Baaul: A Change of Heart

Chapter 18: Ooman Prey

Baaul growled as Renee continued to ignore him. She was furious that he hadn't prepared her ‘better’ for the mating mark. He didn't understand her anger because he had told her that she was going to experience pain. Oomans were so sensitive.

He left her to ball under his leather sheet on his bed, trusting that she would get over it soon. Xai’an often spoke of Z’s odd temperaments and he assumed that he would have to get used to Renee’s as well. She was mated and marked, so he didn’t have to worry about her being accepted in Yautja Prime and she was safe on his ship, so he could focus on tracking down that Bad Blood.

He redressed and headed to his armory to restock on various weapons. After finishing with his gear, he paused. It occurred to him that Renee was sitting in his room with no clothes, and though that would not bother him in the slightest, he knew that oomans tended to be sensitive to temperatures. He made his way back to his room.

Upon entering, his eyes went to the ball on his bed that practically radiated anger still. He went to the computer panel in the wall and pressed his hand over it. It beeped in acknowledgment before the hologram keyboard opened. He heard a squeak in the leather behind him and it made him smile because he knew that she was watching what he was doing. He looked at her over his shoulder and sure enough, her little face was peeking out of a little hole she had made. She frowned at him, but didn’t avert her gaze.

He curled his finger at her, beckoning her to come to him, and that made her frown harder. “No way. I don’t trust you not to bite me again.”

Baaul actually rolled his eyes at her and dropped his hand to his side. He had already explained that his biting was his marking her and that he wouldn’t have to do it again. She was being stubborn and petty, but he didn’t have the time to entertain her. So he went to her and ripped the leather cover off of her. She kicked at him but her little legs didn’t hurt him in the slightest and he simply wrapped an arm around her middle, carrying her at his side like ball.

“What the fuck are you doing, Baaul! You can’t just-oof!” He dropped her in front of the keyboard and ran his fingers over the keys. He ignored the slap she left of his thigh and hit the command key to start the machine process.

A tracking laser came out of the wall and rushed the room in a wide spread of rays until it landed on Renee. It hesitated over her, slowly tracking over her body and she awkwardly lifted her hands as if to avoid triggering a violent response. “What is this?”

“Taking your measurements. I destroyed your clothes.” He answered her.

His answer seemed to get a mixed response from her, but he didn’t quite care to understand it. He waited for the laser to finish its tracing of her and vanish back into the wall. A shelf thrust out in the same spot the laser had come from and Baaul reached in to grab the netting and cloth for her. He handed it to her and frowned at her expression.

She held it up as if it were dirty. “I understand we had sex, but I’d like to have actual clothes, Baaul.”

Baaul actually sighed. Paya help him. Never in his life did he ever think that he would get such a complicated mate. “This is Yautja dress.”

She blinked those big eyes of hers. “Yeeowcha? What the hell is that?”

He simply pointed at himself and then pointed at her. “Ooman.”

Her brows went up in recognition. “Oh! That’s the name of your species!” She looked at the clothing again and grimanced. “It’s offensive to want something else…isn’t it?”

He nodded. The garment would display her status as her mate. There would be no other ooman more lavishly dressed except for Z as he was the highest ranked Elite Yaujta. The emerald green silks were of the finest quality found in over 12 galaxies, light enough to flutter in a breeze, but strong enough to withstand even the sharpest blades. There was gold threading along the hems of the skirts and breast pieces. He felt that the colors would compliment her pale skin and bright hair.