SEVEN

- kuvier -

I have found my heart's beat.

I did not know until today that I had lost it, but truly did my heart ever even move before I saw her? My mate. My bonded pair. The other half of my spirit.

She is fierce—even now she stands staring me down with ferocity, despite the fact that I terrify her. I can scent her fear, and yet she stands firm. It fills my heart with pride and I fight back the grin that aches to spread my lips as I do not wish to frighten her more. I am no fool. I look at her and I can see that we are not the same. Her teeth are blunted, even the ones that come down to a point look as if they would cause only minimal damage. In comparison, my wide smile with large, double canines would likely frighten her.

My mate squares her shoulders, pushing her dark braided mane over one shoulder. Then, she opens her pretty little mouth to say, "Mi naym eez Sehtohnah."

"You make such pretty sounds. I wish they held meaning to me," I comment, tilting my head to follow the dark coils around the edge of her face with my eyes. We have not seen curly hair in generations, not since the Tuvti tribe died off in the Great Death many generations ago.

"Mi naym eez Sehtohnah." She says it again, this time her eyes are wide, shaped like a fafa nut, and conveying hopefulness.

But I just give her a toothless smile. I do not know what her words mean, but I do enjoy looking at her.

She makes a groaning sound and scrubs her hands over her face before locking eyes with me. She thumps her chest and repeats the last word of her sentence over and over, thumping herself each time. Sehtohnah. Understanding strikes me.

"Your name," I breathe in awe, looking at her with excitement. "My female tells me her name."

"Sehtohnah," she says again.

"Hello, Sehtohnah." She shakes her head and repeats her name again, stressing each sound. I have said it wrong. I give it another try, and then another and another. "Sedona?" She gives a nod finally, and I am happy. I tap my own chest, "Kuvier."

"Coo-vair," she repeats. I chuckle at her effort to make the swallowed growl that my name ends with.

"Kuvier," I say again, stressing each sound carefully.

"Cuh-veer," she repeats, getting it much better, though still missing some of the sounds that resonate in the chest. Regardless, I give her a bright close-mouthed smile and my heart warms at hearing my name on my mate's lips.

But, it wanes just as quickly when I happen to look down and take in what she is wearing. I look her up and down, frowning, for I have been a terrible male. She wears an unnaturally yellow tunic and short pants with small covers that poorly protect her feet. Every article of clothing she wears looks as if half of it is missing. No wonder she is shaking like a leaf under the shawl draping off her shoulders. And yet, I did not notice because I was too distracted by her sweet face and the sugary sounds that dripped from her tongue.

Tsking at myself, I drop my pack and pull the cloak off my back, holding it out expectantly. Held up against her, I can tell instantly that the cloak would swallow her form. She will need to loop it properly, or the weight will certainly pull it off her shoulders. Still, she does not move, instead staring in confusion, so I use one hand to grab her at the waist. She squeals in surprise, but I simply pull her closer to me by the hips, getting her close enough to feel my body heat. It is hard to do so, but I let her go when she is close enough. I wish to grip at her softness, but right now she is skittish. I do not need to scare her off before I have even known her.

I throw the cape around her shoulders, and knot and loop it at the front, allowing it to stay upright. Sedona looks down, grasping at the cape and wrapping it tightly around her. She gives me a bright smile, and I feel vindicated. She looks very cute like this, draped in my clothes with her arms clutched inside.

But then she goes and tries to step away. I scowl and gently tug her to a stop. Her foot coverings—if I can even call them that—are not suitable for the ever-increasing inches of snow on the ground. I would give her mine, but I am looking at her feet and I do not know that what I have to offer would be suitable for her. I am wearing only traditional hunter's wraps. They provide me with enough coverage from the ground that I am comfortable, but my toes are still loose to allow grip and momentum. But, even wrapped in the stiff materials of her foot coverings, I can tell that Sedona does not have feet that mimic me. If I had to guess based on the way she is a furless, soft thing, she would need much thicker coverings than what I have on. I will have to make something for her.

I wonder how to communicate to her that I wish to inspect her feet.

Sedona pulls at me distracting me from my thoughts, trying to move away again, but I will not let her. It is much too cold and she cannot walk like that. How she still has her toes after being practically barefoot in this weather, I do not know, but she will not risk them with me here. I shake my head at her and gesture to her feet, the snow, and back again.

She looks down and realization brightens her eyes. She bites at her lip thoughtfully and my eyes zone in on the motion. It is strange to think, but I should like to lick her lips. I should like to nuzzle at them with my own and nibble at the plump flesh. I have never seen any of the mated pairs do this, but I have never seen a female with such beautiful lips either.

And I have never seen a bonded pair before. Suppose we simply show more affection? I cannot imagine a world where I would not want to touch and paw at her. Already the bond draws me in, tying me closer and closer to her, like a rope tied from my soul to hers, pulled taut and dragging me into her.

Does she feel the same? Does she feel the drive to be with me the way I do her?

