Chapter 4 Tovis
I caught the human female when she crumpled.
Smooth dark hair spilled over my chest as I lifted her in my arms and carefully moved her to the strange, padded table beside us.
Her eyes were already fluttering open by the time I laid her down.
She groaned and covered her face as I moved back a step, so I didn’t loom over her.
Penny had warned us about the looming. I wasn’t the tallest turoch, but I was still much larger than this female and she already seemed to be on the flighty side.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” she moaned, her knees coming up as if she was attempting to curl into a ball.
My tail flicked against my legs as I stared down at her.
She was adorably embarrassed, and adorably human.
I couldn’t wait to claim her. I’d have to convince her to come to camp for my claim to be valid, though I supposed I could always bring someone here to witness my ulto if she was reluctant to follow me.
Vret, I decided. He didn’t like venturing too far from camp, his old injuries made long distances painful for him, but I knew my friend wouldn’t attempt to steal a female out from under me. I couldn’t say the same for the other, mate-hungry turochs at camp.
We’d been free for six months, and despite frequent searches, no other humans had been found.
“Have you eaten?” I asked, loving the red flush on her face as she peeked through her fingers at me. “The other females often feel weak when they haven’t eaten.”
“Human females?” she asked hopefully.
“Five turochs in my band have taken human mates,” I said proudly. “The rest of us have been searching, but you are the first to be found.”
“Five women,” her voice was hushed as she sat up. “I really thought I was the only one left.”
“There are more humans, males.” I reassured her, my ears flicking back as I recalled the only other humans my band had encountered. “But they were not friendly. The females called them a gang. We had to drive them away from our camp because they attacked one of our supply patrols.”
She blinked up at me. “There’s a gang of violent men roaming the city?” Her voice pitched up alarmingly and I hurried to reassure her.
“We haven’t seen any sign of them in months, they have moved on.”
Her mouth opened but she didn’t say anything.
“Have you eaten?” I asked again, wondering if she was going to faint again. Aside from her blush, her skin still looked too pale, and her eyes hadn’t lost their panicked wideness.
She grimaced. “I had a protein bar for breakfast, I think I just got-” she waved a hand around vaguely. “Overwhelmed.”
I’d eaten a few ‘protein bars’ since arriving on Earth, they were barely better than the ration bars the sytos threw to the slaves. This was something I could fix for her. What better way to begin wooing a female than with food?
“I have meat,” I said, reaching into my belt pouch for the jerky I’d brought.
The moment I presented the paper wrapped bundle she snatched it from my hand.
“Holy shit,” she breathed, tearing away the packaging and revealing the strips of seasoned meat.
She devoured the first strip with the violence of a percer sow and I grinned to myself.
This female didn’t know it, but I was already planning all the gifts I could bring her, she’d accept my claim in no time.
“What is your name?” I asked when she finally slowed down to savor my lunch.
“Oh,” her cheeks puffed out and she quickly swallowed her food. “Sorry, I’m Jessalyn, you can call me Jessa.”
“I am honored to meet you, Jessa.” Every male instinct in me was bursting with the urge to trumpet an ulto claim, but with no witnesses it’d be little more than show. “I am sorry I frightened you.”
Her brows drew together and she trailed her gaze over my body.
“No offense, but why did you burst in here? And why are you bloody?”
“Ah,” I looked back toward the small dark room I’d emerged from when I’d first spotted her.
Somehow, I’d already forgotten what had driven me to take shelter in this strange cool building.
My ears pinned back in shame as I realized I hadn’t been keeping track of the percer who’d almost taken my head off.
“I was being attacked by a percer, the window I broke was too small for her to fit through.” I frowned as I rotated my ears, straining for any sign the percer was still stalking the building.
They were persistent hunters, it could be hours or days before she abandoned her hunt for me, especially with the scent of my blood still in the air.
“A percer?” Jessa’s voice trembled, I’d frightened her again.
I scratched my injured arm, wishing I could tell her there was no danger. But with a percer roaming the area, there was always danger.
“Percers are large predators,” I admitted. “The sytos bred them to fight us in the arena, a small breeding group escaped when we crashed here.”
“And there’s one outside?” she whispered, darting a fearful look at the room I’d come from.
“It can't fit through the window,” I promised. I wasn’t lying, but it would be wise for me to check the rest of the building for weak spots. “But I should deal with my wound, so the scent of blood doesn’t encourage it to try.”
“It can smell blood from outside?”
I sniffed, noting the heavy herbal scent filling the air. Jessalyn’s home reminded me of a nicer version of a syto ship, enclosed, cool, the atmosphere completely contained.
“The scent in the air may be covering my trail.”
Jessa scrambled off the table and aggressively tapped a small white pod on the counter, a plume of steam erupted from an opening at the top and the herbal scent thickened until my nose burned.
I sneezed and shook my head. “I doubt any creature could smell me over that.”
She blew out a shaky breath and pushed a strand of hair out of her face.
“Okay, noted. I’ll be keeping all the diffusers going full blast from now on.” She paused for a moment before slowly turning to face me.
“Did you say mates?”
I perked up at the subject change.
“There are five mated human females in my band,” I confirmed. “They are very happy and well taken care of.”
Jessa closed one eye, and squinted the other at me.
“Mated to...other turochs?”
“Of course.” I grinned at her.
“How does that work?” she asked, then held up a hand and shook her head. “Nevermind, don’t answer that. I’m not ready for more information.”
I closed my mouth, hoping my disappointment didn’t show in my face. There was no rush, I was the only male who knew she even existed, I had time to woo her before someone else tried to swoop in and claim her.
“If you’re hiding in here, I’m guessing it's not safe for you to leave yet?” Jessa cast another anxious glance toward the room I’d entered from.
I shrugged. “The percer is likely still watching the building, but if you wish me to leave, I can wait in the other room until it’s safe for me to go.”
She sighed. “No, I’m not going to make you stand in the supply room. It’d be weird and rude.”
She squared her shoulders and stared up at me for a long, silent moment before forcing an overly bright smile onto her face.
“Since this is your first visit to the Green Health Day Spa, let’s get you started with a pedicure.”