AHuntersDream by Viola Grace Page A

helped her to her feet.
    “I have been lost for two days. How did you find me?” Galria was spotted with blood, splashed with mud and very pale.
    “It is what I do. The woods are no mystery to me, pet.” Iris smiled. “The only mystery is why it took so long for your father to ask for help.”
    Galria blushed. “I told him I was running away with Travez. He must have thought I had gone through with it.”
    “You obviously didn’t find your young man.”
    “I couldn’t find the rock where we were to have met and then darkness fell and I got lost.”
    She sobbed and Iris gave her a one-armed hug while they walked to the clearing where the clawed and fanged riding beasts were waiting. “Have you ridden a rhesh before?”
    Galria had a stunned look on her face. “No. I have not. I have heard that some ride them, but I usually ride a manuk.”
    Iris helped the young woman into the saddle. “His name is Torth and he is a calm one. Just keep your weight in the stirrups and hold on. I will lead you.”
    Iris got onto her own mount, Teddi, and took the leads from Torth. “There is a pouch with water and another one with food in it. We will be moving slowly through the woods so you can eat while we walk.”
    “Thank you. Thank you so much.” Galria immediately grabbed for the water and carefully took a few sips.
    Comforted that her charge was not going to try gorging herself on water or food, Iris shifted forward and Teddi took his first steps on their path home.
    It took a certain posture to be comfortable on a rhesh, but Iris had plenty of practice. The more common manuk with their six legs and herbivore tendencies made them the preferred beasts of burden in most areas, but if you wanted to get into the forest, it was rhesh all the way.
    Iris looked behind her a few times during their trek out of the woods and Galria was surprisingly calm after her ordeal. She had finished eating and drinking and was watching the forest go by.
    They were in a wide-enough area for Iris to bring her mount almost in line with Torth. She looked at the young woman with concern. “Are you injured elsewhere?”
    Galria burst into tears. “Only my heart. I thought that Travez wanted me, was willing to run away with me, but when I saw him in the woods he was in the arms of another woman. He said he wanted to marry me but he was with her.”
    Iris winced. “Is there any way that you misinterpreted what you saw?”
    She sniffled. “Only if he slipped and fell into her genitals, repeatedly.”
    Iris hissed in sympathy. “Oh, that isn’t good.”
    “I couldn’t face my father, I couldn’t face Travez, so I ran. Now, I realize I should have just gone home and admitted what went on. I want to live and I want to find a man who won’t screw another woman just because he isn’t expecting me early to the rendezvous.”
    She wiped her nose on her sleeve but straightened, regaining her dignity.
    Iris grinned. “That is the spirit. Wait for the man who likes you for you and who will be waiting for you to choose the time and place. Not all men are like Travez. Some are better, some are worse, but all have something to offer. You just have to wait and use your instincts. They will tell you when the man is right. The right timing sometimes follows and sometimes, you have to make it yourself.”
    Galria grinned. “Do you have a man in your life?”
    “Sort of. I am a Deccoran. We believe in finding our mate in our dreams and then finding that man and bringing him into our reality. It takes a bit of practice to recognize the signs, but I am on the cusp of finding my mate. I only have to wait for a few more signals from the universe and he will be here.”
    Galria was amazed. “I have heard of Deccorans but never met one before.”
    “We don’t really advertise. Following dreams as messages from the creator does not sit well with many, but I managed to find you after dreaming of your location last night, so I think that it works.”
    “What? Why