Chapter 12
Katva had visited every hut and cave in the village indiscriminately. While the most powerful of their people and the young tended to claim the caves in the cliff sides as their homes, the elders didn’t mind at all. They tended to choose the huts near the village’s center due to the ease of getting into and out of them, the caves were difficult to access. Even after a day filled with activity and strife, forcing Raska and those loyal to him out of the village, Katva still stood tall and proud, carrying out a mission he felt was important not only to Valka, but for himself as well. He’d long been relegated to living life according to Raska’s demands and he was tired of it. He needed more, needed to be more, and supporting a male like Valka gave him that opportunity. The dried blood of those he’d killed still stained his skin from the battle he’d fought beside Valka to install Valka as Chieftain of the village, and the wound he’d received still oozed as he moved to each home, be it a cave or a hut nearer the village’s center, to question those living there. He knew well the views of each of the tribe, and questioned them only to determine if he felt they could be trusted or not. If the news that Valka was their new Chieftain was met with skepticism or strife, he banished them. If they were unconcerned, or seemed accepting at the very least, he advised them to speak to himself, Toska, Oscal, or Elkva with any concerns or requests while Valka was preoccupied with the recovery of his female. For the most part, those he’d spoken to were already aware of the new Chieftain, most of the males having seen it firsthand, and were markedly relaxed as opposed to their normal stature under Raska’s rule.
As he neared the end of his rounds, he approached Raska’s cave. He stood outside the cave, knowing there should be no one inside. There was no one in Raska’s family, except Skala, and both were now dead. Katva took a deep breath and angled his head toward the cave entrance to project his voice directly inside. “Come out now!” he bellowed.
Inside the cave, Bettina sat near the interior wall closest to the entrance. She didn’t want to be seen if anyone happened to glance inside as they passed by. And since Raska hadn’t returned, she had no way of knowing if he’d ever come back or not. Not that it particularly mattered. She’d figured out during the night spent with Raska that he was not the best choice for her. He was angry, and he was a bully. Not that she’d had any choice in the matter.
She sighed and leaned against the wall, just wishing for this entire nightmare to be over.
“I said to come out now! If you do not, you will die!” Katva threatened on hearing breathing and movement from inside the cave.
Bettina’s eyes widened, no matter how bad things seemed, she certainly didn’t want to die. She wholeheartedly believed exactly what Delia had taught her — as long as you were alive, there was a chance for change, a chance for better things, a chance for survival. “It’s just me,” she said, her voice shaking slightly.
She heard footsteps, and a shadow fell across the entrance of the cave. She looked up to see a large, very frightening looking male splattered with dried blood, looking down at her. “It’s just me,” she repeated. “Do you know if Valka’s woman is alive?”
“She is. Why are you here?” he demanded, knowing exactly who she was, but determined to learn her opinions before he let her know that.
“Raska told me to stay here.”
“Why do you obey Raska? Do your loyalties lie with him?” Katva asked.
“He claimed me. I had no choice. He left hours ago and told me to stay here.”
“Do you wait for his return?” he asked.
Bettina thought about her answer. No, she didn’t. She waited for him not to return, but she couldn’t risk angering him if he did return. She looked up at the large male in front of her and suddenly tired of the whole situation, blurted out the absolute truth. “No. I do not. I wait for freedom. I don’t want to belong to anyone I don’t choose for myself. I’m tired of being afraid. I’m tired of being hungry. I’m tired of having to trade sex for survival. I just want to be free to feel safe and to know that tomorrow I’m going to wake up and not have to be afraid anymore. And I’m worried about my friend! Is that so wrong?” she asked Katva, standing up quickly and slapping her hand on her hip as she questioned him.
Katva pressed his thick lips together in a flat line as he successfully hid a smirk. He liked this female, she had fire. He’d wanted her before, simply because she was one of the last available, but he found he liked her strength, as well.
