8

Serik

"You can do this, mate. Step up before pushing through," I shout through the crevice. When Artyom and I returned to my dyla weturanya, the last thing I expected to find was Vera yanking my mate's arm through the entrance crevice. Despite being over fifteen meters under the permafrost, my chernyrozd's screams carried to the surface.

"Why didn't you tell her to climb up before trying to exit?" I ask Vera with a flash of fangs. My mate's pale hand reaches for me between the rock slabs. Her distress will haunt my nightmares.

"Watch your tone toward my Ryluk," Artyom rumbles. His growl doesn't scare me. We're the same size and I don't have the honor he has to get in my way of tearing him to pieces.

As much as I want to rip her hair out for tricking my mate, I need Vera to befriend Kaitlyn and convince her to commit to me. Artyom and I were as giddy as kits, daydreaming of our happy mates all day. Artyom confided in me that Sydney's pregnancy eroded her friendship with Vera in favor of Patricika, who has young. He lit up like the morning sky when I told him of Kaitlyn's reluctance to mate because she doesn't want a pregnancy yet. The female's friendship will make both our lives easier. It wasn't until I met Kaitlyn that I understood why a Chuchunya male spends his time pleasing his mate. Vera's mood controls Artyom, who I thought was made of stone.

"My apologies," I say to Vera. "Seeing my mate in pain pushes me to the edge."

"Artyom would be the same way," she replies with a wink at her mate. "What do you suggest we do to free her? She can't fit her hips through the opening. She's wedged too far to go back."

Kaitlyn's sobs break something in me. I spring into action. Instead of answering Vera, I plant my foot against the wall. The other foot and opposite knee brace themselves against the interior of the crevice. My nails pull from their beds as I dig them into the solid rock. I swallow my agonizing scream. Kaitlyn's fingertips whisper across my thigh and it's all the encouragement I need to haul my weight up the rock face.

"Serik, I'm scared," she whispers. Her glassy eyes and puffy cheeks shine in the small space. Tight spaces scare her. How many times did she tell me this, but I selfishly used her fears to contain her? Her lips tremble. The pale quality of her skin is brighter, making her appear more angelic than usual. The need to save her pushes my muscles beyond the burning within them.

"You don't have to be afraid," I say between grunts as I climb. "I'm here. I know the secrets of the tundra to keep you safe. If you let me, I'll rescue you now and from anything you fear in the future. Know that when I'm around, you are safe."

"You can get me out?" she asks with a vigorous nod. Pebbles rain down on her and my left hand slips. She squeals and lowers her chin to protect her eyes. I lift my knees to balance at the top of the crevice. With my hips against one side and my knees propped against the other, my hands are free.

"You can climb up and out," I growl with guilt weighing on my words. "It's a wedge-shaped entrance. I'm much bigger than you but pass easily because I climb up before I step through. I guess Vera didn't know the trick because she's small enough to fit without climbing."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Why can't she fire the question with me in anger? I'm used to her fury. It's the broken bird tone in her voice that guts me.

"I'm a Svoloch who tried to trick his mate into staying with him. I'll lift you," I say in a voice steadier than I feel. If she panics, I'll have to fight through her thrashing limbs as I save her, but she deserves my confession. Anyone else I would blow off, but not her. She's terrified because of me.

"Lift me straight up? No leverage? It won't work. I'm too heavy, Serik," she says with increasing pitch, so the last syllable is squeaky. Tears flow over her cheeks in twin rivers. Her smashed chest rises with labored pants.

"Focus on me," I snap. Passing out would be the only thing worse than panic.

"I'm going to die," she says with a whimper. Of all the lies I've told and tricks I've pulled, this will put me in a funeral pyre. I can't believe I did this to her.

"Do you trust me? I don't deserve your trust, but I need it, for this will work."

