Page 46 of Tenebrous
He doesn't ask another question. For a long while, neither of us says anything, and the only sound in the den is the soft hiss of moose fat dripping into the fire.
“That should be done now,” he eventually mumbles, gesturing toward the roasted meat.
When I stab a strip and offer it out to him, he only sighs before pointing to the ground. “It needs to cool down.”
Irritation coils inside me as I growl and fling the meat at his feet. First, it needed heating up, and now it must be cold? It is no wonder humans die so easily if their eating habits are so complicated.
His lips curve upward. “If I try to eat it right now, it'll burn my mouth. Understand?”
I do not but instead of arguing, I crouch beside the fire and poke the meat with one claw every few moments, waiting for... whatever humans wait for.
Eventually, he reaches out again to pick up the strip gingerly. Tearing a small piece free, he blows across it before placing it into his mouth. Everything inside me stills the moment a moan leaves his lips. “Holy shit.”
My stomach muscles tighten. Does he approve?
His eyes close briefly, throat flexing with a swallow that catches my attention before he takes another bite. “This is actually really good, despite no seasoning. I've never had moose before.”
Relief washes over me so suddenly that it nearly weakens my knees. Each chew and groan eases something inside me and yet tightens a knot inside me all at once. A warmth blooms throughout my chest, unfurling down through my abdomen at the sight of my human enjoying a meal that I hunted.
Every instinct urges me closer to him, though I cannot understand why.
Across the fire, his jaw goes still when he notices me watching intently. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I cannot answer. The warmth enveloping me refuses to fade. Instead, it grows, becoming restless, urging movement without purpose. I shift my weight uneasily at the growing heaviness pooling in my groin that almost feels uncomfortable.
The human's expression changes. “Are you okay?”
“No.” Standing abruptly, I turn away from the fire to pace the edge of my den.
“What are you doing?”
“I do not know.” The answer is truthful.
Something has changed since he entered my mountain. It grows stronger and more insistent with every moment and now, hearing him groan in satisfaction has caused some kind of terrible effect.
He watches me stalk back and forth cautiously. “You seem... agitated.”
“There is something wrong.” Whirling around, I thrust out my hips and gesture angrily at the swollen member between my legs. “It will not stop.”
His eyes widen so dramatically that I fear he has somehow become injured again. “What the fuck!” Confusion coils tighter inside me when he scrambles to the other side of the cave. “Stay away from me!”
I release a breath of frustration. “It cannot harm you.”
“The fuck it can't.” My human presses into the wall, just like he did when we first met. Terror permeates the air once again, seeping from his pores, even more so than when he thought I meant to eat him.
This reaction makes no sense. I wrap a hand around the offending limb with a growl, which only makes it thicker.
“Stop!” His shout echoes off the walls, sending my ears flat against my head. “Don't do that!”
“Hurts,” I try to explain, keeping my voice even so as not to frighten him any further.
He only blinks at me, his gaze focused on where I grip myself. “It… hurts?”
With a nod, I squeeze my fist to alleviate some of the pain. “There is pressure.”
The motion seems to help, so I do it again, which sends an odd shiver up my spine.
The human only watches for a moment, the horrified look on his face slowly morphing into… another emotion I cannot place. Red color floods his cheeks. “Has something like this ever happened to you before?”
