I did not see my hunters as we approached, but I heard Rhaz’s signal which sounded like the chitter of a bone badger, and I walked in the direction of the sound.
One by one, my hunters came out from behind the trees to greet us. “We decided to wait for you and Gab-bae,” Brexl began.
“We thought it would be best if Gab-bae were here so the females would not be afraid of us,” Drovo added.
There was a hum of anticipation among my hunters. They had long thought they’d spend the rest of their days unmated and alone, but instead we had been blessed by the goddess to find more females than we could have possibly asked for.
“There are nine females inside, all human,” Axon added.
“How can you tell?” Gab-bae asked.
“I have my ways,” he smirked. He had always been proud of his abilities, even when the rest of us still felt ashamed he would go out on his own and practice shifting and testing the limits of his new form.
“I see,” Gabby replied.
“Are you ready?” I looked down at Gab-bae and waited for her approval.
“Let’s do this.” She grinned.
Gab-bae and I walked side-by-side to the short structure. It was troubling that Orsu had not yet returned with the female, but that would have to be tomorrow’s problem.
I opened the door and stood in the entrance to assess if there were any immediate threats. I would not let Gab-bae walk into danger.
A youngling jumped out in front of me baring her teeth. “Go away, you blue bastard!” She approached me with clenched fists and hit my chest and torso with the same strength young Sozu or Jax would have. I admired her spirit. She will make a mighty huntress one day.
“Talia, it’s ok! He’s with me,” Gab-bae shouted from behind me. The young female stopped her attack and peered behind me.
“Gabby!” The youngling named Talia pushed past me to hug her friend. Gab-bae embraced the young huntress with a smile and I stepped to the side so the other females could see their friend had returned.
Many eyes moved back and forth between Gab-bae and myself. Then all eyes focused behind me.
I turned to see my hunters had gathered outside the door. They looked at the females with eager, hopeful expressions.
“Gabby? Who are these people?” a female with tan skin and long black hair asked.
“Everyone, this is Tarak.” Gab-bae put her hand on my chest and I covered it with my own. She may not have claimed me as hers yet, but I still wanted to make my affection for her known.
I kissed the top of her head and everyone from the females of Gab-bae’s dekes to the hunters of my own looked at us with wide eyes. My heart sank at the looks the females were givingme. They did not look disgusted but they did not look pleased, either. Perhaps they were not as accepting as my Gab-bae.
She let out a nervous laugh and continued. “Tarak and his hunters are here to take us to his home in the mountains where we will be safe. I trust them. They’ve taken good care of me, fed me, offered me a safe place to sleep, and overall they’ve been very kind to me.”
A few of the females looked relieved while others looked at my hunters and I with doubt in their eyes. I did not blame them. We were very different from them and they did not know us. We were also much bigger and stronger. I wouldn’t trust us right away either. I could only hope Gab-bae could convince them to come with us.
“Are we going to the mountain tonight?” a female with the same hue of skin as Gab-bae asked.
“No, it is too close to nightfall, and while we could make it there if we ran, it is not worth the risk. The forest is full of dangerous creatures, but the worst ones come out at night.”
“So we’re staying here another night?”
Gab-bae looked to me and then to my hunters standing outside. I could not leave them unprotected. Even with their abilities my hunters could be overwhelmed if a herd of jagwas approached.
“Axon will take some of the females to the lookout tree fort, Rhaz will take some to his burrow, Brexl will escort some to the caves and Lumod and Drovo will stay here.”
“Where will you go?” Lumod asked with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
“Gab-bae and I will go to the fort to the north. We will all gather back here at sunrise and make our way to the home mountain.”
“Wait, what about Julie?” Talia asked. “Did you find her?”
