Hasel didn’t blink when she said, “You’re a spoiled highborn. I’m not surprised you’re speaking down to an ol’ bitch like me. But beware, son of Siam, I won’t take your orders.”
“I outrank you.”
“Everyone outranks me. And yet here I am, tasked by the Alpha Beast himself to keep a precious girl safe. He didn’t order me. He asked me.” Hasel walked to the door.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I understand you’re frustrated.”
I grunted. “I have one more thing to ask. How are Alpha’s babies? Are they born yet?” I held my breath, remembering the pregnancy was a tough one.
“The heirs are coming. Alpha Beast is at the end of his patience. Sienna’s dad will deliver his enemies, but only if we keep his child safe and away from harm. You are the reason she runs. You are the reason she screams in her dreams at night. You mustn’t tell her who you are. Not yet, anyway. The girl is safe here. But out there on her own? She won’t survive a single night. And if she runs, you can’t chase after her.”
Chapter Nine
Sienna
I ran down the hallway, unsure where I fled. The walls wavered, and I felt like the world would collapse on me. But I kept moving, through the sanctuary and into the east wing’s main room. Everyone startled when I burst in. Momma Jo stood from the sofa. “Child! What’s the matter?”
I couldn’t give voice to my worst nightmare. Like a fish out of water, I opened my mouth and closed it. I couldn’t possibly tell her I’d let the beast man do those things to me. And worst of all, I couldn’t tell her about a brief moment when I had enjoyed it. My stomach rolled and acid rose, made its way to my throat. “I’m gonna be sick.”
I skipped by her black sofa, knocked over the misplaced table, and bumped into Momma Jo. She shook me. Luckily, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so I didn’t vomit on her chest. “What happened?”
I gaped.
Momma Jo pulled me to her, and I leaned my head on her shoulder. She smelled of homemade soap. Her soft hand ran through my hair. “Let us go to my room.”
She walked me there as if I were five years old, by my hand. I followed her with wobbly knees. My legs weren’t mine; they simply carried me. Inside her room, the metal springs screeched as I sat on the bed. I stared at the wall. Momma Jo got a cold towel and dabbed my face, her kind eyes watchful and compassionate. “It’s that new beast, isn’t it?” She shook her head. “That ol’ fart shouldn’t make you care for the animals.” She spat. “They ought to care for each other like we do. Why has she put you with him?”
“There’s no one else.”
“And there won’t be for as long as I breathe. My daughters will refuse. They would rather die than help the monsters mend. Your daddy will come soon. Don’t worry.”
“In the meantime, I’m trapped.”
Momma Jo ignored me, a wistful look in her eyes. “He will come, and we’ll be waiting for him. This community is ready for a man.”
I frowned. “Daddy won’t stay, if that’s what you mean.”
“I think he can speak for himself when he gets here, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I know he hates the communities. It’s why we never lived in one.”
“You were alone because he hadn’t found the right woman. He will have a pick of any of my daughters. Any one of them will settle with him because it takes a real man to raise a daughter like you, and we need a real man. He will come, Sienna, and we will live again.”
“And the beasts?”
“Let me worry about the beasts. Tell me what happened.”
I hung my head, thinking. If she wanted Daddy, she’d want me to remain here, because he wouldn’t stay if I didn’t. I couldn’t wait for him to come. Especially now when I’d have to spend time with my nightmare monster. “He touched me,” I said.
Momma Jo turned up her palms and said a prayer. “Stay strong. God is with us.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, then looked around. “Let us cleanse you of the devil’s touch.”
Inside her bathroom, Momma Jo drew up a bath. She stripped me bare and scrubbed Torrent off me. After, skin red and raw, I knelt on the floor without drying. The cold seeped into my bones. I shivered. Droplets of water dripped on the stone floor. I watched them fall while Momma Jo read passages from the Quran. Once finished, she burned incense and chanted. She asked me how I’d chase my devil away. I told her, and she spat at all corners of the room to chase away the Shaytan, the devil.