Hello! It has been a while. Whew! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. As always it's sad to say that I don't own Predator. Sidenote: There are some thoughts that Kenzie has in this chapter that are incorrect, but get sorted out in the next one.
It had been two weeks since Kenzie started looking for a job, but she hadn't had any luck. Apparently, there were a lot of jobs available on the ship, but none of them were jobs that she'd be able to do for one reason or another, and it was beginning to frustrate her. She'd always been an independent person, even when she was a kid. She preferred to earn the money she needed instead of it just being given to her. So, having to rely on Viper so heavily and not being able to contribute was starting to get on her last nerve. Though she knew it shouldn't have.
Viper had informed her time and again that she didn't have to worry about contributing financially to their household because she did in other ways, and she wanted to believe him. However, Kenzie had learned that the female yautja all made their own money and took care of themselves in her time there. She wanted to be the same. She didn't want to be treated differently because she was a human, especially in a society where she learned valued strength and independence.
She was coming down the hall from checking with yet another possible place she could work. However, she was much too small for the job and all it would entail. Kenzie had been willing to try it, but the female yautja in charge had simply sneered and dismissed her. Thinking that it would be best not to get into any sort of confrontation, Kenzie had just turned and left.
It also didn't help her job search that not all the yautja on the ship spoke or understood English. She'd gotten spoiled around Viper, his clan brothers, his father, and even uncle's creepy-ass because they all spoke English, and for the most part, they were the only yautja she ever associated with aside from the few time she'd seen Elder H'dru, and he spoke English as well.
Kenzie had just rounded the corner when she bumped into a rigid body. Looking up, she found a young warrior standing there. He was younger than the males she was typically around, and if she had to take a guess, she would equate him to a teenager. He snarled at her, and Kenzie took a step back. She was cramping something terrible and was not in the mood for any issues.
A growl came from behind Kenzie, and the male in front of her lowered his head, looking off to the side before he stalked around her and walked away. She turned over her shoulder to see who had come to her rescue because she knew it wasn't Viper; having gotten used to the tones of his growls, purrs, and roars, she found Uncle approaching. Kenzie rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted to deal with was him.
"Ooman." He greeted, and Kenzie just stared at him. "You are welcome for the assistance."
Kenzie sighed. "I didn't ask you for it." She turned and began to walk away. She didn't think she could get into any real trouble by walking away from him. She'd started learning their hierarchy. Their dos and don'ts.
"You should be more careful." He spoke, falling into step beside her. "The ship will be filling with more yautja soon, male and female, and they aren't all fans of oomans."
Kenzie rolled her eyes as she continued to walk. She highly doubted that he cared about her well-being and was just using it as an excuse to annoy her.
"The mating season is coming, a few cycles after the upcoming ceremony, and yautja will be looking to mate. Challenges for the affection of females, and if a male is heavily sought-after, challenges for him as well." He paused for a bit. "Though some like to go to the home planet for the mating season as there are more prospects there. I believe your mate if you can call him that, is one who prefers to go."
Kenzie stopped in her tracks and turned to look at uncle. He had a face of innocence, but Kenzie was not fooled in the slightest. What the hell was he saying to her?
"What do you mean if I can really call him that?"
He cocked his head, trilling at her but didn't answer that question. Instead, he said, "Not to worry, ooman. It's normal for us to have several mates at a time." Before turning and striding off.
Kenzie watched him go for several seconds before turning and making her way quickly to what she'd decided to dub an apartment. She was supposed to go pick up Cydney from Jay since she'd dropped the little girl off there before she headed out, but she needed to talk to Viper first.
It wasn't until she was at the front door that she remembered he wouldn't be home. Looking down at the watch that H'bu had given her, she realized he wouldn't be back for several hours.
Stepping inside, she began the pace the expanse of the living room. Moving helped with her cramps, so being anxious was helping her at the moment. Kenzie was sure she was on the last couple of days of her menses, but she'd always been one that cramped severely throughout the entire thing. Though, she supposed that made up for the fact that she didn't have them every month as most women did.
