A Little Extra - Varoush
Va'roush
“I know you’re there. You’re always there,” Mel shouted into the hot August afternoon. She stood on the front porch of her feed store, her hands on her hips and dared the male to have the guts to join her. He’d been watching her for months. He’d been watching for so long that she no longer feared him. In fact, she’d come to take solace in his presence. She wasn’t completely sure, yet she was, that this was the same male she’d shot in the ass when his entire delegation were here trying to locate one of their own that was missing. The reason she wasn’t completely sure, was that he’d never allowed himself to be seen. The reason she was sure it was him, was a feeling down deep in her soul.
She let her head droop forward a bit, braced her hands on her hips and closed her eyes. She could really use his assurance right now. Yet he stayed hidden. “Fine. Have it your way. Stay hidden. I don’t need you. No reason I can’t do everything by myself, just like I always do. And as for you… I quit. Go away.”
She turned and walked back into her feed store, pausing just inside the door as she looked around at the sparse stock on the shelves. No one came to buy anything anymore. The farmers around her had tried to help her stay in business for as long as they could, but there weren’t many left. And those that were left wanted the new feeds that had been developed with sure-health formulas for the livestock and sure-grow formulas for the seeds. She couldn’t afford to buy those feeds and seeds. They’d been treated with biofertilizers, and hormones and antibiotics. There was nothing natural about them. She wasn’t sure she wanted to buy them, even if she had the means. They just weren’t natural.
“What is wrong with natural?!” she yelled to the dusty, almost empty feed store .
She heard her donkeys braying and sat down on the floor to cry. “What am I going to do with them?” she asked through her sobs.
“Why do you cry female?” a deep gravelly voice said from behind her.
Mel jumped to her feet and swiped at her eyes multiple times trying to quickly wipe her tears away.
“It’s none of your business. You can go now, I don’t need you.”
“You don’t cry,” he said simply.
“I can cry any time I choose to!”
He shook his head. “You have never cried before. You don’t cry.”
Mel sighed and turned her back on him, leaving him standing there as she made her way through the store closing windows, turning off lights. When she was done she walked right out the front door and left him standing there. She didn’t pause, she just walked at a slow and steady pace around the building toward the pastures behind her store.
Va’roush watched her for only a moment before he followed her.
Mel walked up to the goat enclosure and scratched the butts of those who offered them for scratching. Next she stopped at the corral the donkeys were in and scratched between their ears as they noisily greeted her. She hugged their heads to her chest, kissing their noses. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to you. They sold it. They sold everything.”
The old cow in a neighboring enclosure put its nose over the top railing, waiting for her turn to be petted.
Mel obliged, walking over to her and stroking her forehead. “I won’t give you to just anyone. If I’m not sure they’ll take care of you, they can’t have you!” she insisted, before letting out a sob as her crying threatened to take hold again.
“Why do you think of selling your beasts?” Va’roush asked.
“Please go away,” she asked.
“I want to know,” he insisted .
“I want you to go. Please. Just go. You don’t help me. All you do is watch and pretend you’re not here. I don’t even know why you’re here. Why didn’t you go with your friends?” she demanded, turning on him angrily. “You have no place here!” She paused and looked around the pens she’d built for all her animals, and the dusty ground with its scraggly grasses. The trees older than any of the family she could remember from her childhood. “I have no place here anymore.”
Va’roush remained where he was, not quite sure what was happening, but recognizing the emotions she was struggling with. It was clear she was experiencing anger and frustration, and doing her best to maintain control. She was also feeling desperation, and even hopelessness. There was no way he’d misinterpret those emotions, he had them enough himself that they were the basis of his makeup.
Mel turned away from him, making her way to the smaller animals she called bunnies. He called them rabbits, and had they not been her creatures, he’d have most likely cooked one or two occasionally. She knelt in the middle of the enclosure and scooped up one of the creatures stroking its soft fur lovingly.
Va’roush took that opportunity to step away from her. She’d asked him to do just that, and since he wasn’t sure how to alleviate her unrest, he decided to do the one thing she asked him to — go away. But he didn’t go far. That he couldn’t do. Something inside made him want to remain near, but he would remain out of her way, just like he had until this day.
Perched comfortably in his favorite tree, camouflaged by the leaves and branches, he watched as she left the bunnies and fed the chickens, then stopped to pet the noisy, furry creatures called dogs,who excitedly jumped up to compete for her attention. Regardless of the creatures she tended, one thing was constant… she was sniffling, or wiping tears from her eyes as though she’d never see them again. He didn’t understand that part. This was her land. These were her beasts. These were her buildings. Why was she behaving as though they weren’t?
When she finally went back into the store, she didn’t even bother locking herself in for the night. She just walked through the store to the back storeroom where she slept and fell into her bed. She cried for a few more hours, then fell into an exhausted sleep.
Va’roush waited until he knew she was asleep, then he let himself inside her store, and knelt on the floor at the foot of her bed. He stayed there for hours, watching over her.
Sometime before dawn she opened her eyes and before she was fully awake knew she wasn’t alone.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“To understand,” he answered, his naturally guttural voice oddly soothing to her.
“Go away.”
“Not until I understand what has changed you.”
