Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rok
Lessons in Becca’s world , as I’d lovingly dubbed the daily sessions that my female had started giving me, had had a rough time getting off the ground. It didn’t help that my female was a perfect luscious morsel that I wanted to taste every time she returned home to me.
It had been just under a week and each morning before she left, I threw what she called an orctrum where I attempted to block the door. So far my attempts at keeping her with me had ended in epic failure, but I was certain that after a few more days, I could convince her that it wasn’t worth the time away from each other.
So far, she’d given me homework , where I was forced to endure colorful shows that I was almost certain were made for children on the television . The first time she’d turned it on, I’d had what I considered to be a perfectly normal reaction to the thing. I’d bellowed at it and tried to kill it with my axe.
I’d since learned that my female didn’t appreciate being protected from the moving pictures. Instead, she wanted me to find a way to garner knowledge about the way things worked in polite society. My summary so far was that this plane was insane. For some reason their animals could speak, their heads were far too large for their bodies in a way that I was certain anywhere else would cause them to keel over and not be able to move—which might explain why food and meat was so plentiful here and didn’t need to be hunted—and I was almost certain that blue heelers were the best dogs.
When she returned home every afternoon, it was with books covering so many topics I felt my brain spinning. If she didn’t give me kisses every time I got something right, I would have given up almost as soon as we started.
“Okay,” she started, leaning back in my arms as I settled us against the sofa, tucking her against my body in the way that I loved. She had a book open in her hands, her fingers pointing to a picture of something she found relevant for me to learn. “This is a map of Grebath,” she told me. “That’s the city that we’re in right now. Right here,” she continued, pointing at something on the paper, “is where we are right now.”
A map.
Interested now, I focused on what she was pointing at. Lines crisscrossed the paper, confusing me. There were so many trails and roads that it boggled my mind. Still, I traced my gaze over the map, scouring my mind for memories of when I’d been navigating from where she’d summoned me.
I now knew that it was where she worked.
The library .
I found the word—the potion helping me read Common as well as speak it—and pointed at it. “Is this where you go every day?” I asked her, and she beamed up at me, pride shining in her eyes.
“Yes!” she enthused, and it was everything I could do to stop myself from kicking my feet in glee. “That’s right. So if you ever leave the building, which you’re not going to do until it’s safe,” she said to me, giving me a stern look and I bobbed my head, acknowledging that I would be staying inside and safe—away from the witches that she worried about. “This is where you can find me during the day.” She lifted her lips for a kiss and I took immediate advantage, deepening it until she moaned, her fingers clutching at my arm to keep me close.
Smug satisfaction filled me as she let the book fall to her lap, focused on me instead. It was a victory every time I could distract her from her books. She loved them so much, that I was certain it meant that she loved me more.
I wanted to ask her if she did. More than that, I wanted to tell her how much I’d grown to love her, but I didn’t want to force the words from her. I also didn’t want to know if she wasn’t head over heels for me.
“But you can’t leave,” she murmured against my lips, pulling away to give me another admonishing look. I knew why. She was aware that I’d begun moving through the building, learning its layout with Rudgar and the ways to get in and out of the floors without being noticed.
While she was gone, once my daily studies of cartoons —as Rudgar called them—or educational programming —as Becca called them—was over, I went with him to begin learning the important job of protecting the clan.
This building was my new home, and I was going to learn to guard it with my life.
“And you can’t come out to meet me the way you did yesterday,” she added, frowning at me. I grinned at her, unrepentant.
“I can’t stop myself if I see you, my Becca,” I told her and her expression softened. She pressed a kiss to my lips, before she shook her head.
“But it’s not safe,” she insisted.
I nodded, pretending that I wouldn’t do it again in the future—knowing that I would. There was no instance where she would be returning to me and I would not go to meet her.
She picked up her communication device and I watched in awe as she used the contraption to show me the map again, widening the area, showing me how big Grebath really was. My eyebrows swung up.
“How many beings live here?” I queried, tilting my head as I prodded at the map, making it wiggle for me.
“Almost five million, I think,” she said, her brow furrowed in thought. “Or maybe more. That number was something I remember from years ago. She used her tiny finger to swipe at the screen of the contraption in front of us and I watched in awe as it disappeared.