When she was sure she'd walked that particular path a few hundred times, she decided to try to figure out what uncle meant by telling her that Viper couldn't be called her mate. He'd given her a tablet last week with facts about his species and several others, and Kenzie grabbed it, sat on the couch, and did some research.
It took her a while to find the section about mates and courtship, and as she read it over, Kenzie's heart dropped into her stomach. Because yes, he made physical contact with her often, and yes, he was affectionate with her and teased her, and yes, they'd slept together but…but he hadn't found her worthy enough to give her one of his trophies or any trinkets.
Yes, he'd given her the necklace, but she knew there was a tracking device in it, and he wanted to keep up with her. Tracking her fell under the category of pet. However, Kenzie didn't feel like a pet because he didn't treat her like one and called her his mate. That didn't mean that she would be his only one.
Sighing, Kenzie placed the tablet aside and pinched herself. She was reading too much into it. Uncle was just being an asshole and trying to get back at her for making him wear her panties on his head for nearly a month.
Instead, Kenzie decided to just push it out of her head and focus on the upcoming ceremony. Viper's class of pups were all being accepted to study on the home planet under an Elder. It was the first time every pup from a class had been taken in.
Kenzie had commissioned Sonja to make a robe for Viper and traded a few things she didn't think she'd need at the trading post to pay the other woman, though she insisted that wasn't necessary. Kenzie still felt the need too.
When she'd dropped Cydney off with Jay, Sonja had informed her she was putting the finishing touches on it, and it would be ready later that day. Kenzie looked at her watch, running her finger over it to change from the time to the date. The ceremony was in two days, and she was excited to give him her gift.
At the thought of a gift, Kenzie briefly thought about uncle's words before again pushing them aside. She would just ask Viper about it, but she would wait until after the ceremony. She didn't want anything to hinder his big day.
Viper rose out of the bathing pool and grabbed a cloth to dry himself. The ceremony was due to start in an hour. There would be a feast and other festivities. He had spent the last two days talking with his sire and the other elders regarding the ceremony. He didn't feel as if he was asking for much, but of course, S'kta had to be opposed to everything he said.
Viper made his way into the sleeping quarters and grabbed his best loincloth. It was made of excellent leather, and it was thick. Once he'd secured it on, he made his way to his trophy room. He'd made sure to polish his ceremonial armor the cycle before and put it on.
He could hear his little mate and the pup in her room, and Viper suspected she was getting her ready. Pups outside of the ones accepted typically weren't allowed at the ceremonies, but his father had been able to have it authorized. It helped that Cydney wasn't an overactive pup.
Viper thought about the upcoming mating season. He usually spent it off the ship, preferring not to be around it. After several seasons of his seed not taking in any of the females he laid with, he didn't see a point in trying to continue. Though females still wanted him to try, still wanted him to compete for the chance of mating with them. If for no other reason than the lineage he came from.
This year would be the same. Viper had already stocked his ship with provisions and was going to take Kenzie off the home ship and maybe to a nearby planet. He'd asked his sire if Cydney could stay with him during that time since he no longer participated to several females' dismay, and Jay usually stayed with him as well. Because though he hadn't conceived with her yet, his brother enjoyed participating with Sonja as if he couldn't do that at any time.
Viper was aware that he could stay on the ship this season. However, he'd already had to scare several males away from his mate, and his clan brothers also had. Ooman's were rare for those yautja that didn't go to earth. So, mating with one always seemed to appeal to them. He didn't want to spend the season killing males left and right because he doubted he would be able to stop at just besting them. He also did not want any females challenging her on the other side of it.
Though Viper still very much intended to mate with Kenzie, which was why he didn't need their pup around. He wanted them to leave the cycle before yautja started arriving on the ship. He was going to talk to Kenzie about it after the ceremony. He'd learned from Sonja that ooman females liked to have at least a cycle to pack before trips, so he would give her one.
Viper made his way into the main living quarters once he was dressed in his ceremonial armor. He only had to wait a few moments before his mate, and their pup came in. Viper found himself purring before he knew he was doing it.
