Alright, we're here boys! Let's go! Also, apologizes for the numerous author notes present in the chapter.

Mark was not in a happy mood. He most definitely was not, especially now, during the mating season.

The musk that was present in the air made his loins ache, but Mark fought to control the urge to breed. He was not going to give up his virginity for a quick fuck... especially since he could not produce children of his own.

Instead, these last two years had been filled with lots of changes: first off were his new sets of weapons.

The katana had been reforged in cetanium after days of keeping the metal under heat to melt it. It was also equipped with a minuscule motor that made the edge of it (sharpened to an atomic level) vibrate. It was completely silent as well, so that was a plus and it cut through everything with the slightest push of the blade.

He had then asked for a bow to be forged. This was also virtually indestructible, and the particular curve of it allowed him to land shots at extreme precision, coupled with the plasma tipped arrows.

Finally, he also forged a new set of gauntlets and boots. They where equipped with retractable blades that would extend every time he clenched certain muscles, and in addition, they also possessed these angled spikes that he used to catch the weapons of his enemies and to either wrench them out, or more commonly break them. The gauntlet also had a set of claws and blades tonfas that popped out to the side, favoring parries.

(no picture, sorry)

The rest of his armor receive an upgrade with even stronger metals, some parts such as the chest were also layered with cetanium. All to create a breathtakingly beautiful combination of pure black armor, reinforcing his alias as the shadow.

The helmet in particular was designed to resemble a human skull, with flames adorning it, to show his allegiance to the clan. The right side of the helm was also marked with the symbol of Cetanu in the place where the eye otherwise would have been.

(again, no picture, sorry)

And to finish it off, he was given the black cape present on all of Cetanu's chosen, and a smaller red shoulder cape that all primal hunters carried. When he was dressed in such an attire, he looked like a demon of death, because that was what he was, as many Hish fell to his black blade.

His new residence was set in a mountains range not to distant from the Fire Skull clan's territory. Even now, after months of digging and remodeling, the work still wasn't done: he wanted to essentially build a fortress in and on the top of the mountain. It would basically a military bunker, base, port and home all rolled into one. Every conceivable defense mechanism used by the yautja would be present, boosted by engineer technology.

It was also where his throne room would be present, along with his collection of skulls, riches and whatnot. It was to be his bastion, his castle that was theoretically impossible to besiege and that could survive a nuclear war if it came to that and still be self autonomous.

And that still didn't count the massive ports that were being built inside the mountain where he would dock his flagships and other vessels of his fleet. Naturally, not all of the ships could be placed inside the fortress, so they were instead orbiting around the planet, along with his own set of custom made satellites.

Naturally, such a construction would bankrupt him, but he had the backing of numerous clans. Plus, when he was given selection of a few dozen planets, he had chosen some which were rich in minerals and resources. He would never have to worry about gold or gems ever again, for these planets would be an infinite source of wealth.

Mark had also given a good number of planets to his clan so that new colonies could be created, he had carefully selected those that would be the most hospitable, and then gave them to the humanity, which earned him even more favor.

(essentially, I am trying to convey that Mark wants to literally create an invincible militaristic headquarters, while also strengthening his bonds with his allies. To get an idea of what I'm talking about, think of the Emperor's palace on Terra from Warhammer40k, that's what I'm aiming for, you know, minus the ridiculousness)

Kyiv and Yurli had been slightly intimidated by the sheer scale of his projects and plans, much less when he proposed a new, bigger class of warships. It was as if he was gearing up for a war... and the truth was that indeed he was waging a war... against imaginary beings.

No matter how many walls and defenses he erected, no matter how much firepower he mustered, he was still at the mercy of his fears and panic attacks, the serpents still were with him.

But coming back to the present, Mark still despised the mating season deeply, but he could at least find comfort in his quarters, or rather, his palace, that stretched from the top of the mountain deep into the complicated hallways of the bunkered fortress.

He had spared no expense with making it as luxurious as it was possible. Large hallways lined with gold and marble, titanic statues and murals recounting his hunts, he felt like he was a god, which was quite easy to believe, especially when he was seated on his throne.

