Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
But when an alien ship lands and a handsome stranger steps out, I know he’s the one. His name’s Mardok and he’s fascinatingly different – and distractingly appealing. But Mardok can’t stay on the ice planet, and he says he can take me with him.
Now, I must make a choice. Do I stay and lose my mate forever? Or do I follow him to the stars and leave behind everything I know?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
FARLI
“Come on, lazy one!” I say as I put my hands on my hips. “It is time to go out!” I tap my foot impatiently, though I am smiling. “If we linger here all morning all the good tree bark will be eaten, and then where will you be?”
Chahm-pee bleats at me, his expression stubborn as he puts his head in his favorite basket and continues eating his morning meal.
I groan and move forward, grabbing him by the harness Tee-fah-ni made for him. “Will it be like this today, then? Are we going to fight?”
He ignores me, head down as he chews. Some days Chahm-pee is eager to get out, but today he wishes to stay and eat and wallow in his laziness. I will not let him, though. He gets too fat in the brutal season, so during the bitter season, I make sure he hunts with me. “Move,” I tell him, tugging on his harness and then giving his flank a slap.
Chahm-pee lifts his head and bares his yellow teeth at me, showing he is displeased. I snort at this, because Chahm-pee is all show. He will bleat and drag his feet and then the moment we are in the sunlight, he is prancing and acting like a kit despite his age. At two hands of age—eight, by human count—Chahm-pee is full-grown and bigger than most dvisti. I think it is because I make sure he is well-fed. Probably too well-fed, if I go by my mother’s advice. Kemli thinks I spend too much time focused on my pet and not enough on providing for the tribe. Perhaps she is right, but food has been plentiful ever since we came to Croatoan village, and Chahm-pee does not eat the same things we do.
I give another tug on his harness, but Chahm-pee weighs double what I do, and there is no budging him. He belches and puts his head back in his food basket.
I know what to get him to move, though. I sling my hunting pack over my shoulder and head toward the entrance to my hut, pretending like I am going to leave. “Mmmm,” I say exaggeratedly, digging into my pocket. I carry a pouch of rakrak seeds—Chahm-pee’s favorite—for such an occasion. I shake the bag and then pull it out.
His head immediately lifts, ears pricking. His little tail swishes back and forth. I have his attention now.
“So tasty,” I coo, and head out of the hut a few steps, then wait.
The dvisti trots out behind me and noses my pocket. He knows what I have. Amused, I pull a few seeds out and let him eat them from my hand, and then continue to head out into the village. He follows behind me, like the well-trained animal I know he is not.
“Very good, my Chahm-pee,” I tell him, pulling a few more seeds out of my pocket because I have a soft heart. “We shall go and get our hunting in for the day. That will be nice, will it not? We can enjoy the sunshine and the fresh air, and some fresh food to eat. We like fresh food, do we not?”
“Are you talking to Chompy again?” a woman calls out, laughter in her voice. “You know he still can’t answer?”
I grin, ignoring Jo-see’s teasing. Even though it is early, the village is bustling with tribesmates. Jo-see is herding her little family toward the longhouse, where Air-ee-aw-nuh will be teaching classes to the kits, like she does every day the hunters go out. When the weather is bad, that is family time. But when the day is crisp and sunny like today? The hunters head out into the wild and the kits head to class. Warrek teaches them hunting when they are older, but when they are little—and there are so, so many little ones in our tribe—Air-ee-aw-nuh teaches them to count and how to spell in the human language. She has offered to teach me, but I have too much to do. “Hello, Jo-see,” I call out, smiling to the little mother. I wink at her small son, who is doing his best to squirm away from his mother’s grip. “Hello, Joden.”
“Farli, can I come with you?” Joden asks in his sweet little voice. “I want to play wif Chahm-pee.”
“No, baby, you get to hang with Mommy and sissy today,” Jo-see says in a calm voice, even as she adjusts the kit on her hip. Joha is only a season or so old, and sucks her thumb as she looks at me with big eyes. She is quiet and gentle, unlike her squirmy little brother. I wonder what their next kit will be like. Even now, Jo-see’s belly is heavily rounded with yet another kit. The tribe loves to tease Haeden and his mate about their frequent resonances, but Haeden just takes it all in stride. I think he secretly loves the fact that he and his mate have resonated three times so quickly, but Jo-see loves being a mother and Haeden is a good father. They are happy.