“I am.”
She gave a soft little laugh and crossed her legs as she picked up a piece of her chicken and took a bite. “I love the crispies on fried chicken. If there’s not a lot of batter and it’s not crunchy, it’s just not as good,” she said, taking another bite and chewing appreciatively.
“Somehow, I knew that. I chose the crispiest pieces I could find for your plate.”
“Really?”
“Really. A male should always give the best of anything he has to his female.”
Her eyes shot up to his.
He canted his head slightly as he regarded her. “I want to ask you something, but I don’t want to offend you or make you leave here.”
“I won’t leave… if you don’t want me to,” she said softly peeking at him through her lashes.
“If you don’t want to answer me, just don’t.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t know how else to say this, so I’m just going to say it. I’m sure that you have met your share of males who are interested in you, and I’m sure you’re accustomed to strong males with Alpha traits making no secret of what their thoughts are, so I’m trying to figure out why you’re so uncomfortable with me. Is it that you’re not interested? If so, just say so and I won’t bother you anymore.”
She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, then repeated the action two more times before she actually managed to find the words. “It’s not that I’m not interested, I just never had anyone interested in me before and I’m not quite sure what to say, or how to behave. I don’t know what I did to attract you, and I’m afraid if I do anything too much, I’ll mess it up.”
Feral sat back in his chair and looked closer at her. “You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not.”
“No, she’s not, Feral,” Hail said from a few feet over. “Think Shauna, only more naive and less social.”
“I’m not naive,” Alison said.
“Okay, poor choice of words. Less than confident. Shy. Quiet. Loner. Lonely.”
“Invisible,” Alison corrected.
Feral’s attention jerked back to her from Hail.
“Just invisible, but she’s right about the lonely, and maybe the quiet, too. It’s no one else’s fault but mine. I’m just not very good at social anything,” she said. “I’m not vivacious, or bold, or funny, and I’m not gorgeous or attract males like most females. I’m perfectly fine sitting home and having my dinner alone watching a favorite show. Until I’m not, but then there’s no cure for it because I don’t put myself out there. And nobody notices anyway, but I think they’ve just gotten used to seeing me on the outskirts of everything so they don’t even realize it when I’m not there. But I’m okay. It’s just how I am. And I’m not really comfortable considering being any other way. I’m just me and I’m alright with that.”
“And if I may intrude on your conversation once more…” Hail said, “she’s also honest, trustworthy, funny, and my first real friend, so don’t fuck with her or you and I will have a problem.”
Alison smiled at Hail, proud that she considered her a friend.
Feral grinned, but didn’t look back at Hail. Instead, he focused on Alison.
“I like ‘just you’. In fact, I know I’ve never liked anybody any more than I like you. I saw you in the house when we first got here, but so much was happening that I quickly had to focus on saving the female that was in need. But I sent Valid to watch over you when you left to go after the soldering irons, and when you stepped outside with Hail and said that you were just plain old you, I wanted to run after you and kiss you so hard you’d lose your breath, just to prove to you that there is nothing plain about you. You say that you’re invisible, but I’m here to tell you that you are anything but. You are all I see.”
Alison’s eyes were wide with surprise as she sat there, watching Feral as he spoke to her.
“If no other male has ever taken notice of you, then it’s fate making sure that no one else claimed you before I finally made my way here. You’re not invisible, you are mine, and you were being saved for me.”
“Maybe I should intrude one more time,” Hail said, leaning toward them and waving her hand to get Alison’s attention. “Variant males are kind of blunt and in your face and ridiculously ‘mine’ when they meet their female. They’ve been denied everything during their creation, so when they find a female that resonates with their souls, they tend to latch on and the world be damned. This is Feral latching on. But he’s also a good male and if you don’t want him latching on, he’ll take a step back. May not go away, but he won’t force you, he’ll just keep working to convince you he’s worthy. Females are treasured not forced, where we come from.”
Alison brought her gaze back to Feral. She shook her head a little, indicating that she wasn’t quite sure of what to make of the whole thing. “I’m a little off balance here, a little nervous, but I don’t want you to go away.”
Feral smiled at her. “Good. Because I lied when I said I would if you wanted me to. I plan to win you over.”
Alison smiled at him, looking at him with a bit of side-eye as she picked up her chicken and took another bite. “The best pieces?”
