“Sienna’ll do that.”
“I’m surprised she hasn’t already. She ran to her wing like her skirts caught fire. What did you do?”
“None of your business.”
“Everything under my roof is my business, especially that girl.”
I tilted my head. “Why?”
“Her dad.”
“What of him?”
“He’s gone undercover for us.” My eyebrows shot up. She continued, “Yes, yes. A human man working for the beasts to uncover Men of Earth. It’s remarkable.”
“Why is he doing it?”
“He’s a good man and sees that the future of his people is not with those crazy men but with us.”
That good man was also a skilled male. I didn’t know him, but I’d asked about him. For one, he single-handedly raised a girl out in wilderness. This meant he was a sole provider for the two of them. No help from anyone, no community, just him hunting, gardening, and changing diapers when she was little. When I attacked him, he hadn’t run. Knowing I was stronger, he’d fought back. “And the girl?”
“She’s under my care.”
“Sienna is under the impression her dad is looking for her. She has no idea he’s gone undercover, does she?”
“We had to keep it that way, or she’d go out there on her own.”
Some things weren’t adding up. “You’re blackmailing him.”
“Me?” She pointed a finger at her chest. “Oh no, not me. I follow Mayhem’s orders, and he follows Alpha Beast. Alpha Beast asked me to keep the girl safe and in the community while her father works to bring him Tom, their leader. The hunters are here for her protection. She’s followed at all times.”
“And if she wants to leave?”
Hasel shook her head. “I can’t let her, or I lose this home.”
“Shit.”
“So you understand why I’m concerned about you and what you’re doing with her. I don’t want her forced to stay. It is better if she lives here of her own free will.” Hasel tried running a comb through my beard. It got stuck. “We keeping it or cutting it?”
Unsure, I didn’t answer. Instead, I said, “But you’re not concerned about Zarik.”
“Zarik’s mate is dead. He’s not looking for a bedmate, he’s looking for a companion.”
“He needs to look elsewhere.”
“Sienna enjoys his company. She won’t admit it, but she smiles often when they’re together.”
“Hasel?”
“Yes?”
“I will kill the male.”
“You’ll rest and recuperate your mind and body. Leave the girl alone.”
“Sienna is mine.”
Hasel’s eyes softened. “Can’t be. The meds have you confused. We presume she is a fallen beast’s mate.”
“I am the fallen beast. I live.”
Hasel gasped, thrust her chair back, and stood. “Priest is no more,” she whispered.
“Hear.”
“She ran from you.”
“Yes.”
“What in bitch’s holy pussy are you doing? You will compromise the mission. Alpha Beast will chop our heads off.”
“Don’t be dramatic. He isn’t a head chopper.”
“Oh, but you don’t know. While ya all were busy fucking up the raid in that community, Men of Earth attacked his mate.”
All the blood drained from my body. I couldn’t breathe as I waited for Hasel to collect her own breath. “Speak!”
“Rey barely survived. But they moved up to the ship while Alpha has a replica of his father’s fortress built right on the water in Beast City. Mayhem caught him some Men of Earth, and rumor has it, he chopped off their heads and put them on the city gates. We keep Sienna safe here in their community while Sienna’s father works to deliver Tom, the leader of Men of Earth. Such was the agreement.”
“I want to know the details of this agreement.”
“You can ask your Alpha when they collect you.”
I sat up. “Have you called me in?”
“The supplies come in three nights, and you can leave with the boys who do the drops. Other than the weekly drops, I have one line I can use in case of an emergency. It’s a beacon that activates a response from Vice’s battleship. The fleet responds in full force. Don’t make me use it.”
“That will be all.”
Hasel put a hand on her hip. I knew that gesture. Fuck me. “Boy, are you dismissing me?”
“No, no. Have a seat?”
“Who are you, Torrent? Who is your father?”
“Ah. That.” I contemplated a lie. My father had read the rites of passage for many of Alpha Nie’s enemies right before their heads were cleaved off. He was Nie’s most loyal follower and had enjoyed hunting Mayhem’s people for over a hundred years. “I am Torrent, son of Siam, High Priest of Tineya.”