I tightened the tape around the new dressing. Wound still raw, I winced in pain and swiped a hand over my sweaty forehead. I eyed my leg work. It wasn’t as pretty or as well wrapped as Hasel’s, but it was the best I could do on my own. Now I just had to figure out how to cut my hair. I liked it buzzed as it made for easier maintenance, but a braid would have to do. I combed and braided it, then did the same with my long beard. The end of the beard braid rested on my chest. I picked up a mirror and winced at my reflection. Damn. Sienna would not fall for this guy, and real hairless Torrent didn’t stand a chance. Shit. But again, it would have to do until we got picked up from the community.
We? She wouldn’t join me, and if she did, with her father still alive, I’d face charges for kidnapping her.
I threw the mirror across the room. It shattered.
I knew the rules. Pairs should not be taken. They should be registered. That day at the lake, I should’ve flown back to Beast City alone. Vice would have arranged the pairing, suited me up, and advised me on a price for my mate. He and Jamie would’ve ridden back to Big Bear with me so I could claim my pair. If approached differently, her father wouldn’t have shot me. He’d have taken the money and given me my mate.
I couldn’t go back in time. I was here, and I was broken. Unworthy. Bitter. And humiliated.
She was here too. As beautiful and pure as their God could hope to create a human female. All blonde curls and sweet, innocent eyes. And mine. What had I done to deserve her? Nothing remarkable. Her life and mine would be ten times easier if I’d just died out there in the desert or if the Men of Earth had burned my body that day at Dewlyn’s community.
A soft rap came from the door. I knew it was her. I cleared my throat, fixed my hair, patted my beard to make sure it was all in place, and said, “Come in.”
Sienna closed the door behind her. She’d changed. This time, she wore a black dress. “You look lovely in that color,” I said. “It brings out your eyes.” Another thing I knew about females around the universe. Always compliment the female.
Sienna set the tray down and sat on my bed.
Pieces of mirror littered the floor, but she didn’t comment on the mess.
“Do you think there’s enough light in the room?” she asked.
“There’s more now than before you came in.”
“I brought you food.”
“At midnight.”
“Breakfast.” Plate in hand, she turned, forked a piece of egg, and proceeded to feed me, her gaze never really meeting mine. Silence consumed us as she moved the fork from the plate to my mouth. It was as if a robot sat there. I hadn’t known her all that well, but my hearing was still great, my smell superior, and my instincts intact. Her heart beat slow and steady while her palms sweated and the scent of her fear twisted my gut, made my instincts scream. I lifted my hand. “That’s enough.”
“Tea?”
“Water.” She pressed the cup to my lips, and I took a few sips.
“Medicine?”
“No, thank you,” I said.
“Have some.”
“I’m fine.”
“They help you sleep.”
“I’ve slept enough.”
“Have some!”
My eyes narrowed. “What’s the matter with you? And don’t say nothing, ’cause I smell your fear. I’m not gonna hurt you. You understand that, don’t you?”
She popped the black stopper from the vial. Yesterday’s meds stopper was red. “Take your meds,” she said and pressed it against my lips.
Her hands shook, and I grabbed her wrist, trying to stop her from spilling it. Sienna pressed it to my mouth and turned up the vial. Before the liquid spilled all over my chest, I swallowed.
She dropped the vial and stayed frozen in that moment, staring at my mouth. “Sleep well,” she said.
“Ain’t tired. It’s early in the night. Any books around here?”
“Quran.”
“Playing cards?”
“I don’t know.”
“Fuck. What do people do around here?”
Sienna shrugged. Her lips tipped up, and relief flooded me. She’d probably had a bad day or I’d gone crazy and smelled things that weren’t there. This delusion that she might be happy lasted all of a few seconds before she leaned in and pressed her soft lips to mine. She lingered there, eyes filling with tears.
Something had changed. Sienna had just kissed me. “What’s wrong?”
“There was a beast man who once took me from my dad. My life has never been the same.”
“That beast was an asshole. He made a mistake,” I rushed to say. “He’d make it right if he could, but believe me, he’s being punished for it.”