Chapter 46

"J oalee? My Joalee? Wake. Come. Wake. Warm things on. Up. Come. Up."

"Ugh. I don't wanna," I grumbled, then tried to roll over, to find that I could not.

Scowling, my eyeballs popped open. "What ungodly hour is it?" I grumbled. First the pickaxing, and then the wild monkey love— which I was a-okay with, but now this?— a girl's gotta get her beauty rest!

The corners of Buu's lips quirked up into a grin but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Come. See."

Helping me with the process of becoming human this early because I was still in half-feral pregnant lady trying to catch up on her much needed beauty sleep mode and absolutely not in the mood for this shit, I had to admit he had a bigger hand in dressing me than my half-awake ass did.

Fussing with my hood with one set of hands, he placed a clay mug of hot tea he'd steeped while I was sleeping into my hand with another set of hands as he led me down the hall.

When we reached the entryway, I finally realized he had a strip of hide, like a belt, strapped across his shoulder, a sheath for a rather large looking knife in it, and a large axe strapped to his back.

Realizing I was dressed for the cold, I glanced up at him questioningly. "Have you invented a contraption to hoist me up into the holes in the ceiling so we can go adventuring?"

"Come. See," he murmured. Cupping my elbow with one of his hands, another slid along my back and a third curled over my shoulder.

A sputtering noise left me the second we entered the cave entrance. Sunshine spilled out where ice had once completely blocked it, keeping me trapped inside.

"Is it- Can we- Are we going to go out exploring?" I asked.

Buu nodded, frowning as he stared off at the sunshine peeking in. His gaze drifted over my swollen fingers repeatedly.

Something was kind of off about this whole thing but I couldn't put my finger on what, exactly.

"Come. Eat. We go." Buu wasn't necessarily rushing me but he certainly wasn't wasting any time. The beast meant business. Were we that low on supplies? I mean, I knew it was starting to dwindle but…

"My Joalee eat. Feed bebeh. Make strong," he rumbled out softly as he guided me along.

The fire was going, food plated nearby and ready to go. He used the clay from the back caves to make his cups, plates, eating utensils, you name it. Much like the dark clay found in the village, it didn't take much, rapid-fire baking in his forge.

"Somebody's been busy," I noted.

"Want make nice. Be perfect." Buu's clicking purr started up as he joined me. This time, however, he insisted I sit in his lap.

"Aren't you going to eat?" I asked, offering him a bite of the soft pumpkin pancake tasting pan bread thing he had waiting for me. It was mildly sweet and smelled as good as it tasted.

Buu shook his head. "Buu eat ‘ready," he rumbled softly into my hair as he buried his face in it and sniffed it.

"Suit yourself," I singsonged before shoveling another bite.

By the time we were ready to go, I had to squint at just how bright the sun was, reflecting off of all that snow surrounding us. I've been in this damn cave too long.

Today, he'd proclaimed, he was going to teach me foraging. It was a sort of get our feet wet trek out into the great unknown. Baby steps. I was puffy as hell and tired easily but I knew this would be good. I needed this. Ugh, I was a huffin' puffin' mess.

"Wow," I whispered, as Buu helped me climb out of the mountain of snow his cave had been buried under. Again and again, his gaze kept darting towards me. He'd stared at me for so long as we finally emerged, I'd had to ask what he was staring at. I knew I looked pale but c'mon, I wasn't that pasty in the sunlight, was I? It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him if I glittered but he wouldn't understand the reference or the joke. It also risked him deciding vampires were real. I'd learned that lesson telling him about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. My poor Buu-buu bear was going to be forever keeping an eye out for egg crapping flop-ears and Sandied Claws trying to sneak into our place.

"Is it- Can we get back in there?" I fretted. I was so excited to finally be out I'd barely thought of much else. Overwhelmed—I was definitely feeling it, mixed in with relieved excitement. "What if it caves in while we're out foraging and we're stuck outside?"

Buu blinked down at me for a full minute before a soft grunt left him. "Be fine."

"Uh, okay." Someone woke up on the wonky side of the pelt this morning and it wasn't just me. Did he get hot with all that fur and the sunshine beating down? Is that where his sudden snuffle-grump-a-gus ass-ness came from?

Perhaps he was feeling as overwhelmed as I was? He needed a minute, to acclimate. I could give him that. It was a lot, going from shut in to free to roam about the country.

Buu was quiet as he helped me through the snow and we tromped along. Again and again, he glanced my way questioningly.

Okay, I get it, you're mated to a sausage toes and fingers puff monster. Work with me here, I've got a passenger on board!