She closed her eyes again and he detected a slight shake of her head as she draped her arm across her eyes. “I’ve created a problem that there is no way out of.”
“There is always a way.”
“Not this time.”
“What is the problem?”
“They’ve sold my land and my store. I have 30 days to get out.”
“They cannot sell what is yours!” he said angrily.
“It’s not mine.”
“I do not understand. It is yours. I watch you work it. I watch you protect it. You said it was yours.”
“It always has been. Until now.”
“Who took it. I will kill them and it will be yours again.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I can.”
Mel sighed. “I needed money to keep the store going. To pay the taxes on the land so I wouldn’t lose it. I have no one to turn to, so I took a mortgage on the property, thinking it would make a difference and I’d be able to make it successful again. I was wrong.”
He sat quietly thinking about what she said.
Suddenly she realized why he’d gone silent; he didn’t know what a mortgage was. “A mortgage is a loan. Someone gives you money, you use the money for whatever you want, but you have to pay it back each month. I was late too many times and now the bank sold my land at auction. The highest bidder is now the owner. I have nothing. I have nowhere to go, nowhere to take my animals. What’s going to happen to them? I’m not even worried about me. I’ll find a way, but I can’t feed them. I have nowhere to give them shelter. Everything that matters to me is falling apart.”
“I will kill them. You will stay here.”
She laughed despite herself. “You can’t do that.”
“I can. It will be easy.”
“You can’t kill every single person. If you kill the person who bought the property, and their family can’t pay, it will go back to the bank and they will just sell it again.”
“Then I’ll kill the bank.”
“You can’t kill every single person who works for the bank. There are thousands of people. And if you kill one, the next one will just continue with the sale.”
“There is other land. You take your animals to other land.”
“Do you not understand? I have no money. If I did have money, I’d pay the loan and I wouldn’t have to leave here. I have no money to buy other land. I have nowhere to go. I have no place to house my animals. I don’t know what to do!” she screamed.
“I will get money. You will pay for your land. You will stay.”
“It’s too late. The property has already been sold.”
“If you had new land to take your beasts to, it would be good, yes?” he asked.
“Yes. But I don’t see that happening. I’ve got nothing to get new land with.”
Va’roush thought about the issue for a few moments. Finally, he just stood up and walked away.
Mel listened to his footsteps, then got up and followed the same path he’d taken through her store, then out onto the front porch. She stood there in the moonlight looking around, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was like he’d vanished into thin air .
“Va’roush?!” she yelled, looking for him anywhere at all. But there was no movement in the darkness. Even the wind that fed the usual breeze across the land was still.
~~~
Two days later Va’roush stood on the hill looking out over the somewhat overgrown fields. It was clear to see the rows that had been planted, and not yet harvested as the crops were left to wither in place. His gaze traveled the length of the field and up the opposite and highest hill to the house that sat perched there, overlooking all the surrounding property. The grasses in the yard surrounding the house were not as neatly manicured as when he first saw it, and it was evident that no one was living here anymore. He made his way down across the fields, stopping along the way to inspect the storage building that the tractor and mowing equipment still sat in, parked and waiting for use. Every tool needed to work the land and to grow food in the fields was still in good working order.
Walking out behind the storage building, he hesitated only for a second before he decided to inspect the wooded areas surrounding the land and determined that no one had been there in a while. There were no fresh tracks. He did however find several perimeter alarms, and went to great lengths to make sure they picked up his movement as he walked back and forth in front of them. Once he was sure he’d set them off, he turned and walked back up the hill to the house. Approaching the house he was more careful. There could be booby traps set to keep others from entering. He inspected the doors and the windows, ultimately deciding that other than the same type of perimeter alarms, there was nothing. So, he let himself in and carefully moved through each room. It was not only important to be respectful, because it wasn’t his home, it was important to be sure that it was a safe environment to be in .
As he moved through the rooms, he stopped to look at the photographs, the clothing, the toys, even all the furniture left exactly as it was the evening the previous inhabitants had left, unable to take their belongings with them. Unable to do anything else at the moment, other than wait, he went into the kitchen and looked through the pantries and the cold box to see if there was anything there he might eat or drink for sustenance.
Deciding that the food in the cold box was inedible, and thoroughly rotted, he did settle on a bottle of red colored liquid that had yet to be opened and was still somewhat appetizing. He opened it and took it outside to sit on the covered, cemented area around the front door and wait for those monitoring the house and its land to answer the alarms he’d intentionally set off.
~~~
“Viceroy Buchanan?”
“Yes?” Buchanan said, looking up from the paperwork on his desk.
“The alarms at Consul Kol Ra’ Don Tol’s home have gone off.”
“Which ones? It’s probably just deer or something.”
“All of them.”
Viceroy Buchanan sat back and took off his reading glasses. He looked at the soldier standing before him with more than a curious gaze. “All of them? Are you sure?”
“Yes, sir. Every single perimeter alarm Patron Zhuxi and his warriors installed has been triggered. Repeatedly.”
“Inside the house, too?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you advised Patron Zhuxi?”
“Yes, sir. He’s gathering his warriors and sent me to advise you.”
Viceroy Buchanan nodded as he got to his feet. “Let’s do this. Something obviously is determined to get our attention.”
