“Will you protest if I say goodbye?” Orsu teased.
“Yes,” I said defiantly. “I don’t like it either.”
“I’ll see you later then, my Julie.” Orsu kissed my forehead and left the mountain as well.
Gabby and I linked arms as we watched our mates walk through the clearing.
“They’ll be back,” she stated as if she needed to put it out into the universe for some extra reassurance.
We stood there and silently watched until our mates disappeared into the treeline.
I turned to face Gabby whose somber eyes were a reflection of my own.“I guess we should join the others and learn how to make some traps,” I sighed.
Drondia promised to teach us and her mate, who was as goofy as they come, promised to tell us stories of the hunters when they were growing up.
Together we turned and walked down the corridor, but I couldn’t help but feel like I had left my heart at the entrance. An aching loneliness filled my soul and I knew it wouldn’t go away until Orsu returned.
When we entered the main cavern we were greeted with peels of laughter.
“No way!” Talia exclaimed.
“Yes way. Axon has always had heightened senses even before he could shift and Drovo has a special connection to animals.” Karo, Drondia’s mate and Axon’ssire was in the middle of a story.
“What happened next?” Talia asked, eyes wide completely enraptured by the story.
“Well they approached a bafilo and Drovo jumped on its back and attempted to ride it.”
Sarah gasped, Talia let out a boisterous laugh, and Kayla put her hand over her mouth trying to hold in her laugh.
“How’d they find the bafilo? I thought they were nearly impossible to spot?” Anusha asked.
“They are,” Drondia interjected. “But Axon has always had heightened senses even before he could shift. He was born with cloudy eyes that inhibit his vision, so he learned to use his other senses early on.
“Really? That’s interesting.” Fatima pondered aloud. “I wonder if he was born a shifter, but his hormones weren’t activated until he hit puberty. It almost feels like we’re witnessing the middle of an evolutionary step. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next generation was born with the ability to fully shift into animals instead of doing the half shift the hunters do.”
Drondia and Karo looked at each other as if they hadn’t thought of this before.
“We didn’t think there would be a next generation until now.” Drondia admitted.
All eyes shifted to Gabby and I, the only two mated humans in the group. I had inwardly acknowledged that since Orsu and I had consummated our mating that there was a possibility I could become pregnant, but a big part of me wondered if that would ever be a reality. Sirret’s and humans were very different species. If anyone was going to get pregnant it would be Gabby since she’d officially luminesced to Tarak.
If Gabby became pregnant that would confirm that it was possible, but until then, I would remain cautiously optimistic. I liked the idea of starting a family with Orsu. I liked the idea of watching our little ones toddle around the caverns. Everyone was so close here both physically and emotionally, that it would be easy to imagine raising children in the dekes might be a community endeavor.
I liked that idea. If we had a little one with sensory issues, they could go to Axon for advice. If they had extra energy, then Rhaz could take them to the sensory cavern where they could be loud and use their large muscle groups. They could sit at Neelu’s feet as she told them the history of the dekes, and they could come to Orsu and I for love and support. Strangely enough, this community that lived inside a mountain on a dangerous planet felt like the best place to raise a family.
Chapter 16
Orsu
It had been a long hot day of hunting and I was ready to come home. I was ready to see my mate. With each step I took, the ache in my chest diminished, letting me know that I was getting closer to home.
I had successfully slain two ramirei elk and carried one on each shoulder. I set them down as I pushed the boulder to the entrance of the mountain out of the way and then carried the limp beasts to the prep room where we cleaned our kills.
Finally, I was able to make my way to the main cavern where I found my mate laughing with the others and sipping tea around the fire.
“Orsu!” She let out a happy squeal the moment she saw me and ran in my direction. I threw my arms around her and she buried her face in my chest.
This felt right. The warmth of her smaller body pressed against mine was what I had been longing for from the moment I left the mountain. I wanted nothing more than to stay by Julie’s side, but I knew I had another long day of hunting ahead of me tomorrow. I pushed that thought aside though. I would not let tomorrow’s problems dampen what little free time I had with my mate today.
