“He challenged Alpha Nie.”
Hasel sat down at the table, gaze on the floor. I took her wrinkled hand in both of mine. “He’d have won,” I said.
“How do you know?” When she lifted her gaze, I saw her tears.
“Next to me, my father stank of fear, and I knew he’d lied. I knew we were all being lied to. Alpha Nie was no descendant. He’s a weak beast with lots of power.”
“Did you have the guy’s head chopped off?” the boy asked.
“No. I freed him.”
“But they killed him anyway. Didn’t they?” Hasel asked.
“They killed him down in the prison. I remember the beast to this day. If it weren’t for him, I would have stayed on Tineya. If I hadn’t seen him march up to the most powerful beast and demand he fight him, I wouldn’t have known courage, for my own father was a coward. He never believed in Nie either, but he was too scared, too corrupt, too comfortable in his position. If he believed in Nie, he wouldn’t have feared for Nie’s life. Those who believe they are the hand of a higher purpose, or God, if you will, they are fearless in their destruction.”
Cole averted his eyes. I thought so. Yeah, he still believed his momma and the things his parents had taught him, in the same way I’d believed mine back in the day. “The funny thing is,” I said, “I don’t even know the beast’s name.” I lied. I remembered his name.
“Reor, the first of his name,” Hasel said.
“You think it was your mate I judged?” I asked.
“I’d like to believe my mate challenged Nie.”
“Now you know.”
“Thank you,” she said. “And you’re right, he would have won. Life has a funny way of putting people together, seemingly as strangers, but we’re all connected. Our paths crisscrossed somewhere, somehow. What about your calling?”
“I trained with Jamie when I came here. Forgot all about the priesthood. Don’t plan on becoming one.”
“Well, that’s wasted talent. Nobody on this planet knows more about our beliefs than you. Faith helps people like me who have loved and lost.” Hasel stood. “Cole, double-check the gates are locked.”
“But I want to hear more.”
“Now, boy.”
“Oh man. So, can I come with you to Beast City?” he asked me.
“You can stay. Hasel can teach you more about beast life than any of us can. We don’t have many elders on Earth.”
Cole dragged his feet outside.
“Hasel, watch the boy.”
“He’s harmless.”
I shook my head, doubting it.
“We should have a mating party,” Hasel said.
“No party,” I countered. Disappointment washed over her face. Hasel went back to chopping. Fuckin’ A. “Have a party.”
She spun around with a smile on her face. “Already have ideas about the cake. And I’m inviting the women.”
“Absolutely not.”
“We must show them who we are. That we drink and laugh just like them.”
I shook my head again but left Hasel in a better place than I’d found her.
Chapter Sixteen
Sienna
Despite knowing I waited in his room, Torrent hadn’t returned yet. I’d been sitting on his bed watching the gray clouds, wondering if it would rain and if the water would ruin the markers I’d set up for my dad. Not that they’d do me any good now since I’d accepted Torrent’s pairing. I chuckled, thinking about my short life and how it changed the day I’d gone to bathe. Forgot to bring soap too, and chastised myself for not remembering it. The lack of soap was one of the peak crises of my life before Torrent stormed into it and turned my day into seasons of running and hiding from him.
Only to now sit on his bed and accept his pairing.
The sun dipped below the wall. Cole ran outside, Zarik on his heels, probably making a quick perimeter check. When I went back to the east wing, Momma Jo refused to speak to me. Georgina informed me I wasn’t welcome there anymore. They called me a murderer and a liar, said I’d tried to blame their mother for my own problems, said Hasel had been there, threatening Momma Jo. They vowed revenge if Hasel came after their mother. They believed Momma Jo innocent. They believed I conspired against her.
The door opened quietly and closed just in time before the night settled over the community. The moon was full. I glanced over my shoulder where Torrent stood by the bed. “You ate dinner in the kitchen,” I said.
The bed dipped as he sat beside me and leaned his cane against the footboard. “I forgive you.”
“I’m not sorry.”
“I know.”