Caught Beast Mate(12)

He spoke Tineyan.

I gave up on trying to understand. But there was something else. I lifted my hand from his chest. A round scar. I traced it with a fingertip. It gave me chills. A bullet wound from a large bullet. A shotgun bullet with a small gauge. The kind that killed large animals like beasts? Maybe.

Served him right. If only all of us humans had those bullets so we could defend ourselves. I’d been at this community since before the raid. After I’d run from the circus where Men of Earth tried to hold me, I found this place. Momma Jo and her husband took me in as if I were one of their many daughters. They put clothes on my back and fed me, until the morning I woke up with Hunters of Mayhem inside the community. Silent and fast, by the time we roused, they’d seized control.

Momma Jo’s husband had protested and praised Men of Earth for their cause. Rightfully so. Hunters had come and stolen his home from under his nose. Hasel didn’t like him, and any mention of Men of Earth tipped Hasel’s shit. She’d cooked Momma Jo’s husband. Since then, I stopped eating meat altogether.

I left the beast’s room.

Before the hunters invaded the community, women and children slept in the east wing and the few men in the west. I knew from the girls in Dewlyn’s shelter that community life varied, and this community separated men from women. I found that strange. Apart from a small sheet I got to hang over my bed for privacy, Daddy and I had never separated.

Up in Big Bear, life got boring with just me and Dad, but having lived here for a while after I escaped the circus, I wouldn’t trade my secluded upbringing with any girl from this community. These women had never stepped outside the gates, never hunted for their own food, never left the property, at least not unchaperoned.

Daddy had protected me from beasts, but Daddy hadn’t caged me, just always said I should do anything I set my mind to. Because my dad was the best. At least much better than most dads I’d heard of back in the shelters.

The hunters settled into the west wing and also completely took over the main kitchen, while we stayed in our wing in the east. This worked for everyone and especially for me. I kept to myself and my kind.

In the kitchen, I washed the dishes, then walked through the sanctuary, a large open space people used for worship. Hasel had set up six tables, saying we’d all eat here together one day. Apart from the small alcove Hasel had left for the women to use for daily prayer, the sanctuary looked like the holy cafeteria.

Momma Jo refused to pray in the sanctuary, and the others followed her example. She wouldn’t use a place tainted by the beasts, she’d said. I didn’t pray, so I didn’t care what they used. I believed in God, just hadn’t ever attended a place of worship. If I needed a word with God, I’d think it in my head anywhere, anytime. He’d hear me or not.

Through the sanctuary, I entered our wing. It appeared busy. In the large family room girls sat on several old couches in colors ranging from the bright yellow one Cole liked to the black sofa Momma Jo used. I kept to the left wall, tried to make it into my room unnoticed.

Today, I’d wasted time on the wounded beast. I could’ve stuck the sticks I’d gotten from the kitchen earlier today into the ground and marked the southwest desert part just in case Dad came from that direction.

If I needed to babysit the beast’s sanity, I couldn’t mark. According to Hasel, after the loss of his leg, the beast would likely contemplate suicide. I couldn’t fix him or replace his leg, but a man in better spirits would recover faster. I could find a way to lift his spirits. In turn, he’d stop moping around and wouldn’t need me anymore. So what I needed to do was get him sane. Or let him overdose on meds. Hm, I’d sleep on the two options. I almost made it through the family room, even had my hand on the door leading into the hallway that led into the sleeping quarters, when a hand landed on my shoulder.

I spun around and barked, “What?”

Cole reared back. His blue eyes a darker shade than mine, widened. “What’s up your ass?” he asked.

“Don’t curse.”

“I can curse.”

I shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Guess who’s moving to the beast side?”

“Not me.”

“Correcto-mundo.” He stuck a thumb into his chest. “Me. Gonna be the first ever human hunter.”

I doubted very much Hunters of Mayhem would let a human boy become a part of their tribe. We lived in one wing, they in the other, and during supper, we kept on our side of the community. I didn’t even know why Momma Jo allowed Cole to hang out with the beasts, but I guessed she’d given up on her youngest after her older son’s disappearance since the raid. Momma Jo believed him dead too. The beasts swore he’d run off and left his mother and sisters to their mercy. I rolled my eyes and pushed through the door. Cole followed. “You don’t believe me.”