Page 10 of The Naga Maverick’s Determined Mate

Vera sat down on my other side and curled her arm through mine, mimicking what Kalani was doing. I had a feeling the two were trying to make sure I wasn’t going to bolt, and that really ticked me off. Had I been that much of a weak scaredy pants the past three months? Yeah, I had been. I winced just thinking back to how many tears I’d shed the first week alone. They didn’t know why, because I hadn’t told them, it didn’t look good.

Taking a deep breath, I took the plunge as soon as Zathar nodded my way to get started. “I want to rebuild the greenhouse. We humans need more vegetables in our diet. We need a better source for that, one that can sustain us even in winter.” As I spoke, Zathar quietly translated my words to the other Naga so they could follow along.

The words had barely left my mouth before Naomi leaped upright, proudly balancing on her legs and raising her arms. “Heck yeah! That is an amazing idea. And a proper kitchen too! I can’t keep cooking over open fire all year, what if it rains or snows? We’d freeze our toes off.” She plunked her ass back down in Krashe’s lap and lifted her foot to show off her wiggling bare toes.

When some of the males exclaimed in horror, and Xorare leaned in to study Naomi’s toes with utter fascination, a smile tugged at my mouth. My nerves calmed and I felt myself relax into the situation. This wasn’t so bad.

Soon we were brainstorming ideas and I found my passion for architecture again as I debated with Krashe on how we could go about it, Corin pitching in with an excitement that matched my own. Our enthusiasm was hampered only by those willing to translate for us. We could go to Artek, the Shaman, to study his greenhouse, then make our own plans and search for parts. Corin knew of several ruins around these mountains that might be good starting points.

Voting for my greenhouse idea was unanimous, but what followed next made the hairs on my arms stand on end. As Krashe, Corin, and I were suggested to split off to work on this together, Zsekhet suddenly interfered. He started hissing and growling in furious tones and Vera’s eyes went huge in response. “What? What is he saying?” I demanded, certain that he was trying to bash my idea and put a stop to it all. Of course he would do that, because he was an asshole and a secret spy and he didn’t want me to be successful.

“Uh…” Vera said carefully, her eyes turning gentle when she focused on my face. “Look, he’s just pointing out some issues. But we’ll still do it, make the greenhouse. We just need to hammer them out.” Then her eyes went even bigger and she winced.

I spun to Kalani and glared and the marine grinned at me with a shrug. “You’re not going to like it but it’s perfect. He says he needs to be part of your team, his dragon can carry all the parts you need. And he’s suggesting we speak to the Shaman about solving our language divide.” To emphasize her point, she tapped behind her ear, right in the spot where most people had translator implants.

Everything seemed to grind to a standstill around me, but my thoughts were racing. I’d hidden the scars behind my ears with my hair all this time. I’d been dreading this moment from day one, and that dread outweighed any worry about having to work together with Zsekhet when I thought he might be up to no good.

Chapter 6

Cosima

Nobody told me that going to the Shaman meant riding the dragon. We’d planned the trip for days. Krashe and I had worked together to sketch out the remaining structure on cured leather skins with charcoal. While Zsekhet, Corin, and a whole herd of aspirants had tackled removing all the plants from it. Revealing the base and the edges of stone basins that laid out plant beds inside the structure, some of those had needed to be dug out with primitive bone shovels.

Zsekhet was currently fitting Krashe and Naomi into a flying harness so the two could sit safely behind him on Sesethul’s back. Corin was staying behind, which left the last spot on the dragon for me. A group of interested aspirants, Aks, Xorare, Min-Ji, and Reid were going to travel on foot to the Shaman’s home, which should take them about a week. Meanwhile, a ride on the dragon meant we’d be there in a few hours.

It was a sensible idea, it would save a lot of time. Time we needed to restore this building before the cold season started. I just hated the idea of flying on the back of a dragon because it meant I had to sit up close and personal with Zsekhet, no buffer between us. What if our skin touched and I discovered he was my mate? What if I found out that he was not? Both options seemed to make me feel equally stressed out.

Maybe I worried for nothing, because it wasn’t Zsekhet who helped me strap a leather and rope harness about my body, it was Naomi. And when it was time to ‘board’ Sesethul, I was placed behind Krashe, all the way at the back and right at the wing joint. It was a really safe spot, I was very stuck between the huge Naga, the powerful wing muscles, and the sharp spikes along the beast’s spine. There was also absolutely no way I could accidentally touch Zsekhet.

