Raw

Chapter Ten - Admittance

I slept heavily that night. My whole body seemed sapped of energy. When I finally awoke, Mother and Hektos had left, and the sun poured in through the window. I sat up groaning. My head throbbed, and by the wet feeling between my legs, I needed to change the cotton.

The door flap opened and Father entered.

"Hello," I said, my head pounding. "I don't feel well enough to hunt today."

He knelt in front of me. "I don't expect you to hunt today." He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck as he leaned over to look into my eyes. "You are not to touch another female again."

"What?" My head pounded.

"Or a male either, unless it's your mate when you're on heat. Nor is anyone to touch you, am I clear?"

"Are you talking about yesterday?"

His hand tightened, pulling at my hair. "Yes. That was unacceptable."

"Mother was only teaching me what my responsib—"

"I've told her she cannot do that anymore." A deep, low growl came from his throat. He'd never spoken to me like that, and it frightened me.

"Father—"

"You are my most precious child, and I will not allow you to be tainted."

"But when I become alpha—"

"While you are here, you are my daughter and will live by my rules. Is that clear?"

Gazing into his burning eyes, I said softly, "Yes, Father."

He released me, rocking back onto his heels. We stared at each other. I didn't know what he wanted, or what to do. Father had never been angry at me like that, even when I got into mischief as a child.

"Zora."

I looked into his deep hazel eyes.

"I wish you could be a child forever." He kissed my forehead and hurried from the hut.

I shuffled into a cross legged position, too dazed from my headache to really process Father's overreaction. Instead, I removed the cotton, changed my clothes, and hurried to clean up.

The rest of the day I mostly laid in bed, only getting up to wash and get something to eat and drink. But that evening, Father entered the hut, ordering me and Hektos out.

We sat by the fire pit, the smell of the heat still lingering. Hektos sniffed the air, gazing toward the hut of Sapine.

"Hektos," I said softly. "Are you nervous about forming your own pride?"

His glossed over gaze slowly turned to me. "Hmm?"

"Never mind." I prodded at the fire. "Can I tell you something?"

He blinked, shaking his head. "Sure."

I shuffled closer to him. "I think I love Mhor."

He raised his eyebrows. "Who?"

"My mate, the son of Cal."

"Oh." He rubbed his neck. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

I nodded, leaning against his shoulder. "But what if he doesn't love me?"

Hektos chuckled, tilting his head back to look at the stars. "Zora, if you want him, he will have no choice but to love you. You will be like Mother is to Father; he favors her even when his other females are on heat." He sniffed, glancing toward the hut. "You are very much like Mother."

I smiled, thinking of the praise all who knew her gave to Mother. To be like her would be a great honor.

About an hour later, Father emerged. We watched him as he hurried toward Sapine's hut. He didn't even notice us. Hektos took my elbow and we walked back to the hut together.

The next morning, to my delight, my bleeding had stopped. Although I still felt light headed, I could help out around the camp. The next day though, I gathered all my soiled clothes and blankets and headed to the waterhole.

At the waterhole, I scanned like I usually did, but this time, I saw something different. Scratches farther down the bank—long, thin scratches. I paused, checking the water. There. A crocodile half submerged watched me.

"I know you're there," I said, pointing at it.

It blinked, and swam away.

Father needed to know about this and deal with it before more decided to take up residence. But I needed to clean my things first. Squatting down, I kept an eye on the croc while I washed my things. When I glanced down to grab my blanket, the croc disappeared. I tensed, scanning the water. This was bad. I stood to move away from the water when she launched out at me. I screamed, but she caught hold of the blanket and my right hand. Her teeth cut into the back of my hand, drawing blood. Her eyes gleamed at the taste and she gave me a sharp tug.

I stumbled forward. Struggling, I scratched at her face. But she just pulled me in deeper. No, no! I couldn't go like this!

A roar filled the air. Mhor pushed in beside me and swiped her right in the eye. She released me, hissing at him.

"She's mine," he snarled.

The croc hissed again as it sunk back into the water.

Mhor pushed me back as he gathered my things. He hurried away from the waterhole to his cave. There, he cleaned my wound and bound it to stop the bleeding.

"Are you all right?" he finally asked as he stroked over the bandage.

I nodded. "Shaken, but I'm fine. This will heal quickly."

"Good." He leaned in and kissed me.

I clasped his face, pulling him closer. He'd saved me, and I'd missed him, so kissing him felt wonderful.

He pushed me onto my back, and slipped my dress over my head. He kissed my neck as his hand ran up my body. "It's been days, Zora."

He loosened his pants, sliding them down as he sucked my nipple into his mouth. He moaned softly as his tongue made circles around it, then stroked the tip. Tingles erupted over my body as I shuddered. He switched nipples, licking it just as tenderly as he pushed his thick cock against my opening.

"Oh Mhor," I said breathlessly. But my shame came to mind. My failure. "Mhor, I must tell you something."

He met my gaze without breaking away from my breast, and nodded.

"Mhor, I..." I looked away. "I failed to conceive."

His lips broke from my nipple, but his tongue softly stroked the tip. "I know."

"You know?"

He nodded, squeezing my other breast. "I watch the camp. I don't have much else to do. I saw you cleaning out the bloodied rags."

I covered my face. "I'm so sorry."

"Zora." He shuffled up over me, pulling my hands away from my face. "I'm not upset."

"You're not?" I searched his eyes.

"No." He touched my cheek. "I had to cut your heat short. I'm not at all surprised. Usually males need several days of mating to ensure conception, even then there's no guarantee. You know that. But I only had a day and a few tries." He kissed my cheek. "We can try again."

I gazed into his eyes. "I'm afraid of going on heat again. It caused so much trouble before."

He sighed, stroking my hair back from my forehead. "This time you have a mate, and I'll be there waiting for it to start. Everyone will be prepared." He kissed me. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you."

Gazing into his eyes, I relaxed. I trusted him completely, and knew he'd keep his word. I slid my legs wider.

He grinned and pushed into me.

He nibbled at my neckas he pushed gently in. I felt tender from my bleeding, and he probably knew ittoo. He mated with me far gentler than usual, but it satisfied my cravings fromthe last few days. My heart swelled with every kiss, every touch. I loved him,I had no doubt anymore.