He wasn’t sure which of her needs he should address first, so he went with the obvious. “Raska is dead.”
Bettina’s mouth fell open in shock. “Really?!” she asked excitedly, then realized this male may be his friend. “I mean, oh, no. I’m sorry your friend is dead.”
Katva smiled, and didn’t even try to hide it. “He was not my friend.”
“Is that his blood on you?” she asked.
“Some of it. Some is that of his friends. Some of it is mine.”
Bettina nodded, her eyes taking the time to try to pick his own injury out of the blood smeared across his skin. “Are you alright? Do you need help?”
Katva was taken aback, no one had ever asked if he was alright. “I do not need help.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“It will stop.”
“Fine. Let it bleed.”
He scowled at her. “You cannot live in this tribe without a male.”
She didn’t answer right away and he could see that she was thinking. “I had one. He died. I don’t need another.”
He shook his head. “There are too many males. Not enough females. You will cause fights. Males will be injured. You could be injured. You need a male.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her. “Choose wisely this time.”
“I didn’t choose last time!”
“I give you the opportunity to choose this time,” he said, thinking of Valka insisting that his female had the right to choose for herself if he’d died.
Bettina sat down again. “Can I go see my friend? I just want to see my friend and make sure she’s okay.”
Katva considered all possible answers. He was tired. He was injured. And he had decided to take this female as his own, which might mean more battles. But at the moment all she wanted was to see her friend. And taking her to do that might just work out best for him in the end.
“Come. I’ll take you to your friend.”
“You will?”
“I will.”
“Is this a trick?”
“Do you want to see your friend?”
“Yes! She’s hurt, isn’t she?”
“She is.”
“Then I’ll trust you. Take me to her, please.”
~~~
Katva helped Bettina climb the footholds up to Valka’s cave, actually lifting her and placing her on every next one so that she could make it up the cliff’s face to see for herself that Delia was still alive. The moment he placed her on the ledge leading to the entrance of Valka’s cave, she froze, pressing herself against the cliff wall at her back.
Katva stepped up onto the ledge with her, and realized she was not moving. He looked around and saw nothing to keep her frozen in place as she was. “What has you afraid?”
She looked up at him disbelievingly.
“What? I can’t protect you if I don’t know what it’s from.”
“That,” she said, just barely lifting a hand to point to the opposite end of the ledge.
“The skaevin? It’s Delia’s skaevin. It has been protecting her since she was attacked.”
“You can’t be serious. It worked?”
“What worked?”
“She was trying to make the thing like her.”
“We train them. They are easy to win over. All you have to do is feed them. It is not so much a surprising thing, especially since it was injured and she cared for it when it was injured.”
Bettina shook her head, still unable to believe what she was seeing. “I still think it’s an amazing thing.”
“Do you wish to see Delia?”
“I do!”
“Then you’ll have to move closer to the skaevin.”
Bettina eyed the bird, then the male escorting her. “Okay. Yes, I can do that.”
“Come,” he said, taking her by the arm and walking beside her until they reached the entrance. “Valka! May we enter?” he asked, making his voice a little louder to be more easily heard.
Valka was still sitting beside Delia, just watching her as she slept. He lifted his head to look at Katva.
“This is Delia’s friend. She is concerned about Delia.”
“Delia sleep,” Valka said.
“Can we enter?” Katva pressed.
“Yes,” Valka finally answered.
Katva kept a hold on Bettina’s arm, leading her over to where Valka sat beside Delia on his bed.
“Delia sleep,” Valka said again.
“What happened?” Bettina asked.
“Skala hurt Delia. Valka kill Skala. Valka kill Raska. Valka kill Skala again!”
Bettina looked up Katva.
“He means he wants to kill Skala again.”
“I do, too. I want to bring him back and feed him to Delia’s bird. Then bring him back and feed him to Delia’s bird again. And if it’s not painful enough I want to…” Bettina stopped talking when she realized both males were looking at her with wide-eyed surprise. “What? What’s wrong?” she asked.
