Chapter 9
The males were practically piled on top of each other as they stretched out in the bottom of their cage. Their luminous eyes were turned toward her as they sprawled as comfortably as possible on the bedding that Uma arranged for them with Katiera’s help the first night, despite the other woman’s halfhearted protests. After establishing a routine the last few days, the males had dropped onto it easily, now without a hint of awkwardness. Meanwhile, the first of the seasonal storms was moving in, and she could hear the wind whistling against the roof and walls as she finished up her end of the day rounds. Kam’s ear twitched lazily in response to the sound but otherwise the males didn’t seem to give the storm itself much notice.
They weren’t asleep, of course, even if they appeared to be at a casual glance. Uma could feel their eyes on her, watching her every movement warily. It was highly doubtful that they would trust her enough to actually fall asleep in her presence, though they were not above using the pretense of it to study her at their leisure if they believed she was unaware of it. She scoffed silently to herself as she replenished the water supply on the dispenser that serviced the cell through a tap in the barrel holding the clean water. Clean wooden cups had already been delivered into the cell and were sitting on the narrow plank that usually served as a bed for anyone overnighting in the cell. Of course, it was useless as such with the Ragoru. Even Kam, who was slightly smaller than the other two males, was far too large to squeeze onto it comfortably.
At least it made a handy table if the males couldn’t make use of it for their comfort. She made sure that it not only held extra cups and plates, but also clean cloths for grooming. Small things, but it was the least she could do. And for their part they were surprisingly clean—not only in terms of personal grooming, which they seemed to spend time every morning seeing to before she came in as their fur hadn’t been matted at all or even smelled bad in the morning, but they also kept whatever they used just as carefully organized on the bunk.
All in all, they were a lot easier and lower maintenance than she had expected.
The water dispenser filled to a satisfactory level, Uma straightened from her task and blinked when her eyes lifted and immediately collided with Laro’s cool regard in surprisingly close proximity to her. Although she knew they were watching her, he had somehow moved without her noticing so that he was crouched unnervingly close to the bars. He didn’t bother straightening when she did—but at his size he didn’t have to. His eyes pinned hers with a piercing focus. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn that he could see every hidden thought and emotion. Unable to help herself, she stared back at him for a long moment, caught in his unblinking gaze while her breathing became slower and shallower. Her awareness narrowed in on his eyes and the rapid flutter of her pulse pounding within her veins.
Was this what prey felt like? Or perhaps not quite because she was somehow caught in a strange spot between fear and excitement. Or if it was how prey felt, perhaps it was lucky for them to have some small pleasure before they were brought down.
His nose twitched and slowly his ears rotated toward her, pricking attentively. Uma’s jaw clenched and she forced herself to take a step back and slightly to the left, intentionally breaking the tension between them as she put a respectful distance between herself and the cell. She wasn’t the least bit surprised when his eyes followed her.
The corner of his mouth suddenly hitched, and he leaned against the bars between them. Uma’s eyes narrowed on him in turn. What was he up to? Her gaze drifted to other males for some sort of clue but came back with nothing. Kam still peered up at them from where he was sprawled with fascination, but Kam was the naturally curious sort. Vrin, however, had lost interest entirely and had closed his eyes, effectively shutting everyone and everything else around him out. Perhaps that was a good sign. Whatever it was, it wasn’t coordinated or planned in any fashion at her expense.
Meeting Laro’s gaze once more, her eyebrows rose in challenge. “Is there something I can help you with?”
He shook his head slowly, his ears twitching restlessly. “I am curious if you are prepared for what is coming.”
“And cumming,” Vrin added, his eyes still closed. They slitted open briefly, giving her a glimpse of brilliant gleaming shards of yellow before closing again. “There will be no helping it, not with an unmated female so close nearby. I hope you enjoy the aftermath. It will be a mess.”
Her nose immediately wrinkled in disgust. Seriously? She figured there would be some lewd and suggestive displays and urgings, but she hadn’t actually imagined... fluids. And from three large males, it would definitely get everywhere. Great Mother.
Kam choked on a laugh at that moment, and Uma shot him an annoyed look to which he grimaced, his ears tipping back repentantly.
“I was not laughing at you,” he rushed to assure her. “I was laughing at the situation because Vrin is right. No matter how we wish otherwise, we will not be able to control it. The need to breed will be overwhelming with your scent so close. There just will be nowhere for it to go.” He gave her what she took to be an apologetic smile as his ears dropped to the sides.
