Citrine (Deliverance #3)

15. Wroahk

15

Wroahk

My eyes open from restless slumber and my body springs back to life. I unfurl my tentacles and twirl them, trying to get rid of the stiffness.

Though I've staked my territory, the Many Teeth in this water are more than willing to dispute it, unlike the creatures of my world who know better.

A moment later, my mind is back to the female. Watching her flail around is as unexciting as trying to figure out why I feel strangely drawn to her, but both must be done.

Ever since I saw her, she's all I can think about.

The sun isn't up yet so the lake and its environs are mostly quiet. It wouldn't be difficult for me to slip away. If I search enough, I can find another suitable lake and a more abundant source of food.

Maybe even find a river that leads to an ocean. It was my plan before she arrived, so I should get back to it.

I won't have to deal with the frustration of staying beside this female anymore.

I say that, but my mind rejects the thought of abandoning her, even though it is exactly what should be done to the weak. They are dead weight, but I feel… reluctance.

The few times I've felt reluctance before did not coincide with this curious feeling I have now.

I go looking for food, swimming aimlessly until I come upon what looks like a nest. I sense them before I see them. Floating near the nest are two Many Teeth with their eyes closed. I can tell they're sleeping. If I swim closer, their eyes will snap open.

I can't bring myself to kill her. Why don't I use them? I can be rid of her and them in one breath.

I like this plan. She must perish for this feeling of uncertainty to leave me. Since they are just floating around, catching them isn't that hard. All I need to do is carefully extend my tentacles and disable their body's defenses, trapping them between my limbs.

The best place to catch them is the midriff, wrapping my other tentacle around their snout so their teeth remain shut until I need to release them.

I do so before I change my mind. Holding two of them at the same time is the difficult part, but I manage, making a dash for the surface, ready to unleash terror on her while ignoring the thrashing of the Many Teeth.

As I approach the surface, ready to find her and throw them on top of her, one of the constantly thrashing creatures breaks free for a moment. I catch a glimpse of the long and sharp rows of teeth the creature possesses, and my body involuntarily stops.

The image of her being torn into pieces, chewed up by this creature, flashes through my head and anger surges through me.

No. She is my prey. Mine to eat.

The hold of my tentacles loosens, and the creatures free themselves. They growl at me, but I growl back, a clicking call meant to inspire terror, scaring them into turning tail. They swim away, a warning growl floating behind them.

My prey? No prey requires this much special attention.

It is probably the work of those poor excuses for sea life slimes. Those things poked and prodded me for a long time.

If I see them again, I'll rip them to pieces immediately.

As I watch the Many Teeth disappear from view, I decide to look for her. I can still remember the path she took and can still feel her presence. I slink around the rocks, hyperaware of how sharp they are.

I soon see her, surrounded by tall grass, resting against a tree. The wind bites at my skin and my tentacles shrink, begging for water. Even though she's a few steps away from me, I cannot claim my meal. The feeling of dryness creeps up from my tentacles to my throat as I feel the moisture escape my skin, pushing me back toward a source of water.

I follow the path out of the cove, bypassing it when I sense a nearby source of water in the large cave. If she is going to be so near it, I should search it for threats. I enter without hesitation and soak in my tentacles, shivering as the disgusting feeling of freshwater makes my tentacles throb.

I hear a low rumble behind me, but I am slow to react. I growl in pain as something clamps onto one of my tentacles, massive teeth glinting back at me. In my distraction I forget that I cannot sense movement above the water the same way as within it.

Two of them surround me, nipping at my tentacles, taking the ends off two of them, their maws open and ready to attack. I throw my uninjured tentacles out, hoping to disrupt their rhythm. They attack with their jaws, but I snap them shut, and then wrap their jaws in a crushing grip.

My body feels weak. I stayed on land too long, following her trail.

She caused this.

I roar, snapping one in half. The other one whimpers and thrashes around, dragging my tentacles around the rocky cave. I snap its spine without hesitation and shiver in disgust as I tear off chunks and its flesh fills my belly. It's revolting but it's all I have to eat.

I miss my home.

When I roamed in my saltwater domain, I truly underestimated the feeling of freedom and the opportunity for variety. Now, I'm stuck eating disgusting freshwater creatures that do more than fill my belly. I sigh, flicking the rest of the blood off my tentacles.

They're damaged now and it'll take some time to recover. I need something more nutritious to heal.

I wonder how she'll taste. All that brown skin probably means she tastes just like the rest of the mud dwellers. Will the taste of her blood energize me?

Before I realize it, I'm wandering out of the cave, throwing the dead Many Teeth into the water so they don't foul the cave as they rot, then head back to where she was.

My body feels heavy and sluggish, barely dragging me quietly across the grassland. I am more vulnerable on land. As my eyes narrow on her, I reach my webbed graspers toward her, imagining my teeth sinking into her neck and her warm blood inciting the hunger that I lost.

It happens again. My tentacles stop just short of her neck, and I'm looking over her without the intention of causing harm.

The wind carries her scent to my suckers, and I realize she smells… less terrible. In fact, her scent rouses my mating tentacles. Far from hunger for blood, I feel a deeper, more primal instinct.