"We should've made snow gloves," I mumbled absently, just starting to understand the depth of snowy white stuff we'd been up to our eyeballs in. Puffy and cold made for more aches than I was ready for.

This part of the forest was insanely thick with snow and heavy brush.

As we traveled, getting further and further away from the cave, too many pee breaks to count under my belt, all that thick white stuff caking around us finally started to thin. Finally, a bit more and we could start this foraging business.

"How long do you think we've been traveling? Cause, I mean, if I'd been counting steps, I feel like I'd be clocking them for next week by now," I mumbled as I trudged along. Daylight was waning, that's how long we'd been at this. Small foraging foray, my ass. Mama needed a nap!

Rummaging through the small knapsack he'd handed me, I pulled out a piece of fruit and started to peel it. I was about to ask Buu if he'd like half when he paused with one of the water sack looking things he'd brought with him to his lips.

Buu froze, lowered the water bag for lack of a proper name for that bulbous ball of treated hide, and his ears began to perk up. All four of them swiveled independently. The fluffy tufts of purple atop them flopped this way and that as he lifted his nose to the air and inhaled deeply. A distressed noise left him and his ears shot flat but it was his lips thinning, a strange gleam in his eyes, that really got me.

"What is it?" I whispered. My gaze darted every which way. I moved in closer to him. "Should we head back?" Shit. Should I ditch the fruit? Doing just that, chucking the fruit off into the forest, I dipped to hastily wipe my hands on the snow.

"Joalee Buu's." His throat began to work as more distressed noises left him.

"Of course," I whispered, eyeing him worriedly. "And you're mine." What the hell was going on?

Ducking down, dragging me along with him, he shoved his arm into my face. "Bite."

My eyes widened as I glanced from the furry appendage he was waving in my face, to him. "I'm sorry, did you just tell me to bite you? Isn't that, I don't know, the opposite of what we should do when faced with a predator? Won't the smell of blood draw them closer?" Expression souring, I leaned in, moving his arm out of my face, to softly whisper, "Are we in that much trouble you're going to try something crazy like bleeding to lead the beast headed for us away? Can't we just, I don't know, climb a tree to get away or something?"

Buu made an impatient noise in his throat. "No. Bite."

Again, he pushed his arm into my face.

Again, I gently lowered it. "Hey, McCray-cray Pants. You're going to have to give me a bit more than no and bite me if you want me to follow along, okay?"

Popping up to glance around, he grumbled, "Waits here. Buu has the loves. Be back. No move." Leaping over the log he had me set up behind before I could get a word in edgewise, he took off.

My mouth dropped open in horror as he got far enough out and started to make noise.

A few minutes passed as I sat there, trying to hold perfectly still. I felt like my heart had stopped to kick back on double time.

Long moments passed. Every passing minute felt like an hour. I was starting to feel like a freezer pop sitting here huddled by a log and a fugly looking tree.

I had no idea how much time passed. It felt like it stood still as I sat here and waited, terrified for my mate.

Buu's weird noises were no longer echoing off into the distance. I couldn't figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Just when panic was starting to set in, I heard it.

"Jo!"

"Jojo!"

Ohmyfuckinggodwhat?!

"Celuk?! Tor?!" I called out softly, though I refrained from popping up and running to them screaming my head off for them just yet.

There could be something out there.

Shit. Should I warn them? Was it really them? I mean, I've seen those mimicking movies. If Buu could look Lo denaii, could anything else? Were there, like, body copycatting aliens out there, too?

"Be careful!" I called out. "There's something out there!"

"Jo!" Celuk's shouts drew closer.

"Jojo!" Tor's hearty bellow sent winged creatures scattering from the trees.

When I could make out something breathing nearby, I cautiously lifted up to have a peek.

"Jojo!" Tor bellowed louder.

Spying his retreating back, I popped up and ran after him.

"Here! I'm right here!" I practically screamed as they hurriedly rushed past my hiding spot.

Tor whirled around as I sprinted for them.

Snow Patrol stood there for a full minute, blinking down at me stupidly as I rushed up to him.

Right as I reached him, I got a really good look at him and my smile fell. Frowning right along with him, I took a few steps back from him as he gaped down at me. He looked anything but happy to see me. "Hi," I mumbled awkwardly as he just stood there, mouth half agape, unblinkingly staring down at me, still as a statue.

"Tor?" Celuk barked sharply, somewhere off ahead, but Tor wasn't home right now.

"We're here," I called out. "Over here!"

