blamed us. He said our shifting had angered the goddess, which was why she let the stiffness sweep over our people and kill so many.
“By the next full moon he had kicked us out. So the four of us plus Axon’s mother and sire formed the outcast dekes.”
“What about your sire? Did he not join you?”
Tarak’s shoulders slumped even more when he said, “No. My sire joined my sister and mother in the spirit world when in his grief he tried to take down a pack of jagwas on his own. Theother sires did not want to be cursed by the goddess either, so they stayed behind.”
“How old were you?”
“Thirteen seasons old.”
I was horrified by his answer. He’d been barely a teenager.
“How old are you now?”
“Twenty seven seasons old.”
“So the other fathers are still alive, they’re just living in the other dekes?” This was crazy! “Wait, if you got kicked out then why do you follow their rules about not touching women?” I know if I’d been kicked out of a tribe, I sure as hell wouldn’t follow their rules anymore.
“The Savrix wanted to give us a chance to make amends with the goddess. He said if we followed his rules he’d offer our tithe to the priestess. So we agreed, and every year the Savrix returns and we give him our offering to take back to the priestess.”
