Page 58
My answer only seems to make Orion upset. “I will hunt you string cheese.”
“We also need sunlight,” I counter, gesturing around the cave. “Constant darkness isn't healthy, it'll make me sick.”
“You cannot leave,” he growls, straightening to his full height. “There is danger.”
The sight of his imposing form would have terrified me, as it had in the very beginning, but knowing what I know now—the things we've done together—has me lifting my chin in defiance. “Orion, I will die. Without proper food and light, I'll waste away. You can't keep me trapped in this cave.”
A wounded noise leaves his throat. “Not a cave. Home.”
Guilt settles like a weight in my stomach, and I run a hand down my face. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I know this is your home.”
His shoulders ease, but only slightly. “I do not wish for you to die.”
“I know.”
“You are my mate.”
A lump of emotion forms in my throat. “I know you believe that.”
Crouching beside the fox, his claws absently comb through its russet coat. “I hunt.”
“Yes.”
“I bring food.”
“I know, Orion,” I sigh.
“I keep you warm.” His voice grows quieter with each passing sentence. “I heal you.”
The last one twists something painful inside my chest. “You do.”
He finally looks over at me with such a forlorn expression that my lungs seize. “I do not understand.”
“I know you don't.” Pulling the fur tighter around my shoulders, I scoot closer to the fire. “Humans are... complicated. We need different things than you do. Vitamins and sun, fresh air, clean water. If we don't get them for long enough, our organs stop working the way they're supposed to.”
My monster's brows knit together. “You are breaking?”
“Not yet, but...”
“But you will,” he says flatly.
“If nothing changes... eventually, yeah.”
Silence settles heavily across the den. Orion just stalks over to quietly sit beside me, staring into the flames for so long that I begin to wonder if he's finished with the conversation. But then, so softly I almost miss it, he asks, “How long?”
I shake my head slowly. “Don't know. Probably soon.”
His jaw tightens in determination. “I will find these... veggies.”
A laugh escapes me despite the weight in my chest. “And string cheese?”
“Yes.”
“You have no idea what string cheese is, do you?”
“No.”
“But you're gonna hunt some,” I muse.
