Chapter 29

It seemed that whenever he made progress in one area, another slipped from him, Rikash thought grimly as he reviewed the surveillance records of the next target city. He had succeeded in throwing Verika off balance, but here he was faced with a city that had not only repelled his initial invading force, but their methods of doing so was baffling his males. He understood the point that Verika was making with her display of her males. If she had come into his domicile a week before whilst he was still establishing his Bond with his mate, his female may not have looked too dissimilar – naked, dishevelled, bruised and cowed. But Verika misunderstood the purpose behind his dominant males treatment of their mates. Indulging in the traditional courtship practices, the ones that Verika found so barbaric, was not done to harm the female nor just because his males enjoyed their female in that way, but because it established dominance, a bond, and scent marking. It stripped away all the ci