Page 47 of Tarak's Torment

I yawned as I lay down on the borrowed bed of furs in the storage cavern. It had been a long and stressful day and I was more than ready for sleep.

I was happy to see Gabby and to chat with the other women and fill them in on what happened while I was gone, and I was certainly more than enthralled by the stories they told me of all that I had missed. But now that I knew the other women were safe and that we were in a mountain that protected us from the monsters outside, exhaustion overtook me.

I lay down sandwiched between Taylor on her furs to my right and Fatima on her furs to my left. I should be happy, well I was abducted so maybe not happy. But I should at least feel relieved, right?

So why was there a pit in my stomach telling me something wasn’t right? As someone who suffered from generalized anxiety that wasn’t a new thing for me; what was new was the hollowness that I felt in my chest.

I hadn’t felt this way when I was with Orsu. Sure, he may have thrown me over his shoulder and had taken me away from my friends, but he’d also protected me and had made me feel safe in ways that I hadn’t experienced in a very long time. But how could I miss someone I’d just met?

Orsu

“What happened?” Lumod asked me as I reorganized the spices used for the communal cookfire.

“You know, I’ve had these spices arranged in the same way for seasons now. Is it so hard to put them back where they belong?”

“Orsu, answer the question. Why did you take the female and what happened while you were gone?” Lumod repeated, unphased by my attempt to change the subject.

How did I describe being led by a primal urge to a female I knew in my heart was my mate?

Julie. The memory of her short black hair brushing against my chest as she fell asleep on me would be burned into my soul for all of time. She smelled amazing, like a sweet flower tea that paired perfectly with a savory breakfast on a cold snowy day.

I knew Julie was my mate but how did I convince her of that? She was full of worries that overwhelmed her and now she was on a new planet adjusting to a new way of life. That would be scary for anyone, let alone someone who carried their fears on their shoulders as a tense weight that bound their muscles into knots. My fingers itched to rub the tension out of her shoulders.

Maybe I could help Julie adjust to life here. I could teach her all she needed to know so she would feel more at ease and maybe she will develop feelings for me along the way.

The End