Time stops as her sparkling brown eyes bore into my soul. I'm asking for the impossible. My hands reach for her. If she doesn't raise her arms to meet mine, I'll slide down to her, but the climb upward to the widest part of the doorway will test my strength. I wait with open arms. How do I promise her this is the last time I cross her when I'm not certain I trust myself? She scans my face as if I'm asking for more than to give her a boost.

Maybe I am. It's on my lips to tell her this is a mate's purpose—what I've waited my whole life to do. While my clan values fierce females who stand beside their males, I want to be my mate's hero. Maybe it's my infamous ego, but I love Kaitlyn's fears and dainty sensibilities because I get to rescue her. I can't wait to hunt, and butcher kills to feed her because she's afraid of blood, carry her through the snow to protect her soft feet, and soothe her when noises wake her from her sleep. Who will be the one who makes her feel safe? Me.

Starting now.

Soft, smooth hands gliding into mine interrupt my thoughts.

Leaning into my hips, I drag Kaitlyn up the rock's face. She sobs as the rocks scrape her thin clothing, making long stripes along the front. Gathering her into my arms, I balance her on my thighs. Her soft curves hug my flexing muscles. The humans will have an explanation for how I saved her, filled with big words and sentences longer than the zima season. But Chuchunya know dushevnayasvyaz boosts the strength of mates with the power of love.

She may want to claw my eyes out, but I fell in love today.

"You aren't trapped anymore, my chernyrozd. You are safe with me," I whisper against her ear. I'm such a Svoloch to enjoy her arms around my neck and the press of her body against mine. Her tears cool my feverish flesh. My fingers dig into her hips to revel in their softness. Her legs dangle over mine, but her core is kilometers from where I'd like her to sit. The way her lips quiver against my collarbone reminds me of tiny kisses. I could claim her in this position with witnesses conveniently below us, but even I'm not enough of a jerk to force the issue.

"Look, Kaitlyn, open spaces are on both sides." I must push my desires aside and calm her pounding heart. Wisps that must have escaped the plait of hair down her back dance around her ears. They stick to her tear-stained cheeks as she looks both ways. I surrender to the urge to brush them away. She sniffs, but otherwise allows my touch. Vera and Artyom cheer below, blooming the sweetest smile on Kaitlyn's lips.

When she swings her eyes to mine, my heart skips a beat.

Hope, admiration, and maybe even the stirrings of dushevnayasvyaz swim in her tears.

"Hold on to me," I say, running my hands down the outside of her thighs. I cross her ankles at my lower back to align our bodies as if mating. Her arms tighten around my neck, and she lays her head against my chest. I'm terrible for taking advantage of her fear and trust, but I don't care. My mate is docile in my arms. As long as my cock stays in its nest of fur, I can delay her realizing her mate is not as chivalrous as he tries to be.

She clings to my body like a squirrel anchored to a tree trunk. I have my hands and feet free to descend. Artyom raises an eyebrow at my path down the rocks. He knows I could reach the ground in half the time, but thankfully, keeps his glotat shut within his fangy smile. Each shift of our bodies as my legs reach brushes Kaitlyn's sweet heat over my lap. I never want this descent to end. The exquisite torture of having my mate so close yet so unwilling to yield to me rolls my eyes in bliss.

"Am I too heavy? Do you need to drop me? Maybe Artyom can catch me," Kaitlyn whispers.

The name of another male on my mate's lips pulls a growl from my chest. The male in question chuckles but doesn't uncross his arms to receive her. Artyom and I fully agree that nobody carries a female but their mate. He's as possessive of Vera as I am of Kaitlyn. That's why I believe the females' friendship will benefit me.

A Chuchunya couple won't survive past their first zima season without the support of other couples, but the entire clan doesn't always approve of a pairing. To demonstrate alliances, Chuchunya will watch a couple's first mating at the annual mating chase with a fist over their heart. Having Vera and Artyom supporting us means we can trade supplies, hunt and forage together, and take turns guarding one another's mates…or even young.

"Serik, you saved her!" Vera's cheering for me wipes the smirk off Artyom's face.

