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Something deep inside me tells me she will never be able to get away from me, though, no matter how hard she tries.
It gets me moving, knowing we are in danger. She’s in danger. If Akuji’s warrior catches her here, which he will from the scent of her blood and the sounds of her screams, then she is as good as dead, and even the thought of that makes me wild. Red bleeds onto my vision.
I could be killed for this, for treachery and for crossing tribal lines, but none of it matters when the little whimper she lets out rocks me to my very core. I want to tear this city apart and kill anyone who dared to hurt or scare her.
She’s mine! Not theirs!
When I reach her, she curls in on herself, holding her hands up as if to ward off a blow. Her face is pale and terrified, and I find myself aching to see those stormy eyes again. My heart pounds at being so close to her, because below the scent of her fear and blood is something so sweet and enticing, it wakes up every cell in my body. It reforms me until I’m a beast, and I reach for her without conscious thought.
I need to touch her, taste her, and protect her. It’s not an instinct I can fight, and no logic can change what I’m doing, not when she whimpers again. Holding her softly, I cradle her against my chest. She’s so tiny, she weighs nothing.
Another whimper slips from her lips, and the sound rips out my heart. I have to make it stop. “Shh, everything will be okay,” I tell her, but my voice is growly, and she shrinks farther into herself, her lips quivering. I don’t have time to comfort her or prove I won’t hurt her, not when whoever made her scream could be chasing her.
Keeping her close, I quickly stride back into my land. Only then does the worry in my shoulders unravel, but I still have an injured, scared, human female in my arms. My people might be loyal, but they won’t take kindly to her presence, so I cover her as much as I can. Luckily, most of my people are out at this time of night, but I take the back stairs one leap at a time until I’m locked away in my lab and living areas. Once there, I block the door so they can’t just walk in, which they wouldn’t necessarily do, but one can never be too sure.
Looking around, I find a place to put her. There isn’t much here, I don’t need a lot, and for a moment, I hate that I don’t have a comfortable nest for her in the big room. Instead, I settle on a section of the floor with a counter on one side and a wall on the other, trying to make her feel safe.
I’m reluctant to put her down, but I force myself to, frowning as she groans. Her eyes remain closed as she curls around something, a bag of sorts, and her face is turned away from me as if waiting for a blow.
It hurts a lot.
“You’re safe now,” I tell her, trying to soften my voice as much as I can. I even move away so she doesn’t feel cornered, but she stays like that. I fetch her water and some food, and she doesn’t move, but she shivers, so I grab a fur, wrap it around her, and then sit at my desk.
This research is important, but I can’t think about it now, although I pretend to. My eyes go between her and it. I hope she will relax, talk…look at me.
I hope she will flash those mesmerising eyes in my direction again.
I can be patient. I can wait forever if I need to.
My body tells me this human is mine, though I’m not sure why, but I plan to find out.
“Who are you?” she croaks out. Her voice flows through me, lighting every inch of me up, making me hers.
SEVEN
TALIA
He’s huge. It’s my first thought. He’s also not at all what I was imagining the monsters to look like. I’ve studied some of the old news reports, but they never looked like this. This man is almost…gentle-looking. Perched on a chair too small for his seven foot plus frame, he’s hunched over as if he’s uncomfortable with his size or trying to make himself smaller for me.
When I first saw him, I was terrified. He was just a massive shape coming towards me, and I was sure I would die after racing through the city for what felt like hours, but then he picked me up. I couldn’t even stop him, the strength I felt in his arms astounding me. He lifted me like I was nothing more than a feather. I didn’t even look where he was taking me, sure he was going to kill me when we got there.
Aria would have fought, but not me. I froze. I curled up and prepared to die, and then he put me down and walked away. I felt him watching me, but out of the corner of his eye.
He gave me water and warmth. Why?
The monsters hate our kind. So why did he help me?
Who is he?
“Who are you?” I ask again, sitting up slightly and wrapping the fur tighter around me. A delicious scent wafts off it, but I resist burying my nose in the pelt and inhaling it. He still might kill me, but I can’t be scared forever. Even now, my fear is ebbing away, being replaced with exhaustion.
My voice is stronger this time, and I know he hears me. Turning his head slightly, he watches me carefully as if he’s worried I will scream again.
He probably doesn’t want anyone else stealing his kill.
The thought makes me laugh maniacally, and he frowns as he observes me, probably thinking I’m crazy. I’m not so sure I’m not. After all, I’m trying to converse with a seven-foot red monster who’s sitting on a rolling office chair in what looks like a high school science lab.
“My name is Cato,” he finally responds. Despite his gruff exterior, his voice is almost soft, providing a balm to my terror, and I relax before I realise it.
