Chapter 19

Orsu

"It's beautiful out today," my mate commented as she closed her eyes and let the cool breeze sweep across her face. Julie had asked if we could get some fresh air and I was happy to take a walk with her outside the mountain.

"The cool breeze is a sign the seasons are changing," I remarked. I was looking forward to the winter. It would mean lots of time spent indoors with my soft, warm mate.

"Let's stop by the stream and put our feet in the water for a minute." Julie pointed to the shallow water that ran alongside the mountain.

"Are your feet bothering you? Should I rub them?" I asked, half concerned, half excited about the possibility of bringing Julie some relief. It had become a routine for me to rub the knots out of Julie's shoulders every night. I loved watching her shoulders relax once I was done. I was often rewarded with cuddles afterward. I discovered that I enjoyed being the ‘little spoon' as Julie called it. My mate may be small but I felt safe with her on an emotional level that I hadn't known was possible. When she embraced me a warmth filled my soul that lingered long after we parted.

"They don't hurt. I just want to feel the water on my feet," she grinned up at me.

We sat by the river and let our feet soak in the cool water.

"You know when I was just five seasons old, I fell into the river near my home. I nearly drowned. If it wasn't for Lumod I probably would have."

"He saved you?"

"Yep, he was a strong swimmer, even back then."

Julie looked pensive for a moment before responding. "I think Fatima is right. You were probably born with the shifter genes, but those genes weren't activated until you hit puberty."

"Genes?"

"Yeah, ‘genes' is short for ‘genetics'. It's something that's in your blood that makes you, you."

"I see." The idea of us being born with our abilities had never occurred to me before. I had assumed it was a sudden curse by the goddess like everyone else had.

"I wonder if our sietlings will be born with shifter abilities." I let my words hang in the air. We hadn't discussed children yet. It was yet to be determined if it was even a real possibility. We'd soon find out if Tarak's seed had taken root in Gabby's womb. The full moon was only a few days away, marking four weeks since they'd first mated. Sirret females would usually start showing signs of pregnancy four weeks after a mating. I hoped it would be the same for humans, too.

Julie remained quiet for a moment and I worried that I had offended her somehow. Maybe she didn't want to have shifter sietlings.

"I hope so." She smiled and her eyes lit up with hope. "I want our children to be as much like you as possible."

My chest filled with joy. I longed to see Julie heavy with my sietling, and knowing she wanted that too was beyond my wildest dreams.

"Maybe Gabby will show signs of pregnancy soon and that will confirm if it's possible." She spoke aloud what I'd been wondering.

"Yes, I would like to see my Savrix surrounded with sietlings of his own." Tarak was a good male who would be a good sire.

"Let's check on the grain. I want to look at the results of our hard work again." Julie said as she stood up and dusted the dirt off her pants.

"I'd like that, too." I offered her my hand and together we walked up the hill to the wooden structure Drovo and I had built a few seasons ago, but it looked different. It was still a distance away, but I could tell something was wrong.

"Why does it look like that?" Julie asked and I knew she had noticed something was off as well.

"I'm not sure. Let's take a closer look."

We quickly walked up the hill and my stomach turned into knots as I saw the door hanging open. It had been sealed shut with a locking mechanism Drovo had invented. No animal or beast should have been able to open it.

Julie gasped when she saw the state of the door and we both ran to the shed.

I stepped inside to find my worst fears had come true. All the grain we had harvested and stored over the past month was gone. The shed was nearly empty except for a few bundles of wheat that were left in the corner.

"Who would have done this?" Julie looked at the empty shelves in shock.

I sniffed the air and caught the scent of a creature I'd never smelled before.

"A stranger has been here."

"A stranger? What do they smell like?"

I sniffed the air again. "It smells like a male, a scaly male like the scaled creatures that live near the rivers in the southlands."

"Scaly?" Julie thought about that description for a moment before her jaw hung open.

"What? What is it?" Did she know who the thief was?

"Our captor was an alligator alien." When I didn't respond she realized I wouldn't know what an alligator was so she continued. "An alligator is a reptile on earth that's covered in scales and lives near water. You wouldn't have smelled him before because we crashed on the same ship."

"Not only did he steal you from your home, but now this male has stolen our grain for the winter?" I wanted to find him and rip his throat out.

Julie

"All of it is gone?" Gabby looked distraught as I delivered the bad news about the shed being robbed.

"Who would do such a thing?" Tarak questioned.

