Out of the Ashes (Maji 1)

Kol growled, and I jumped with fright.

“Why’re you growling?” I tentatively asked.

“Thane has a profession that impresses you… I will fight him if you smile at him or show interest in him.”

My stomach lurched. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack,” he all but snarled.

I blinked. “Kol, you can’t just fight men—I mean males—that I smile at.”

“I can, and I will.”

I didn’t know why, but I laughed.

“This is not funny,” Kol continued to growl. “Why are you laughing?”

“Because I am now part of a community of people who don’t want to kill me, rape me, or sell me. I am one of the people, I am safe, and for the first time in my life, I have someone to keep me safe from all harm… and you’re telling me I can’t smile at anyone when smiling is all I want to do because I’ve never had any of this. Even when my father was alive, we lived our lives day by day, but now… now I can imagine a future and not think myself a fool for doing so.”

Kol’s angry expression fled from his face, and compassion washed over him.

“I am sorry,” he said. “I misunderstood.”

I tilted my head to the side.

“I’m not angry with you,” I assured him. “You aren’t human, so you don’t react to things the way I would. You have more animal instincts than not… and I kind of like how possessive you are of me.”

A rumble started at the back of Kol’s throat, and it sounded like a rougher version of a purr.

“Does that sound mean you’re happy, angry, or sad?”

He licked his lips, and the sight of it ignited a fire in my lower belly.

“It means I’m having lustful thoughts and would love nothing more than to act on them.”

Oh.

“You’re having lustful thoughts about me?”

“Since I met you, the only thoughts I have are of you, shiva.”

My legs threatened to give way underneath me, and the fire in my belly seemed to be catching. Kol suddenly sniffed the air then his eyes fluttered closed when he inhaled deeply, and the rough purr rumbled louder this time.

“You’re aroused,” he rasped, his eyes opening and focusing on me. “The air is so thick with your scent I can almost taste you on my tongue.”

I sucked in a startled breath and pressed my thighs together.

“I’m not… you must be mistaken… I…”

“Nova,” he purred. “I want to taste you.”

If Kol hadn’t surged forward and grabbed me when he did, I’d have probably dropped to the floor like dead weight.

“Give me permission, shiva,” he whispered into my ear, licking the lobe. “Let me taste what is mine.”

Almighty.

“You can’t… we’re just supposed to sleep so you—”

“Will only have a small taste,” Kol cut me off, his voice sounded deeper, huskier.

I suddenly felt lightheaded, and a fast-paced throbbing thrummed away between my thighs.

“Ealra,” I squeaked, trying to regain my composure. “Tell me about Ealra, about your family, about you.”

Hunger shone brightly in Kol’s violet eyes but so did amusement.

“What would you like to know?” he asked, not releasing his tight hold on me.

“Everything,” I blurted. “We’re going to be married, so we should know everything about one another.”

Kol’s lips twitched.

“Okay, shiva,” he rumbled. “Ask your questions, and I will reveal all there is to know about my home, my family, and me. Then I’ll taste you.”

I swallowed. “You’ll answer all my questions?”

“Every. One.”

I blinked and then asked a question that had been on my mind since I accepted Kol’s offer to be his intended.

“I’m going to be your mate, and Surkah said that males are the lead Maji in each household… does that mean you’ll be the boss of me?”

At the teasing glint in Kol’s eyes, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to my question.

“You look scared, little one.” Kol smirked.

His smirk might have been teasing, but the intensity in his eyes was anything but.

I swallowed. “I’m not scared of you, Kol.”

I wasn’t sure exactly when that happened, but my feelings towards Kol had changed. Fear was not something I felt towards him—not in the slightest—and like everything else, it freaked me out.

“Not scared of me?” he hummed, clearly amused. “Surely, a tiny female such as yourself knows an Elite warrior like myself can be very scary.”

I lifted my chin. “I also know that you, a big mighty warrior, will drop to your knees before me if I asked you to.”

Kol’s eyes locked on mine. “Is that so, shiva?”

“Yes,” I replied, noting my voice wasn’t as firm as I’d have liked it to be. “Surkah told me that a female mate is really the lead mate because her mate will do everything in his power to make her happy.”

His lips twitched. “Surkah talks a lot.”

I tensed. “So do I.”

Sarcastically, he said, “I hadn’t noticed.”

At that, I laughed. Kol smiled too as he lifted an arm from around me so he could brush the tips of his fingers over my cheek. His eyes followed the trail his fingers made, and when he brushed them over my lips, he audibly swallowed. His face hardened, his body tensed, and his sharp teeth dug into his plump lower lip.

“You’re supposed to be telling me about yourself,” I reminded him, my voice barely a whisper.

Kol lowered his hand, removed his arm from around my body, and stepped back. He was still tense, still biting his lip, and he still gazed at me as if we wanted to eat me.

“Go to the bed so you can relax,” he ordered, his hands flexing. “I will remain here and answer your questions.”

I raised a brow. “Why don’t you just come with me? It’s a mighty big bed.”

He growled in response.

“Okaaay.” I exhaled.

I quickly turned, scurried across the room to the bed, and sat on the edge of it.

“Questions,” Kol practically barked. “Ask them.”

He is so bossy.

“Surkah said you come from a family of sixteen children,” I began. “How many children did your parents have by the time you were born?”

“I am the twelfth born son,” he answered. “I have eleven older brothers, three younger brothers, and one sister.”

Wow.

“List everyone,” I said, amazed that he had that many siblings. “In order of birth.”

Amusement flashed in his violet eyes.

“Ryla, Silis, Kaiba, Aylee, Talin, Raze, Komi, Ezah, Killi, Arli, Arvi, me, Aza, Remi, Nesi, and Surkah.” At my wide-eyed expression, he said, “Killi, Arli, and Arvi are from the same pregnancy, and Remi and Nesi are from the same pregnancy, too.”

“Triplets?” I asked, amazed.

I had heard of such pregnancies happening in the past amongst humans, but I had never thought they were possible. I always thought my father and uncle were joking about multiple babies in a single pregnancy because they just didn’t happen in the time I lived in. Echo and Envi were the first human twins I had ever met.

Kol blinked. “Yes, that is what my brothers are, but we don’t have words for it like you do.”

“What do you refer to them as then?” I wondered aloud.

“Three offspring and two offspring.”

I giggled. “Maybe some human words should be adapted by the Maji.”

“We will see,” Kol mused.

I thought back to his siblings. “Are you close with them?”

Kol shrugged. “Some more than others but only because my five eldest brothers are in outer space.”

I frowned. “When was the last time you saw the five of them?”