Nebula Book 1: His Breeder
8

Nebula was starting to think that the guy had a sore throat. There was no other explanation for why he kept clearing it. Maybe he caught a cold from the rain.

His muscles seemed to be stiff, too. That’s probably why he kept flexing him. His body was a sight for sore eyes, but she wasn’t interested in admiring his masculinity. Even if she was, she was too busy looking at the ground and avoiding sharp rocks or Ezronian porcupines.

Foolishly, Ak kept hoping that a wild animal would appear so he would be given an excuse to flaunt his skills. He couldn’t tell if the female was admiring his back since he was leading the way. Was she frowning upon him instead? Did she think he was obnoxious for his eager attempts at getting attention?

He grunted, displeased by his inner turmoil. He wanted this female’s teeth, her thoughts, her lust.

He collected piles of the rocks she liked. What else was he supposed to give her? Their language barrier kept her ignorant of his intentions. He couldn’t communicate his fielty to her, couldn’t let her know that his arms were now dedicated to her protection and pleasure.

Getting frustrated, he stopped walking and turned to face her. Since she was staring at the dirt, she didn’t notice on time. When she thudded against him, Ak greedily took the opportunity to secure an arm around. She only allowed him to enjoy her figure for a second before she began to fight his hold. Her short fingernails bit into his chest, and her hips pushed against his own.

Not wanting to distress her, he released her.

Although he placed many feet between them, her expression remained pinched with fear.

He hung his head shamefully, staring at her dainty, dust-covered feet.

At the reminder of her barefoot state, he looked around in search of materials to make her sandals. He was in desperate need of a distraction from his inner turmoil.

It took him a while to replace plants with flexible, durable stems. He yanked out a handful and ripped off their flowers. Just as he was about to discard the colorful petals, he looked at Nebula.

As if it was second nature, he extended his calloused hand, offering the multicolored flower to her. It only made sense to connect the two. They were both soft and beautiful.

When her hand remained by her sides, and her face offered no emotion, he slumped his shoulders and dropped the petals.

He began to braid the stems together. He was surprised to discover that the task came easily to him. When his brothers were boys, Ak often had to make them foot-coverings. He was the first to undergo the Scaling, so he became the boys’ provider until they became men.

He stole peeks at the female’s feet. She remained standing, looking anywhere but at him, worsening the sting of rejection.

His braiding became jerky. He was frustrated, but he knew better than to direct the frustration at her.

When he finished braiding the outline of the first shoe, he used bark as the sole and then padded it with leaves. The hardest part of the task came at the end when he had to get her to try on the shoe.

He placed his work next to her foot, remained kneeling, and waited for her to test it. It was then that he noticed her toenails were painted with a very faint blue color. His fingers twitched, interested in her rare femininity, but he curled them into fists.

Her little toes and her delicately shaped calves were not his to explore.

Seeing his unspoken question, Nebula gingerly slipped her foot inside the sandal. The small act of compliance made his chest swell with something he hadn’t experienced in a while– joy.

When he noticed that his face felt tense, he realized that he was smiling.

Nebula stared at the kneeling male who was offering his sharp, white teeth. His canines were stark against his pale pink lips. He was smiling, offering her kindness.

The sight was baffling.

Ak turned around and resumed making her second shoe. The one encasing her left foot wasn’t stylish or a perfect fit, but it would serve its purpose.

As she watched him fuss with plants, she found herself at a loss. She didn’t need to share a language with him to understand that he was trying to make amends. He gave her these tiny presents, kept his distance, and smiled at her. He was trying to burry the past, make her forget about those thirty seconds where he showed his true colors.

Nebula didn’t think she had it in her to forgive him. The imprint of his hands would forever remain on her shoulders.

When he turned to place the other sandal by her foot, his fingers accidentally touched her ankle. Instantly, she jerked away.

His foolish joy was stomped to death.

Standing up, he put some space between them and turned away from her. He heard her walk around to test our her new sandals, taking comfort in the fact that he could at least keep her comfortable and safe.

He was staring at the flower she rejected when he heard his name come from a voice that had too much baritone to be Nebula’s.

“Akdronis!”

The voice was far away– so far that he doubted Nebula heard it. Still, Ak had no problems identifying it.

“Draekon,” he replied with a whisper.

It was no surprise that his brothers sent Draekon after him. He was the best tracker among them, after all.

Draekon was a threat that wanted to separate him from Nebula. While Ak couldn’t kill his youngest brother, he’d do his best to avoid him. If he got lucky, Draekon would get caught by one of the hunter traps and completely lose their trail.

He looked at Nebula, knowing that they needed to go.

He may admit that he was wrong in assaulting her and that he had a terribly short fuse. He was interested in working on all of his flaws, except greediness.

He was keeping Nebula. He’d provide for her and keep his hands to himself, but he was not going to give her away, especially to one of his brothers.

He turned to face her, focusing on her childish feet.

There was no mothering way he was giving her up.