Chapter 28

Axon

The morning sun poured in through the cave entrance and I wanted to keep my eyes shut and pretend it wasn't the next day, not yet. Our mating was still so new, so fresh that holding her didn't feel real. I knew it was. I could feel her pressed against me, and scent her sweetness in the air. But I had to wonder if there would ever come a day where waking up next to her would feel like reality instead of a dream.

My mate stretched and yawned beside me and I held her even tighter. The blow to my heart felt a little easier to bear in the morning light. I had wanted to mate with Ashley so badly. I had wished beyond all hope, that my body could handle it, but it was just too much.

Why would luminescence ever choose me for her? Almost every first luminescence brought about a pregnancy for the new couple. Would Ashley and I be able to have sietlings of our own if I couldn't mate with her?

I pushed those thoughts aside. It was a short few days ago that I didn't even think I'd be able to handle her touch, and now look at us, fully cuddled up together on the furs. If we could figure this out, then surely we'd figure out how to have children as well. That was, if she wanted to have children.

I could easily picture her heavy with my sietling like Gab-bae was heavy with Tarak's child now. Her time to birth their sietling was drawing near. I wouldn't be surprised if she birthed the newest member of our dekes by the time Ashley and I got back.

"What are you thinking about?" Ashley asked as she ran her fingers through my hair.

"I was wondering..." I let my words hang in the air for a moment, unsure if this topic would upset Ashley or bring her joy.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to have a sietling with me one day."

I shifted my position in the furs so we were facing each other. Ashley looked surprised by my question but not displeased.

Her face relaxed into a grin. "Yes, I'd like that very much."

I was so happy with her answer that I'd momentarily forgotten to breathe. Ashley's touch on my cheek drew me back into reality.

As she trailed a single finger up one horn then down the other she admitted, "I've thought about what our child would look like a few times," she admitted. "I think they'd have your horns, and my hair, your ears, and my nose. They'd probably have a cute little tail too."

I could vividly picture our sietling as Ashley described them. I wanted that future for us, I wanted it so much that it hurt. We'll figure it out. One day, we'd have a penetrative mating that will result in a child, our child.

"Speaking of children, Neelu said if you guys want to prevent pregnancy, the males will chew some barra root everyday. Do you do that?"

I nervously ran a hand through my hair. "No, I've never done that. I doubt any of us hunters have."

"Why not?"

"Well, until five moons ago, we didn't think we'd have mates, so it seemed unnecessary, and until a few days ago, I didn't think I'd be able to hold you, let alone mate with you."

"Oh, that makes sense," she nodded.

"Do you want me to start chewing some barra root everyday?" It seemed redundant since my body couldn't handle mating with her yet, but I'd gladly do it if she wanted me to.

"No." She shook her head. "I'd like to have a child as soon as we are capable of having one. I'd like to see our little one toddling around the caverns and running up to your parents who will most likely spoil them to death."

I barked out a laugh. My parents would be overjoyed if Ashley and I had a sietling. They had mentioned to me a time or two how nice it would be to have sietlings in the dekes again and they would pointedly look over at Ashley just in case their meaning wasn't clear.

"I think they'd feed our child treats just to ensure our little one would seek them out every hour of the day." I agreed.

Ashley laughed at my comment then sadly got up from the furs. "I've got to use the bathroom."

Which was the human way of saying she needed to relieve herself. I still wasn't quite sure why they used that phrase.

"Do you think we should leave soon?" She asked as she glanced at the morning sun slowly rising higher in the sky.

"Yeah, we probably should." I sighed. I didn't want to leave this place. The scent from our nighttime activities still lingered and I wasn't ready to let that go, but Ashley was right, we did need to leave soon to make it back to my moon cave before nightfall.

We gathered our belongings and headed out into the forest. We walked hand-in-hand as I led my mate down a lightly worn trail. We talked more about children and the future when the breaking of a twig underfoot stopped me in my tracks.

"What is it?" Ashley asked, eyes wide with fear.

"Someone approaches."

I opened up my senses to the world around us. The rushing water of the river, birds singing in the treetops, a badger digging a hole nearby, and light footsteps were undeniably getting closer to us with each step they took .

"Stay here," I whispered. "I'll see who it is."

I shifted into my spider form and climbed the nearest tree. I used my webbing to swing from tree to tree until I was right above a small cloaked figure. This was not one of the males from my dekes. It could be a young hunter from the other dekes, perhaps Drovo's brother Favalor. He was the only one I knew of who would have grown to this height by now.

I intentionally stomped one of my spider legs on the tree trunk to get the individual's attention. They looked up, and as they did their hood slipped off their head. It was Holey. What was she doing all the way out here?

Ashley

I waited nervously by the tree Axon had told me to stay near. I knew he could hold his own, but I still worried. If the males from the other dekes could injure Brexl, the fiercest of them all, then they could injure Axon too.

Maybe it was one of the guys from our dekes. Axon did say that Rhaz comes out this far sometimes. Maybe it was him.

I chewed my nails as I waited and breathed a sigh of relief the moment I saw Axon walking back through the trees, unshifted. There was someone with him, but I couldn't see who it was from here.

"All is well!" My mate called out to me. "It's just Holey."

Holey? What was she doing out here? I remembered how she wouldn't meet our gaze as Axon questioned the priestess about her necklace. I had wanted her to speak up during our meeting with Kahina and was still a little bitter that she didn't.

I walked up to them and they both looked tense.

"What's going on?"

"I want you to take me to the ship you discovered," Holey admitted. She pulled out the priestess's metal pendant from her pocket and held it up like a fine jewel. "I want to show you the truth."