“It is natural,” Laro said flatly, his faint smirk disappearing. “We will not apologize for it or feel guilty about it when your lead told you to keep us here. It is nothing more than a warning.”
“What, you would rather be kicked out in the snow outside of the citadel without shelter to suffer through it?” Uma demanded irritably. She shook her head and drew a deep breath. “I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to. It is my responsibility to see you out, and that can’t happen until after the midwinter storms pass. I can’t just release you within the territory of the citadel, especially not when the details of what happened at the Lucky Bull. Like it or not, we are all stuck here... together.”
Laro inclined his head. “So long as you are aware of what is coming.”
Her mouth flattened. “I have been briefed on your Withering Days, and while I hadn’t been aware of those particulars, I had planned ahead to spend as little time in the holding area with you as possible then. Although I’m afraid that your own freedom will suffer considerably as well.”
The lead grunted in acknowledgment. “It is for the best. I would be safest for all of us when there are no guarantees that we would be able to hold off the urges. You are not our mate, but our bodies may not obey past a certain point and we do not wish to have an accidental mating.”
Uma managed not to wince at his words. It admittedly stung to be flat out told that she was that undesirable for a mate as far as they were concerned. Like they had any room to act superior. Frankly, the last thing she wanted was to be saddled with this triad. Who needed the headache? As much as she wanted to lob those words back at him so that he knew that the feeling was definitely mutual, she merely shrugged as if unaffected and picked up a rag to dry off any water that had splashed onto her hands.
“I agree,” she replied as she hung the rag back on its hook. “I do appreciate you informing me of the... mess. It will give me even more incentive to avoid this room as much as possible. And to make arrangements for a cleaning crew to come in to deal with it afterward,” she added, this time not hiding her grimace of distaste.
Kam chuffed and rolled so that his head was draped over Vrin’s back. His amber eyes gleamed at her with humor. “Are you saying that you will not make sure we have a clean and comfortable place to rest?”
“Why, so you can just spray all over it again?” Uma retorted flatly and shook her head. “I would suggest trying to aim for not soaking your bedding and cell as much as possible. These floors are easier and quicker to clean.”
She made a mental note to not touch or sit anywhere within the cell until said cleaning crew addressed the mess.
The corner of Laro’s mouth quirked, and she thought she caught a hint of laughter in his eyes before it was quickly shut down and he regarded her soberly once more. “We will do our best.”
She shrugged, unconcerned. “You are the ones who will have to sit and sleep in it, so that is entirely on you because there is no way anyone is unlocking and entering that cell during the Withering Days—least of all me.”
His gaze narrowed on her for a moment, and she wondered if he was feeling affronted having his own undesirability shoved back in his face after all. If so, good. Although she didn’t take the complaints against the triad entirely at face value, and knew that there was far more to it, it was also clear to her that they saw themselves as a desirable choice with their pick of women available to them. She rolled her eyes as she turned away. With that attitude, they were collectively about as desirable as a kick in the ass. Kam was at least a little endearing but not enough to buoy his entire triad.
“I will be back with your supper,” she announced as she headed for the door. “With the way the storm is moving in, I suspect it will be just us for the next couple of days so not expect anything special. Learning to cook beyond making sure I had something edible and filling was not a priority for me, so you will have to make do.”
She smothered a smile as a pair of groans followed her out, but it was Kam’s cheerful voice that made her burst out laughing the moment the door was closed between them.
“Well, at least it is not just meat anymore,” he cajoled his brothers.
Uma shook her head as she headed to the station’s kitchen. It would be more than just meat, but given how simple her diet was he was being overly optimistic. And sure enough, when she returned an hour later with beef and potato stew, the look of resignation that Kam gave his large bowl was enough to brighten the rest of her night as she headed to her lonely bunk with her own supper in hand.
Perhaps it was a bit mean, after all he was the least annoying among the males, but if was enough to make him stare down at their fare with distaste, then she knew the other two would hate it. What a pity. The fact that beef and potato soup was her comfort food for a stormy winter night had made it a good selection for the meal as far as she was concerned. That the triad found it distasteful was just icing on the cake. It made her feel gleefully back in control. They could taunt her all they wanted, but in the end, they would have to remember that she was the one in charge of their comfort while they were stuck with each other.
If it led to a more peaceful cohabitation within the holding area, then she would consider it well worth it.