"Jo." Celuk breathed my name. He came running towards us, stumbling as he went. For someone who could move so quietly with such crazy ease, he seemed to have thrown that all out the window in favor of charging towards me, racket he was making be damned. He nearly fell flat on his face as he entered the small clearing near my hiding spot.

"I think there's something out there," I warned him, my words a jumbled babble. "Buu told me to hide and took off that way." I pointed in the direction he'd gone.

"Who Buu?" Tor finally blurted, staring at me with the strangest look on his face.

"Buu, uh, he's my mate. He saved me, uhm, when the Krampus attacked me."

Tor blinked really hard once at that one.

My hand went to my face to brush the stray flyaway hairs out of it and then I remembered. His stare. My face. Those horrendous scars marring one side. My hand dropped as I glanced away. I was the first to break eye contact, self-conscious under such deep scrutiny.

I didn't think about it much, the scars, after they'd stopped hurting. Unless I was staring at my own reflection in some water, no mirrors in the caves, it hadn't been an issue. Buu made me feel beautiful. He looked at me like I was. To him, it was like I didn't have any scars at all.

The way Tor was staring at me made me want to grab at my hoodie to pull it down over my face more. He finally snapped out of it the second my mangled face was out of his view. Tugging my hood low, I stared down at the thick, fluffy, fuzzy snow shoes covering my feet.

"Make camp. Go look Jo' Buu," Celuk grunted out. He frowned as his gaze darted between us.

Nodding, I joined them as they started off in the opposite direction Buu had taken off to.

A beast on either side of me, I fidgeted, unsure of myself more than ever now.

So much for a warm reunion. I mean, not that I entirely blamed them or anything…

"He told me not to move from that spot," I muttered after a moment, pausing to glance at the spot from over my shoulder.

"Celuk find. Bring Buu to Jo," Celuk rumbled out softly.

Nodding along absently, I followed after him. Celuk would find him and help him. Celuk would make sure he was safe.

Falling in line behind Celuk as the brush grew thick, Tor brought up the rear. I could feel those peepers boring into the back of my skull as I walked. A shiver raced up my spine, and not really the good kind.

The urge to stick my tongue out at Tor and insist I wasn't a freak was strong.

One foot in front of the other, I kept walking. Not once did I glance back. I couldn't. Seeing that look on his face once was enough.

We stopped not too far from my log hiding spot. It was a much shorter trip than the trek out here, that's for sure. I thought my dogs were barking before. They were flat out yelping by the time we'd finally stopped.

Camp was a makeshift tent, a fire, and two very quiet males sandwiching me in without making any moves to touch me, as I stared off into the fire, worriedly thinking about Buu.

Celuk had tried to look for him earlier, shortly after camp was set up, but he'd come back empty handed.

When Tor suggested we find a better spot, I wouldn't budge.

"I have to wait for him. He's supposed to come back to the village with me." My gaze remained on the direction we'd come from, waiting for him to just pop out around the corner and join us. He wouldn't just leave me like that.

My hand almost went to my belly a few times but I kept stopping myself. I couldn't explain why. I was strangely nervous about telling them about the baby.

"Smell funny," Tor rumbled out finally.

"So do you, don't see me bitchin' about it," I snapped at him.

Celuk glanced up sharply and his gaze darted between us.

"I'm sorry. I'm tired," I mumbled as I deflated immediately. Could I really be mad at him? I mean, fuck, he was out here looking for me. His reaction wasn't unrealistic, even if it did hurt.

With another mumbled apology, I stood and excused myself to the ladies room. I was a bit surprised they'd allowed me this but maybe they sensed I needed a moment alone, even if it was just around the corner, squatting behind a tree.

When I returned, I took a seat opposite them both, my back to the fire.

Tor stood and walked right over to me. Taking a seat on the side of my face with all the scars, he cocked his head as he watched me. I scowled over at him before thinking better of it and smoothing out my expression, and pulled my hood over my head more to hide it from his view,

"He's coming," I muttered, shifting a little away from him. "It's just taking a minute. You'll see. He's a good male."

"Jo boob mate smell funny. Different. Ketire. Yowie."

"Buu, not boob." Fidgeting for a minute longer, I let the scowl I was holding in free. "Yowie," I echoed. "That's just another name for Bigfoot."

"Jojo Eardth have Krampus stories, too, yes?" Tor tried to lean forward to meet my gaze but I shifted, turning my whole body to face away from him.

"So? What's your point?" Jerking my hood up a little, I turned to him and gave him a look. It didn't seem to faze him.

