I propped myself up higher, fixed my nappy-ass hair, and threw more sheets over my middle. I sniffed under my armpit and hoped her inferior sense of smell couldn’t smell what I smelled. Die, you smelly asshole, die.
Sienna wore a long pale pink dress—again three sizes too big—with a white collar tight around her neck. She carried a tray. Her long hair was pulled back in a braid, and she didn’t make eye contact as she sat down on the bed, facing the window. “Hi,” she said.
“About time.”
“I was supposed to remove the curtains.”
“Leave the curtains. Privacy around here is just as bad as it is around the compound.”
“The Beast City compound?”
“Yup. Had a room much like this one. Bunch of males running around. Three meals a day, though.” She only nodded. “Hey, you all right?”
She turned toward me, and then her gaze dropped to my chest. My muscles tingled, ready to expand, ready to try to chase after her. Because she looked straight at the scar I’d left there after her father had shot me. Our med unit could’ve prevented the scar tissue, but I chose to keep it as a reminder.
The silence between us stretched. My heart raced. Steam from the baked potatoes and a chunk of pork on the plate made my stomach growl. Sienna took the clue, peeled her gaze away from my chest, picked up the fork, and stabbed the piece of roasted meat. Was she gonna feed me again? Why, hells, yes. She extended her hand, eyes on the meat. Already salivating, I opened my mouth and growled.
Sienna dropped the fork. Pork juice splattered on her dress.
“What’s the matter?” I noticed her hand shook. She fisted it on her lap. I covered it with mine and squeezed.
“I haven’t had to feed a beast before yesterday,” she said.
“That’s music to my ears.”
“I mean I have cared for Zarik. Mended his clothes, cleaned his rooms, grooming and such, but never fed his beast.”
If I didn’t die, I’d go mad with jealousy. Crazy bells rung in my head, and I growled. Couldn’t continue about Zarik. “What do you mean by feed a beast? We are beasts.”
Sienna reared back. “Your eyes and teeth. You’re spouting hair.”
Shit. I closed my eyes and looked down, willing to calm myself. Even as my muscles strained, my external vitals didn’t show I controlled my battle form. When I calmed, I looked back up at her. “Our eyes pale when we’re excited. It’s involuntary, and I’m mending the wounds, which makes me hungry.”
Sienna tilted her head. “Have we met before?”
Fuck me. Zivot Maka would punish me more than she already had. Our Beast Mother would take more than a leg from me. I knew it, but I’d deny meeting her anyway, because five minutes with my mate was worth a lifetime of suffering. I chuckled and lied straight through my teeth. “We haven’t met. I’d remember meeting a beautiful girl like you.”
Sienna blushed. “I’ve met a beast with eyes like yours.”
I winked at her. “There are many beasts with the same color of eyes as mine. In fact, about seventeen percent of beasts have brown eyes. In our battle form, they pale to hazel.”
“A battle form. I’d call it a werewolf.”
“Ah. But werewolves don’t exist.”
“Neither did aliens until you came here.”
“True.”
“It’s the teeth,” she said. “And your jaw. It’s large and hard, and when you open your mouth, all your teeth show. I don’t want to feed you, you know, put my hand inside the jaws.”
“Well, I’m not gonna bite your hand.”
“I don’t know that. The one I remember bit my dad.”
Here goes. “You want to tell me about it?”
“Sure. A beast went after me and Dad. Dad fought him. Before the beast snatched me, Daddy got him in the chest.” She pointed at my scar.
I lifted her hand with mine, picked up the fork, and put it in my mouth. “Go on. Tell me what happened.”
Sienna fed me another few bites. I put my hand over her knee. She paused but didn’t reject my touch.
“We rode to Beast City. He was losing a lot of blood, couldn’t ride his bike. So he parked in the middle of the desert. Then he fell off the bike. I called his people on their emergency channel and told them our location.”
That did not happen. She made it up. “How did you know to call them?”
“Oh, you know, I pressed buttons on his bike until a beast answered my Mayday call.”
“And then what happened?” I squeezed her knee when she put more food in my mouth. I dreaded finishing my meal and searched the tray for dessert or something else she could feed me.