Page 30 of Claimed By the Krijese

“That was not my intention.”

“Intent doesn’t matter. It’s what you did.”

“Then I am sorry for that as well.”

Once again, Iris sighs. “What happens now?”

“What do you wish to happen?”

“No, that’s not how this works. I want to hear your answer first.”

I have many ideas for what I would like to happen, but I am not sure either of us are ready to hear them. I am definitely not ready to say them. Because what if Iris does not wish for the same thing? Or worse, what if she does? What if things I wish for cannot be? I do not want Sorin to love her any more than he already does and then have to let her go.

“Have any of the Tavikhi or their mates told you about the Krijese and the human females my tribe stole when they attacked the ships that arrived here?”

Iris shakes her head. “I had no idea you stole women.”

“You know that my people are dying. We have been for many sun cycles. Soon, there will be none of us left.” A fact I must live with every turn. “King Armik believed the human females would repopulate our tribe so they were stolen and forced to breed.”

Horror marks Iris’s face. “Please don’t tell me you raped these women?”

“Not me, but others of my kind did. Except none of the females survived. Nor did the kits.”

She gasps and covers her mouth with her hand. “What happened to them?”

“Some of the females sacrificed themselves to their god before they were bred or soon after. Some died during the birthing process as did some of the kits. The females that did survive either slowly faded away or they also chose to sacrifice themselves.” No matter how they died, all of their cries still haunt me.

“What happened to the babies that survived birth? Is Gannen a full Krijese or is he a hybrid?” Iris asks with tears in her eyes.

“He is a Krijese orphan but Ortak looks after him. All of the hybrid kits died shortly after their birth. They were all too small or too weak to survive.”

“Oh my god, that’s awful.”

I nod. “Sorin is desperate for a momo. I have finally realized the depth of his need, and it has become apparent to me that he wants you to fill that role. Or at least as close to it as you are willing to get. I have also explained to him many, many times that human females and Krijese are not meant to be mates. I have witnessed enough deaths to know the truth of this.”

To my surprise, Iris steps outside of the tent and lays her hand on my chest. “I’m so sorry you lost your mate—even if she wasn’t your true one like you said—and that Sorin lost his mother.”

“Thank you. Now do you understand why I thought it best to stop any further interactions between us? You are not someone I can have, and it would only cause Sorin pain when he had to say goodbye to you.”

“Maybe I could be different? Maybe it was the circumstances surrounding the women that caused their deaths as much as anything?”

The rough sound rumbles out of me again, but it is tinged with bitterness and sorrow. “You sound like Sorin.”

Iris strokes my chest more. “You do have a pretty smart kid, you know?”

The one thing I never thought to experience bubbles up inside me. Something I believed only the Tavikhi had and that is hope. “I could not risk your life though, Iris. Iwill notrisk it.”

“You haven’t figured out by now that I get a little annoyed when people make decisions for me? Why don’t you let me decide for myself what I believe is worth taking risks for?” She taps the strap that binds my axe sheath around me.

“Because the risks you take affect Sorin, and I am his gogo.” This is something I will not budge on.

Iris sighs. “You’re right. But if we move forward with whatever it is we are both thinking about, I’ll be his mother. His momo. Which means you’ll have to trust me to make decisions that may not align with what you would choose. But I will always put the needs of Sorin before my own.”

“I cannot make any promises I do not know if I can keep, but I will do my best.” If it means Iris will be my mate, even in name only, then I will try.

“That’s all I can ask,” she says. “I don’t want anybody’s heart to be broken, especially Sorin’s.”

“Neither do I.”

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