Valka turned his head just enough to make eye contact with Katva.
Katva met Valka’s gaze.
“Raska female,” Valka said.
“It’s not my fault that Raska chose me. I did not want to choose him. He was mean.”
“Raska female have skaevin?” Valka asked.
“No,” Katva answered.
“Good,” Valka said, reaching out to lay his hand on Delia’s forehead again.
“He deserves to die again, and painfully. He hurt my friend.”
Valka glanced up at her again, but this time he nodded his agreement.
“Why can’t I want to kill him. It’s okay for you to, why not me?”
“Males are the violent ones. Females are not. Females are usually quiet, accepting,” Katva said.
“I am definitely neither quiet nor accepting. But I’m not violent either.”
“Violent good. Scare people.”
“I’m not scary.”
Valka raised an eyebrow and looked at Katva. “Scary,” he said, nodding.
Katva smiled at Valka’s assessment.
Bettina knelt next to the furs Delia slept on. She didn’t kneel on them, she knelt beside them, then reached out, taking Delia’s hand in hers despite grumbles from Valka. “I’m sorry you’re hurt. I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something to change it, but I can’t. So, maybe I could do something to help you. Just wake up and tell me what you need and I’ll find a way to get it for you. I’ll get whatever it is you want done for you.”
Valka scowled before he leaned over to get Bettina’s attention. “Go away,” he said.
“I know you want me to leave, but I can’t, not until I know she’s alright. She was nice to me, even after she knew the truth about me, she was nice to me. And she saved us, so she has to be alright,” Bettina said.
“Toska female say same.”
“Which is Toska’s female?” Bettina asked.
“Loud, loud female,” Valka said.
“Louise,” Katva answered.
“Oh, yes, Louise.”
“Come, Bettina, let’s leave Valka to care for her.”
“Alright. But can we come back?”
“When Delia wake, Delia say,” Valka said.
Bettina nodded, but instead of getting up, she leaned over and kissed Delia’s cheek. “I’ll be back. You just rest and get stronger.” She finally stood and walked over to Katva.
“We’ll come back to bring food tomorrow,” Katva said.
“Valka have food.”
“But, not fresh food. I’ll bring some.”
“Fine, go,” Valka said, waving them on.
Bettina led the way toward the entrance, looking back to offer Valka a little bit of a wave and a smile before she stepped out onto the ledge, slid past the skaevin and moved out of sight, with Katva following.
Valka got to his feet and jogged after them. He reached out pulling Katva closer and backed up into the entrance of his cave, pulling Katva with him.
“What is it?” Katva asked.
“Claim Raska female. Good female. Scary female. Kind female.”
Katva smiled. “I plan to.”
“Good. No skaevin,” Valka said, reminding him not to allow her to befriend a skaevin.
Katva laughed. “No. No skaevin.”
~~~
“Where are you taking me now? I don’t want to go back to Raska’s home.”
“You can’t stay at Raska’s alone.”
“Then where will I stay?”
“With Katva.”
“Who’s Katva? Is he like Raska?”
“No, he’s not like Raska. Katva is proud and honorable. He’s brave and fair. He’s strong and does not take advantage of others, though many have tried to take advantage of him.”
“Will he try to claim me?”
“Maybe. Maybe he will allow you to choose him instead.”
“If I don’t choose him?”
“You must choose someone.”
“I don’t know any of the males. All I know is that I’d like someone who will appreciate me.”
Katva gave her a single nod to indicate his understanding.
“I mean, how do I know who that is?” she asked. “I don’t know any of the males here. Do I have time to get to know them?”
Katva shook his head.
“Great. Choose who you’re going to belong to, but you can’t know who they are first,” she grumbled under her breath.
Katva hid his smirk as he watched her.
Suddenly she looked at him, an idea occurring to her. “Who would you choose if you were in my position?”
