10. Turren

Iwas having so much fun teasing a response out of Kaila. With words! I’d found so many, I couldn’t seem to stop them from bubbling to the surface.

There was a fine line between hatred and adoration, and I intended to keep pricking her hide until the feelings blurred in her mind. Then, I would give her a kiss.

She slid down my body and stepped away, scowling.

“I rose early, climbed down the tree, and set up a few snares,” Brunnen said, his feet eagerly shifting on the ground. He held up a decent sized reskit. “See?”

“Amazing,” I took it from him and looked at it from all angles. “There’s enough here for our breakfast. We’ll have some left over to smoke and carry with us. Well done.”

While he beamed, Kaila shot me a glare.

I, being the kind mate that I am, gave her a smile.

“I can see you’re a good provider,” I added to Brunnen.

His face pinkened, and he nodded. “I told Kaila I wouldn’t be a burden, that we’d find a way to survive.”

“Have you ever used a staff?”

His gaze shot to the one I carried in a sheath on my spine. “Not yet.”

“While we walk, I’ll teach you.”

“You will?” he breathed, his eyes widening. “Did you hear that, Kaila? Turren’s going to teach me how to fight with a staff.”

“I heard him,” she said sourly.

“Kaila’s grumpy in the morning,” Brunnen said, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

She smacked his arm and started stomping toward the woods. “I’ll leave you two to continue to bond.”

“I’ll take your sister to the woods.” I started after her.

“Great. I’ll light a fire and skin and prep the meat,” Brunnen said.

I caught up to Kaila and walked into the woods with her.

“I don’t need you to stand guard over me,” she said, stopping behind a long row of thick bushes.

“If I don’t . . .” I snagged a lemist dangling from the tree above her head and tossed it into the woods. It hissed and tried to bite me, but I was able to snatch my hand away from its fangs. “You wouldn’t want to step on something like that.”

Her feet dancing, Kaila gasped and smacked her body. “Are there any on me? I hate lemists. Please, tell me there aren’t any on me.”

“Hold still.” I grabbed her hands. “I promise you, my fearless mate, that I am here for you. I will watch over you. I’ll protect you from all harm—including lemists.” I plucked an insect out of her hair and held it between us, examining its blue spotted, black exoskeleton. Its legs scrambled and its feelers twitched.

Kaila reeled away from me. “I don’t like insects either.”

“And yet you planned to walk in the woods for days. You planned to sleep on the ground.”

“There are bugs up in the trees. Lemists too.”

“Which is why I’ll hold you in my arms. How else will I keep them from getting close to you?”

She released a shiver, and her glare only grew. Truly, my mate was extra snarly this morning.

I loved it.

“Turn around,” she snapped.

I did so, humming while she shifted her clothing aside and took care of her needs.

When she’d finished, she tapped my spine. “You can do your first kiss now.”

I turned to face her. “I thought your breath stunk?”

Her lips scrunched together. “It’s not that bad.”

“I’m not ready to kiss you yet.” With that, I walked deeper into the forest.

She followed quietly but only for a moment. “Where are we going? You’re not taking me back to my brother.”

“I’m looking for wood to make his staff. It needs to be large enough so he’ll still be able to use it for a few years as he grows. Yet not too unwieldy to learn with now.”

“You don’t have to be nice to him to impress me.”

“Is that what you think I’m doing? Perhaps I like him. Perhaps I want to teach him a skill you can’t. Perhaps I want to do this for him.”

She paused, and I stopped with her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what in particular, my charming mate?”

“For making assumptions. You said something about wooing me, and I assumed this was part of the process.”

“I see.” Spying a downed limb, long and slender and straight and without any rot, I made my way over to it and hefted it. “When I woo you, you’ll know it. When I kiss you, you’ll want it. And when we fully mate, you’ll crave it.”

She huffed. “Just when we start to have a normal conversation, you bring all that junk into it.”

“You don’t want a mate you crave?”

“If I ever choose to mate, it’ll be for practical reasons.”

I started stripping the bark off the branch with my blade. “Such as?”

“Someone who’ll be a good protector and provider. Someone who won’t make too many demands. He’ll stand beside me and support me but stay out of my way.”

I chuckled about the last. “In all this, you already have your perfect mate—me.”

“I don’t want you for a mate.”

“As you say . . . now.” Once the bark had been removed, I sliced off the thin, smaller twigs branching off the staff. “You’ll change your mind.”

I lobbed off the ends of the branch and held it up, nodding. This would do nicely.

“Within three days? You’re dreaming, Turren. Dreaming.” She started stomping to our right.

I looped my arm around her waist, lifted her off the ground, and planted her on the forest floor facing in the right direction. “This way, my delectable mate.” I gave her a nudge to get her started.

“I knew that was the right way,” she huffed. “I was just . . . enjoying the view in the other direction.”

“Yes. I see.” Following her, I grinned. My mate was a pure delight.

She didn’t even realize I was wooing her already.