Sedona pulls me from my thoughts again when she makes a swirling motion with her finger that tells me to spin. Though I am confused as to why, I spin in a full rotation before coming back to face her. My female giggles and the sound is like a bone flute song in my ear. She makes the motion again, but this time, when I am facing away from her in my spin, I feel small hands on my back stopping me from turning fully around.

She tugs gently at my pants, and at first, I think she wants me to take them off and I grow momentarily excited. Although I would prefer to take her in the warmth of a hut, maybe she does feel the bond and is feeling impatient. But then she pushes slightly down on my waist, and I understand that she just wishes for me to crouch, so I do.

A second later, a small body is pressed against my back, soft arms gripping at my neck. She wraps her legs around my waist and I try my best to ignore the thought that her cunt is pressed to my back. I can feel the hot warmth of it, even through the additional coverage she has there.

I drag my thoughts away from this as it is not the time. My hands hook under her thighs instinctively and I stand with her gripped firmly to me. I feel a small hand tug at my left forehorn, leading my head in that direction. I get it immediately. She wishes to lead me.

"Carry on, female. Let us go and find what you desire me to see." I begin walking.

With only a few long strides, we are around a large rock, and into view comes strange shiny stone fragments and a large mass further ahead. She tugs at my horns, titling me towards the large form that, as we get closer, I realize is made of the same black and gray stone from the pieces around us. It looks to be a cave, but it is isolated from the mountain and is shaped angularly in an unnatural way that makes me a bit uncomfortable.

Cautiously, I slow my steps. "What is this?"

She does not answer me, instead my female makes a sound of encouragement and tips my head forward. I do not move and her small finger begins insistently pointing next to my face towards the opening of the cave. I hesitate, but she starts scrambling to get down, so I move forward as asked.

As I approach, I see a lopsided covering over the front of the cave. She pushes me forward and I move inside against my better judgment. The inside of the peculiar stone cave is a sight that nearly makes me choke in astonishment. Hanging from the ceiling are long curling ropes with frayed edges, some in colors I have not seen before. The floors and walls are all made of the same smooth gray rock and half of the ceiling is missing.

But, what pulls me up short are the large eggs leaning against all three walls of the stone cave. At least, I think they are eggs. They are smoothed and polished to perfect ovoids, and the shiny gray surface is made of a material I have never seen before.

Sedona encourages me forward, and I realize that the shape of them is not the most astounding thing by a long shot. No, what truly takes my breath away is that in seven pods there are other females just like Sedona. Well, not just like. My Sedona has a beautiful coloring and hair that is unique, but they are all clearly of the same people.

I see that there is an eighth egg that is open. I stare in awe. This must be where my Sedona hatched from. My mind spins. She fell from the sky, I saw it.

Is she a child of the Great Mother? Is this what the people of the heavens look like? If so, have I truly been so blessed and gifted as to mate a Great Child? I vow in this moment that I will protect my Sedona with everything that is in me. I will never give the Great Mother cause to regret gifting me with something so precious.

My heart aches with the need to ensure her safety and comfort. I must set to work immediately. I set Sedona on her feet and gesture for her to sit. She does not understand at first, but I pull off my waist wrap and spread it on the ground, then continue gesturing. After this, she understands what I intend and she does as told, sitting with her legs folded under her.

I am down to just my pants and my foot coverings, but I can stand the cold for some period of time before it becomes dangerous. The only lieq who really need to be covered at all times are the kits as even with their fur, they have not learned to regulate their body temperature. Regardless, I would suffer any amount of cold for my mate's comfort.

Speaking of, I look around the strange cave. I will make this place comfortable for her, and it will be so before the second eye leaves its partner in the sky. Leaving my mate in the safety of her sky cave, I jog back for my pack. The provisions I need are in there. When I make my way back, Sedona still sits where I left her and I feel a fierce sense of satisfaction that she did as I asked.

My first task must be ensuring that she is well-fed and watered. I have provided her warmth with my furs, for now at least. I will work to make coverings of her own eventually, but for now, I need to focus on the immediate needs.

I come to a stop in front of Sedona and drop to my knees before her. Fishing through my pack, I finally find my wrap of dried meat and mala. I shift to a sitting position and break off a piece of oftii meat. I wrap the meat in a torn piece of mala and pass it to her.

She tries to resist saying, "No hung-ree," over and over. But, I give her a warning growl. I do not mean to, but it slips out before I can catch it. Her eyes widen at the sound, but I am relieved that I do not scent any additional fear.

She hesitantly takes the food from me and gives it a sniff. She looks at me for reassurance before she takes a bite. Her mouth moves so fascinatingly as she chews and I momentarily lose myself in movement. When she swallows, I watch her throat bob and feel my cock stiffen.

The bond connection is strong. The elders did not lie, it is as if everything she does is meant to draw me in. Though, I have to believe I would be drawn to her without the bond. She's absolutely enchanting.

Once I am content with the amount Sedona has eaten, I leave her with the small water skin I leave strapped to my body. My body heat prevents it from freezing in the Atiqarii weather. With the water skin in her hands and the thought of heat in mind, I set about with my most important task. I need to fix whatever covering my mate managed to throw together. I am very proud of the work she did to survive, but I am here now.

I will make things right for her.