"I smelled a strange male that Julie thinks is one of her captors who survived the crash."

"That bastard," Gabby spat out. "It wasn't enough to kidnap us, he had to steal our food too?"

"What are we going to do?" Beatrice asked. The entire dekes had gathered for our announcement. Everyone looked as gloomy as I felt.

"We'll figure something out." Tarak responded. He was in leader mode now, ready to console his dekes after this devastating blow.

"We've faced worse things and survived. We'll survive this too," Brexl added. The scarred hunter looked like he had survived the most out of everybody. Hearing him say we'd survive this too gave me hope.

Everyone dispersed to their private caves, including Orsu and myself.

"I don't want you to worry, my mate. I won't rest until you are provided for." Orsu began as soon as the curtain to our cave had shut.

I placed a hand on his chest and sighed, "Like Brexl said, we've survived worse." I was anxious about many things, but not this. I knew Orsu wouldn't let me go hungry. We'd survived so much together already, that this felt less scary in comparison.

"I know, I just want to provide a better life for you. One in which you do not have to worry about having enough food for the winter." Orsu looked morose as he placed his hand on top of mine.

"We will," I consoled him. "We'll find a way to provide an offering to the goddess and have enough food for the dekes."

Orsu pulled me in for an embrace and I rested my head on his chest. His suddenly hairy chest.

"It's the full moon," I remarked as I stood back to admire my mate in his bear-shifter form. Orsu's blue skin had turned to brown fur from head to toe, except for his face, neck, and torso which remained furless. His nails became claws and his feet became paws.

Orsu looked down at his furry hand on mine and pulled away.

"I can leave if you'd like," he began. It was an automatic response.

"Why?" I knew that he'd faced a lot of shame about his shifter form in the past, but he didn't need to feel ashamed around me.

Before he could respond an undeniable glow spread from Orsu's heart to the rest of his body. Each vein emitted light as if his very blood had turned bioluminescent.

I ran my fingers along his glowing chest until I noticed that I was glowing, too. I looked down to see my veins glowing a neon purple through my tan skin. I felt warm and tingly just like Gabby had described.

"My luminescence," he breathed. It was official: we were truly and unquestionably mated. Nothing could come between us now. Not starvation, not beast nor monster. Nothing. Orsu was mine and I was his. Even his horns had turned black.

He scooped me up in his arms and held me tight against him.

I threw my arms around his neck and laughed with joy.

"My luminescence," Orsu kept saying over and over again as he rubbed his hand up and down my back.

My whole world focused on his hand touching me. An undeniable heat pooled in my belly causing my sex to throb. I felt Orsu's harden against me, making my sex throb even more. I wanted him, no I needed him.

"Orsu," My voice came out as a needy whine.

"I've got you, my mate." He set me down on the furs and nervously ran a hand through his hair.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. We'd mated many times now and this was not a good time to be bashful. Not when I needed him so much.

"I fear if I touch you, I won't be able to hold myself back. My need for you…" His words trailed off as he ran a hand down his face.

"Orsu, I need you too. You don't need to hold back." I reassured him as I started to untie the laces of his pants.

"Julie," he moaned as his hardened length sprung free.

"Take your clothes off or I will rip them from your body," he growled, making his need for me clear.

A sensual shiver ran down my spine and I did as I was told, pulling my shirt off over my head and my pants past my ankles. As soon as I was free from my clothes, Orsu was on top of me, kissing me, laving his tongue over my breasts.

The sensation of his warm ridged tongue toying with my sensitive nipples only added to the throbbing between my legs. I ground my pussy against his shaft and he hissed out a breath.

"Not yet, my mate. You are not yet ready for me."

"I am ready," I pleaded.

"No, you are not ready for what I plan to do with you tonight." He said through gritted teeth and I decided I liked this side of him. He was as feral as the beast I'd met on our first night together. The same look he had in his eyes when he took me from his den was back now.

I would let him make me ready and then I would surprise him with an idea of my own.

Orsu descended on my pussy like a starving man having his first meal in days. He lapped up my essence eagerly. At the same time he inserted his fingers inside me and thrust in and out, stimulating my g-spot until my hips came off the furs.

I hadn't wanted to come yet, but I couldn't stop it. My orgasm took me by surprise and I cried out as spasms of pleasure radiated throughout my body. Once I came back to myself I knew now was my time to act. I wanted to see exactly how feral my bear could be.