Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
I have the same question, but I cannot be distracted. I jog away from my partner, heading toward O'jek. He carries only his spear, and he has no kill as of yet. "Ho, brother," I call out. "Wait."
O'jek pauses, and I can tell it bothers him to stop. "I am behind and the sun will go down far too soon. I cannot stop for long, A'tam. Speak what you will and be done with it."
"Where is B'shit?"
He sighs, as if he expected that question and I will not like what he says. "She fell into a pit."
"What?" I cannot believe what I am hearing. "And you left her?!"
"She told me to! She said she was fine and she would walk back to camp herself." O'jek's expression is indignant.
"She is stubborn! Of course she would tell you that!"
"What was I to do?" He gestures at his surroundings. "She yells for me to leave her. She will not climb out of the pit, yet she says she is not hurt. She told me to leave her, to go and hunt for the rest of the day. I tried to take her back to camp but she would not." He shakes his head slowly. "You know how she is."
I hate that he is right. I do know how she is. Like a cornered kaari.
It does not matter. She is my female, and she is fragile, even if she will not let others see that she is. I think of her, lying at the bottom of a pit, and my heart feels as if it is ice in my chest. "Which way?"
O'jek points at the nearest hill. "That way. Past the hills. The valley with the gentle sides."
I nod. I know the one he speaks of. It fills up with snow easily and I have dug a pit trap there myself. I rub my mouth, glancing over at D'see. She waves at both of us from the rock, her bright furs impossible to miss. I look over at O'jek. "D'see is your partner now."
"Can…we do that?" O'jek looks baffled. "Is that allowed?"
"I do not care. She has two kills. They are yours now, if I can trust you to take her back to camp safely. I am going to find B'shit." D'see will be upset, but she will understand. "You will stay in the contest this way."
He nods. "Of course." O'jek reaches out and touches my arm. "You know I would not have left her if she did not insist upon it."
I swallow back my anger. He is a skilled hunter. He should know better. But I nod, because I know how impossible my B'shit can be when she is angry. I know O'jek is not cruel, but he is competitive. His eagerness to win would overwhelm his frustration with B'shit and if she told him to go, it would be far too easy to listen.
It does not matter. It is in the past.
I am going to find my mate and bring her back to camp. I do not care if I am out of the contest.
All I care about is B'shit.
I race as fast as I can through the thick, powdery snow. I move quickly, but it never feels quick enough. What if B'shit has been discovered by predators? What if she is shivering with cold? What if she is hurt and did not tell O'jek?
When I find the valley, I am so relieved I cup my hands to my mouth and call out. "B'SHIT! Answer me!"
A pause. My heart feels as if it has stopped in my chest.
Then…
"For the last fucking time, my name is Bridget!"
The sound is hollow, but strong. I grin. That would be her. She sounds more angry than afraid, and my heart leaps in my chest with relief. I race toward the sound of her voice. "Call out again," I bellow. "So I can find you."
"I swear, how is it that you guys can learn everyone's name but mine? What did I do to earn this?"
I follow the sound of her voice, scanning the even white ground. The snows are thick in this valley, and if a pit was marked, it is entirely possible that the stick used to mark it has been covered entirely. O'jek should know better than to bring B'shit here, though. She is not as experienced as him with hunting. Her nose is not like that of Shadow Cat, either. She would not pay as much attention to her surroundings because as a human, she goes by what she can see and hear alone, and neither of those senses are as strong as my sense of smell.
O'jek's scent is all over this valley, and his footprints, too. B'shit's is mingled with his and my jealousy stirs. I do not like their scents mingling together, as if they belong to one another. That is my female. I know she picked O'jek just to prick at me, and now she is hurt and abandoned by him. My anger and frustration stirs, and by the time I locate the pit, I am irritated with the games we play. I move to the edge of the pit trap and gaze down at the female who refuses to be my mate.