"Face," he dragged his hand down his own, "it hurt?"

"No." All the annoyance and pain I was trying to hold onto and aim in his direction left me. Trying to add some levity to the conversation, I joked, "Does yours?"

Tor frowned as he met my gaze. "Tor face not-"

As if realizing too late I'd been trying to crack a joke, he glanced down at his thick legs and began tearing up the grass near him.

"Your face isn't shredded up to hell like the side of mine, you mean?" Shaking my head, I shrugged. "No, it doesn't hurt anymore. It happened a while ago. A Krampus. It's all healed up now. Until someone's flat out staring at me like I'm a freak or I smile too wide and the skin starts to pull, I can't say I really think too much about it. Buu doesn't pay it any mind." Pausing for a moment, I then added, "Buu is kinda like you but not. He has a fancy bite and stuff. His bite, it- It's like the antivenom to a nasty Krampus bite. I'm pretty sure I was dying from the Krampus attack. It- It attacked me when I tried to escape, bit me all over… my leg, side, clawed up my face. This- This inky black stuff was starting to fill my veins." Dropping my hood, I moved my cape and jerked my furs to the side enough for him to see the bright blue color now replacing the black inky ichor that had been trying to kill me. Might as well let him get his gape on and get it all out there. Lifting my arm, I turned it this way and that so he could get a good eye full. Might as well get it all over with here and now and wash our hands of this gaping nonsense.

Tor leaned in, his scowl so deep I almost reached out to smooth out the heavy lines forming on his brow.

So close I could feel his breath fanning over the side of my face, he rumbled, "Jojo brave. Strong. Jo Buu goot male, save Jojo. Goot Yowie."

Putting my shirt back and readjusting my cape, I nodded. "You can tell him that yourself when he finds me. He'll be happy to hear it." My gaze darted between them. "He was worried no one would accept him. He didn't want to be parted from me and the b- uuuuuh, erm, big old thing that is our life."

Tor cocked his head as he studied me. "Jojo ‘kay?"

"I will be." My smile was small but genuine. "How, uh, how've you been?"

Tor glanced at Celuk, who gave a subtle shake of his head. My gaze darted between them when Tor growled but settled back down beside me, keeping himself at a respectable distance.

"What?" My gaze pingponged between them. "What is it? What aren't you telling me?" My hand went to my throat as I worked to swallow past the lump starting to form in it, threatening to block my windpipe. Oh my god, what the hell happened since I've been gone?! My heart started to thunder wildly. "What is it? What happened? What's wrong?"

Celuk gave Tor a dirty look before moving in closer to me, until he'd taken up the empty space beside me.

My hands flapped at my sides wildly. "Don't give him that look! What are you telling him not to tell me?!"

Celuk went to take my hand in his and lower it, possibly so I didn't jab his eye out. I went to jerk my hand out of his and this pushed his hand right onto my bump. Celuk froze right as I did. Eyeing the deer in the headlights look on my face, a soft noise left him.

It sounded like all the air in his lungs had vacated the premises. Throat working, he moved his hand closer.

"Jo," he burst out in a rush of air, then pressed his hand more firmly over my stomach. It splayed across my belly over the furs I was wearing possessively.

Tor leaned over me, trying to get a good gander at what had Celuk making that face.

"Hide scent," Tor grunted out as he sniffed at my neck.

"I am not," I blustered out, squirming uncomfortably but unwilling to shove Celuk's hand away or smack Tor's nosy butt away from me. I'd missed them. Fuck, how I'd missed them. Celuk was touching me. He was here. He'd found me. I could barely wrap my head around it. I'd missed him horribly. Tor, too.

"Not Jojo. Jojo' Buu," Tor pushed out past his pressed lips. With a loud grunt as if to clue me in to his location, Tor carefully reached around me and slid his hand next to Celuk's along my bump. A soft, surprised grunt left him.

"Why would Buu hide our scent?" I blurted, right as Celuk garbled out gutturally, baring his teeth at Tor, "Mine."

Tor reared up at the ownership in Celuk's voice but then thundered, "Mine," and snarled right back.

Seated as they shot up to snarl-argue over my head, I pointed out, "If you wound, maim, and or kill each other, as moved as I am by your show of possession, I can't exactly drag the winner home."

Celuk's snarl cut off and he retook his seat next to me.

Tor huffed and chuffed but slowly did the same.

Cupping my hands over my belly protectively, leaving no room for anyone else to get a feel in as I rubbed my hands along my stomach lovingly, I confided in them, "Buu says it's a girl."

