A Second Chance

Restlessness

He should have never engaged with her. It was a mistake that was costing him dearly.

After leaving to take care of his armor outside, Tomak quickly found that his mind was consumed with thoughts of Rae. As he cleaned, he couldn't stop thinking about her reactions, the expressions she made, and the way her body responded to his touch.

It was too much.

The muscles in his arms and back twitched as he hunched, leaning heavily against a thick wooden beam for support. His breathing was ragged as he fought against giving in to his carnal desires.

He could feel it. It didn't matter how hard he tried or how much he resisted, his control was slipping.

There was nothing that could be done. Every mating season there came a point that drove every unmated hunter with the undeniable need to stake their claim on a willing female. It was to ensure the continuation of their species. Hundreds died every year, and with their numbers continually decreasing there came a need to keep the birth rates high, to bring forth new hunters that would one day prove their worth to the clans.

Those that could were encouraged to participate every season to add these valuable new members to the clan. The majority did not quarrel with it, most were pleased to extend their bloodlines. But there were the minority that chose not to participate and Tomak was one of them.

It was something his bearer had passed down to him. From youth, he had always been interested in females, finding them to be very attractive, but looks were not everything to him. He was selective about what he wanted, and with his sire and bearer being lifemates he was more interested in taking someone more permanent to be his mate. A temporary mate could relieve certain needs, but the gratification was momentary, fleeting. He didn't want that.

This wasn't his only reason for not participating. In truth, he realized he wasn't interested in pairing with a female that only showed interest in him because of his strength or rank. In his eyes, status meant nothing when it came to mating.

His sire had the choice of hundreds of females, some were daughters of elders, a few were even elites. But instead he had chosen his bearer, a young huntress that could have been easily overlooked. She had no prestigious bloodline, she wasn't the fiercest in a group hunt, nor the most muscular. But she was still beautiful and eccentric in her own way. However, she had been stubborn, unwilling to accept his sire's offer at first. She had been self-sufficient and well liked amongst the females of the clan, keeping mostly to herself. What had driven his sire mad with need though, was when he had first witnessed her unique fighting skills in one-on-one combat. If ever challenged, she never lost a fight. From his recollection of the stories told, many males had tried to woo her with no success. It took much time and patience before his sire finally convinced her to be his and they had been a match.

Seeing it in his youth, Tomak grew to desire that for himself; a closeness to a female that would accept him for things other than his appearance or his rank.

Now with Rae, it was different. She was not yautja, but that didn't matter. She was not interested in rank, and despite the curiosity she showed to him being an Elite, that hadn't seemed to change her view of him. She was not afraid to speak her mind if he had dishonored her in some way, and she had an interesting sense of humor, something he felt yautja females needed more of. There was always this teasing fire lit within her dark eyes when she challenged him, and it tested his control.

In a way, she treated him as she would a friend, but even then it was different. And up until recently he never understood why. There had been these subtle hints of her attraction to him, subtle but still there and he had purposefully overlooked them. Now though with his mating instincts upon him, it was near impossible to ignore.