Magic .
I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if she was a witch for the millionth time before shrugging and tugging her closer, burying my face against her throat while she tapped away.
I don’t care. Witch or not, she’s mine.
“Oh my,” she gasped, and I pulled away to look at what she was pointing at. The number had so many commas that my eyebrows swept up. “Seven million and growing. Grebath’s going to double in size soon, and now we’re part of it.” She beamed up at me.
I couldn’t quite understand the draw of wanting to live in a place that was already over-populated with beings, but if it made her happy, I’d stay anywhere she wanted me to. She curled her fingers in my hair as I nuzzled against her throat again, letting her scent surround me in comfort and home .
“I forgot to tell you that we’re going to have dinner with the rest of our clan ,” she said, hugging me close to her. The little laugh at the end of the word clan told me that she was only just getting used to belonging to one.
While it was still too small, the Everlock clan was beginning to feel like one. With Dristan as our chief, my gold had been invested and he’d shown me the balance for the investment portfolio he’d started for me.
Whatever that means.
That had also had so many commas and numbers that I’d just nodded at him and offered him a rap of my fist to my chest in gratitude. I wasn’t certain what any of it meant, but the way he’d explained it, I would be able to live off of the profits from the investments and give my mate the kind of comfortable life she deserved.
Not that she accepts my gifts.
I scowled as I mentally glared at the gold coins that lay inside a pouch in the safe in our bedroom. Becca had put it there as soon as she could, tucking away my gift and not spending a single piece.
She’d told me that it was precious to her, and that she didn’t want to waste it or invest it with Dristan, but the insecure part of me wondered if she was keeping it safe so that she could return them to me when she decided that she’d had enough of me.
My heart clenched with worry, but it was soothed as she snuggled against me, settling into that spot on my chest that had been made just for her. We fit like lock and key—her soft body against my hard edges.
“We can stay in,” I told her, running my palm down her back, a mischievous grin spreading across my lips as she shivered under me.
“I already told her yes,” she murmured, regret filling her words. I sighed, trying to shove the images of how I’d wanted to spend the night out of my head.
I’ll just have to ravish her when we’re finished.
The thought made me grin again, and I pressed a kiss to her hair as her phone began to ring. Now that I knew that the little black box was a communication device, I understood the need for it. It did not mean that I needed one, no matter how many time Rudgar tried to press one into my hand.
“It’s Pen,” she told me, swiping her finger across the glass. “Hi,” she said in a cheerful voice, holding the phone out between us.
“Can you make that amazing baked ziti that you made for Thanksgiving last year?” she asked, without preamble. “Is it going to be too much? I can order something, but—”
“What did he do?” Becca asked, suspicion and amusement lacing her words at the same time, turning to grin at me as if we were sharing a joke. I leaned in, my heart aching with love that she was including me.
“He ate the entire chicken pot pie that I made,” Pen sighed on the other end of the phone. “I swear, he acts like I don’t feed him.”
“One baked ziti coming up. Do you want me to add some meat in there or—” Becca laughed, shaking her head.
“Yes, please. I’m baking two chickens, but these males can eat ,” Pen said, and they both giggled up a storm. I wasn’t sure what was funny about that. We were mated warriors. Of course we ate a lot to ensure that we stayed strong and able to protect our homes.
I puffed my chest so that Becca could see how capable I was, but she rolled her eyes and turned away from me, heading toward the kitchen, still chatting with Pen.
“Did you want me to make two? This oven is huge and I have enough supplies,” she bent over the counter, grunting as she pulled a heavy ceramic dish out. I hurried over, grabbing it with ease and putting it on the counter.
She gave me a grateful smile as she and Pen discussed options for things that they could make. I frowned, wondering what I would be able to contribute to the meal. Becca had banned me from leaving the building, so I wouldn’t be able to hunt for anything, but I’d seen some flour in the pantry and I made a delicious turr. My mother had been proud of it the first time I made it and that was the highest praise I could receive.
So far, Becca and I hadn’t had a chance to cook together. We’d been too busy touching each other and we’d rummaged through, eating dried meats, cheeses and pre-made breads to sustain our bodies.