She wanted to keep as much distance between them as possible, but Vrox's footsteps constantly jostled her. To spare her breasts from pain, she pressed her chest against his back.

They were against each other, but they couldn't be any further apart. Running north, but going backward. Running over soil, but sinking.

Perhaps they would be rolling over the floor of the cave and swimming in each other's flesh if Kira was submissive. Perhaps if she had apologized and agreed to leave decisions that concerned her safety to Vrox, they would have avoided this rift.

But that wasn't her. She was as stubborn as Vrox.

Her brother, who abused a poor woman, her father, who abandoned their family for someone younger, and her cheating boyfriend, had shredded and built her at the same time. Through heartbreak, they taught her that life was hers, and she was the only person entitled to call the shots.

It didn't matter how much her mother begged her to forgive them. It was up to her to cut them off one after another.

She couldn't give up on her beliefs to appease Vrox. She sure that she made the right decision in coming after Nebula, and she wasn't going to apologize for caring for her friend.

Vrox began to slow his running. She eyed their surroundings and identified the wooden perimeter of the camp.

Home.

He placed her down, eyeing her as she tied her dress back in place. With her head high, she walked through the breach on the wall. She headed for their bed, not bothering to check if Vrox was following.

"Kira!"

She turned and found all the men coming her way.

"We heard Ak's voice. What happened?" Rokan asked, his face riddled with worry.

"I will tell you," Vrox answered.

Not having the energy to talk to the others, Kira continued her way. She appreciated her friends' concern, but she was tired to the bone. Her soul felt a decade older.

She heard the rumble of men's voices behind her as she entered Vrox's dwelling. She was unable to climb on the bed, needing Vrox's help.

After curling to a fetal position on the floor, she rested her head on her hands and closed her heavy lids. She was about to fall asleep when heavy footsteps kicked her back to consciousness.

"Kira."

She didn't stir, choosing to ignore him. She looked like a fool. How could she try to pretend like he wasn't there, while his saliva was still fresh against her cunt and breast?

Vrox didn't disengage. He reached down, pulled her to his chest, and then softly dropped her on his furs. He knew that she didn't like sleeping near the wall decorated with weapons, so he kept her on her side.

That night, they slept like strangers sharing a bed. When she woke up, Vrox was gone. She didn't chase after him, needing time to process her own thoughts. This was the first actual argument they had. Sure, they bickered over Vrox's irrational jealousy over his brothers, but they didn't turn their backs on each other.

Kira refused to roll onto her belly. She was sure that she made the right call. Nebula was the last bit of Earth she had left, and she wasn't ashamed of trying to protect that.

She spent the day in their room. After requesting blocks of wood and some tools from the men, she got to work. It took her roughly three hours to make herself a small staircase so that she could finally get on the bed platform without Vrox's help. It was splintered and still needed to be soldered down, but she was proud of it and thankful for the distraction it provided.

She then used a knife to craft Vee a little comb. She worked to ease small knots out of his fur and only took a break when Kyros brought her a platter of lunch

One lunch and dinner later, Vrox was still nowhere to be seen. She didn't mind the silence, though. She needed the time to process all of the insanity that happened over the months.

When she was done cleaning up Vee and scrubbing down the water basin with her makeshift brush, she was sore and tired. Although she knew she'd regret it, she got on the bed without cleaning up.

The feeling of a cool rag on her brow that woke her up. She opened her eye and found Vrox holding a cloth to her face. She eyed him, but didn't rebel. Her silence encouraged him on, so he wiped her sweaty hairline and neck. He then took her hands, wiping them clean of dirt. It was quite difficult since Kira's hands were tiny while his calloused ones were tipped with claws.

He released her hands and turned to drop the cloth in the water basin.

Something snared around him. He looked down and found Kira's hand struggling to circle his wrist. He stared, but she avoided his gaze.

He didn't understand what she wanted from him. The female was harder to understand than The Vanishing.

