He lay down next to me then pulled me against him. We fell asleep like that, holding each other, and I didn’t have a care in the world.
Chapter 15
Orsu
The main cavern was filled once again this morning with happy faces and laughter. But no one could possibly be happier than I was. I sat next to my mate eating our breakfast and reminiscing on our mating that had taken place the night before.
Julie was perfect. She had been so brave to trust me to treat her right and her cunt had felt so perfect around my cock.
I was a mated male now. I had been claimed by the female of my dreams and in turn we had claimed each other in the furs. I was the luckiest male in the universe.
Julie laughed at something Gab-bae said and Tarak smiled down at his mate. At the table next to us Anusha, Taylor, and Kayla whispered to each other as their eyes darted around the room, no doubt gossiping about someone–or everyone for that matter.
Jax sat quietly next to Sarah while Sozu chatted with Talia.
Axon served Ashley breakfast and then walked to the edge of the room where it was quiet and sat next to Brexl and Rhaz, both of whom never sat with the females.
Lumod and Drovo flirted endlessly with Hai and Kayla. Hai enjoyed the attention and flirted right back to Lumod while Kayla seemed mostly irritated with Drovo.
The elders sat at their own table swapping stories of past hunts. I overheard one of them mention the upcoming offering and how we were just four moons away from having to present our gift of food to the goddess. Their comment stirred an old fear in me. A fear I’d put to the side while I wooed my mate, but could be ignored no longer.
Four moons was not a lot of time. Not only that, but we only had four moons to gather and hunt food before the snows came. Most of the animals burrowed deep under the ground during the winter and many would not be seen again until the following spring. Last season we’d nearly run out of food and had had to ration what we had left before the season turned. I personally had gone down to eating only two meals a day to make sure the elders had enough food to fill their bellies.
I had been so distracted by wooing my mate that I hadn’t given the upcoming offering a single thought. I didn’t think anyone had. How were we supposed to have enough food for a decent offering to the goddessandstore away enough food to feed our dekes that had doubled in size?
Ice filled my chest at the thought of my Julie going hungry this winter. By the end of the season she could be heavy with my child. She would need plenty to eat to sustain her strength and to give birth to a healthy sietling.
“Tarak!” My voice came out harsh; so harsh that I startled everyone in the room.
“What is it, my friend?” he asked with a concerned frown.
“Our dekes has grown large,” I began.
He relaxed at this, “Yes, we have finally been blessed by the goddess,” Tarak returned my comment with a smile.
“That is the problem, my Savrix.” I bit out. “We donot have enough to feed the dekes throughout the winterandto give a proper offering. We have four moons until we have to meet the others and four moons until the weather turns too cold to hunt and the beasts burrow under the ground.”
Tarak’s face turned grim and the room filled with whispers.
“What offering?” Gab-bae asked.
“We meet the other dekes at the turn of the season before the first snow falls and when both moons grow full. They allow us to present an offering to the goddess that the priestess blesses and then they take the food back to their dekes in the valley,” Tarak explained.
“Why do they get to take the offering? Why can’t you take it back to your dekes?” Kayla asked, looking indignant.
“The Savrix said the offering must go with the priestess and she lives in the other dekes,” I added.
“Can one of the women here be the priestess for our dekes?” Anusha asked.
Tarak shook his head. “There can only be one priestess.”
“Can we opt out this season?” Ashley asked. Every hunter and all the elders looked horrified at her suggestion.
“We’re not colonizers, Ashley,” Fatima scolded. “We can’t ask them to give up their religious practices.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of it that way. I’m sorry.” Ashley was genuine in her apology and the room grew less tense.
“We will simply have to find a way to gather enough food for the winter as well as enough for the offering then.” Gab-bae concluded. “There might be more people in the dekes now, but that also means there aremore hands to gather foragable food and more hands to help make traps for the smaller animals that you hunt.”