His little mate was dressed in an ooman covering similar to one he'd seen her in before. Except this one clung to her body. It had little thin straps, and instead of flowing around her knees as the other one had, this one clung to her thighs. The top of the covering pushed her mammary glands up, and Viper enjoyed the view of her soft brown mounds. She had on ooman shoes that made her taller, and her hair was mostly pulled up with little spiral-like pieces hanging beside her face.
Kenzie clearing her throat had him tampering off his purr as she gestured down to Cydney. Viper knew that he shouldn't have been trying to initiate mating in front of the pup, even if it had been a self-conscious act.
Cydney was wearing a covering similar to his mates but pup appropriate. Her hair was in the same spirals as the pieces Kenzie left down.
"Don't I look pretty?" Cydney questioned, and Viper trilled lightly. He knew what the word meant, and she did look pretty.
"Yes, very." Viper responded, and Cydney smiled at him.
"And Kenzie?" Cydney then questioned.
"Yes." Viper responded, turning his attention back to his mate as he made his way to her.
Viper leaned down and locked his mandibles gently to her face, slowly tracing her lips with his tongue. He was sure there was another ooman word for the way his mate looked because pretty didn't quite describe it.
When they pulled apart, Viper squatted closer to Cydney's height. He knew he didn't have to worry about her behavior tonight, but he wanted to talk to her before leaving anyway.
"You will need to be on your best behavior, pup." Viper told her.
"I will. I promise." She told him, beaming up at him.
Viper trilled again, pinching her cheek gently—the way he'd seen his brother do to Jay. Standing, Viper led the way out of their quarters and towards the ceremony hall. While his class was being honored, so were warriors coming back from their first Chiva.
When they made it there, Colbie and Gramps were waiting at the entrance for them. They greeted one another, and Kenzie took Viper's hand in one of hers and Cydney's in the other. The five of them walked inside together, and Viper led the way to the table his brother, Sonja, and Jay was sitting at.
Once the five of them sat, it left just enough seats for the rest of their clan brothers. Viper's students were seated with their bearers or sires, but he'd seen them all as he made his way to their table. His sire was sitting with the other elders and their mates at the head of the room.
"You look sexy, Kenzie," Sonja responded with a smile. "I also have what you wanted when it's time."
"Thank you," Kenzie responded.
Viper wanted to ask what his little mate was getting from Sonja, but he was sure if she wanted him to know, she would have told him. She could have possibly been looking for some ooman item from earth and asked the other woman where to find it or if she could get it for her.
Talk broke out around the table, and Viper looked over to his class every few minutes. They were seated at tables with their bearers and sires across the room from the table he was sitting at.
A bit later, Elder Hadru stood, and a hush fell over the crowd. He made the usual welcoming and commenced a speech in honor of the celebration. Viper only half listened, instead, watching how his students seemed to be vibrating in their seats. Once Elder Hadru finished, he sat, and meals were brought to all the tables.
His sire had made sure that there would be ooman foods such as vegetables and fruits served along with the meats.
Viper watched as Kenzie pushed her plate to the side, grabbing Cydney's and cutting her strip of meat into smaller pieces. He'd notice her do that often if they ate in the dining quarters. Viper realized that it was because smaller bites were more manageable for the pup. Yautja pups, on the other hand, could eat the strips just as well as yautja adults and didn't need them cut smaller.
As they ate, Gramps sparked a conversation with C'bra about something he was running tests on. Viper was just glad he hadn't let anything else go. He hadn't been on the ship when it happened, but Colbie had told him and Kenzie how it all took place.
Once they were finished eating, a ceremonial dance was performed before his father stood, had the pups and Viper make their way to the front of the room where the elders were seated.
His sire called out each pup's name before announcing that they'd all been accepted to train with an elder on the home planet. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel a sense of pride. His class was the first where every pup was accepted. It was a testament to his teaching ability.
Once the acknowledgments were finished, his sire dismissed the pups but asked Viper to stay. He refrained from trilling in curiosity.
"In light of recent achievements." His sire clicked. "Entire class promotion, and slaying a Kainde Amedha queen, we of the council are honored to bestow the rank of Elite upon you."
