Chapter 4 Dargo
I still hadn't found the female yet. If it weren't for the distinctly feminine scent I'd caught an hour ago, I'd think that Adak had sent me on a false mission to get some alone time with his new mate.
Moving at a slow jog, I followed the faint scent in narrowing zigzags through the empty human town.
I hadn't been alone in years, and the silence was getting to me.
There was no silence in the slave barracks or the Pit.
I was accustomed to chaos and being shoulder to shoulder with other turochs.
The sun was setting when I finally caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eye and I slid to a stop as I zeroed in on the flicker of red behind a frame of glass.
Scanning the empty buildings for another glimpse of the elusive female, I loped forward, following the faint scent to a narrow alley between two towering brick buildings.
I walked deeper into the dark alley, scanning the shadows for the female. Her scent was stronger here, the notes of spice and sweetness teasing at my senses as I searched for her. Hours of hunting her had left me with a strong impression that I was being toyed with.
If I were stalking a turoch female I'd assume this game was an invitation to being claimed. Though turochs were usually much more direct. If a female picked a male, she was more likely to simply attack him than lead him on a complicated chase. Then again, maybe human females were shyer.
Something clattered over my head and I looked up.
The female stood high above me on the roof of one of the buildings. The setting sun backlit her, and her short-cropped hair was so red in the low light it almost glowed. Time seemed to slow down as I stared up at her.
There was a determined set to her delicate jaw and the light glinted off a black piercing in her small nose, I felt my heart give a strange stutter. Dark eyes glared down at me, and I found myself memorizing the shape of her lips and the way her small nostrils flared as if she was scenting me.
She was beautiful, completely unlike any female I'd seen before, even the other human Adak had claimed. There wasn't a hint of fear in her expression, no trace of nerves in her scent.
I stood frozen by an unexpected wave of desire. I wanted this female.
I hadn't expected that. My plan had been to find her, bring her to the safety of the other turochs and forget her. That plan didn't hold the appeal it had before I'd laid eyes on her.
My heart pounded harder in my chest as I realized I wanted to claim this fire-haired female, look into those blazing eyes for the rest of my life and make her mine.
Unaware of the internal battle I was waging, the female lifted her chin and glared down at me. I blinked and she hefted something large and black over her head and hurled it down at me. Before I could process what was happening, the object smacked into my head.
The last thing I saw was a wide triumphant smile spreading over her face.