The armrest were made out of the large skulls of the serpent empresses, hell, the entire throne was like a mountain composed out of the skulls of his slain prey (kinda like the cover of the book except for it being much, much more elaborate and gargantuan)

And currently, he had been notified that Yurli had arrived at the palace, and of course, he gave the order to the guards to let her come in. It did not take long for her to reach the room, and when she did, her masked face looked all over the room, finally settling on his as he was walking down the steps of the throne, hands clasped behind his back.

"Mark." she stated simply, and he nodded his head to her, "Yurli, it is good to see you." she was aroused, he could smell the musk on her. But he thought that it was only natural, given that all females were in heat at the moment, and this would be the period of time in which they would get pregnant.

They began to walk away from the throne room, making light conversation, "This is an extraordinary fortress, but you still want to build more of it?" "Yes, and it is nowhere near complete. The give you an example, the water filtration system still hasn't been completed as the irrigation and farming rooms. Additionally, a few corridors and areas still lack ventilation. Not to mention the numerous housing ports for the ships and" he stopped before he could begin trailing off. God, his mind had been full with the plans... but it was the only thing that he could do to try and ignore the constant presence of the serpents.

"Come, I will offer you a meal." "You are very kind Mark." "Nonsense."

The frankly massive size of his chambers astounded the arbitrator, as was the outside view of the top of the mountain range, which was covered in white due to the snow, a rarity indeed on yaut.

"You see, that isn't even counting the height of over six miles of the mountain range itself, there is still much more infrastructure that is being built under it all." "And you plan to put there?" "My most valuable items. That will be the safest place in this entire fortress."

He had a delicious meal cooked for her, composed of the meats of creatures that were extremely rare. Such a plate wasn't cheap, and even matriarchs were careful in using them. But then again, Makr did not have economic problems, so he could afford it.

"I haven't seen you out that much. Are you afraid of being swarmed by a horde of females in heat?" she asked playfully, but the question irked him some "Yes actually."

Suddenly, she got up to come stand next to him, staring out of the large view windows. She smoothed her dreadlocks a little clicking her mandibles and called his attention.

When he turned towards her, she pressed her palm flat against his chest, the formal indication that she was ready to mate.

'No, I do not want to...' "Yurli," he started slowly, "did you come here with the intention to rut?" she purred a little, and her musk tickled his sense of smell, "Yes Mark. I wish to carry your pup." and now came the moment of truth "What then?"

"I will bear the suckling until it's birth and raise it." "Will there be nothing else between us?" "No."

'Of course not.' he thought spitefully.

He grabbed a hold of her wrist and pushed it away, "I will decline then." she stopped purring, "What?" she asked icily.

"I said that I do not wish to sire a child with you?" "Why?" she growled loudly, "Because I do not want to." he answered flatly.

"She reached forward and gripped his shoulder, "Why are you making this difficult?" again, he took her hand off.

Suddenly, Yurli lunged at him, but he was not a primal hunter for nothing: he instead turned around, having wrapped both of his hands around his arm and leveraged the limb over his shoulder, sending her crashing forward.

"You dare?!" she roared standing, and he scoffed, "I should be the one that fucking pissed! You came here into my home and spread your legs like a whore! What did you expect me to do?! Accept your offer?!" "Yes!" she roared, charging at him again.

But that did nothing as he threw her away with a punch, "Tell me Yurli, all those times that you would get close to me, or treat me so nicely, was it just to seduce me into fucking you?"

"No! It's- she stopped talking, having been caught in an obvious lie. "That's what I thought." Mark coldly remarked, voice devoid of warmth.

"Leave, and do not ever ever presume to do such thing again." she did not waver, "!" he screamed. Growling low in her throat, she moved away. The hunter then sent an order via his computer wrist to have the arbitrator escorted out of the complex.

He screamed in rage and punched the stone wall, his fist fling through it completely.

For the next few hours, Mark vented his anger and pain, hurt by the betrayal of a person he thought to be his friend.

"Primal hunter Mark Johnson,

I ask of you to please come to my dwelling, I wish to converse and talk about a certain matter.

Mhei r'ka-Guan"

'That is odd...' the hunter thought to himself as he read the message again.

