Page 4 of The Naga Maverick’s Determined Mate

When I threw myself through the door into my apartment, I tossed my stick across the room so hard that it shattered into pieces against the far wall. No. No more! I couldn’t go on like this. I had to make changes or I’d forever be stuck in this hole in my mind. Forever stuck in darkness.

I stalked from the door to my bedroom where I had various pieces of sewing projects laid out on a bench. Swiping them all onto the floor, I started pulling the seams I’d already done out of the long, shapeless dresses I’d been making.

He wanted to challenge me, did he? That stupid Zsekhet! He thought I was weak, he thought I wasn’t up for it? Well, I’d show him. I’d fucking show him!

***

Zsekhet

My female was on a warpath. A tiny, one-woman army of angry, pained defiance. I wasn’t sure if this change was good or bad, but it certainly meant she was now out of the caves and getting all that sunlight I was thinking she needed; and then some.

Previously, she’d worn these long leathers around her body that covered up most of her pale flesh and hid all her luscious curves. After my first time prodding her at the fire last night, she’d stormed off and she’d done this. Resewn her dresses into these slinky shapes, they hugged her slender waist, licked over her flaring hips, and the hemline… Blasting suns, it ended above her knees, showing off those strange but appealing, graceful legs.

I was not the only one who had noticed how sexy she was and she was unattached, unmated. All the aspirant males, and even Xorare and Aks who had no interest in females, were trailing her with their eyes. Staring at her legs, at her abundant breasts, flicking out their tongues to catch her scent, her taste. I wanted to cut off all those tongues, I wanted to bash a few too many heads, and I came far too close to poking out the eyes of a former Copper Tooth hunter when he lingered a little too long at staring at her sexy ass.

What the fuck was she up to? Was this punishment for daring her to find out if she was my mate? I knew the answer. Did she? Why had it made her so mad that she was stalking around outside in those slinky clothes and glaring at everything and everyone? Min-Ji and Charlie were chasing after her, demanding answers I was certain. Then Vera blocked her path and their discussion got even more lively.

I narrowed my eyes at them. No, they weren’t scolding her or mad, they weren’t concerned. If I wasn’t mistaken, they were excited. Excited to see my flame-haired one out and about? Then I saw Vera point at Cosima’s slinky garment and shimmy, laughter ringing out. My scales rattled along my back, were they bullying her?

The beam I was holding up for the drying shed we were building slid along my shoulder and Zathar and Corin both shot me warnings as they worked to lash the beam in place. My focus was still on the females, I’d finally figured it out. They were complimenting her dress, they wanted their own. Blasting suns, I’d caused total mayhem with just one casual tail offer.

Then my mouth spread in a smile, my eyes lingering again on her intriguing rear. The other males should be thanking me for inspiring this fashion change and once the others were parading around in the same way, Cosima wouldn’t stand out. I could deal with that. Besides, I loved a little mayhem and chaos, I loved it a lot.

“Stop ogling Cosima and get to work, Zsekhet. You’re slowing us all down, you horny bastard,” Corin jibed from my left. I shot him a glare but that quickly morphed into another wide grin; I was a horny bastard. Not in the least because I had more than just a horn on my chin like most Clans, I had a proud set of proud horns rising from my forehead too. Then I flicked my eyes back at Cosima, I just couldn’t help myself, I was drawn to her and I had no intention of fighting that pull.

Across from me, Zathar was quickly working to tie the heavy beam in place so we could hammer in the wedges. He eyed me from the corner of his eye, then flicked his head to the side to glance at the excited huddle of females not far away. “Can’t complain about the results, Corin. Cosima’s outside, she seems to be smiling. I am glad to see that. We just need to keep a close eye on the aspirants, this is not a free-for-all to claim the last available females.”

I was pleased to hear that Zathar had noticed Cosima’s apathy, her sadness, just like I had. It was the mark of a good leader that he’d paid attention to the mood of even the smallest member of the Clan. Discounting Kiwi, Cosima certainly was a tiny, pale little thing. I just wanted to wrap her up in my coils and whisk her away, up on Ses into the air where nothing could hurt her. Flicking out my tongue I tried to catch her scent; oh the things I wanted to do to her.