~~ ~
Va’roush sat on the smooth cement surface poured outside the front door of the home, and waited for those sent to intercept him to arrive. He looked back at the surface he sat on, running his hands across it where they braced his body to lean back relaxedly. He nodded a couple of times, approving of the choice to cover this part of the ground with cement. He looked up at the covering, shading him and the cement he sat on from the sun overhead. It was actually rather cool in temperature under the covering. “It is a good design,” he said to no one in particular.
Looking out over the expanse of land beyond the house, he began to think that maybe those he waited for had begun to arrive. He sat perfectly still, his eyes glued to a particular spot in the field, and waited for his eyes to pick up any errant movement. He just wasn’t sure if he saw it, or if it was the breeze just touching a few blades of greenery. “I can’t tell if you’re here or not,” he admitted.
“We are here. Others are coming.”
Va’roush jumped to his feet and looked behind himself to find a male he knew well standing behind him. Va’roush, unable to be even the slightest pleasant — he was all fact or nothing at all — nodded at the male. “Zrakad. I had hoped they would send you.”
“Why are you here, Va’roush, intentionally setting off our alarms?”
“I need this house.”
“What?”
“The female, Mel, is without a home. Her beasts are without a home. She needs shelter. This house is sitting unused. I would like to discuss its usage with Consul Kol Ra’ Don Tol.”
“General.”
Va’roush raised a single eyebrow, then nodded again. “With General Kol Ra’ Don Tol. ”
“Why didn’t you just contact him?”
“I left all communication devices on the ship when I left it. I thought to never have reason to contact them again.”
“Wasn’t very smart was it?”
Va’roush shrugged.
The sound of multiple transports approaching had Va’roush turning to watch them land. As they hovered over the fields, a team of at least twenty-five Ceresian warriors allowed themselves to be seen and began to guide them down. Once secured, their ramps were extended and a dozen more soldiers, along with Patron Zhuxi and Viceroy Buchanan exited the ships.
“They could have come together. Why did they bring two transports?” Va’roush asked critically.
“So we can all have an easy ride home,” Zrakad said.
Va’roush watched as the two males and several of the soldiers approached.
“It is Va’roush from the teams sent down to locate Ba Re’,” Zrakad called to them.
“And my Ginger, too! Va’roush! How are you, son?” Viceroy Buchanan asked jovially, walking right up to Va’roush and pounding him on the back, clearly happy to see him.
“I need this house,” Va’roush said matter-of-factly.
“Well, this is Kol’s house,” Buchanan said.
“I do not think he is planning to come back permanently,” Zhuxi said. “How are you, Va’roush?”
Va’roush looked at Zhuxi, and though he wanted to just scream ‘give me the damn house!’ he didn’t. He repeated his explanation. “I need this house.”
“Why? Are you homeless son?” Buchanan asked.
“I do not need a home.”
“Then why do you need this house?” Zhuxi asked.
“Mel. The female who assisted us in our search for Ba Re’ and the Purists is in need of a home. Her land and her home have been lost. Her beasts are without shelter. She is without shelter. There is no money to purchase another.”
“What happened to her place?” Buchanan asked.
“All her money was spent on making the store successful. ”
“Only it wasn’t,” Buchanan said, empathetically. “That can be a tough one to recover from.”
“I wish to speak with Kol regarding this house.”
“Well, why didn’t you just do that, then?”
“He didn’t bring any communications devices with him,” Zrakad said.
“Yes,” Va’roush confirmed.
“This the same little gal that shot you in the ass, isn’t she?”
Va’roush nodded. “I should have announced myself.”
Buchanan laughed. “Boy, you got it bad, don’t you. Making excuses for the same female that shot you. Well, you did the right thing, then. Setting off the alarms so we’d come check on things.”
Zhuxi took his own communicator off his belt and began placing the vidcom to Kol. When Kol answered, Zhuxi grinned at him. “Are you ready to come back to Earth?” Zhuxi asked.
“No! No, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. And even then, it won’t be for more than a visit.”
“That’s what I thought. Though I’m overdue for our usual vidcom visit, this is not just a pleasant conversation,” Zhuxi said.
“Is there a problem?” Kol asked.
“No, not really. But we have a situation, and a question that only you and your mate can answer.”
“What’s happening?” Kol asked.
“A little more than an hour ago we received reports that every alarm on your property had been set off.”
“Every one of them?!” Kol asked.
“Yes. We quickly assembled a team…”
“Me included!” Buchanan called out.
“That’s Buchanan, and came to secure your home. When we got here, we quickly learned the reason for the alarms being set off.”
“What was the reason?” Kol asked. “Is the place okay? Why did all the alarms go off?”
Zhuxi turned his communicator around and aimed it at Va’roush.”
Va’roush snapped to attention, and slammed his arm across his chest. “General Kol Ra’ Don Tol. ”
Kol grinned. “Va’roush! You’ve been the subject of much speculation up here. You mated that female that shot you in the ass yet?”
“No, but he’s looking to take your house for her,” Buchanan said.
Kol’s brow creased as he leaned forward. “What’s going on?”
Zhuxi handed his communicator to Va’roush.