Kira tugged him to the bed, and he took the hint to sit down. She plucked the cloth from his hand and brought it to his face. She began to take care of him; wiping his brow, neck, and chest. Their intimacy stirred lust, but neither of them acted on it. Vrox ignored the thirsty cock that laid on his thighs, and Kira ignored her vagina, which was wetter than the cloth she was dragging over Vrox.

They would need a proper shower in the morning, and a change of furs, but this would do for now.

She dropped the cloth on the floor and then rolled over to her back.

Even with her eyes closed, she could feel Vrox's attention.

– • –

When she woke up the next morning, the room was cold and alien-less. Vrox was gone, and so was the staircase she made for herself.

A strange, unreasonable fear made her rise. She changed out of her dress, putting on a longer one, and then made her way outside. As soon as she crossed the entrance, she thudded against a meaty obstacle.

"I apologize."

"It's okay," she assured, not needing to open her eyes to know that the low, slow voice belonged to Ni'ev.

She rubbed her aching nose.

"Damn. You guys have some rough scales," referring to the scales on Ni'ev pectoral muscles that hammered her nose.

"Would you like Vrox to get you pain medicine?"

"No, it's–"

A chi sound had her looking down.

"Vee!"

She sank to her knees and began to pet her frantic furry friend. He hopped around her, an uncontrollable ball of joy.

"Aww, did the guys take care of you?"

"I contemplated eating it many times to quiet its chirping," Ni'ev admitted.

"Ni'ev!"

He gave her a rare grin and then went about his way.

She shook her head. Although reserved and mysterious, Ni'ev could crack some morbid jokes here and there.

She picked up Vee and followed the sound of wood splintering.

"Hey, Kyros!"

"Hello, Kira. I missed your strange greetings."

"What are you doing?"

Kyros continued to tear at the hole in the perimeter, where Ak had kidnapped her through.

"Replacing this damaged log."

"Do you need help with anything?"

Kyros shook his head. "It is alright. Rokan is helping me."

"And Vrox? Have you seen him?"

"I have given my word that I will not disclose his whereabouts."

"Kyros, come on. Please?"

"Negative, female. I cannot betray my brother."

She frowned, scratching Vee's head as she plotted. "Then I won't tell you what happened to Peter Parker after he got bit by the spider."

Kyros dropped the log, throwing horror her way. "Kira, you cannot do this. It is unfair. I beg of you to reconsider."

"Nope!"

"He went out to get you flowers and juice– gifts to ask for your forgiveness," he blurted.

She placed one hand on her hip. "You gave him advice again, didn't you?"

Kyros nodded. "Why, of course. Vrox does not remember Ezronian females. How else is he supposed to know what they used for cosmetics?"

"This juice..." she began, worried about the answer. "What exactly is in it?"

"The piss of a trubron. The Ezron women used it to maintain their hair glossy."

She facepalmed.

"Ah, he has returned. Do not tell him I have released this information, or he will feed me to Vee."

She laughed before rushing to the gates. Vrox stood there with a bundle of hideous weeds in one fist, and a metal bucket in another.

"Kira," he smiled softly. "I have brought you gifts."

She returned his smile, not wanting to break his huge heart by telling him that his gifts belonged in nightmares.

"You didn't have to do this." She stopped to sigh. "Look, I shouldn't have called you names. I apologize for that, but I stand by my decision. If we're going to make this work, I need you to have trust in my decisions. There are times that I will decide to make my own judgment calls, and I deserve that right because I'm an adult. We will have to agree to disagree on this situation because I do not regret going after Nebula."

Vrox set his jaw, struggling to piece together his reply. "It is hard, giving you this trust you request. I care about you, and you are new to this world, vulnerable to its dangers. I am desperate to protect you. I will try, however. I will try to give you space to make your own decisions."

She smiled, happy with that response.

"Can we mouth-mate now? Please?" Vrox requested.

She chuckled, nodding down at the bucket. "Give that to Kyros, and let's go take a bath."

He frowned. "Kyros does not care about hair cosmetics."

"Use it on yours, then."

"I do not care about my hair either."

"Vrox, can we please stop talking about piss and just kiss already?"

I just published The First Her. Add it to your library so you don't miss a thing!