“Good luck,” Vera said with a smile from the ground while eagerly waving at me. “Try to just have fun!” I hoped I could. Rollercoasters were fun, this was going to be similar to that, I hoped. I hadn’t even considered how cold it might be high up in the air, but when Zsekhet didn’t just climb on with us, I had some inclination. He was handing out thick furs to Krashe so the male could bundle up his mate even more warmly.

I felt a pang of sadness but it wasn’t quite so pronounced. Caleb would have gotten a kick out of riding a dragon, and he definitely would have tenderly bundled me up like Krashe was doing with Naomi. When Zsekhet started to carefully pull a fur around my shoulders that sadness eased a little. He and I might not get along, but that gesture definitely was exactly like I pictured Caleb would do it. I expected that to hurt more, but it didn’t, it made me feel better. Like my fiance was still there in little things, watching out for me. Like he might actually approve of the things Zsekhet did, but that was crazy talk.

Naomi whooped with laughter as we shot into the air, her laughter ringing out clear as a bell. Kiwi darted into the sky with us, a little green blur that coasted on the giant dragon’s slipstream. I wasn’t as vocal but when my stomach swooped with our lift-off, and then dropped again; yeah that felt awesome! Flying wasn’t so bad, I might get used to it.

Two hours later I was pretty sure I hated it. My butt ached from sitting on the hard dragon scales. I was chattering my teeth and shaking from the cold, I couldn’t feel my fingers from how numb they were, and no amount of wriggling my toes seemed to warm them up. Then all my aches and pains, all the coldness faded to the back of my mind when I saw Artek’s home.

The dome was intact and the interior was filled up with purple foliage. A perfect example of what our structure could look like once we restored it. Excitement coursed through me, a million ideas on how to get this to work back at Haven filling my brain. If we could find the right parts, I could absolutely fix that building! And then it was up to Corin to figure out how to heat the structure.

***

Zsekhet

When I landed with Ses on the flower field next to this Shaman’s domed building, I finally understood what Cosima had seen right from the start. This was what the building had looked like to her, she hadn’t seen Artek’s functioning building, but still, she had pictured it in her mind. I was thrilled with her ability to do this and with her excitement to put her plan into motion. It made me feel like my mate was drifting closer to me, finding herself again.

“Everyone alright?” I asked, aware that the only one whose answer truly mattered to me could not understand. Not for long though, if the Shaman could somehow find a way to make us understand each other without the mate bond… I could not wait to do so.

I also knew that the Shamans who lived like neutral parties throughout our world had ways to speak to each other, even over vast distances. I hoped that I could ask this Artek to reach out to the Shaman Levant near Serqethos for me. I wanted to know what was happening in the lands of my Clan. Were they still waiting patiently for my report, or had the Queen given up on me, considering how long I’d already been gone?

As Krashe unhooked himself and helped his mate, I moved to Cosima to assist her. I felt how my heart started racing in her proximity, I was so eager to touch her skin. To show her that she was meant to be mine, but I couldn’t, just a little longer. I had to be patient if I wanted to win this battle, the battle for her trust.

Banking all my desires for now was a struggle, but I made sure she didn’t see the heat in my eyes when I reached her. I just flung more of the furs around her before I scooped her up and plunked her back on the ground. I lingered just long enough, listening to her melodic but clearly angry ranting, to make sure she was steady on her feet. Then I turned my back on her and went to see to Sesethul instead.

“Arryouserioussrightnow?” she demanded from behind me. Which caused Naomi to giggle, much to my mate’s frustration. She spun on the other female and the two started rapidly talking, my mate gestured wildly with her hands as she did so, and her spotted cheeks turned this deep red that started to climb all the way up to her hairline.

I tugged on my left horn with my own frustration, she was so pretty and I wanted to know so badly what she was saying. How could I convince her to be my mate when we couldn’t even hold a single conversation and she seemed to think the worst of me?

“Brother,” Krashe rumbled next to me with a scowl, “You have a talent for angering that particular female. What do you think that will achieve?” He flicked the tip of his long tail up and casually used it to pick several flowers, I stared at the action with a hint of confusion. Why was he doing that? Then, without even looking, he extended his tail back toward Naomi, with flawless aim holding them out in front of her face. She squealed, clasping the flowers to her chest, and started gushing words at him.