Va’roush accepted it, then walked a few steps away, but not so many that they couldn’t all hear clearly. “I set off all the alarms intentionally so that those monitoring would know it was more than just an errant creature walking by. I needed to speak with you regarding your house, and the only way to do that was to have whoever was monitoring your home arrive here with communicators.”
“Smart. What’s going on, Va’roush?”
“Mel has lost her home. Her land. And her beasts have no place to shelter. She has no place to shelter.”
“What happened?”
“She was unable to pay a loan she requested to make her store successful. The bank sold her property. She will not allow me to kill those at the bank. She said it was thousands of people and if one was killed another would simply begin the auction again. I assured her I did not care and would just keep killing them until they stopped coming, but she refused. I do not want her beasts to be taken from her. It would break her.”
Va’roush looked over his shoulder to see just how close the other males were, then lowered his voice and took another step away. “She cries!”
“She must be really upset.”
“She does not cry! She is strong! But she cries!”
“That’s a hard thing to see,” Kol said. “The thing is that the property, the house, all of it, is my Ehlealah’s property. It was in her family’s possession for hundreds of years before the government seized it after the last war. I bought it back for her, and though we do not plan to return to Earth to live, we may want to come visit from time to time. If you will allow us to come visit, and you will keep the property in good repair, keeping it for the most part as she designed it, because it was designed to be as close to its appearance while her family was still there, I can ask if she’ll allow you to live there.”
Va’roush hesitated. He didn’t want to tell Mel he’d found land for her and then have to tell her to leave it again in a few years. “I do not want to have to search for more land in a short period.”
“I understand. Hold on. Let me go talk to Ada Jane. Just hold the line.” Kol said.
Va’roush walked back over to Zhuxi and handed him the communicator.
“You hold onto it, he’ll be back on the vidcom soon,” Zhuxi said.
Minutes passed while the males all just stood around looking at each other. Finally, Kol was back. “Va’roush?”
Va’roush lifted the com and looked into the camera. “I am here.”
“I talked to Ada Jane. She agrees with what I’ve already offered you. She said that it will do her heart good to see the property loved and lived in rather than going into disrepair again. You will not be asked to leave the property. It will be your home, but the only stipulation is that it will remain in her name, and eventually the names of our children and so on, so that it stays in the hands of her family. But you will have an open-ended lease to live there and in all other ways it will be yours. I’d like to add the stipulation that if we visit Earth, we can stay with you and Mel on the property.”
“Agreed.”
“Hey, maybe you could add a little cottage or something on the other side of the pond out back of the house. Oh, and hey, that little pond? I filled it with small fish before I had to leave it the first time. They should be large enough to catch and eat now. Enjoy, my friend!”
“I will add the cottage, and pens and shelters for her animals, too. Do you care where? ”
“No, whatever you need to do to make it work for you. Just try not to cut down the wooded areas.”
“I will not cut them down. I like the trees. They are easy to hide in.”
“Just take care of it, Va’roush. If you have any problems at all, let me know. I’ll be glad to help with whatever you need. I’ll draw up the legal documentation and send it to you so that no one can give you any trouble about living on the property. Live there and be happy with our blessing. I hope you grow crops in the fields and fill the house with happiness.”
Va’roush nodded his head slowly, afraid to believe that his idea had worked.
“Hey, why did you have to set off alarms? Couldn’t you have just comm’d the base, or me for that matter?”
“I left all equipment behind.”
“There’s a pretty sophisticated security system you’ll find in a safe room beneath the house. There are two communicators there. They are not configured for our system here on the ship, but they are configured for the base. Feel free to use them as you wish.”
“Thank you, General.”
“The only way to access it is with DNA. Place your hand on the scanner, it will recognize the Cruestaci DNA you carry and open for you.”
“Mel?”
“Once in, you can program it to allow her hand print to grant her access.”
“I will gladly be obligated to you for the remainder of my life. Call upon me if you are in need.”
“No, you’re doing me a favor by taking care of the property and making sure it doesn’t fall apart again.”
“The offer stands.”
“Hey! Did you hear that Quin is Sovereign now? His Ascension was two weeks ago. And he has a male youngling, just like him. Trying to bite everyone! ”
Va’roush’s lopsided smile made a brief appearance. “Cruestace is in good hands. There has never been a Sovereign as fair and strong. Please give him my best.”
“I will. He’ll be glad to hear that you’re well. Take care, Va’roush. And remember, com me if you need me.”
“Thank you, General.”
“Kol. No matter what the fancy title is, I’m still just Kol. Isn’t that what you said they were, fancy titles?”
“Yes.”
“Take care, Va’roush.”
“And you, Kol.”
Va’roush handed the communicator back to Zhuxi, and took a few steps into the yard before he broke into a run — away from where everyone stood.
“Hey! Hold on! Where are you going?” Buchanan called after him.
“To Mel. I must find a way to load her beasts and her belongings, and bring them home.”
“Y’all got this?” Buchanan asked.
“We are going back to the base. You need help?”
“A few extra hands would be nice,” Buchanan said.
“Zrakad?” Zhuxi said.
“I’ll gather a few males,” Zrakad said.
“Meet me at the transport I flew,” Buchanan said, then turned toward Va’roush. “Get in the transport I came in, Va’roush. We’ll take you back and help you get her and all her stuff back here.”
