Chapter 37

C eluk was not home. Baby was gone. I cried the whole way back to the village. What had happened?! And he hadn't told me?!!

The more I reminded myself I'd been ignoring him and he very well could have been trying to tell me but, yeah, I'd been ignoring him, the more it ate at me.

"Oh my- What's happened to you?" Dorothy caught sight of me passing her place on my way back into town from Celuk's, nose swollen to hell, blood staining my clothes, eyes swollen from crying. She couldn't get to me fast enough.

"I fell," I deadpanned, too worried about Baby to care or try to explain. "Do you know where Celuk is?" I mumbled as she ushered me into the house, shouting the place down as we came in through the back door. "I just came from his place. Baby's gone. He's not there." Holding up the horn in one hand, I wiped my eyes on my jacket sleeve with the other.

"I- I don't know, but let me get you some tea and cleaned up and we'll see if we can't find him for you." Walking me over to their couch, she took off mumbling under her breath about hot tea, water, disinfectant, snow for swelling, and towels.

Mosoau walked in the front door with Doogie trailing him, chattering like magpies.

They paused, glanced my way, continued for a moment before pausing to backtrack and gape. "What happens?" Mosoau barked, his upper lip curling until his fangs were bared.

"I fell," I said simply, gaze darting between them. "Have you seen Celuk?"

"Celuk at Sorak's," Doogie replied absently, eyeing my swollen nose. Gesturing at his own mug, his face scrunched up. "Who get in fights with Jo?"

"Who is Sorak?" I asked Mosoau, ignoring his son.

"Monoed-siren. Offed-world-er, him say himself. Hornied head, horse-need-man. Raise horn-head beasts," Mosoau grumbled softly.

I knew that place. Standing, I mumbled, "Right. Thanks."

I was just running out the front door as Dorothy rushed in. "Now, where's she off to?" I could hear her ask them.

The Unicorn man. That's where Celuk was.

Grimacing at the ache in my shoulder, I switched my bag to my other shoulder and hurried off. He'd taken my Baby's horn and he was going to sell her to some Unicorn loving horn-head? Was that it? I had a great imagination and it was tormenting me in the worst way imaginable right now. Where was my Baby?!!

Those are exactly the words that popped out of my mouth when I marched right up to this Sorak's place, right over to where I thought I heard voices, right up to Celuk as he spoke with Sorak like they were familiar acquaintances, and waved the horn he'd left for me around wildly.

"Where is my Baby?!" I demanded to know, pointing the horn at Celuk menacingly.

At this point they were both gaping at me. Celuk, possibly more so because I looked beat to hell, and Sorak because, plain and simple, I looked and sounded plumb crazy and he had no clue who I was.

"My Jo- You face," Celuk rumbled in alarm. Easily clasping the horn in my hand, cupping it with his to lower it, he grabbed my chin and turned my head this way and that to lean in for a sniff. "Rek," he snarled, looking ready to fight.

"His idiot girlfriend tackled me," I admitted, "but that's beside the point." Relifting the horn, I poked him in the chest with it. "Baby. Where is she?!"

Undeterred, he continued to examine my nose. "She hit Jo face?" he muttered, frowning thoughtfully.

"My purse did the hitting." I gave my good shoulder with my purse on it a wiggle. "Whacked me in the face as I fell."

This Sorak, let out a startled laugh. Jerking my chin from Celuk's hold, I gave the Unicorn man a look that said my next purse-face-whack had his name on it, just keep that up.

"I'm sorry, but it's funny," he rumbled, his voice deep, melodic.

Celuk bared his teeth at him, letting him know that it in fact was not funny. Grumbling something at him in Lo denaii, the male sobered, then turned to me to dip his head and apologized.

My glare turned into a frown. "You can understand them?"

"Can you not?" he asked, a taunting note in his voice.

Ah… a smarmy one. I bet he's a smarty pants that thinks he knows everything.

"I think that's best reserved for the loner know-it-alls," I huffed and chuffed at him.

Celuk grinned at that and said something to Sorak that had the male letting out a whinny of an annoyed snort to walk off into the big building they were standing next to. Bossy, I thought I heard him mutter.

"Jo." Celuk cupped my face, pressing his forehead to mine, like we weren't broken up.

"Did you get my letter?"

"Jes," he said simply.

"You read it?"

"Jes."

"Then… what are you doing?"

Celuk let out a grunt that said, uh, isn't it obvious? "Nose hurt?" he asked suddenly, right as I asked, "Where is my Baby?"

Celuk cracked an eyelid open, to stare down at me.

"She's not at home. I was just there and I-"

I got a smack on the lips that knocked my socks off at that one.

"Baby safe," he rumbled out softly.

"We- I- That's- That's good." I couldn't help but stare at his mouth as I licked my lips. "Her horn-"

"Fall off when Baby not baby no mores. Celuk give to Baby's mama."

Baby wasn't a baby anymore? When I repeated myself out loud, he informed me, "Ready for mate now. Make babies. Baby go in heat."

"And I'm- I'm Baby's mama?"

Celuk smooched the befuddled look right off my face.

By the time Sorak came across us I was trying to climb Celuk like a tree and he was happily, growling and purring simultaneously against my lips, helping me in my endeavor.

At a rough throat clearing, Celuk paused to snarl, then dove right back in.

I didn't fully snap out of it until I heard that first soft, familiar low.

Breaking free of the magic that is Celuk's kissable lips, I turned my head and sighed in relief, in his arms, as Baby came charging at the pen Sorak had put her in so I could see she was alright.

"Baby!" I cried, extricating myself from Celuk to rush over to the pen.

She called longer and louder at my approach.

"Spoiled," Sorak muttered under his breath, looking even more perpetually frowny faced than Celuk.

"Of course she's not, nutsack," I shot his way. Then, to my sweet lil tato baby, "Are you, Baby?"

"Not- Sorak's not meaning the furkepkie," he grunted out. "Or kep-kep, like the furballs say."

"Excuse you?" I was whirling around to give him a piece of my mind when I realized he was insinuating that Celuk was spoiled and not me.

"Have boxes of furkepkien horns," he grunted out with his oddly accented voice. "Give one to a stubborn, reluctant mate, she comes running, showering with the kisses. Bah. You balls of snow fur have it all easy."

"Reluctant, stubborn mate," I echoed, giving Celuk a look that had him glaring at Sorak to shut the hell up. Turning back around, I had a few lovely moments with Baby before a male unitato in an adjoining pen across from her let out a mournful low and she gave me one last slobbering kiss to my hand before rushing off to her chosen male. Her little ass wiggled as he began nuzzling her face through the opening between pens, until they both had happy, wiggly asses.

"Thanks, nutsack. Fuzzsticles," I muttered as I made my way past them and headed back to the village. "I'm glad she's alright."

"Where you go?" Celuk called after me.

"Gopher popped in and several Yeti women followed him. He looked rather displeased to see them. I've been contemplating cutting his balls off, then setting Rek's hut on fire. I dunno… it's a splurge day… maybe I'll make cookies and eat all the cookie dough at the last minute! Try out that axe from Snow Patrol! The world is my oyster!"

"She is… serious?" Sorak blurted, sounding alarmed.

"Gopher no smell like other females!" Celuk called after me.

"Of course you'd defend a fellow reluctant, stubborn female conqueror!" I shot back.

"I go," I thought I heard Celuk mumble hastily.

Sorak let out a whinny of a noise I realized as I walked on was probably laughter.

Whatever. I don't know what he was laughing at. I wasn't really kidding. Mostly.