"One baby?" Celuk asked as Tor began to rumble-purr.

"That's what he said," I told them.

Uncurling my legs from beneath me, I grimaced as I wiggled my feet in my boots. "My face is scarred up, I'm scarred up, I'm pregnant and I'm puffy. Let's get that all out there so no one pisses me off making comments about it at random when my guard's down, okay? Like, we've addressed it. Moving on. I-"

"Puffty?" Tor frowned and glanced to Celuk, who was looking equally as frowny faced.

"Yes. Puffy. Super puffy." Lifting my hands, I showed them. "It could be my super power, kinda- Hey! What's the big idea, behemoth?!"

Tor had his grubby paws on my boot and was working to get it off before I could finish my damn rant. An unhappy noise left him as he exposed my foot to the cold night air.

"I was using that," I huffed as I motioned for him to give me my damn boot back already.

Celuk grumbled something at him that had Tor looking to me sharply, dragging his gaze from my marshmallow of a foot, to quickly hand it back to me.

Stuffing my foot back into my boot, I slumped where I sat with a sigh.

"It's not exactly warm and sunny out here, bud," I muttered petulantly.

"Tired. Sleep. Celuk watch." Pointing at the tent, he jerked his chin in its direction.

"I'd love some water. I forgot mine back at the log. Does anyone have some they could spare?" I asked instead of dignifying his order with any sort of response.

"Tor get." Tor was up and taking off before Celuk could respond.

Turning to Celuk with a pointed look, I pursed my lips. "What were you telling him not to tell me?"

With an equally stubborn look, Celuk leaned in closer, until our foreheads were nearly touching. "Drink. Relieve. Rest. Celuk tell."

"How's about I drink some water, eat the food I'd brought, sit here and wait for Buu, and you can stuff it and keep your stupid secrets, I don't need them," I countered.

Celuk grinned in the face of my fit of pique.

Closing the distance between us, his forehead bussed mine, cutting me off mid eye roll. Our noses brushed. His actions weren't even overtly sexual but they hit me like a ton of bricks all the same, as if he'd planted one on me.

My throat worked and I found myself blinking back tears. Smiling crookedly, I croaked out, "God, I've missed you, you crazy asshole."

Celuk closed the distance then. My hands came up to cup his face as his arms wove around me and his lips found mine. He kissed me like a male starved, like this one would be our last.

"My Jo," he breathed, as we came up for air.

"Oh my god, I've missed you- Missed you so fucking-" A loud thunk near my feet cut in on my mumbled between heated kisses words.

Celuk pulled back slowly to glance up, where as I jerked back like I'd just been caught doing something naughty, and my gaze shot up to meet the swirling eyeballs of Tor's other half.

"MINE," Hyde grumbled.

"Yours. Mine. Ours," Celuk grumbled out softly.

"There's a movie by that very name," I joked, hoping to break the tension. I got two frowning scowls aimed in my direction for my efforts. My hands shot up in surrender and I left them to their grumbling conversation.

Hyde dropped down to his knees, lifted his water skin, and scooted in closer to hand it over to me.

"Thank you," I told him softly, bringing it to my chest with a grateful smile to uncork it and take a long drink. Frowning as I realized it was nearly gone, Celuk had another quickly held out to me.

"I don't want to drink all of yours," I muttered, even as I eyed that thing covetously.

Celuk waggled it at me with a look until I took it. "I don't recall you being this stubborn," I muttered, but took a long drink.

"Food." Hyde grunted and dropped a sack in my lap.

Glancing between them, I pulled out what I had to offer. "We can all share." Explaining what each item was on the off chance they didn't know, Celuk and Hyde munched on the sweet ground corn balls Buu had made, while I devoured a sandwich as big as my head Dorothy had prepared.

Finished, I made yet another trip to the ladies' room, grumbling about the little ninja kicking my bladder, and then shuffled my way back over to them.

My feet, back, boobs, my just about everything were killing me. I was tired and feeling it. I just wanted to crawl into something comfortable and sleep.

Determined to wait for Buu, I ignored their repeated entreaties for me to rest in favor of waiting for my Kehr-Bear. While we were waiting, I filled them in on all that's happened up to this point. I may have glossed over a few things that they might get upset about, but for the most part I stayed true to the real story.

By the time I'd run out of things to say, Celuk and Hyde had moved in closer, until we were hip to hip, their warmth more than welcome with the mad chill in the night air.

Hyde had torn up a large section of grass as I spoke. Bits of it coated his legs.