“The beasts?” Va’roush asked.
“Them, too.”
Va’roush gave a single nod and started jogging toward the transports those from the base had arrived in. He waited beneath the one Buchanan had arrived in. Eventually Buchanan, Zrakad, and three other Ceresians warriors joined him and they all boarded the transport, headed for Mel’s place.
~~ ~
Mel was outside her barn, making three piles — one to keep, one to give away, and one to burn as she went through generations of accumulation. She’d just walked back outside with armloads of old tarps and horse blankets that were full of holes and tattered beyond repair. She dropped them in the burn pile and started back toward the barn when the sound of a transport caught her attention.
She looked up into the sky, trying to determine its location, and finally found it headed her way from the south. She walked over to the barn door where she’d leaned her shotgun and picked it up, holding it relaxedly at her side as she watched the transport getting ever closer. She’d hoped they’d just pass overhead, but knew they were flying too low to be doing anything other than looking for a place to land. “I do not need this shit,” she grumbled, raising the shotgun to aim at the transport as it settled on the ground about sixty feet from her.
She locked her aim on the ramp as it began descending from the transport.
Inside the transport Zrakad laughed, shoving Va’roush’s shoulder. “Look! She is anxious to shoot your ass again!”
“She does not wish to shoot me. She wishes to shoot anyone who is on this land as long as she is still on it.’
Zrakad was still chuckling, but when the door opened granting them access to the ramp, he stayed right where he was. “You go first. I will not be rolling on the ground writhing in pain because she is still wielding her weapon. You should have taken it by now.”
“Why would I take it?” Va’roush asked as he paused at the door.
“So she doesn’t shoot you.”
“She won’t shoot me. She may shoot you, though,” Va’roush said, as he stepped out onto the ramp. “It is me, Mel!” he called out. “I have brought help.”
Mel reluctantly lowered her weapon. “Help for what?” she asked. “I told you it was too late. ”
“I have procured a home for you and all your beasts.”
She hesitated, not quite sure of how to respond. A few moments later she shook off her shock and started toward Va’roush and all the males exiting the transport. “What are you talking about, Va’roush?”
“There is a home. It is a very nice home, with many rooms and cleansing chambers. It has a safe room beneath that I’ve not yet explored as well. It has fields for crops and machines to work the land. There is a large building to store the machines. We will build pens and shelters for your beasts. It is ours.”
Mel’s heart skipped a few beats as a flash of hope ran through her. “I don’t understand, Va’roush. How did you get us a house.”
“It is Kol’s house.”
“Kol? You mean the Consul?” she asked.
“Yes. He and his family left Earth. They will not be back, other than perhaps a visit or two. We will build them a cottage to use if they visit. We will place it far from our home. He has said if we will keep the property from falling into disrepair and keep it a beautiful land, we can live there.”
“For how long?” she asked.
For the first time she noticed his lopsided smile when he looked directly at her, instead of just past her. “Forever. He is sending legal documentation stating the same so that we’ll never have issues with anyone claiming we can’t live there. We will be caretakers of the property. It will be our home for all of our lives.”
She sat down right where she was. “How did this happen? I don’t… I just…Why?”
“It was his mate’s property, through her family, much as yours was handed down. But they will no longer live on Earth. It will be ours now. We will be…” Va’roush stopped, searching for the words.
“You’ll be the caretakers, and have an open-ended lease to live there for all of your lives, with the one condition that if they ever do visit, they can stay there in the cottage Va’roush will build,” Buchanan explained .
“This seems too good to be true,” she said.
“If it was anybody other than Kol, I might question it. But Kol is just that generous and honest. He knows they’re not coming back, but wants to be sure the place is lived in and looked after by someone he trusts.”
“Va’roush,” she said.
“Va’roush. So, tell us where to start.”
“Start?” she asked.
“Load us up. Animals, clothes, whatever you need to take with you. We can make several trips if need be. So, don’t be shy about saying what you need to take.”
Mel looked like she was going to cry as she dragged her feet, making her way over to Va’roush.
He stood tall and strong, watching her come, unsure of her response and what to expect from her.
When she reached him, she leaned against him, her head in the middle of his chest, her hands knotted in his shirt. She raised her head and looked up at him. “I’ll never be able to thank you.”
“It is far from here.”
“I don’t care. You found a place for us all. I owe you so much.”
“You owe me nothing.”
“Then you owe me.”
“How is that?” he asked, surprised that she felt he owed her after finding her a new home.
“For all the months of spying on me and refusing to speak to me, you owe me.”
“Perhaps,” he answered uneasily, wondering what it would cost him.
“No more hiding from me. You live in the house with me. We do this together. We make this move and take care of this property together.”
He looked down at her. “We will do it together.”
She smiled up at him. “Let’s get packed.”
~~ ~
Three trips and a day and a half later, Va’roush put the last nail in the last fence post that would provide the donkeys with a safe place to roam. There was already a three sided lean-to in it for them to get out of the sun or the rain if they chose to.
“That’s it. The last enclosure,” Mel said.
