From the sound of clinking cans I was sure that Lizard actually went rummaging around for the cans this time. Well it seemed obvious that he would, given my outburst earlier, but it was still nice that I didn't have to ask him again. He told me he grabbed about 20 cans of food, which should last me about 2 weeks if I am conservative with it. Also we grabbed a lot of other food, like jerky and snacks. I admit it isn't the healthiest meal, but it's really the only other thing here since I refuse to be a cannibal.

It sounded like Lizard had finally made a selection of the canned food. I wonder if he will actually try some of the food, or f he will be just as adamant as me when it comes to sticking to the diet that is the most 'normal'. Normal is a really relative term now that I think about it. I then heard Lizard clear his throat a bit as he placed two cans in my hand.

"Alright darlin, the can in that hand is um a spa-get-i." He emphasized 'that hand' by grabbing my hand that was holding the can of spaghetti. He actually pronounced it ok enough for someone that probably doesn't use that word so much. I wonder how he learned to read that too, I mean school probably wasn't a thing out here in the desert.

Lizard continued "And in this hand is some kind of soup."

I giggled at his attempts of being my seeing eye dog, so to speak. "I think I will stick to the spaghetti." I smiled at him, and handed it to him again, "Could you open it for me though?"

"Sure darlin' I never mind helpin out my girl here and there." I could hear the grin on his face.

As he was opening the can, with what I can only assume was a knife of some sort, I asked him the question I had pondered earlier," Hey Lizard?"

"Yea?" He said, he sounded a bit preoccupied, probably because he was opening a can.

"I was wondering, how did you read that spaghetti can label?"

There was a long pause, Lizard took in a deep breathe. Soon I began to feel nervous. Maybe there was a dark reason behind learning how to read out here in the desert. I mean this place is tough as nails, and all the people are cannibals. Maybe when he was a kid one of they victims had taught him how to read a bit before they met their gruesome fate. Or maybe he learned in secret and was criticized for it. Both of those options are pretty reasonable in this cut throat society. As I was lost in my thoughts, I felt Lizard gently grab my arm.

My head jolted up in his direction, "Darlin, I guess I should be straight with you on somethin' like this." Lizard paused," It ain't no big deal, but it is a bit of a bad tale from my childhood."

At first I was really nervous about how bad this story was, but I figured if it was such a bad story, he wouldn't be telling me it over dinner so I calmed down believing that this wasn't going to be a horrible backstory of what made Lizard the man he is today. That will be a story for another time.

"See darlin' when i was just a kid, me and Pluto would come up to the gas station sometimes. That's kind of why this fort was here, we built it after coming' here so much. Well back then, the man who runs the gas station wasn't so unforgivin of my family. I guess all the years of killing really turned him against us." I moved my arm a bit trying to find his arm, when I did, I gave his arm a reassuring pat. I knew this had to be a bit hard for him to say, even if it isn't that big of a deal in the big scheme of things. It was still really nice seeing Lizard open up to me like this. I use the term seeing loosely.

"Well anyway, back then he used to have comic books. Well as kids, me and pluto would grab a few and sit in the fort. Pluto and I originally just looked at the pictures, but eventually I wanted to know the story. Pluto didn't seem to care as much as I did, so it was up to me to learn what was going on in this story. Back then I used to be a bit scared of the man who runs the gas station, so it took me a long time to pluck up the courage to ask him to help me find out what was going on. He agreed to teach me, and I was so excited to finally learn what was really happenin in the story. Well it took me a few weeks of practicing, I'd spend hours with him, trying to learn how to read just enough to finish the story. We would go over it page by page until we reached the end of the comic. It was so good, I would keep coming back on mine and Pluto's trips up here, and I would always grab one."

The story was pretty cute, I could just imagine a tiny Lizard reading stories late at night with a flashlight. Though since I have never seen his face I really just imagined a lizard just because it made the story that much cuter.

"Well sugar you see, reading stories in this fort is one thing, but bringin em back home is another. You see I was always really careful about bringing the stories back home. because Papa Jupiter would be really mad if he saw me with that stuff. I guess he got so mad since he wanted a clear separation between our world and their world. He would always go on sayin stuff like 'I don't want you readin them stories that the outsiders make, what did I tell you about playing with your food.' I guess he was mad cause I couldn't make a separation between the two world. He was already mad at us for going to the fort because it was already too close to the other side for his liking, but he allowed it because he would rather have all that stuff at the gas station stay at the gas station and not be brought back to the house. He didn't like anythin from the outside world in our home. I don't really know why he even let us go to the gas station and be around all that stuff. My guess is that big mama convinced him, Papa Jupiter has a soft spot for her so I guess that's how she was able to do it.