"I'll always save my mate. She doesn't know the tundra like a Chuchunya," I say, more to Kaitlyn than Vera. She burrows deeper into my fur while I burn with dushevnayasvyaz. My heart fills to the threat of bursting. Admiration, acceptance, and love crackle around me like lightning. Serik, with his ugly teeth, is today's hero.

"Let's bundle her up and get her a cup of tea," Vera says, grabbing my hunting cloak off the nearest hook. She tosses it to Kaitlyn to cover her torn clothing. Artyom swings Vera onto his back and the pair walks to the surface without confirmation from me.

"I know tea's not your favorite, but you worked hard to leave our interior rooms. Why not tour the rest of our home? I think you earned some fresh air around the fire, don't you?" My voice is quiet and gentle as I address my trembling mate.

"Earned? I nearly got myself killed," she sobs, blasting me with her brown eyes. I start our ascent to the surface with slow, measured steps.

"I chase all dangers away, chernyrozd. You discovered the secret to entering my den is climbing upward. The narrow base of the crack keeps out animals who may break through our entrance door—wolves, bears, and moose." I wish I had permission to kiss the frown from her lips.

"A narrow inlet keeps them out, but don't you understand I can't be stuck again? Your narrow entrance scares me," she says in a husky voice.

"Even after knowing the secret to the entrance?"

"I'm not athletic. What if I don't trust myself to climb high enough?"

"Sergei is four times my size, eight times your size, so his door is quite wide. He built a second locking mechanism to keep animals out of his inner door. Would you like me to widen our entrance and build a lock?"

"You shouldn't change your home for me," she mutters. Why does she tense in my arms?

"We will change my homes into our homes, all three of them," I reply, trying to keep my voice light.

Vera covered Artyom's empty central cavern with human things she calls knick-knacks. I've known him long enough to know he prefers sparse homes because he'd rather be wandering. He didn't even build stairs into his home, so visitors must jump down a ten-foot drop before walking under the permafrost. Artyom is the stoic, plain twin, while his deceased brother, Denis, was the flamboyant, artistic twin. The useless art filling Artyom's home shocked me this morning. I daydreamed of Kaitlyn filling my homes with things that make her smile. Does she collect scarlet and grey buckeye things like Vera? Somehow, I doubt she will hang antlers and weapons like Patricika's trophies.

Doubt creeps inside my heart as the temperature drops. Will Kaitlyn stay with me?

Snowflakes swirl around my ankles. I tuck my cloak under Kaitlyn's lower legs to hug her feet. She's right, she needs foot protection. Thank goodness, Artyom and I caught and skinned six rabbits. Our deal is I keep four skins and the meat of two rabbits for our dinners and Kaitlyn's shoes. Artyom and Vera receive two rabbits for their dinners, two rabbits to make travel jerky, and two skins. Artyom teared up when he said he wanted two smaller hides for baby clothes despite their inability to conceive.

Maybe Kaitlyn has the right idea with her IUD. Could Vera have one and not know it? I'll have to ask Kaitlyn. Maybe she can fix their family problem!

"Sit her beside me. I have a mug of tea steeping," Vera says, tapping the space beside her on a log. When I set Kaitlyn down, she extends her hands toward the fire. I'm a heartbeat from snatching them away from the dangerous flames when her lips curve into the sweetest smile.

She's fine… I'll keep an eye out for jumping embers or sparks.

The fire blazes higher than I like. We are out in the open and the bears will be waking from their zima slumber soon. My door lies in the snow. I hope Artyom didn't bend it. While our guests aren't neat or good cooks, their storytelling is incredible. Kaitlyn laughs at their jokes, pulls her fists to her chin at the story's danger, and peppers Vera with questions. I'd be jealous, but Artyom and Vera demonstrate to Kaitlyn what I've failed to explain.

A couple's dushevnayasvyaz is as unique as the individuals involved.

Kaitlyn doesn't have to be a huntress, a mother of a large brood, or a brave explorer. Just mine.

I'll be happy as long as she's with me.