Va’roush looked out over the area they’d chosen to put the animals in. There was a large chicken pen, the large pasture enclosed with field fence they’d just finished for donkeys, the cow and the goats. There were gates and options for making it smaller as needed to separate the animals. There was a very large dog house on the hill just beside the house that was there when they arrived, and they simply added one more so there would be plenty of room for all three dogs to have access to shelter. But the dogs were not limited and had free run of the property. The bunnies had a new home fenced in area with a bunny house and ramps that allowed them to get up into their house and off the ground if they chose to, as well. “It all seems finished.”
“It does. Are you hungry?” she asked.
“I am always hungry.”
“I’ll make us something.”
“I was surprised that Buchanan came back with so much food and supplies for us,” Va’roush said.
“I’m not. He told me how you helped save his daughter. I think he’s going to be around often.”
Va’roush grumbled.
“Don’t be grouchy. People care about you. Let them.”
“No one cares. They just become used to me.”
Mel walked over to him and glared up at him until he looked down at her. “Buchanan cares. And so do I.”
Va’roush looked down into her eyes, afraid to let her know how much he really wanted it to be true.
“Why is that so hard to believe?” she asked, raising a hand to caress his jaw .
Va’roush instinctually pulled away from her hand. “I must check the perimeter fence to be sure it is secure,” he said, stepping back.
“We already did that,” she said.
“It must be done again.” He hurriedly took his leave and as she watched, disappeared into the trees several minutes later.
Sighing in frustration, she latched the gate that kept the livestock in their pasture and made her way back to the house to make dinner. Stepping inside the house, she smiled for the hundredth time that day alone as she looked around. It was the nicest house she’d ever lived in. She paused in front of a small framed photo hanging on the wall, that she planned to leave hanging on the wall, as a tribute of thanks to the people who gifted the house to her and Va’roush. They were a family of four. It was something she’d never have since she was well into the menopause phase, but that was okay. This was good. And it seemed that for the most part her struggle was over. And she wasn’t alone. Va’roush had been with her for months now, though he just decided to make himself known a week ago, she’d somehow sensed him all along. Now that they’d agreed to share the house, that part was over.
Going to the fridge, she smiled at Buchanan’s attempt to clean out the fridge. While she and the others had been outside finalizing safe places for the animals to live in, Buchanan had left once more and come back with lots and lots of food and supplies. He’d taken everything out of the fridge and thrown it away, wiped the inside of the fridge down and placed all the items that needed refrigeration inside, and put away all the pantry staples. There was a note on top of the garbage can that said, “Take me out today.”
Following his advice, she took the plastic garbage bag outside and left it on the porch, thinking she’d take it out to the bins later, then back to the kitchen and chose an easy meal. “Burgers and fries it is,” she said, taking out the ingredients she’d need. By the time she had the burgers sizzling in the skillet, and the fries sizzling in a pot of oil, Va’roush had returned to the house. He stood awkwardly at the entrance to the kitchen and watched her cooking.
Looking his way, she smiled at him. “Won’t be long. It’s almost ready.”
He nodded, then walked away. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but at least he hadn’t run outside again.
Fifteen minutes later he was back, he was wearing a fresh shirt, apparently taken from the closet of clothes Kol’s family had left behind, and his hands were clean. He sat at the table without a word, and waited.
Mel brought in the plates with burgers and fries on them, and a platter with three more burgers and a few handfuls of fries.
“Do you want something to drink?” she asked.
“Are you having something to drink?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I will have a drink.”
She went to the kitchen and came back with two bottles of red cream soda.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Red cream soda. I’ve always loved this flavor.”
“I had one while I waited for the security monitors to bring the soldiers to me.”
“What?”
“I had to speak with Kol. I set off the alarms so those protecting the house would send warriors to find out who set off the alarms. I had a drink when I was waiting.”
“Very clever,” she said.
“I can be.”
“Why have you hidden from me all these months?” she asked.
Va’roush had just taken a bite of his burger and briefly looked up at her as he took another bite. “This is very good.”
“Thank you.”
She ate a couple of fries and took a bite of her burger.
He continued eating .
A few minutes later she linked her fingers and laid her hands on the table in front of her plate. “Are you going to answer me?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s better if you do not know.”
“No, Va’roush. It’s not. I deserve to know what’s going on inside you.”
“You do not want to know what goes on inside me.”
“I do.”
“No one deserves to know about that. It is not good,” he admitted quietly.
She watched him as he finished his last bite, then eyed the other burgers. “I made more than enough in case you have a big appetite. You can eat all of those if you want to. I have enough on my plate.”
He reached for two more burgers and put them on his plate, then a handful of fries, too.
“The only thing I regret is that you spent months watching me, when we could have been friends all along. And because you stayed hidden for so long, I’m confused as to why you went out of your way to find us a place to live. Even brought your friends to help me move all my things here. They even stacked all my stuff in the storage building outside, and helped us build pens and safe places for my animals.”
“You have many beasts,” he remarked, savoring his burger.
“I do,” she said.
“Why, though?”
He looked up at her. “Because you wanted them all?”
“No, not why do I have so many beasts, why did you hide from me all these months only to show yourself and organize your friends to help me when I needed it most. You pretend not to care, but then your actions show you cared so very much, but now you’re back to being distant again. I just want to understand why.”
He took another bite of his burger and chewed, not planning to answer .
“Va’roush, please give me something. Some clue so I’ll know if I keep doing something to offend you, or what is going on.”
