Julie gasped when she saw the state of the door and we both ran to the shed.
I stepped inside to find my worst fears had come true. All the grain we had harvested and stored over the past month was gone. The shed was nearly empty except for a few bundles of wheat that were left in the corner.
“Who would have done this?” Julie looked at the empty shelves in shock.
I sniffed the air and caught the scent of a creature I’d never smelled before.
“A stranger has been here.”
“A stranger? What do they smell like?”
I sniffed the air again. “It smells like a male, a scaly male like the scaled creatures that live near the rivers in the southlands.”
“Scaly?” Julie thought about that description for a moment before her jaw hung open.
“What? What is it?” Did she know who the thief was?
“Our captor was an alligator alien.” When I didn’t respond she realized I wouldn’t know what an alligator was so she continued. “An alligator is a reptile on earth that’s covered in scales and lives near water. You wouldn’t have smelled him before because we crashed on the same ship.”
“Not only did he steal you from your home, but now this male has stolen our grain for the winter?” I wanted to find him and rip his throat out.
Julie
“All of it is gone?” Gabby looked distraught as I delivered the bad news about the shed being robbed.
“Who would do such a thing?” Tarak questioned.
“I smelled a strange male that Julie thinks is one of her captors who survived the crash.”
“That bastard,” Gabby spat out. “It wasn’t enough to kidnap us, he had to steal our food too?”
“What are we going to do?” Beatrice asked. The entire dekes had gathered for ourannouncement. Everyone looked as gloomy as I felt.
“We’ll figure something out.” Tarak responded. He was in leader mode now, ready to console his dekes after this devastating blow.
“We’ve faced worse things and survived. We’ll survive this too,” Brexl added. The scarred hunter looked like he had survived the most out of everybody. Hearing him say we’d survive this too gave me hope.
Everyone dispersed to their private caves, including Orsu and myself.
“I don’t want you to worry, my mate. I won’t rest until you are provided for.” Orsu began as soon as the curtain to our cave had shut.
I placed a hand on his chest and sighed, “Like Brexl said, we’ve survived worse.” I was anxious about many things, but not this. I knew Orsu wouldn’t let me go hungry. We’d survived so much together already, that this felt less scary in comparison.
“I know, I just want to provide a better life for you. One in which you do not have to worry about having enough food for the winter.” Orsu looked morose as he placed his hand on top of mine.
“We will,” I consoled him. “We’ll find a way to provide an offering to the goddess and have enough food for the dekes.”
Orsu pulled me in for an embrace and I rested my head on his chest. His suddenly hairy chest.
“It’s the full moon,” I remarked as I stood back to admire my mate in his bear-shifter form. Orsu’s blue skin had turned to brown fur from head to toe, except for his face, neck, and torso which remained furless. His nails became claws and his feet became paws.
Orsu looked down at his furry hand on mine andpulled away.
“I can leave if you’d like,” he began. It was an automatic response.
“Why?” I knew that he’d faced a lot of shame about his shifter form in the past, but he didn’t need to feel ashamed around me.
Before he could respond an undeniable glow spread from Orsu’s heart to the rest of his body. Each vein emitted light as if his very blood had turned bioluminescent.
