Page 8 of His Human Believer

Chapter Three

Vidar

Iset the equipment case down on the floor of the lower suite and even though the suns are starting to set, I do not turn on a light.

I cannot make my body move.

My cock is thick in my trousers and has been since the moment that female put her small hand in mine. I scented Margaret Reyes, that feisty, fiery, human female, and learned that she wants to pleasure mate with me.

Me.

When she stepped forward, the scent of her arousal wafted through the air and entered my lungs—sharp, sweet and unmistakable. She argued with me about the credibility of child witnesses and I did my best to remain strong and not give the slightest hint that I was aware of her, physically. And now, this same female is upstairs in this domicile and has no idea that I know of her desire. Humans do not have this same ability as Hyrrokin, to scent these pheromones, and so she stood there believing herself private.

And in return, I want this female underneath me. I feel as strongly for her, as she does for me. My lust burns bright. I immediately wished that I could reciprocate, requesting if she would like to spend her entire vacation with me. But instead, I retained my professionalism and kept my own desire on lockdown.

And yet…I wanted to carry her downstairs. I wish she was here with me now and I would be allowed to undress her and place my claws and forked tongue all over that curvy, sexy body. How does Margaret sound when she orgasms? I want to sink my thick cock into her wet heat. And her breasts… I want them in my claws so I can suck on her nipples as she cries out with pleasure. I want all that she is secretly offering and yet I am not allowed.

How is it possible that I am on the most difficult investigation of my career and this is when I meet Avery’s best friend?

Human females are well-known for being irresistible to Hyrrokin males and I am right now, blessed with a human female choosing me as her pleasure mate. Any unmated male on this planet, in this same circumstance, would hotly pursue the fantastically beautiful Margaret Reyes to see if she wanted to take this further. I would be lucky for even one night in her bed before she returns to New Earth, and I would take that honor gladly.

But I cannot.

Because two months ago, I stood before the full council of the Royal Hyrrokin Academy and swore the Vow of the Empty Hearth, which will last for twelve months. This vow was witnessed by every Fellow in the chamber and entered into the permanent record under my own name.

It is the protective tradition for any scholar who investigates the Skyggjar. The old folklore holds that the Hidden One is drawn to bound fire and will kill an investigator’s bound. I believe none of this nonsense. The creature is simply a stray predator or it is nothing at all, and the vow is a superstition wearing the robes of scholarship.

I swore it anyway, because I intend to publish the paper that retires the Skyggjar legend from the academic record permanently, and I want that paper unimpeachable. The Skyggjar legend is dangerous. I am convinced it is being used as a way to defraud and harm both young and old Hyrrokin. This must end now. I need to show that I honored every protective custom the legend prescribes and still found nothing. My critics will be silenced.

Only the council that received the vow can release me from it formally, with cause. Half the Academy knows I swore this ancient vow. Some of them are rooting for Smoky Coalstone to win his biggest case yet, but others are waiting to watch me fail, because a male lacking in nobility who was banished to obscurity and yet still managed to out-cite every Fellow in the building has never been especially beloved.

None of them truly think I can maintain this vow for a whole year because it is too difficult. But I will prove them wrong.

If I were not under this vow, I would have stayed upstairs spending all my extra time with this female. Instead, I must avoid her during this case, so I do not do something stupid, like give into my desires and break my vow.

My cock continues to throb in my pants. I cannot even go into the cleansing unit and masturbate to take the edge off, which is the detail that makes me, briefly and genuinely, furious. The vow means I cannot pleasure mate or even masturbate, which is proving to be the true test of my resolve.

But this is not simply about a career.

I did not choose cryptozoology, instead I was forced into this remote field of study. I went to university to be a fire biologist, and I was good at it, placing first in my cohort. Then I watched three appointments in a row go to Hyrrokin from Noble houses, whose work was worse than mine, but whose lineage was better. I am a commoner, therefore originally considered unworthy at the Royal Academy.

Sir Bane Ashmoor, the Fire Lord’s brother, was in that original cohort with me at university. We became close friends and he wanted me to have the ability to move up in my career as a member of the Academy. But despite his best efforts, he could not get me a biology chair. His advocacy was only able to get me a foot in the door and a position studying folklore, because folklore is where the Academy puts scholars it does not respect, and no titled Hyrrokin wanted that placement.

I took it anyway and sixteen years later it is a respected discipline that I built out of a joke. And I will use this position to protect other Hyrrokin from harm. I must focus on this case and why I am here.

I reach down and shift my erection in my pants, willing it to deflate. This female is simply a distraction I must avoid.

An hour later, after the suns have set, I pick up the case and head out to the wall.

The back yard is quiet, and the night is clear and cool. I glance back at the lights of the domicile, comforted by the distance from the household to the wall that separates this family from the preserve. Hellstone’s domicile backs directly onto the preserve, which is why I am lodged here and not in the Academy quarters across the city.

I do not require light for this work.

The Hellstone domicile sits at the end of the street with the wall directly behind it, and there is a private gate set into the stone. It is locked and sized so that a Hyrrokin may pass through, but a fire beast may not. Hannibal gave me the code on my first diurnal. I let myself out and pull it shut behind me until the lock clicks.

And then I am in the preserve.

This is the correct side to work from. Any animal that has been coming to that wall has been coming from here, and instruments pointed at stone tell me only what has already arrived. I want this approach so I can know what path this creature takes and how often and at what hour.