He looked at her over the last bite of his second burger. “You will tell me to leave.”
“I will never tell you to leave. I made you promise to live here with me, remember?”
He looked down at the last burger on his plate for a while, before he finally spoke. “I am undesirable.”
“Says who?” she demanded.
Va’roush’s gaze shot up to her as her explosive response surprised him.
“Seriously! Who said that?” she asked.
“No words were spoken, but it was clear.”
“They’re idiots. You’re very desirable.”
“They were not idiots. They knew me, and still they didn’t want me.”
“Who is they? Whoever they is I’m feeling the need to have a little talk with them.”
“My mother,” he said quietly, which somehow made his voice even more gruff. “Then as I grew older, many females. They feared me.”
Mel sat in her chair, her mouth open in shock as Va’roush told her his own mother didn’t want him.
“All I know is the male that I see sitting here with me. The kindness of his heart as he’s watched over me since the day he met me. The selflessness he displayed as he volunteered his time and even risked his life to help people he didn’t know find a female that was lost. The concern you showed for me and my situation when you went to a friend to secure lodging for us and for my animals. The regard with which everyone I’ve met holds you, there is nothing undesirable about you. There is much to be respected. So much to be admired.”
“She didn’t want me. And no one has since. I was not good enough, and now I’m broken. You were not supposed to know.”
“Why didn’t she want you?”
Va’roush played with a fry on his plate .
“It doesn’t matter, you don’t have to tell me. But let me tell you what I believe. I believe that if any mother doesn’t want their child, it is not the child’s fault. There are many reasons a woman might not want her child, but the child can’t possibly be responsible for whatever her reasons are. The child didn’t ask to be born. The adults involved for whatever reason, gave life to that child. Those are their circumstances, not the child's. The child is innocent. Now, to take that a step further, if the child is made to believe they are at fault, then that is some bullshit! All kids are innocent, until they’re taught not to be by life. And it sounds like your life taught very early that life sucks. Well, guess what. That doesn’t mean you suck. It means that life sucks.”
He raised his gaze to hers. “And you don’t look at me all the time either. Sometimes you look right past me, rather than meet my gaze. Why?”
“You might see the damage in my soul.”
“There is no damage in your soul. There is only hurt.”
“I can’t take the chance.”
“Then why did you take the chance? You found me a place to live. Why would you go to the trouble if you planned to stay distant?”
A full minute passed before he finally answered. “You are my female,” he said slowly.
Mel waited almost as long as he had to answer her question, before she could think of something to say. “What does that mean?”
“I am a half-breed. I thought I didn’t have a female because I didn’t deserve one. But when I saw you, I knew. You are my female.”
She just looked at him. “I need more explanation than that.”
“Cruestaci warriors only have one female. She is destined for him, and after he finds her, he will never have another. You are mine.”
“Because you’re a Cruestaci warrior you recognized me.”
“Half.”
“Half Cruestaci warrior,” she corrected.
“Yes. ”
“And you’re sure I’m yours.”
“Yes. But I knew I would only find rejection, so I didn’t voice it. I just did what instinct told me to do, whether accepted or not.”
“Watch over me,” she guessed.
“Protect you.”
“How long did you plan to do this?” she asked.
“Forever.”
“It’s why you stayed behind.”
“Yes. Do not worry. I will not claim you. I know I’m undesirable.”
“First,” she said, standing up and pushing her chair back. “Do not tell me what you think I believe. If you want to know something ask me and I’ll tell you. Second, you are as far from undesirable as it gets. You are, in my eyes, a handsome, huge, dangerous male, and that makes you very attractive. Third, I don’t care what you are Cruestaci, or anything else. All I care about is that you’re here, and I’m here, and that you don’t hide from me anymore. Do you understand?”
Va’roush have her a single nod.
“And lastly, I have a question for you,” she said, walking toward him.
He pushed his chair away from the table, preparing to rise if necessary.
Mel reached him, and instead of just standing there speaking to him, she dropped onto his lap and put her arms around his neck, causing him to tense.
He swallowed, the strain of self control easy to see.
“My question is, does instinct tell you to do anything other than simply protect me?”
His eyes had been focused on the pulse in her neck, but quickly lifted to her eyes to see if he understood her properly.
“You heard me,” she said.
“I don’t like to be touched,” he answered.
“Because it hurts?” she asked.
Va’roush shook his head. “Because no one likes to touch me, so I stopped allowing touch. ”
“I understand.”
“Good.”
“I understand that you’re going to have to get over that, because if I agree to belong to my fated mate — that is what you’re telling me, right — that I’m your fated mate? If I agree to that, which I’m very much inclined to do, then I expect to be touched and often.”
“You don’t mean that,” he said.
“Oh, I really do.”
“You want to be my female?” he asked, his hesitation almost fearful.
“As much as you want to be my male.”
Va’roush closed his eyes, his hands finding their way to her hips, and resting there as he tried to maintain control. When next he opened his eyes, they were glowing, as he looked at her.
Instead of being afraid, she smiled at him. “And there are those eyes I’ve seen watching me for months. I love those eyes. They comforted me. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, kissing him slowly and gently. She pulled back and looked at him. “What does claiming me involve?”