Well this one time me and Pluto came down to this fort to read some more comics. We were always here so late, and missed supper once or twice because of it. It came to a point where Papa Jup didn't want us stayin out there so late on account of the other clans. You see those other clans really don care if you was born in these hills or not, game is game and kids is the easiest kind. But bein kids and all we begged Papa Jup to let us stay later, but he would always tell us no. Big Mama told us he really didn't want us there at all, but he knew how much we liked it there so we had better not blow it by coming home so late. So we started stayin at the fort less and less cause we couldn't stay as long, we didn't always wanna make the really long trip just to have to go home at sundown.

Well on occasion Pluto would really miss the fort and beg me to take him there again, on account of him bein scared to go alone. I would say no all the time because that trip was so long, and Pluto would cry every time. Usually Pluto would just cry for a day, be done with it, and continue as normal for about a few days or so. Well one time Pluto wasn't takin no for an answer. He cried for days, constantly sobbin and not eatin at all. Papa Jup said he's be fine, and that big babies don't deserve special treatment. Big mama felt really bad and so did I. I didn't really know what to do, bein just a kid and all, so I went to Big mama for advice. She said Pluto was sad because he couldn't go to the fort, so she thought it best if we go to the fort again just for the night. She thought it best if we go there once and then Pluto would be happy again for long spell. Big mama also gave me a very dangerous idea and told me to be extremely careful. She thought I should bring some of them comics we liked so much so that Pluto wouldn't always miss the place so much.

Well naturally I looked at Big mama with fear in my eyes. Papa Jup didn't want none of that fort stuff in the house, and I knew he's beat me near to death because of it. Big mama knew my fear, but thought it was worth the risk if her Pluto could be happy again. So one day when Papa Jup left for a hunting trip, Big Mama let us go to the gas station real quick like to get us some loot to bring back home. We all knew Papa Jup would be gone for two days at least, and since it was a long days journey to our fort and back we could spend a while finding great hidin spots for our stuff back at the house.

We left early in the morning with two bags to haul back the loot, it took us most of the day just to get there. I remember when we got to the fort it was well past sundown, but Pluto was so happy to be with all of his stuff again. He kept sayin stuff like ' don't ever wanna go back home' or ' let's stay here and bring family'. Basically he was spoutin nonsense on account of him being so happy. With him bein so distracted an all, I had to pick out all of the comics to take home. I had brought two bags to carry everything in, and I filled them bags full. Once I had gathered everything we needed, I was set to leave, but Pluto wanted to stay. I couldn't really say no to the big guy, so we stayed and read some comics. I reckon we must have spent the entire day readin those comics and havin snacks. I only figured as much because by the time we left the fort to go home the moon was up high in the sky.

The trek home was long and hot as always, especially since we were little kids at the time. Even at night it can get pretty hot, but we made it all the way back home. I remember how scared I was bringing all the stuff back, if I had known then what I know now about trackin and huntin I would have been more careful. The only thing I did to cover my tracks was that I sent Pluto in the house first to check for Papa Jup since I was the one with the bag of stuff. Once Pluto was inside, he looked around and gave me the all clear sign.

"I followed him into the house after the all clear sign, which was a stupid idea considering it was Pluto I was listening to. Stupid Pluto, the mush head that he is, didn't check the area very well. We hadn't even made it up them steps to our rooms when I heard Papa Jup ask us where we had been. My heart dropped when I realized he was home earlier than expected. I had all the stuff in my arms and I didn't know a single dang thing to do. I just stood there, frozen, for I don't know how long. This only made Papa Jup mad, he yelled at us again askin where we had been. At this point I was so scared, I musta gone limp or somethin because I dropped everything I was holdin. All of our stuff tumbled down the stairs and right in front of Papa Jup. It only took Papa Jup a minute or two, to figure out what had fell in front of him and where we had been all day. I never heard him shriek so loud in my life, save for a hunt. He gave me and Pluto the most frightening look, and when he came for us I couldn't do nothin but stand there and wait for the inevitable. Even when I heard Pluto screaming, I just stood there frozen with fear. Papa Jup grabbed Pluto first and beat him so bad, I thought he would kill him. I remember Big Mama was screaming and begging Papa Jup to stop. He just pushed her away and kept beating on Pluto. He pushed Big Mama so hard she slammed into the wall, she didn't interfere after that."