Resolutely, I shifted my focus away from Cosima and back to the work I was doing. Zathar was right, the aspirant Naga were a danger to the females. I understood the Prince’s desire to draw more males in to form a new Clan. Outcast Haven as they’d decided to call this place, this group of people. But some males were cast out not because they had no mate, sometimes there were good reasons to throw a male out.

The wooden wall that Krashe had designed had been completed weeks ago, but the former Bitter Storm Warlord was still making adjustments to the gate. Beyond the wall lay the camp where the aspirants lived until they’d earned themselves a place at Outcast Haven. I’d lived there with Ses until a week ago, I still remembered the crude talk around the evening campfires, the open desire to find a mate here. We all knew how few of these ‘humans,’ sky-beings, there were. Which one of us was going to be chosen?

I knew in my heart that Cosima was meant to be mine, but until she was ready to touch my scales and accept a mate bond, none of those males would accept my claim. “I will keep watch, make sure no male steps out of line,” I said darkly. Frowning through the current version of the gate at the tent camp which was teeming with activity.

Corin barked out a laugh, and Zathar’s mouth curled into a smirk. “Oh, I’m sure you will. I have no doubt you will do plenty of watching.” The prince curled the tip of his azure tail through the air to jab me in the shoulder. “And I will be watching you.” That was fine, he could watch as I courted my flame-haired one right out of her shell and into my coils.

There was just one problem. I came here to do a job, and I still didn’t know the answer. I didn’t know what my report to my Queen should be. I actually liked Zathar and his friends, I even liked the former Warlord despite his constant glare. This was a good, nice place. But what they were doing here could definitely be a threat to our way of existing. This collaboration, this banding together of outcasts… If this happened in more places, who knew what would happen? Would there be a repeat of history at Serqethos?

I felt conflicted, I should do my job, even with my mate here. I knew what my priority was, but that didn’t mean I could shirk my other responsibilities. Now that I had access to the home inside the mountain, I needed to discover all its secrets. It was time to do some sleuthing.

Chapter 3

Cosima

“So, what do you think? Does it taste good?” Naomi asked me. We were sitting at the campfire outside the entrance to the caves. It was the only place where we could cook food, and thankfully even the Naga preferred not to eat things raw. When I’d seen their freakish, snake-like features, that had been a serious fear of mine.

I gingerly took a nibble from the meaty stew she was holding out on a wooden spoon. It was spicy and hearty, with lots of nuanced flavors. It was a good stew, tasty even if I didn’t know what animal the meat had come from. Naomi was a master at cooking good things out of the scarce variety of ingredients we had available. “It’s good,” I assured her. “Very tasty.”

She sighed, dropping the spoon back down on the nearby tray. “Yeah, but it is just more meat again. All we’ve got on the side are those weird purple berries, the dried kind of plum type thing, and those nuts. Not a lot to work with. We need more variation in our diets!” She lifted her leg, smiling as she did so, and pointed her toe to the basket of ingredients in front of her. “See what I have to work with?”

Formerly paralyzed from somewhere mid-thigh, Naomi took extreme pleasure in using her legs. She was still recovering, still learning to walk completely on her own. Her dogged determination meant she worked hard and improved every day. And I was sure that she was often sore from it, but she was always smiling, always happy. A shining example of resilience.

I leaned in to gaze at the dozen or so little bags in said basket. Some bigger than others, I knew that Krashe regularly went out for her to find more edible spices she could use for flavor. One bag was definitely full of the purple berries and my stomach gurgled at the sight. I was hungry, and I’d been a vegetarian on Earth, eating all the meat here was difficult. But I really liked those berries, they were the perfect blend of sweet and tart.

Naomi picked up the bag and tossed it into my lap. “Go on then, you’re not eating nearly enough.” And Naomi and Vera were eating far more than I could imagine. Vera was pregnant, she had confirmed it, but I suspected that Naomi was too, though she wasn’t showing it yet. I wondered if Krashe knew, probably not, because I was pretty sure he’d get overprotective if he did.

Munching on my berries, I thought about Naomi’s issue with our food supply. She was not shy, she’d already discussed it with her mate, hence all the herbs. I wondered if she’d brought it up at any of our ‘clan’ meetings, but I wasn’t sure because I’d always ducked out of those. What could we even do about it? From what I heard, the Shaman had a greenhouse, but it was full of flowers and stuff, not food.