He dared to lift a hand and stroke the underside of her breast through her shirt as he kept his gaze on her face.
“Sex,” she said.
He nodded slowly.
“Then claim me.”
“I cannot.”
“Why not? You said I belong to you.”
“You do.”
“Then why can’t you claim me?”
“It cannot be undone.”
“I like that. You won’t leave.”
“You can’t change your mind.”
“Neither can you.”
“I don’t want you to hate me.”
“I could never hate you.”
“Everyone hates me.”
“I’m the only one that matters. I don’t hate you. ”
She kissed him again and while she did, gripped her shirt and leaned away from him, pulling it over her head.
She heard and felt his sharp intake of breath as he looked at her body.
“I don’t care if they do. I can’t have you hate me.”
“I want you beside me, in every way.” She went to stand up, leaving his lap and his hands held her in place. “I can’t remove my shorts if you don’t let me stand.”
Without hesitation he lifted his hands, his eyes hungrily focused on her.
Mel unzipped her shorts and kicked them off, then kicked her sandals off. She was reaching for her panties when she sensed, rather than actually saw him move. The next thing she knew she was face down on the dinner table, her feet braced on the floor, her upper body spread across the table, and her now bare ass bent over and waiting for whatever he chose to do. She felt his hands as they traced her spine down to the globes of her well rounded ass, then further down her thighs and calves as he squatted behind her.
She choked on her own breath as his hands held her in place and he buried his face between her cheeks, his tongue seeking any place between her legs that he could find to explore.
Mel moaned as she struggled to spread her legs further and arch her back to offer herself more readily to him.
She both heard and felt his slow snarl as his tongue prodded, then plundered every crevice of her body, sending her into full body shivers.
Then as quickly as he squatted behind her, he was standing again, and what remained of his clothes were being tossed in shreds to the floor.
She tried to lift herself to look back at him, but his hand landed squarely in the middle of her back and shoved her back down.
Then she felt him prodding at her ass.
“Not there,” she said, “not yet anyway.”
He growled, but lifted her ass into the air a few inches, the head of his cock successfully finding her pussy .
“Yes, there,” she said, pushing back against him as he rocked his hips. “Ohhh, yes. Ple…”
Her voice stopped working as he slammed his swollen cock into her channel. He anchored her in place with both hands and went about fucking her harder and faster than she’d ever been fucked. She tried to tell him there was plenty of time, but her voice didn’t work anymore. She was breathless, panting, and being devoured all at the same time.
The harder he stroked into her, the louder her moan, and the slicker her juices.
She was only aware of the heat of his body, the strength he kept carefully coiled and hidden within, and the fact that the bit of darkness that lived inside him, would never intentionally harm her. Instead it, it seemed to feed off her need for him. He started up a new sound, like a combination of a growl and a roar, and his fingertips, now sprouting claws began to squeeze her hips as his strokes got longer and more concentrated as he angled his cock for certain areas inside her that would give him maximum stimulation.
“Don’t stop! Don’t stop!” she begged.
He shoved himself as deep inside her as he could, then lifted her body on his cock, just a few inches off the table so he could get under her enough to jab at her cervix with short little jerky stabs of the head of his dick.
She screamed, her back arching as she went into orgasm, and he roared, the tip of his cock attaching itself to her as its length swelled to make sure that none of his seed left her body. As they both convulsed in ecstasy, he fell forward, his upper body covering hers as he let her fall back to the tabletop.
Sometime later, how long she had no idea, he finally raised up off her, and lifted her from behind, carrying her to the sofa in the living room, where he sat down, with her on his lap, facing away from him, still impaled on his cock.
She felt his tongue on her shoulder, then his teeth gently graze her skin. “Ride me,” he growled at her .
Mel nodded and very gingerly tested out rocking her hips. When she experienced no pain, she started doing exactly what he’d ordered, gradually working up speed and setting a rhythm.
“I can’t believe you’re still hard,” she said, as she rocked her hips.
“I will remain hard for a long time.”
“How long?” she asked, as she felt his fingertips stroking up and down her slit, stopping to feel his own cock as it stroked in and out of her.
“Until we have enough.”
“You and I?” she asked.
“And him.”
“Him?” she asked, slightly alarmed.
“The beast I keep locked inside. Can you love him too?” he asked.
“Is it him that makes your eyes glow?” she asked.
“Yes. We are one. Can you love him, too, or will you reject us?”
“I already love him, too.”
“Forever?” he asked.
“Forever,” she confirmed.
Va’roush leaned his head against her back, his nose pressed against her skin, drowning in her scent, as he let go of a lifetime of shame. Finally, on this strange planet far away from anywhere else he might have wanted to call home, he found his one. His female, and she didn’t fear him. She didn’t shrink away from him. Instead she was angry on his behalf at everyone who’d treated him as less than. Those that should have loved him and didn’t suddenly didn’t matter so much as he found love and acceptance with the one female created for him. “I’ll never hurt you. I’ll love you forever.”
“I’ll never hurt you either,” she said. “I’ll love you and I’ll always protect you.”
He took a deep shaky breath and let it out, pressing his face against her back so she couldn’t feel the tears of relief he and his beast shed.
“I’m home. You are my Haven,” he whispered.
The END.