“Katva.”
“Why Katva?” she asked.
“I already told you. He is a strong warrior. He is proud, he is fair.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I am. He has waited a long time for his own female.”
“I don’t want to end up having to change from one male to another to another as they all get killed.”
“There will be no more killing. Valka is the new Chieftain. He is strongest. Katva stands with Valka.”
“He doesn’t even know I’m coming,” Bettina said.
“He knows.”
‘I hate this. I really hate this. What if he doesn’t like me?”
“He likes you.”
“How do you know?
“I will take you to his home.You will see.”
“Are you sure he won’t be angry that I’m there?”
“More than sure. I know him well.”
“Alright. I’ll try. But if he rejects me, it’s not my fault.”
“Do males often reject you?”
“They all want only what they want, but then when I have wants or needs, they leave me to myself.”
“Males of your world do not know your worth.”
“Yeah, sometimes I don’t either,” she muttered, walking along beside him wondering what fresh hell she was walking into this time.
Katva escorted Bettina to his small cave. It was only a few feet off the ground, very small, but it was his, and it was easy to keep warm. He stopped outside the cave and gestured toward it. “This is Katva’s home. It will be yours, too.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for him to come back?” she asked, standing outside the entrance and peeking a look inside.
“Katva is here.”
“Where?” she asked, glancing quickly around the inside of the cave once more.
He stood there, looking down at her, waiting for her to catch on. He refused to claim her, she’d have to choose him first.
“Katva!” Oscal called out, approaching quickly.
Katva turned to greet Oscal.
“I have a male who wishes to claim Raska’s female. He has promised much to the tribe to help throughout the winter,” Oscal said.
He opened his mouth to object, but Bettina stopped him. “I’m choosing my own male this time. He said I could,” she explained, pointing at Katva.
“Is this true? You have allowed her to choose her own mate?”
“Yes. Valka made sure that Delia could make her own choice if he died, so why shouldn’t Bettina?”
“Bettina?” Oscal asked.
Katva pointed at Bettina.
“Oh, Raska’s female is named Bettina,” Oscal said, more to himself than to either of them.
“I am not Raska’s female. It’s not my fault that he claimed me, and it was only one night. Can someone please tell everyone to stop calling me Raska’s female?”
“What am I to tell Undka?” Oscal asked.
“Tell him that we do not bid for females any longer. If he wants to help the tribe in the cold months, we welcome his help, but not to expect a female in return.”
“Tell him that I’ve chosen Katva,” Bettina said.
“Katva?!” Oscal asked.
“Yes. And as soon as he gets here, I’ll let him know,” Bettina said.
Oscal, stared at Bettina for a few moments trying to understand what was happening. Then he looked at Katva, who was glaring at him. Slowly Oscal’s lips curled into a grin. “Is there any indication that Katva will accept her as his mate?” Oscal asked.
“I am sure he will,” Katva said.
“When he comes back,” Oscal encouraged.
“Yes. When he comes back. Unless he decides to kill you first,” Katva said.
Oscal laughed, finding the whole thing hilarious.
“Well, you know Katva is one of our best warriors. Valka said so himself. He thinks highly of Katva, as we all do,” Oscal said, thoroughly enjoying toying with Katva.
“That is what I’ve been told, and that he is kind and will appreciate me because he’s waited a long time for a chance to have a mate,” Bettina said.
“All that is true. Though I suspect he will be much nicer to you than to most,” Oscal said.
“You should go now, before Katva comes home.”
“Are you sure? I’d like to be here to witness the female meeting her Katva,” Oscal said, still grinning and chuckling from time to time.
“I am sure it’ll be awkward enough. Please go,” Bettina said.
“Because you asked, but I would like to hear every detail when we meet again.”
“Go, Oscal,” Katva half-growled.
“I’m going. I must tend to my own mate. This is amusing, though. I do not want to leave.”
“Leave,” Katva snarled. “Now.”