Celuk stared off ahead, into the woods, alert, listening.

With a yawn, I allowed my eyes to close for just a moment, just one little second.

What felt like moments later, I popped awake with a jolt, to a heavy arm wrapped around me, warmth at my back, curled up on my side, the slow, steady rise and fall, warm breath ruffling my hair.

Struggling to get my bearings, forgetting where I was for a moment, a noise tore from my throat.

Hyde popped up with a snarl. Blinking owlishly around the small space, his gaze dipped and softened as it found mine.

"No more scaries things. No more cries sounds," he soothed, flopping back down to urge me to join him. "No cries," he cooed, smoothing a hand up and down my back.

Confused, I rolled to face him. The action dragged his hand up my scarred side. My body's reaction was instant. With a hiss, I jerked away from him.

Confused, Hyde, looking more Jeh-kahl at the moment with the multicolored red and black swirling eyes, sat up. I had to assume the tusks and extra arms were optional when he was in his middle form. The horns were not. "Hurts? Where? What do?"

"No, it doesn't hurt. I- I- You can't touch me like that." I didn't mean to shout it at him like that.

He slowly pulled away with a nod. His movements were stiff, wooden, jerky.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." My breaths grew shaky, my words quavering.

He nodded but no longer met my gaze. A sick feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.

When I lifted my hand to shove my hair away from my face, it was shaking so badly I could barely use it properly. My tongue felt thick and dry. "I'm sorry," I found myself repeating once more. "M-m-my scars, they're sensitive. They-" A short, self-deprecating laugh left me. "I have a funny reaction to them being touched," I hedged.

My super-sized fuzzy wuzzy made an unhappy noise in his throat. "Hurts," he grumbled. Carefully, he reached out. The back of his hand brushed along the scars marring my cheek. "Want hurt for hurting my Jo." His lips drew back, exposing an impressive display of sharp teeth.

"A-am I? Still your Jo, that is?" When my eyes pricked, he quickly pulled his hand back.

"Jo mine," he rumbled out without preamble. His hand dropped to my knee and he began to rub it in soothing circles. "Jo mine, all the times."

Swallowing thickly, I gulped audibly. "Can you- Do you think you could forgive me for- for-"

"Jo forgive Tor, Hyde, Jeh-kal, for be stupid? Rek says Tor unforgived-ably stupid. Say Tor dummy head."

A small, sharp shock of laughter escaped me. Yeah, that sounded like my sock monkey. "Next time he tells you that, tell him it takes a dummy to know a dummy. He'll stop saying that to you."

He nodded. His hand moved up my knee a few inches. It massaged and kneaded my taut flesh. It felt so good I nearly groaned out loud.

"I'm so sore," I admitted.

"My Jo like?" he softly purred.

Shivering in his talented fingers' wake, I focused on breathing and nodded. The effects from him rubbing along my scar were minor. I had the good feels tinglings but he wasn't in danger of me jumping him and trying to ride him like a prized bull. Yet.

"Show," he whispered. "Want see. Jo show?"

Bristling at his request, I gripped the ties of my cape hood. "I don't want you to ever look at me the way you did when you first saw me again," I whispered. "It- It hurt worse, almost, than getting the scars in the first place."

"Tor… no have words. See my bootiful Jo, see she hurt and know we not there help." His hand fell to his chest and he rubbed the spot. "Tor know, not good ‘nough male. Not keep our Jo safe. Not g-"

My hand slapped to his mouth and I clamped it over it. Leaning in, I hissed, "Don't you fucking dare. If I hadn't been a total dumb ass once you got your shit together, we'd have never been apart, ever again. But I didn't. I got hurt and I got stupid and I fucked shit up. If we're going to play the what did or didn't happen blame game, I'm just as shitty of a mate and undeserving then."

He growled into my hand, jerking it away from his face to nab me up and mash his mouth to mine.

Good god, YES.

I kissed him back immediately, most eagerly. Fuck me, I've missed him, so damn much.

His hands were everywhere, mine were buried in his fur, clawing at his back to get him closer.

His head tilted and his tongue darted out to tangle with mine.

One of his hands slipped as it began to softly knead at my hip. Instead, it raked up my side, right along my scars. A shocked gasp left me, followed by a long moan as I fairly convulsed with pleasure in his arms.

My nails dug into his flesh harder as my back arched. "It's- It's- Oh god."

A soft breath left him as he held me and watched.

Leaning in, he gave my neck a sniff. The deep, happy rumble rattling his chest as I shivered anew and my arousal perfumed the air had him responding in kind.