Viper was at a loss for a few seconds. He had not seen the ceremony going this way. The last thing he'd expected was a boast in rank. When he'd become a blooded warrior, it was from his chiva. When he was promoted to honored warrior, he and his clan brothers had taken down two Kainde Amedha queens on two different planets with no casualties to their clan.
Before Viper had the opportunity to respond, his sire beckoned Kenzie over, and he turned to find his little mate approaching with folded cloth in her hands. When she stopped in front of him, she smiled before giving it to him.
Viper took it, discovering that the cloth was high grade, and it only took him a few seconds to realize what it was. He'd come to recognize Sonja's work.
Unfolding the cloak, Viper admired the work. Sonja had become known for making exquisite cloaks and robes. Viper knew that one of this quality would be expensive. When Kenzie reached to take the cloak from him, he gave it to her, kneeling on one knee, as she swung it around him, hooking it to his ceremonial armor.
Viper locked his mandibles gently to her cheeks and ran his tongue over her lips as he stood. He was grateful for her gift, and he may have also been staking his claim for the few low rumbles he heard begin when she'd stood.
When he released her, Kenzie turned to go back to the table, but his sire calling her name stopped her.
"In light of your achievement, assisting in killing a Kainde Amedha queen and exterminating a hive. We of the council are honored to promote you to Blooded Warrior." His father spoke using the ooman language as Elder Hadru clicked to the rest of the room.
There was trilling that erupted throughout the hall, along with a few growls. Growls in which Viper countered with one of his own. Overpowering the sound of the growls and the trills, echoing throughout the hall and causing silence to take over.
He hadn't suspected that news would be greeted well from several of the yautja at the ceremony. If for no other reason than the fact that oomans were hardly ever blooded or ranked by their clan. The last was a few hundred years ago. However, Kenzie had proven herself just as any unblooded yautja would have had to.
Viper had insisted that she be ranked. His uncle had fought against it. He wasn't sure if his uncle was fighting against ranking her at all or the rank Viper proposed. He'd wanted her to be ranked to an Honored Warrior. She'd proven she could handle herself with the hard meat and helped take out their queen. It was an impressive feat for an ooman. S'kta had not been on board with it.
As a compromise, his father and Elder Hadru proposed making Kenzie a blooded warrior even if they didn't have anything from her prey to mark her with. They would mark her the way they marked higher-ranking warriors. It seemed that they both would be marked now.
"Thank you," Kenzie spoke to break the silence. "The honor is mine."
His sire dismissed them, and they made their way back to the table. Viper knew that his sire would get with Colbie and invite him to the next blooded warrior's ceremony. The ooman male would be blooded as well when it was time. However, Viper had specifically asked if Kenzie's could be announced during the ceremony.
Congratulations went around the table. The rest of the ceremony went on, and when it came to an end, Viper took Kenzie's hand as she had his coming in, and he waited for her to take Cydney's as they made their way towards the exit. However, they were stopped several times and given congratulations or compliments on his cloak.
It was late in the cycle when they made it back to their quarters. Viper went to his trophy room to remove his ceremonial armor and cloak while Kenzie went to bathe Cydney. His mate didn't like their pup in the bathing pool alone since she was so small.
When Kenzie finished getting Cydney ready for bed, Viper was in their sleeping quarters, packing some loincloths. He'd loaded his weapons onto his ship, but he hadn't packed any clothing yet.
"Are you going somewhere?" Kenzie questioned, looking between him and the loincloths he was packing.
"The mating season is about to start." Viper told her. "I don't spend it on the ship, preferring to-"
"You can't cheat on me." Kenzie blurted, cutting him off.
Viper trilled in surprise, confused. He was aware of what the word cheat meant, but it didn't fit in the context Kenzie used it.
Kenzie hadn't meant to say it that way. She hadn't meant to let the words come out of her mouth at all until tomorrow. Wanting to allow him to bask in the celebration. However, seeing him pack and the mention of the mating season, her heart had begun to beat fast, and she felt as if her stomach had dropped.
Now, Viper stood staring at her, and Kenzie found herself shifting from one foot to another as nervousness came over here as she tried to figure out how to start the conversation she hadn't been ready to have yet.
"Kenzie, I do not understand cheating in the way you used it." Viper told it.
