I gape at him. "That's how I connect with him?"
"I explained this last night!"
"You said you wanted me to fuck him, not that it was how we talked to one another." I think about the dream, and the way Mhal viciously bit my throat, and how much pleasure poured from his mind at the thought. A shudder sweeps through me, and I instinctively know that's part of the deal. "Is he going to kill me?"
"Don't be foolish. You're his mate." Azar gives me a dismissive look. "In case you hadn't noticed, all you females are far more useful alive than dead."
I glance over at Mhal, who looks like an unyielding statue once more. "So, um…how does this work, exactly? I'm supposed to just, like, climb on him and hope for a red rocket situation, because I'm really not keen on that idea. Or…?" I trail off, hoping I've got it all wrong. "Is there a better way to do this?"
To my surprise, Azar looks flustered. "You are asking me how to seduce a drakoni? Do I look as if I would be the expert on that?"
"You're the one that wants me to fuck him. You tell me." I hold my ground, determined not to look like a coward in front of Azar. When we were out in the scavenge lands, my dad taught me a lot, but the best lesson was that you never show fear to a bully. I draw on those lessons now, my shoulders straight, my head up. "This is all your master plan. Give me the nitty-gritty details so I don't fuck it up again."
He stares at me with narrowed eyes, then turns away. "I will send the scarred girl to come and explain it to you. She should be able to tell you what to do."
"Rachel? Oh, that'd be great, actually. Thank you." Relief floods through me. Rachel will know exactly what to do. My friend's not the most cuddly sort—Rachel's a bit abrasive at the best of times—but she's protective and smart and a good friend. She'll know what I need to do. I hold the blanket closer to my body, feeling a glimmer of hope that this situation will be resolved soon. "I appreciate it. And the blanket, too. And the food."
"Do not thank me," Azar says, pausing. "Thank Melina. She insisted."
Then, turning on his heel, he storms toward the doors and out of the warehouse.
13
MHAL
The female—my female, judging by her scent—wanders our prison with a thin, colorful layer wrapped around her body. She does not approach me, giving me wary looks from afar, and presses her hands on the walls, shaking them. No, not walls, I realize. They are doors of some kind, and they are too heavy for her to open.
I do not want them open, because if she leaves, I will be forced to chase her down. Right now I have everything I want. A quiet place with privacy and my mate. The roof has an opening large enough for me to crawl out if I need to go hunt. This is all I need.
I lower my head, letting one of my eyelids slide over my eyes as I feign sleep. I do not sleep, though. I watch her slight form as she moves around, drinking in her scent and feeling the air shift around us as she walks. She eats something that smells appalling, relieves herself in the farthest corner of our prison cave, and makes more of her sounds.
I do not understand her. I try to reach out to her mind several times, but she has me completely blocked. My frustration is endless. How can she push me out? I recognize her smell, so she surely fought other females to be my mate? Why does she ignore me, then? Why are my attempts to contact her rebuffed?
The doors to our prison open, and I lift my head. Other scents waft inside, and the doors are quickly shut again, the sound of chains pricking my ears. Ah. So the doors are not too heavy—they are chained shut on the other side. Whoever is trapping my mate in here wants her to stay with me. I look over at my female, my scales prickling as a mated drakoni male and his female enter.
My mate makes happy sounds and jumps to her feet, moving to greet the female.
The male is in his two-legged form, and pauses to glance up at me. He sends a stabbing thought of greeting, but the sensation is overwhelming and raw and I do not like it. With a growl, I shove him back out of my mind.
If he is surprised at my reaction, he does not show it. Instead, he ignores me, moving to put a hand on his female's back and hovering possessively near her. My mate makes sounds at the drakoni's mated female, and the female makes sounds back. They are communicating, and I send a tendril of thought out to my mate again, but there is no response. I do not feel her reaching out to touch minds with the female, either.