Chapter 6 Ror’k
I wanted to roar in triumph! I’d finally caught my mysterious female, and she was worth every moment of searching. Perhaps these humans had the right idea with these games of hard to get.
Need surged through me in undeniable waves. Her lips were so sweet and hungry against mine, and it had my pulse hammering in my veins. My chest rumbled so loudly it was deafening, and she responded with a soft, needy moan, the sound threatening to undo me.
I traced the curve of her lips with my tongue before recapturing it between my own. Every small movement and sound from her fed the fire building inside me. Her fingers tightened on my horns, making me long for more.
I wanted to flip us, to lay her on the mat and cage her body with mine. But there wasn’t enough room for me here, and too much movement might just bring all the casually strewn mats and equipment down on us. Plus, she deserved so much more than hiding in a storage room.
I pulled away reluctantly, my breath rough and uneven as I struggled for control.
Keeping my hand on her lower back and holding her against me, our foreheads rested together.
Her breathing was unsteady, and I knew she was just as affected as I was.
I don’t know how long we sat there in the dark, the soft rumble from my chest filling the air.
Slowly, the noise from outside filtered back to my awareness.
Several male voices sounded from beyond the door.
“Let’s wait until they leave,” Dottie whispered.
I understood that humans were private about bodily functions, including sexual needs, so I did not argue. It was probably the reason why she insisted we find this hidden place before our kiss. We sat, holding each other. I was grateful to have several more long moments with her.
She fussed with her hair and clothes in the dark, pulling back down the shirt I’d shoved up in my search for more skin-to-skin contact.
As we waited, I focused on the conversation outside. They were speaking in hushed tones, but I caught several words here and there.
“… we’re in trouble…”
“…we have to get them back.”
“…has to be a better way…”
“...who do you think it is?”
I frowned, trying to piece together the bits and pieces into something cohesive. They sounded young, and I wondered if someone really was in trouble or if they were talking about something else and I simply didn’t have all the information.
They continued to whisper. But they weren’t right by the door, and I only caught a few words, mostly locations in the community center. They did not move away, staying longer than we’d expected, and Dottie started to shift her weight in my lap.
“Fuck this!” one of them said louder. Several people shushed him.
In my arms, Dottie straightened. She was listening too, her head tilted in the most adorable way.
The young male voices outside returned to the barely audible whispers. Whatever they were talking about, they didn’t want to be heard. I caught something about making a distraction, then there was a short silence followed by the shuffling of feet.
“Do it now,” someone said a little louder.
There was a long silence, and then a sudden loud siren had Dottie stifling a gasp, her eyes wide with panic. She stood and hit her head on the mat that had been tossed over the one we were sitting on and held up by a stack of chairs.
“Slow,” I said, hoping she could hear me over the klaxon.
Humans did not have good night vision, and she was blind in the dark.
They had very poor senses in general compared to ours, and no natural weapons at all, unless one counted their fists.
But in the years of watching them fight alongside our warriors, I knew that what they lacked in physical attributes they more than made up for in their intelligence and adaptability.
I guided her toward the door. The males were gone; the loud footsteps as they’d run off had been clear even through the door. The ear-piercing siren was even louder when we stepped out into the hallway.
“Come this way,” Dottie said, leading me back the way she’d come when I’d caught her. “This is a fire alarm and not the attack siren. We’re supposed to gather outside in front of the building.”
I followed her outside and around the side of the building. I saw no fire and smelled no smoke. It was still the time of year when the sun set early, and it was already much darker than it had been when Dottie had come in from outside. There was no glow of flames either.
As we joined the throng of people pouring out of the building, a team arrived along with Roger, Kaj’k, Jask’l, and a stern-looking female whom I’d been introduced to the first day I arrived in the settlement. I couldn’t remember her name
Roger had been the original leader of the human group, but as more people settled here, they added more representatives. Each one represented their respective residential building. Kaj’k was the one from the hunters’ compound, and Jask’l represented the mothership building.
“Where’s the fire?” the woman asked with an authoritative voice.
“My warriors are at the ready,” Kaj’k agreed.
Hunter shuttles carried a decent amount of water in them.
We often used it to put out the flames after burning the scourge’s bodies.
It made sense that the hunters’ shuttles would be this settlement’s first defense against the flames.
After all, fire did not much care what or who you were.
And while it was an irreplaceable tool and weapon, it also took many lives.
It was soon clear that no one knew where the fire was, or even if there was one.
“Ror’k.”
At the sound of my name, I looked over at Jask’l. Roger had noticed us too.
If Dottie did not wish for us to be seen together, it was already too late. They waved us over.
“Kaj’k and I are going to go in to check the building with Remi’s team,” Jask’l said. “Come join us.”
I looked over at Dottie. She was already speaking with Roger. I joined Jask’l and Kaj’k, along with a group of humans in fire-retardant clothing, and we entered the building to find the source of the alarm.
“This building has older manual pull-station alarms,” explained the uniformed female named Remi explained.
“That means the one that was set off will need to be reset. Hunters, you take the third floor. Joe, you and your team do this one. My team will take the second floor. When you find the triggered alarm, note the location.”
By the time we finished searching all three floors and were back outside again, the crowd had dissipated as many of the humans chose to go home instead.
Nobody found any signs of a fire, not even the residual scent of smoke. What we did find was that there were several broken internal windows. One of the windows was at the front of the library.
“The library!” Dottie looked chagrined. “But it was already closed for the day.”
“People were pushing and shoving,” Roger said. “Someone almost got trampled. We’ll get it fixed. Where was the alarm pulled?”
“Back hallway. The one that connects the gym and the library.”
Dottie met my gaze but didn’t say anything. We’d been in the back hallway. I thought of the bits and pieces of conversation we’d overheard.
Could the young males have set off the alarm? Was that what they meant by a distraction? And a distraction for what?
“Question whoever’s left and see if they saw anything,” said Roger. “I’ll be in the administrative office in the main survivor building. Come see me if you find anything.” He turned to the woman who wasn’t in uniform. “I’ll update you, Claudia, if I hear anything.
As the team of uniformed humans started to question those remaining in the crowd, many decided it was time to go.
Dottie grabbed me by the arm and started off after Roger.
”Can we talk to you in private?” Dottie said quietly to the human leader.
“Of course.” His eyes traveled down to where she still held me by the arm.
We were inside the privacy of his administrative office before long.
Dottie was direct with her words. “Ror’k and I were in that hallway. Well, actually, we were in the storage room.”
Roger raised a brow, but Dottie held a hand up and kept talking.
“We overheard a conversation. They sounded like teenage boys. I didn’t recognize any of their voices. And I only caught a few words, but I’m sure Ror’k heard more than I did with his better hearing.”
I repeated what I’d heard, but Roger understood it no more than I did.
“But it might be a coincidence.” Dottie didn’t look like she believed those words. “I have to go back to the storage room anyway. I left my book in there. They were there for a while; maybe their scents still linger there.”
“I can try to track them,” I offered.
“Those boys sounded young. I wonder if they were the bunch that came in with the new settlers.”
“Could be,” Roger said. “I’ll come with. See if I notice any clues.”