She wanted to groan out loud. Of course, her luck would have it that he didn't understand, and she'd have to explain it to him.
"Will you…sit down, please?" Kenzie questioned. When he complied, she figured she should start with what she'd meant. "Cheating, it means pursuing or sleeping with someone else."
"I am not doing either of those things."
"Not yet. I know that when mating season comes, you'll have a lot more…options." Kenzie breathed out. "And I know you've taken me as one of your mates, and in your culture, you can have as many as you want but…I don't want to share you."
"You are not sharing me." Viper stated.
"But if you want to mate someone else, I will be," Kenzie responded quietly.
She wished she'd learned sooner or paid more attention so she wouldn't be in this position. So, she could have guarded her emotions, her heart better. However, she wasn't sure if that would have done her any good. Kenzie hadn't had any relationships in high school, and anything before that wouldn't have counted. After that, she didn't have time for emotional connections, and she'd only slept with two men other than Viper. So, he was her actual first everything, in her opinion.
"McKenzie," Viper started reaching out to her and pulled her to stand between his legs. "You are my only mate. I do not wish to have another one. Am I not courting you properly?"
"You are," Kenzie responded quietly. "But I know there are different kinds of mates, and Uncle was more than happy to remind me that you had other options."
Kenzie heard Viper growl low within his throat, and his hands tightened slightly on her waist. He was mad, and she placed one of her hands on his chest to calm him down. If he got any angrier, she knew that he would leave bruises on her sides.
She hadn't meant to upset him, and now she wished she hadn't brought it up and just accepted that he would have other mates. Kenzie never thought she'd be one to be satisfied with being "the one he came home to."
"S'kta is not to be trusted when he speaks." Viper bit out. "You are my only mate. The only one I have now, the only one I want to have. You are my lifemate. That is not a secret to those that need to know, even if it has not been announced or made official to the clan. S'kta knew this when he lied to you, and he and I will have words."
His grip on her waist loosened, and Kenzie stared into those green eyes. She believed him. She had no reason not to, and she felt silly that she'd even considered doubting him because of Uncle's words. Kenzie should have known better than to trust anything that he said.
"You still have not realized how much I cherish you." Viper spoke, running the back of his finger up and down her cheek. He didn't give her a chance to respond. "You will need to pack as well."
"Pack?"
"We are leaving the ship during the mating season."
They were going together. Now, she felt even worse about the situation than she had before. She'd been stressing about it the entire time since she heard, and he'd been planning for them to go together.
"When are we leaving?" Kenzie questioned.
"Two cycles."
"Okay, I'll make sure Cydney and I are packed."
"Our pup will be staying with my sire and Jay." Viper informed her.
"So, it's a couple's trip?" Kenzie questioned with a smile.
"Yes?" Viper trilled questioningly, and Kenzie assumed it was because he didn't know what a couple's trip was.
"How long will be gone?" She needed to know so she could pack accordingly.
"Thirty full cycles."
Kenzie began to shake her head. "I don't want to be away from Cydney that long."
"We will not go far. My sire can bring her out for a couple of visits."
Kenzie nibbled on her lower lip. While she wanted to go and have some alone time with Viper, she didn't want to leave Cydney for extended periods.
"Can't she just come with us?" Kenzie questioned.
"It is the mating season. I have every intention of mating you uninterrupted and normally."
Kenzie understood. When they had sex in the house, they'd have to pause if she heard Cydney stir. If the little girl woke up because of a bad dream, Kenzie would get dressed and go lay with her, frequently falling asleep in Cydney's room. Viper also had to be conscious of how loud he purred, growled, and Kenzie did her damnedest to keep him from roaring when he came. They also did it, as he dubbed it, the human way more often than not. Yes, she was hindering his nature, but she didn't want Cydney to catch them. The two of them being alone would allow him to mate her the way he wanted to.
"Okay. I'll talk to her tomorrow and let her know we'll be gone for a little while, but she'll be coming to visit."
Viper nodded, and Kenzie leaned in and kissed him, her hands going to his shoulders. Now that everything was situated, she couldn't wait to get away with him for a while.