"It's the- Scars- Sensitive- Ugh…" I forgot how to speak as he started off nuzzling my nape, then nuzzled his way down my shoulder. "Mine," he muttered as he began peeling my hooded cape free from my body, kissing every bit of flesh he exposed as he went.

My breasts swelled, then began to ache. My core pulsed. I felt that fire in my veins.

Laving at my neck, I tipped my head to the side, understanding he was readying to strike. His fangs sank deep and liquid ambrosia filled me. I felt double whammied with it.

I was already riding that high. His bite added a whole other level of crazy.

I got loud, begging, crying out, demanding he take me now, hard, deep, don't stop ‘til we drop. Gotta love those love bites.

Once he'd managed to wrangle my clothes from my body, he struggled to keep me pinned down so he could make good on fucking me into next week.

My hand slid down his cock. I pumped it once, relishing the way his big body froze and he let out a growl mixed with a moan.

He panted, staring down at me, as I crawled closer, until he was right there, thick, jerking, waiting for me to peel that furry foreskin back, take him into my mouth and taste him.

When I did just that, he dropped forward with a shout. Their big body shook, snarling as their claws dug into the floor of the tent, as I took him/them as deep as I could, to then slowly glide back out, to do it all over again.

My pussy wept as I worked his length, aching, empty.

Thick fingers dug into my ass as he leaned over me. He jerked my legs apart and curled his body over mine better.

Something long, thick, and wet lapped at my slit. I nearly choked on his dick as it found my entrance and struck, diving deep.

A jolt of pleasure rushed through me. I moaned around his length.

With a growl, he jerked his hips, urging me to take more of him. I tried but found I'd reached my limit. He was just that fucking massive.

Grabbing my hips, he jerked me back towards him, so he could eat me out without having to pretzel himself. This left me, considering our body size differences and the position, with a bit more than the fat head of his cock and the first few inches to love on. It wasn't like it had been for him moments before, but my hands finished the job, fisting the rest of him as my mouth sucked him off.

He jerked his hips back at the last moment, right as I was tipping over. Cum arched through the air, spattering across my face and neck as he dragged me back.

With a snarl loud enough to scare the critters from the trees within a mile radius, he had me beneath him, head down, ass up, making a mess all over me as he went, and was mounting me, as Buu liked to bluntly put it, in moments.

A soft cry left me as he entered me. The fit was insanely tight. His hands were everywhere. They paused every so often as they brushed my baby bump and he'd slow his pace just enough I noticed.

He was so thick and it'd been so long, it took me a moment to get past the sting of him filling me and find my pleasure once more.

Dropping down over me, his rumbling purr vibrated my back. "Mine," he muttered over and over as he pistoned into me. His roar echoed into the woods surrounding us as he dropped over the edge and took me, practically wailing as I found that sweet release, along with him.

"Don't stop," I gasped out when he started to collapse atop me. "You started this and I am not even near to finished." Slapping at his hip weakly, I wiggled where I was impaled on his cock and still pulsing around him. "Don't give up on me now, big guy. I need you."

A grunt of surprise left my companion.

"Not only did you touch my scary sensitive scars, but you bit me, dosed me with the good shit." Glancing over my shoulder at him, I gave him a look. "I'm not even close to done with you yet."

Big guy's cock gave a hard jerk as I milked him. The way he shivered and warmth bathed my channel anew, I knew he'd just come again.

A few rounds and one big mess covering us later, the big guy had to call it. I imagined he was as tired as I felt, maybe more, if he was running around all over here, all the way out here, looking for me.

Flopping to his back, panting heavily, he gave his cock a look as if to say, How are you not tired yet, you asshole?!

Climbing atop him because he was too worn out to insist he take the lead, a soft snarl left him as I promptly took hold of the situation. Lining us up, I took him deep.

"No… hurt… baby," he choked out.

"Don't slam deep and we won't," I told him.

He nodded, bit his lip until his fangs dug in, and held perfectly still.

"You won't hurt me," I purred as I began working his length.

He growled softly beneath me, reaching up to cup my breasts and brush his thumbs along the aching nubs pointing at him.

My channel clenched at the pinch of pain and my hips worked harder, faster. Before I knew it I was right on that edge again.

Growling softly beneath me, he slid my nipples between his fingers and pinched them.

I came with a harsh cry, trembling atop him. He followed me over, snarling the entire way.

As I started to limply fall against him, he curled me into his chest and rolled us to our sides. Hovering, half over me as his cock wetly slipped free, his head dipped and he brought one of my aching breasts to his mouth. My hands dug into his fur, digging in deep enough he groaned as his lips closed over my nipple.