“I’m going. I’ll be back tomorrow to see what’s happened.”
Katva stood his ground, watched Oscal as he left, still laughing with every step he took. It would only be a matter of time until Toska and Elkva both knew of his deception. Then they’d all laugh, which meant he’d have to force them all to be quiet.
“So, Katva is here?” Bettina asked.
Katva didn’t respond, he was thinking. Trying to find a way to make this not as bad as it might seem.
“There is no one else here. So, I guess either you’re Katva, or you are wrong about him being here. But from your friend finding everything about me being here amusing, I’m sure you’re Katva and have been lying to me.”
Katva turned around to look at her. “I was allowing you to choose.”
“By telling me you were someone else.”
“Yes. By telling you about myself, without being myself, so that you could decide if you wanted a male who matched the description I gave you.”
“How do I know your description of yourself is accurate? It’s not saying very much for you that the entirety of introduction was a lie.”
“Do not listen to my words, listen to Oscal’s.”
“I don’t like being lied to.”
“You have been lied to before.”
“A lot,” she answered.
“You will not be lied to again,” he promised.
She watched him silently, weighing his words.
“You have been hurt before.”
“A lot.”
“You will not be hurt again,” he promised.
“Katva,” she said.
“I am Katva” he needlessly said again.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you are?” she asked, “and don’t say it was so that I could choose.”
“It is because you wanted to choose for yourself,” Katva answered.
“How did you plan on telling me you’d lied? How was this supposed to work out for you?”
“I planned to be kind to you, while still being strong, and let you see for yourself that I am a good male. I am worthy of a good female.”
“Then you’d tell me who you really were,” she said.
“Eventually,” he agreed.
Bettina stood there, watching him suspiciously.
He stood there, watching her right back.
“Why did you let me believe that I had a choice, then?” Bettina asked.
“You do have a choice,” Katva said.
Many thoughts went through Bettina’s mind, not the least of which was that Katva thought so much of her needs that he allowed her to believe that she was choosing him of her own free will. Deciding to ignore the fact that the way Katva went about helping her choose him was manipulative and controlling, she focused on the fact that he did seem to be concerned with her wants. And he’d been patient answering her questions, and he’d actually listened when she’d lost her temper and told him that she wanted to choose for herself the male she’d be with. He’d even managed to arrange things to give her the illusion of exactly what she wanted. “What if I don’t choose you?”
He looked nervous suddenly, even a little sad. “I will take you to whichever male you choose, then I will explain to him that if he does not appreciate you, I will be back to force him to.”
“You really mean that.”
“I am a male of my word.”
She widened her eyes doubtfully.
“Except for when I lied about not being Katva. And I didn’t really lie, I just didn’t say that I am him. Other than that, I am a male of my word.”
She turned and walked into the cave at her back. She walked slowly around it, taking it all in.
“It is small, but it is easy to warm in the coldest months. And it is sturdy, a good shelter. I could have had other caves, but I do not want them.”
“It’s a good home. Valka’s is too large, and difficult to warm I would think.”
“It is.”
“You are sure that you want me here?” she asked.
“I am very sure, Bettina. You will see.”
“Alright, then. I choose you, Katva.”
Katva grinned and followed her inside his home. “Everything I have is to provide for my female. Anything you want is yours to take. If you are hungry eat. If you are cold, wrap yourself in furs. If you are tired, sleep. There will only be anger if you do not take what you need.”
Bettina watched his face as he spoke, and knew how sincere he was. “Thank you, Katva.”
He nodded, then took a single step closer to her. “If you do not want to give me sex, you do not give me sex. It is not a condition of your survival.”
Bettina’s breath caught. He’d listened to her, really listened to her and understood what she’d said.
“You are not my first male.”
“I know that,” he said.
“Many others.”
“But I am the last.”
Bettina smiled and closed the distance between them, holding him close. “Yes, you are.”