"All I remember seeing from that point was Pluto's body on the ground all curled up trying to protect himself from Papa Jup. Even though Pluto was on the ground, not putting up no kind of fight, that didn't stop Papa Jup from beating him within an inch of his life it seemed. There was so much blood, it almost looked like supper time. I knew he was done with Pluto when I couldn't hear Pluto scream anymore, I think he musta passed out or somethin. Then I remember Papa Jup came toward me after that. I still couldn't move, I just cried as he came closer to me. He grabbed my arm and dragged me down the stairs. He yanked me so hard, I lost my footing on the steps and Papa Jup just dragged me down the stairs and threw me to the ground. He did to me what he did to Pluto. I can't count the number of times he hit me."

I just sat there listening to Lizard recall this traumatic memory from his past. I couldn't see his face, but I felt his arm trembling. I guess this memory still holds a lot of power over him. I squeezed his arm, trying to offer some comfort. He squeezed my hand lightly back and continued.

"I remember before I passed out I saw Big Mama running toward us to help us. She was wailing and yelling at Papa Jup, asking him stuff like 'why?' and 'they are just kids, how could you?'. Looking back I can see why she was so upset. She had just seen us kids, beat near to death and she couldn't do nothing to help us. Even when she tried to help, Papa Jup turned on her too. I think she was sad that her fear of Papa Jup had overcome her motherly instinct to protect us. Big Mama has always been very protective us of, such a motherly figure, hence the name. She cried so much that Papa Jup just backed away from us, and he just grumbled and walked out of the room. I guess he didn't want to mess with her when she was like that. I was a bit surprised she didn't chase after him, but I guess on account that we were cleaning so much she thought we needed more attention."

"I know we was in bed for a few days, just getting better. Papa Jup really did a number on us. I didn't leave that room for a few days, it was horrible not being able to go on hunts, but me and Pluto did get all of our meals in bed so that was kind of nice. It was like being treated like kings or somethin, but with a whole bunch more bruises and pain. Gotta admit, I liked it. But that didn't last long, cause as soon as we was better we had to help out with all the chores and go hunting with Papa Jup again. We never did get an apology from him though."

When he was done with his story he just collapsed onto the cushions beneath us, like recalling this story has exhausted him. I laid down next to him and hugged him. He hugged me back, I guess he might have been happy for the company and comfort.

"Jeez woman, never thought I would need you for nothin more than a quick fuck and some pups. Who would have thought I would need you for comfort too." I was about to be a bit mad at him for being so vulgar during such a sensitive time, but I stopped when I heard how much his voice quivered when he said this. I felt up to his face, feeling for him eyes when I felt how wet they were. He was crying, and just trying to save face.

Lizard moved my hand away from his face, but continued to hold it in his hand. He said," Well to change the subject, you still have to eat. No mate of mine is gonna starve in this desert."

I heard him open a can of food, and then he placed the can in my hand.

As he handed me the now opened can, he told me, "You know you mean more to me than just a quick fuck, even tho I tease you and stuff don't mean thats all I think of you as some whore. I wouldn't have told you all of this if I didn't care bout you." I blushed, it was nice having my thoughts confirmed. I bashfully told him that I know that now, and then i proceeded to eat the contents of what I presume was the spaghetti can he pointed out before based on the texture and taste. I cringed bit just thinking about whatever I am eating right now not being spaghetti, I mean anything else with this slimy and noodle like texture would have to be worms or something. I had to push those thoughts to the back of my mind just so I wouldn't throw up.

When I was done eating I laid my head back down on the makeshift bed we were laying on. I snuggled into Lizard, feeling a new sense of togetherness I hadn't felt before. It was weird to think that just a few days ago Lizard and his family had kidnapped me and forced me to be his wife. I wonder if this is what Stockholm syndrome feels like? I put that thought out of my head and I turned to lizard and asked him," Do you think we could just stay here for a few days?" I knew it wasn't the best question after hearing a bad story about wanting to stay in this fort. But he was older now, and I just really didn't want to go back to his house.

I couldn't see Lizard's face, so I had no idea what his opinion was on the subject until he voiced it.

"Now Darlin' why would we do somethin crazy like that?"

