"Ayla, we're not worried about you making a mess or bothering us. We're not worried about you being a very normal woman. What we worry about is making you feel comfortable and safe here. We just want to help you in any way you need."
"Even if I'm unclean?"
He eased himself out of the chair, and moved to sit on the corner of the couch beside me. "We call it a period. I'm not sure why, but women say they're on their period. It's normal. It's natural. It's just blood, and I cleaned your feet for weeks. I sewed the cut on your side. There's no difference."
"There is!"
I could feel my face. It wanted to heat up and blanch at the same time. In the end, it just felt like all of my skin was stunned. I wasn't supposed to talk about these things with men. I would've been punished for such things back in the compound, but Dragon men were different. So very different, which was the only reason I could even find my voice.
Zasen smiled. "Okay. There's a little difference. When you ran through the forest, it meant you had to walk on your injuries. This? It means I have to change the sheets, and that's about it."
"You…"
"Are a friend, and friends help each other," he finished. "And when I'm sick or wounded, you can repay the favor."
I folded my hands in my lap and smiled down at them. "I'm so glad you were there. All of you."
"Where?"
"Outside the compound, wherever we were."
"Me too," he breathed. "So you know, Rymar's trying to make a deal with the Reapers. If another Mole is chained, we'll pay them to let us know about it."
"Why don't the Reapers take them?"
He canted his head and chuckled. "Because they have no idea what kind of a treasure you really are - and we aren't about to tell them. Moles attack Reapers too. They steal their harvest."
"Oh."
"And," he went on, "most die on the chain. They hang there for days with no food and water before anyone finds them. The predators and scavengers take the easy meal. They die, Ayla, but you? You didn't wait to be saved."
"I just wanted to live," I explained.
"And now we're going to help you," he promised. "Even when it might be embarrassing, we will always help."
Sixty-FourZasen
Ayla was embarrassed. I wasn't trying to make her feel bad, but I hated how she'd been taught something so normal was a thing she should be ashamed of. Granted, since Moles only valued their women for their uteruses, it made a sick and depraved sort of sense.
So, once she picked up her book, I folded up the blanket I'd been using on the couch, put it and my pillow to the side, and then made my way up the hall. Ayla glanced up but didn't ask. My plan was to head upstairs, yet when I passed the open bedroom door, I paused.
The covers had been pushed back on the bed. The edge of that bloodstain was clearly visible. Right. I needed to deal with that. Changing direction, I marched into my bedroom and pulled the bedding off, found clean sheets, and remade the whole thing. One less reason for her to be worried, right?
When that was done, I took the dirty sheets into the bathroom to add to the growing pile of laundry. Time to arrange washing again, it seemed. Ayla's nightgown was now wet and laid over the edge of the tub, so I put that in the laundry as well, then double-checked. There should be a pair of panties in here somewhere too.
Once I found those, I closed the hamper and then finally climbed the stairs. It was early. Much earlier than I was usually up, but the sound of Ayla's panicked flight across the hall had startled me. There was no way I was going back to sleep now, so I might as well share the fun with the guys.
Passing Rymar's room, I pounded my fist on the door. At Kanik's, I tapped lightly. Without waiting for either one to reply, I headed into the office, surprised to find it was now clean and actually organized! Papers had been put in open-top boxes. Books were stacked up. Even the floor was now clean.
"What the fuck, Zasen?" Rymar asked as he staggered into the room.
Kanik was only a few steps behind him. "Something wrong?" he asked, rubbing one eye with a fist like a child.
I chuckled at them both. "So, it seems we're all dumb guys."
"Okay?" Kanik asked.
Rymar simply threw himself down into his office chair. "I could be sleeping right now," he grumbled at me.
"Ayla started her period this morning," I explained.
"Okay, so she's not pregnant," Rymar shot back. "Has someone been getting a piece I didn't know about, or what?"
"She's a Mole," Kanik realized, groaning as he found his own chair. "Well, fuck."
Rymar flung up his hands, his frustration building. "And?"
"And," I replied, "Mole women aren't supposed to bother men with such things. It's gross, disgusting, smells bad, and whatever other shit they spew. When a woman is on her period, she should lock herself away. Other women will bring her meals so she doesn't inconvenience the men." Then I leaned over my knees and stared right at Rymar. "And we don't have pads, tampons, or those things in the fucking house, man!"
"Oh."
"I can run to the market," Kanik offered.
I lifted a hand, holding him off. "I borrowed a few from Saveah. Right about now, I'm glad Tamin wakes up early."
"And Taris too, probably," Rymar agreed. "So Ayla's okay?"
"She's mortified," I told them. "She would much rather none of us know. I tried to tell her it's normal, nothing to be ashamed of, and all of that, but..."
