Page 30 of A Monster's Light
I tried to recall the name of the friend she’d been looking for but came up blank.
A feeling of despair set in, which was completely irrational because I’d only been away from her for a single day. I had to control these crazy, unfamiliar feelings. I had to keep myself busy, so I thought of my nest. If I couldn’t find her, then I’d busy myself building her the perfect nest so I’d be ready to fly her there and impress her the first chance I got.
We were super lucky that the mountains here on Vokira had so many caves and crevices for us to claim as nests. On Kadri, it was common for nest locations to be highly sought after and even fought over. With naturally formed aeries in short supply, many males on Kadri had to be happy with commercially made ones.
And while my nest on Kadri hadn’t been the largest or on the best peak, I’d filled it with all manners of treasures. It was more than respectable, something I wouldn’t hesitate to show to my mate when I found her.
My nest here was the opposite. It was high up in the mountains and in an ideal location, unreachable by predators, and with a beautiful view of the valley below. But my entire life savings, which had filled my nest on Kadri, was missing.
Instead, I’d filled it with natural wonders. There were shiny gems and glittery ore, furs from beasts I’d hunted, and softfabrics I’d procured from the native Vokirens. I’d also made sure it was comfortable and had everything we needed to survive the rut together, including a well-stocked food replicator.
I’d even traded with Trjun for his handmade furniture. His blaster now had every upgrade known in the galaxy, and I had a sturdy bed and table with matching chairs, one of which was made human-style to accommodate their strange knees.
I’d been told by many warriors that displays of weapons would not impress our mates, but I’d made room for my collection anyway. I wanted to show her that I had the tools to protect her from anything.
But despite everything I’d done, it still didn’t feel like enough.
The thought dragged me further down the spiral. The heat was unrelenting, and my skin itched. Every face that was not Dana’s irritated me, and by the time I bumped into a warrior coming around the corner, I was ready to start a fight.
Chapter 17: Dana
I brought the artificial vanilla latte to my lips and took a sip. It was my second one today, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. I was pleasantly caffeinated, which was my usual state.
“I've got to give it to them,” I said, leaning back against my chair. “These replicators make a mean faux-faux-faux latte.”
Tasha frowned. “I get the first faux, because most coffee is made from a local substitute. And I get the second faux, because the Kadrixan replicators make a fake version of the already fake thing. But why the third one?”
“The third one’s for the vanilla,” I said. “That vanilla is fake as fuck.”
Vanilla beans were even rarer than coffee beans on Vokira. Neither plant did well on the planet, and importing them from Earth was so expensive that only the rich could have real coffee or vanilla.
“Not that I would know what real vanilla tastes like,” I said after another sip. “But whatever this is, it’s damn good.”
Shortly after Penelope had made her dramatic exit with her mate, a fight broke out right in front of Julie and me between two warriors outside of the training ring. The rut was affecting every Kadrixan in the stronghold.
It was then that I’d decided to sit out the rest of this year’s rut. I just wasn’t interested in anyone other than Gnnar. Just thinking about sleeping with any of the exceptionally muscled warriors around felt wrong.
“Technically, you’ve already done more than your share of the hard work this rutting season,” Julie had said. “Not that we’re counting.”
She’d then grabbed the warrior she’d been eyeing like a piece of cake, and they disappeared into the stronghold. I found Sami in the cafeteria, sneaking a bite before returning to Ellaston, and asked him to take me with him. Sure, I could hang out inside the women’s dorm area to avoid the warriors, but that was boring, and I was super curious about the settlement.
I’d been here since.
Tasha had flown in this morning in the arms of her warrior, holding a welcome basket for me. They looked for me in the stronghold first, and when they hadn’t found me, they’d come here. Tasha’s mate, Rrak, seemed a lot more mellow compared to Vostak. He’d left her here for a few hours so he could get a quick round of hunting done in the mountains nearby.
After he left, Tasha had confidently said, “He has like two hours at most before the rut has him crawling back. He plans short hunts during the rut every year, but it never works out. He’s like a rampaging charger during the rut, and every prey animal can hear him. He never learns.”
And that had me thinking about Gnnar and his quick hunt in the badlands. He’d had no problems hunting.
She’d then hooked her arm through mine and said she’d answer any questions I had over a replicator coffee. I couldn’t think of any questions, but I wouldn’t mind another coffee,so we headed to the fancy Kadrixan-made food and beverage replicator in the main community building.
As we enjoyed our drinks, hogging one of the unused tables, she went through the welcome kit, which to my surprise, included a communication device.
I dug my phone, which was currently about as useful as a brick since I had no way to charge it, out of my pocket. “There’s still information on here I’d like to keep,” I said. “Do you think we can transfer it?”
“Off the top of my head, I think Annabel has an adapter.”
I’d met Annabel briefly yesterday. She was one of the engineers here and had headed the project to reprogram Exotech’s robohounds and the village’s single super soldier, Igor.