Shifting his body, his free hand came into play, rubbing along my slit as he worked to drain my left breast.

When he'd finished with the left breast and switched to the right, I'd come from rubbing up against his hand alone.

Pulling back at the last moment, he brought his hand to his mouth and his tongue rasped down his palm. The noise he made had me shivering in all the right places. Reaching out for him, I tugged him back down to me, sighing in relief when he settled himself between my legs and curled his large body around me.

One more round with him and I felt like a jiggling mass of gelatin. I was dead in the best possible way, aching right breast or not.

Curling me into his back, he barked something over his shoulder that saw Celuk poking his head into our cozy hideaway. One sniff and he growled softly.

Cupping my right breast, Jeh-kal jerked his chin as he growled at Celuk softly.

Crawling inside, Celuk settled on his side next to me. Taking one of my hands, he kissed it and then shoved it onto his hair. His head dipped and he latched onto my breast without so much as a how-do-ya-do.

My fingers dug into his scalp as he curled in closer. Ignoring Jeh-kahl's warning snarl, his thigh pressed against me intimately and I arched into him.

One of his hands slid over my ass, cupping it to squeeze. Every now and again his tongue would lash across my nipple and he'd take more of my breast into his mouth to bite down gently.

By the time he'd finished with his initial intentions, I was ready to jump his bones.

Instead of getting right down to business, despite the impressive wood he was sporting, he kissed his way down my body. My breath caught as he paused to nuzzle my baby bump, placed several sweet little kisses to it, then moved on.

By the time his breath was whispering across my aching sex, I was resisting the urge to grab his head and mash his face into my aching pussy.

It wasn't needed.

Celuk ran a finger along my slit, used two to spread my lips, and paused to stare at my glistening, pink insides for a long moment. Dipping closer, he placed a kiss to my throbbing pearl. Lifting his head, he barked some sort of warning at Jeh-kahl, then took that aching nub into his mouth to gently suck.

My hips bucked and I cried out.

Thick fingers gripped my hip from behind and dug in.

Celuk buried his face in my cunt and ate me out like it was going out of style.

Celuk was scary attentive, in that he paid very close attention for any cues from me. Intent as he seemed on his task, he'd slow down or speed up, change the angle or depth of his tongue's penetration, until I was creaming all over his face, coming so hard I screamed.

He kept going, until I fell limply against Jeh-kahl.

With a sexy growl that never failed to make my insides quiver, he crawled up my body, kissing and nipping his way to my mouth.

His muttered-growl speak sounded good to my ears. He could be reciting the local flora and fauna and it sounded sexy as shit to me.

His lips found mine as the head of his cock nudged my sex, notched at my entrance, and he slid right home.

"My Jo," he growled out, lifting one of my legs higher, settling it over his forearm, to press deep, lean in, and snarl into my shoulder. His teeth pricked my skin but he never bit down. He was holding back. I could sense this. I was too tired to care or comment at the moment.

I knew when he came, his big body shuddering, cock jerking, arms starting to tremble with the force of his release. This wasn't even a two pump chump, this was a one and done, and as if knowing this might be the case he'd made sure to take care of me first. He would get no complaints from me on that.

I was a so-tired-I'm-giggling, replete, spent mess as he shuddered and sexy-growled atop me.

Cuddling me into his arms, we stayed like that until his cock finally softened and slipped free of my depths.

If Jeh-kal minded being squished into all of this, into me with Celuk lingering, he'd stopped protesting a while ago.

Celuk lifted his head, placed a kiss to my lips, rumbled something at Jeh-kal that had him grunting and nodding in reply, then stood and made to leave.

"Where is he going?" I asked Jeh-kal as Celuk closed the tent flap behind him.

"Wait for Jo Buu," he said simply.

"Wait," I called out, "Let me get dressed and cleaned up and I'll-"

"Jo rest. Stay." Urging me to my back, Jeh-kal leaned over me. Dipping his head, he started at my neck, his thick tongue darting out to run along my throat.

"And what are you doing?" I whispered as he got to work kissing every inch of my body.

"Clean my Jo," he purred, lifting his head.

"I won't say no to that," I whispered.

And when he was finished with that, he started at my hands, massaging them until they didn't feel like swollen sausages threatening to explode, and then started in on my feet.

I fell asleep moaning in pleasure in an entirely different way than I had started off not so very long ago.

I'd thought our reunion was bad? Musta been outta my mind.