It was truly odd, for it had literally come out of nowhere. It made him feel, strange, in a way. He had not been expecting this. Not at all.

But, for the sake of courtesy, he would grant her wish, honor demanded it. He swore that sometimes this could become a tiresome affair.

Still, he dressed in respectable gear and garbs that displayed his high rank. And as precaution, he also took a set of pills that allowed him to sleep somewhat. Even if for only a few hours, for the nightmares would always return.

The royal guards bowed as he passed through the reinforced door and stepped into the private quarters of the primal huntress. He gave a quick glance around, categorizing possible escape routes and points of ambush and surprise attacks.

The red striped huntress had stood up from the luxurious seat that she had been sitting in.

Even after he had grown to nine feet tall, she was still over twelve feet in height, and she still towered over him by more than a head.

"Primal hunter." she nodded her head in respect, her blood red eyes as piercing as ever.

He nodded as well, settling down in the chair in front of her. "You wanted to talk to me?" "Sei-i. I did." they already met several times, due to matters that were discussed with the other members of their illustrious group. The fact that she wanted to talk to him alone meant that it was something that had nothing to do with politics.

'Let's get this over with...'

"What is it then?" he politely inquired but still kept his tone reserved and clipped. "Long ago, I had given you one of my trinkets. You remember, correct?" he sighed, not being capable of looking at her directly. "Yes, it was to show your interest in me." "Precisely. Do you know why it was that you caught my attention?"

He was getting agitated, and he and to stop himself from fiddling, "In honesty, I do not." "Originally, I thought that you were a good hunter, worthy of gifting my womb with a strong suckling." he was gripping the armchair so hard that it nearly cracked.

"That was what I thought. But then, when I approached you and was so blatantly refused, I learned something else about you." 'What is she talking about?'

"What?" "You did not want to mate with me because you wanted something more, you wanted to raise the pup along with me. I was a fool at that time, because what truly set you apart from all of the other males was not your skills, or number of trophies," she paused briefly, and he finally forced himself to look at her, "It was your heart. You want more than a simple mate."

"Yes. You are right in that regard. What is it that you want though?" he asked, and his anxiety slipped through a little, his control on his own fear was waning.

"To apologize for what I have done." she pointed to his scarred eye, "I have already forgiven you." that seemed to give her courage to continue: "And to ask you."

"Ask me what?" he stood up, pacing around the room as she got up as well.

"If you would become my life mate."

His breath hitched.

'No... this can't be...'

"What... I- this-... what?" "I will understand if you do not wish to bond yourself to me. Speak freely." his mouth was still wide open, "This is not to simply have children?" "That is why I waited until the end of the mating season to speak to you. It is you that si desire Mark Johnson."

Tears were trialing down his cheek, 'No... she would never get together with me... I am a fucking freak!' "You... you should not put yourself to me. You would be shackling yourself to a cripple." he stuttered, sitting dow against the wall, holding his head in his hands. The scent of stress and fear emanated from him in large waves.

The female huntress crouched down next to him, "Why are you saying that?" she gently asked.

"I... I have nightmares, I can still hear the shrieking and hissing of the kiande amedha... and... and ..." he shakily breathed, "I am steril. The hish made me sterile and robbed me of the capability of creating life." he chuckled out, throat tight and raw with emotion.

"You... i-it wou-would not w-w-work... d-don't wast-e you-your life with m-me..." he cried.

Softly, a large, taloned hand took a hold of his chin, tilting his head up so that he was looking at her in the eye.

Her next words broke the dam that kept his pain and torment away:

"I would still want to be your life mate."

Anddddddddd... cut!

There we go, cliffhanger!!! (cackles in evil laughter)

So, I would say that it's obvious who Mark's mate will be.

Now I will say this: it was always supposed to be Mhei, that had always been my intentions, and to be honest I had originally completely escluder the whole section when they had their falling out. It was at that point that I realized that they had to develop a little more, the plot especially had to progress forward.

I just hope that this was a satisfying chapter, and I hope that it didn't feel like this confession came out of nowhere.

Please comment, and tell me about your thoughts.