Steph's Outcast

She even offers to teach me.

I like the idea of learning how to make my own fire, despite the fact that it is against the rules. Beyond that, though, my thoughts turn to other things. Things like sleeping, and my mate.

I think about Steff and her mouth. I think about putting my mouth on her, between her legs where she is warm and slick, and I wonder what she will taste like. I think about how she grabbed my mane last time I touched her, as if demanding more, and my entire body throbs with need.

When it comes time to sleep that night, though, Pak crawls between us and another family pushes up on the other side of Steff, and there is no privacy. I hold both my mate and my son and tell myself that this is temporary. That there will be plenty of time for mouth touches and licking later. For now, we worry about survival. And because I can hold them both, I am content.

I wake up aching with need, but I am content.

But as one day blends into the next, the crowding in the cave does not decrease. Neither does my hunger for my mate. Pak loves being with the mix of people on the beach. He is constantly eating something or chasing after one of the other kits, and it makes me realize how lonely he has been with only his father to talk to. I did not know my son needed other people. As long as I have him, I have been content, but meeting Steff has changed that for me. Now I need two people in my life. Just as I need my son's happiness, I cannot imagine waking up and not seeing Steff's face in the furs next to mine. I cannot imagine losing her scent, or not hearing her bright laughter.

I am obsessed with her, and as the days pass, I dream of being alone with her. Of everyone on the beach disappearing and giving us the time to touch each other. I need this. I need my mate. I fantasize about touching her constantly, but we never seem to get time alone. There have been stolen moments—mouth presses that Steff calls “kisses”—and touches that hint at more, but someone is always around, and between the tribe and the creatures covering the beach, I feel trapped, when all I want to do is touch my mate. Sometimes I try to touch her when others are nearby, but Steff seems reluctant. She does not want to mate in front of others, and tells me that she wants to be alone with me. That our time together is special and not to be shared. I agree with that, and I want that too, but sometimes it is hard to wait.

It is especially hard to wait when Steff gives me lingering looks and sweet smiles. She clings to me when she sleeps, and sometimes I wake up with her teat in my hand and my cock hard and aching. We share a few small kisses, but there is never enough time alone. There are always chores to be done, animals to be hunted, my son to be chased down.

I tell myself I can be patient. We will have huts soon. We will have the privacy that Steff craves.

The shell-beasts cannot stay here forever.

After two hands of days pass, the female with the fascination for the animals—Devi—rushes up to the fire, her eyes wide with excitement. "They're laying eggs!"

"They are?" someone asks.

Everyone rushes to their feet, eager to look. Pak looks at me for permission as the other kits race off, and I give him a stern glance. "Stay with Rukhar," I admonish. "Hold his hand. Do not get too close."

My son beams with excitement and rushes over to Rukhar's side. He takes the other boy's hand, and the older boy holds onto his father as they head along toward the edge of the sands to get a good look at the creatures. Others follow after, abandoning the fire. They are all eager to see some creature laying eggs on the shore, as if this is wondrous. To me, it is just another mess.

I am not the only one that feels that way. "Eggs?" Vordis calls out, his kit in his arms. He stares off into the distance, shaking his head. "Guess that solves the food problem."

"You would eat them?" his mate says, aghast. She holds onto his arm, her hand on her large belly as she walks at his side. "That seems wrong."

"Food is food," Vordis says, grinning down at his mate. "I would eat anything if it tasted good."

Angie just shakes her head and tugs him along, and they trail after the others.

Steff gets up, too, and for a moment, I think she will follow the rest of the tribe to look at the egg-layers. Instead, she pauses, lifting her foot and grimacing.