“Yes, we’ve made it.”
I ran to the base of the stone and set Julie down.
“How do we get in?” Julie looked around and pressed on different rocks.
“Here.” I pressed my shoulder to the boulder blocking the entrance and gave it a shove. The stone moved away and Julie’s eyes grew wide with amazement.
I offered her my hand and revelled in her soft warmth as she placed her hand in mine.
“You ready?”
She looked apprehensive but nodded her head.I patted the top of her hand and led her down the corridor to the main cavern.
“Orsu!” Lumod, the shifter who gained gills and a tail every time he entered the water, greeted me.
“Where have you-” his words cut off at the sight of Julie at my side.
“Is this the missing hu-man?” Drovo asked.
“This is Julie.” I gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. She tucked her hair behind her ear and introduced herself.
“Yep, I’m Julie. If I’m the missing human does that mean the rest of the women are here?”
Suddenly there was a loud commotion coming from the storage cavern, and soon a group of hu-man females came rushing into the room.
“Julie!” A female with dark skin and curly hair ran up to Julie and gave her a tight hug.
“Gabby!” Julie threw her arms around the other female. They both wiped away happy tears and I was glad to have brought them back together, and ashamed that I had let my beast take over and tear them apart in the first place.
Many other females surrounded the two friends and Tarak stood proudly behind Gabby. I nearly fell over when he placed a hand on her shoulder. I was willing to take the blame for touching a female, but I was not going to be so bold to do so in front of the entire dekes. Did Tarak know something I did not? Would there be no consequences for touching the hu-mans?
The idea of being able to touch Julie freely mademy heart sing. That was, if she’d want me to. Ididtake her from her people, and although we got along on the journey, would things change now that we were back with the others?
Gabby turned to smile at Tarak and everyone gasped as her skin started to glow. Lines of purple light spread across her veins. My heart squeezed for Tarak. He had found his luminescence, his kira-si. You could only glow for one person so once you did, you were bonded for life. It was a union blessed by the goddess herself.
But would Gabby accept this union? I did not know her and I had no idea how she felt for Tarak. Would she reject the bond? Did she see him as an abomination like the other dekes did? Would I be spending the rest of the night consoling my friend over the mate he’d never have?
My fears were quickly relieved when Tarak scooped Gabby into his arms and she pressed her mouth to his. This mouth pressing must be a hu-man custom, but it looked like a custom filled with love and joy. I took it as a sign that she had accepted him as her mate.
Never had such joy filled my soul than to see my Savrix and friend mated with his luminescence. I glanced over at Julie, who was staring at them wide-eyed, and I wondered what she thought about all this. Was she repulsed to see her friend mated to a Sirret shifter? Was she happy for Gabby?
Tarak carried his mate off to somewhere more private and the rest of the females turned theirattention to Julie.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” one female exclaimed.
“Are you hurt?”
“Did he treat you well?” a stern female with long black hair and tan skin asked as she stared pointedly at me.
“Orsu treated me very well. He kept me safe and led me to the mountain after we saw that you all had left the den.”
Julie looked up at me and gave me a shy smile.
The other female did not seem convinced. She led Julie away from the main cavern and down the corridor that led to the storage cavern.
My heart ached as I watched her walk away. We’d been together for two days. I had protected and provided for her and I had received the privilege of listening to her stories and hearing her laugh. I didn’t want that to end. It felt wrong to be separated from her. The beast within me cried out for me to chase her, to hold her, do anything but let her walk away. But I couldn’t. She was safe now, with her people. If she wanted to be with me it would because she wanted to and not out of a need for protection.
She spared me one last look over her shoulder as the group of females led her away. A hesitant smile crossed her face. Then she turned the corner and was gone.
