16. Keep HerDie Trying

When I uncovermy hands from my head, the exiled male's detached foretentacle is still wriggling in my grip.

Blinking slowly, I turn to Leeenuh. Her eyes are shut tightly even though she's crying. Fat wet tears slide down her cheeks.

"Arr ewe ded? Did eye urt chew, Kitaico?" she sobs.

I pat my chest with my free hand and find no hole left by the blaster gun.

With a sharp inhale, the scent of burning flesh reaches my nose, causing a wave of nausea to wash over me. Only while combing my hand through my tentacles do I find the injury.

Leeenuh has blown one tip of my lesser head tentacles clean off. The blaster's cauterizing function prevented any bleeding from the wound.

I'm okay.

Hopping through the cave's entrance, a wave of relief washes over me. Leeenuh is alright, that's all the matters. I quickly rush over to my distraught mate, needing to comfort her. Witnessing her in such distress is like getting punched in the gut.

"Leeenuh," I say, stroking her cheek, "I am fine."

She peeks open one of her eyes and looks at me.

Panic washes over her features as the other shoots open and she runs a hand over my face, pulling it back and holding it up for me to see the blackness that covers it.

"It is only blood," I mutter.

She inhales sharply, eyes going even wider.

"Not mine," I correct, holding the exile's tentacle. You can still make out my fang marks from when I bit it off his body.

She doesn't calm down much but rushes to grab one of our woven rags from the store shelves. Leeenuh wipes the offending fluid from my face and arms.

"Eye'm so so soarry," she keeps saying repeatedly. "Eye shouldn't ave dun dat thur. Eye forgot auhbout da exiles."

I grasp her wrist, stopping her motions. Her arm trembles uncontrollably in my grip.

Taking the soiled cloth from her, I step under the cool spray of the shower, washing away the rest of the blood.

"This isn't your fault," I say, feeling so stupid for leaving the safety of the nest. With a grimace, I fling the exile's tentacle down the relief hole, hoping it will decompose along with the rest of our waste.

Before I can even step out of the shower, Leeenuh rushes toward me, embracing me. She buries her face in my chest, and I instinctively shield her from the water. I hold her against me, feeling powerless as she continues to cry.

Hoping to comfort her, I press my lips to the top of her head in a human gesture.

It must work, because I feel her shoulders shake a little less by the time I'm gathering her up in my arms. Her naked body is shivering, though, and I lay her in the nest before wrapping her tightly in every blanket I have.

I kick myself for not grabbing her clothing but remember that there's no way that flimsy and torn piece of material could keep my human warm.

I curl up next to her, letting the heat of my body help her current predicament.

There's just something about Leeenuh that feels like home. It's the way she fits against me, like her strange small proportions were made to sleeve against mine.

"How'd you know about the blaster?" I ask, my curiosity piquing when I feel the burned off tentacle rub against the blanket.

Leeenuh points to her eyes with two fingers, then to the top shelf where it was stored.

"You looked? How observant of you," I chuckle, gripping her tighter.

"Weye du ewe hav dat?" she asks something, pointing at the blaster on the floor.

"Do you want to know why there's a blaster in the nest?"

She nods.

"It's for," I pause, unsure of how much I should tell her. Will this help our current situation any or just make her feel worse?

She turns back, staring into my soul as she waits for an answer.

I can't lie to her, and I never will.

She's my mate, she deserves the truth.

"If I'm unable to complete the first portion of the Great Proving for any reason…injury, isolation, insanity, or cowardice. The blaster is for that. It is better not to come home than to come home a failure." I tell her solemnly. "The elders give each potential male one before we leave the capital."

Her face drops as she realizes the blaster's intended purpose.

She points over to it again. "Wats dat liyet?"

I turn my attention to the weapon on the floor. A soft white light blinks near the trigger.

The homing beacon.

"The elders…they're coming to collect my body. They assumed I have failed this portion of my Great Proving."

As the adrenaline from the fight leaves my system, I jolt up with the realization of what's about to happen. The blasters are monitored by the elders. They can be remotely deactivated if a Great Proving candidate goes rogue. The elders are coming, and I'm going to have to explain what's been going on with Leeenuh here in my nest.

I'll have to explain her mating mark…

I gaze at her small naked body.

"We have to get you dressed." There's a frantic edge to my voice. The thought of another male looking at her in this state has my blood boiling.

Even the elders, the leaders of our people, don't get to look at her like this.

Despite having no mating mark of my own, I know she's mine. I'll have to prove I am worthy of her to the elders.

I will keep her or die trying.