Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

Lorna

Akoma was incredible. Their underground cavern was massive, and while the Loppies village had been lovely, the place had also been made for four-foot-tall people. But Akoma was made for the large beasts who stood over six feet tall.

Kini and Yanna showed me the room I would share with Whitten. Kini was the more talkative among the two, while Yanna was a doer. While Kini babbled, Yanna cleaned, swept, and straightened flower arrangements. After I bathed, she put ointments on my cuts and bandaged them. However, she watched Kini talk with affection. I liked their camaraderie.

The clothes were incredible, made of a loose fabric that Yanna said the Drix bought from villages on their travels. As Yanna finished showing me my room, Queen entered. I was struck by her appearance—while her wrinkles and stooped posture belied her age, her eyes were very clear. Intelligent. Shrewd. She missed nothing. Her high cheekbones and long gray braids were beautiful along with her dark toned skin, and I imagined in her younger years at full height, she must have been absolutely stunning.

"How is your room?" Queen ran a hand over the clean bedding. "Yanna, Kini, and I have been hard at work preparing more rooms. You are one of many women we hope to welcome."

As soon as she uttered those words, I knew I was home. I immediately jumped to my feet and stumbled over my words in my haste to get them out. "I'm so glad you said that because I was underground with so many women, and it wasn't good—" I stopped talking, wondering how much I should say in front of Queen.

But she wouldn't silence me. "Please, tell me what happened there. I want to hear it. You won't shock me, dear. I've been here a long time."

So I told her about the arena. The fights. The blonde warrior who had saved my life. Who I promised to stay alive for. "I think about her all the time. I almost didn't want to leave when Whitten and I were given the chance to escape. It's one of the reasons I refused to sit by while the Loppies were threatened. I can't handle more violence among the innocent."

Queen's expression had hardened when I talked, and by the time I finished, her eyes were flint. "Those assholes," she spat, and it felt so good to hear an Earth curse.

"Total assholes," Yanna echoed.

"Mother fuckers," Kini quipped.

Queen smiled grimly. "We'll talk about it all soon. For now, come eat. I know you're hungry. Tain prepared a meal."

Kini clapped her hands and skipped ahead of us out the door. "You're going to love his cooking."

We walked back down the hallway and back into the main cavern. The smell of food filled the room, and I immediately spotted Whitten standing with his brothers near a table. I went right to him, and as soon as I was within reach, he folded me into his arms. He buried his nose in my hair and inhaled. "You smell good, mate."

He smelled good too. He'd also bathed, and he had several bandages covering shaved bits all over him. He was a bit of a mess, but his grin was in place, and his eyes shone without pain. "Are you feeling good?"

"Better than I've ever been," he answered.

And I believed him. There was something different about his expression. A lightness I hadn't seen before. Was it because he was home? Or was it because he'd finally told his brothers the truth about what had happened to the Drixonians?

The mood during the meal was light. Kyle taught Tain more teenage Earth slang. The women talked to me about how they filled their days and that I could take all the rest time I needed before starting to help out.

As the meal finished, Tain rose to clean up, but Lynix spoke up, "Sit back down. I have something to say."

I didn't know Lynix well, but Whitten had told me he talked a lot. Made jokes. And during this meal, he'd been quiet. He hadn't eaten all his food. Yanna had made eye contact with him many times.

Tain stared at Lynix with a frown before lowering back into his seat. Yanna fidgeted in her lap and blew her hair out of her face. She looked at Lynix. Lynix looked at her. Finally he threw his paws in the air. "Fleck it, I don't know how to announce this. Kini's pregnant."

The room went deadly silent. So still that I could hear the dripping of water from somewhere underground. And then Queen clapped her hands and let out a thrilling cackle. "It's about time!"

The table erupted. The brothers rose to pat Lynix on the back. Kini burst into tears as she hugged Yanna. Kyle seemed embarrassed by everything in typical teenage fashion but muttered some congratulations to Yanna.

I met Whitten's gaze over the table and shook my head. I didn't think I was pregnant. But we'd talk about that soon. When we were alone. This was Lynix and Yanna's time.

We celebrated for hours after that. The brothers busted into some homemade spirits that Tain made. Kini had some, while Queen and Kyle abstained. I had a few sips but couldn't handle the strength.

Eventually, Yanna begged off, telling everyone she was tired, and Lynix stumbled after her, a bottle still in his massive paw. Queen had long gone to bed and forced Kyle to his own room. Tain's snores could be heard from the kitchen, and Eleric drummed the table while Kini and Bastian danced.

As Whitten and I retreated to our room, I realized Whitten had less to drink than I realized. He walked straight, and his eyes weren't cloudy like the others. As soon as the door shut behind us, he collapsed on the bed with a groan with his arm thrown over his eyes. I sank down beside him and took in his injured body.

"Does this hurt?" I asked him about this shoulder that bore a particularly large bandage.

He shook his head. "Not anymore. Eleric is good at what he does." He peeked at me from under his eyes. "I told them."

"I suspected that. I would have stood next to you when you did."

"I know, but it's okay. Queen told me she wished I had shared the burden earlier, and my brothers agreed. All that time I held it in…" he blew out a breath. "I thought I was right at the time. I'm not sure I would change my decision if I could go back in time, but for now, I'm glad it's no longer all on me."

I know how hard that was for him. "I'm proud of you."

He slid his arm up over his head. The picture of relaxation. "Are you happy here?"

"I didn't realize I could be this happy here. I had thought happiness existed with the Loppies, but here… Queen is so warm and inviting. Yanna and Kini feel like old friends." I smiled. "And I'm with you."

"I'm not happy you left me," he said softly.

I knew this conversation was coming. "I'm sorry. I don't regret what I did, but I'm sorry I felt that was the only option."

"I understand why you felt that way. But I wish you would have talked to me."

"You would have talked me out of it."

He blurted out a laugh. "I would have."

"I don't think we'll be in a situation like that again, so let's just leave it in the past. Focus on what's ahead."

"You're not pregnant?"

"I don't think so," I answered honestly. "That was a lie for the Xaberians. But… clearly it's possible. Yanna is going to have little human-Drix-lion babies. Man, I bet it'll be so cute."

Whitten pulled me down to his side and slid us up the bed. The mattress was soft, and my head sank into the cool pillow. I had a feeling I'd sleep for days. Safety settled into my bones. Belonging. Home .

"Thank you for rescuing me," I said softly into his warm fur.

"Thank you for rescuing me ," he whispered in my ear, and with those words ringing through my head, the jaws in my mind rested. I closed my eyes and slept in my own bed with my mate.

Thank you so much for reading Crying Wolf!