"Well I just sort of feel safer here." I stated.

"So you feel safer here, with the scorpions and the other clans than you do in my bed, in my house, with my family?" Lizard sounded a bit offended when he said this.

I sat up and spoke quickly trying to placate him, "No it's not that, it's just that here I feel safe and welcome. I don't feel welcome at your home, I know Goggles doesn't like me, and I get the feeling most of your family feels the same way. I just feel like I can relax here."

"Darlin' most of my family is fine witchu. I know Goggles may seem rough, but he knows what is best for the family. You gotta trust me, I can protect you from any member of my family. Ya just gotta know that, even if they are gruff that is just how the desert taught us to be. Shoot, things may be different for an outsider, but here we is family and that is all you got in this world. Family is what brings shelter, food, and protection. So just know that my family is smart enough to put the family before how they feel towards ya. And any family member that tries to hurt you, they is not only going against the family they is also takin what is mine. See if they hurt ya, that is when I will kill them. My family Is smart enough not to hurt ya because they all know this, but I aint gonna do nothin just because they get a bit gruff with you. Just trust me when I say that you are safe with me.

Lizard seemed to calm down while he was going on his monologue. I could understand his point of view, and the parts I didn't understand I just had to accept because he was right. I wasn't raised in this desert, I know nothing about their family culture or how things work out here. Being an outsider, I had to put my faith in Lizard's words.

"Well, if we can't stay for a few days can we just stay the night? I am so tired." I asked as I laid down.

"I see yer point there, this trek aint easy. We can stay one night, but I am serious about those scorpions though."

I sat up instantly," Isn't there a way to fortify this place, like make a bit of a proper home out of it?"

"I guess, I'll just put some of these old blankets around the border. There isn't much we can do though since there isn't no wood or nothing."

"Any little thing helps, I don't want to be stung or bitten in my sleep. Lets make this little house as safe as we can."

"Oh sweetie, look at you playing house. I can play along too if I get to be the papa and you get to be the mama." As Lizard said this I felt him crawl over me and I felt his lower half push me into the mattress. My eyes rolled back as I enjoyed the feeling of his pelvis putting a lot of pressure on mine. I grinned my hips into his to show him how much I liked it.

"Babe you know if you want to stop, you can't tempt me so much"

"Maybe I don't want you to stop" I moaned as I continued to grind into him. I wasn't sure if I was ready or not, but after all of the sweet things he said I just wanted to keep doing what we were doing. I didn't want him to stop and take us back to his horrible family. I wanted to stay here, maybe I wanted to play house here forever, with him being the dad and me being the mom, his mate forever. All of this just felt so right, like the world was still and it was just the two of us. I realized how much I trusted him to be there for me. As more than just my protector, but as my lover too.

He stopped grinding into me for a minute "Darlin' are you sure, you ain't pulling leg or nothing? Do you really not want me to stop."

I paused too, not really knowing the answer myself. All I knew was that here and now it all felt right. I was happy and at peace here with him. I wanted him to be my first, I didn't want some normal guy from my world, and I definitely didn't want one of his crazy family members to have me first.

I moved my head to the direction of his voice," Yes, I want you. I want you to make me your mate, in more than just words. I want to show everyone that I am your mate, and nobody else can have me but you." It felt so weird to say that out loud, but at the same time I was glad that I said that.

"Baby I am going to show every clan in this here desert that you are my woman. You are gonna be marked in every sense of the word. I'm gonna mark your neck, your sweet little tits, hell even the way you walk is gonna show everyone that you are mine."

My eyes rolled back just thinking of how good that was going to be.

"Please Lizard, don't just tell me. Show me how much you love me."

"Oh baby, I am gonna show you right now." He exclaimed as he attacked my neck. He started kissing and sucking on my neck. My eyes rolled back at the sensation of his ministrations. I knew at that moment he was living up to his promise. My neck was going to be covered in marks, and his clan would know I was truly his. I moaned as he bit into my neck.

As I squeezed him tighter I moaned," Oh, harder Lizard, bite me harder. It feels so good to be marked as you."

As I said that, he bit into me harder, I knew I would bruise. I ground into him and held him closer to show my appreciation.

"Darlin you had better hold on tight, because I will never let you forget the day you became my mate."

And that is all for this chapter, I am sorry it took so long for me to update. School, work, graduation, and grad school just one right after the other. I am not sure when I will update again, but I will continue working on this story bit by bit.