“He’s out on patrol,” Hasel said.
“By himself?”
“Mm-hm.”
“But he’s eight.”
“Yes, running late in training. We begin training hunters at…as soon as they can walk.”
“My son is not a hunter.” Momma Jo spoke for the first time. “He is a human boy.” When Hasel shot her a warning look, Momma Jo lowered her gaze to her plate.
“He asked for training,” Hasel said.
“He doesn’t know what he wants,” I mumbled. Having Torrent next to me gave me courage. I’d been wanting to speak with her about Cole but feared retribution.
“But you do?”
“I’m not his mother, but I think he should study, learn how to read, write, understand our history, geography. Those kinds of things.”
Hasel snickered. “The only subject they teach is hate.”
“It’s not hate. It’s survival,” Momma Jo spat.
“You keep at it, woman,” Hasel said, “and you’ll not survive the dinner.”
“See how they are?” Momma Jo said to me. “Bullies. Bunch of oversized bullies. Killed my husband, took my home, and now my only boy. And look at you. Eating from his hand.”
“Settle down,” Torrent warned. “You’re welcome to a dinner and a drink. Nothing else. Mind your mouth.”
“She’s right,” I said. “Cole should be with his mother.”
“Cole is her next stud,” Hasel said and slammed her mug.
In confirmation, Zarik and Mr. Silent grunted.
“That’s not true,” I said. “We don’t have studs. You have the humans and some other alien species mixed up. We don’t breed, we make love with people we care about.”
“When we first came here, we found one boy and two men with forty-three women. It made no sense until it did. Boys get sent to Men of Earth early on so they can be brainwashed faster and better. Cole stayed because he’s a beautiful boy, and their father, the main stud, got too old to fuck. Someone had to replace him. Isn’t that right, Momma Jo?”
A balloon popped.
I jumped.
Torrent rubbed my shoulder. He leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Baby, who brought the balloons?”
“Don’t know. Does it matter?”
Across from me, Georgina caught my gaze. “Beast whore,” she murmured. Even with my inferior hearing, I made out her words.
Next to me, Torrent stiffened. “I ain’t never struck a woman, but I will tonight. Baby, we gotta go.”
As soon he said it, Georgina leapt over the table, fork poised to stab me.
I went down with her, held her wrist so she couldn’t gouge my eyes out. In a rage, her face contorted. I barely recognized her, a snarling animal, not a girl with whom I’d spent months sharing childhood stories. She strained, trying to stab my eye. Much heavier and bigger than me, she pinned me down with ease. The metal fork neared my eye. I caught her wrist with both hands. She pushed down, the fork only a few inches from my left eye. My muscles quivered trying to push her hand up, but the fork kept descending.
Near my head, a balloon popped. Yellow dust burst out of it, and particles landed on my face. It stung my eyes and burned my skin. Hers turned bright red, but she didn’t seem to mind.
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
“Oh my God,” I said, a sour taste in my mouth.
“God is great,” she snarled and pressed down.
I jerked my head to the right.
The fork nicked my temple.
I lifted my knee and got her between the legs. She bucked. I kicked with my hands and legs, not caring where I hit or how I hurt her. I wished I had claws. I wished I was as strong as Hasel. I wished I was a beast bitch, not this frail, skinny girl from the backwoods of Big Bear. I wished for strength to pry her hands from my neck. But I didn’t have it.
The whole place smelled like gunpowder.
Everyone yelled.
Balloons popped all around me.
Georgina sat on my chest, hands wrapped around my throat. “Beast whores must die.”
“Please, Georgie, don’t,” I muttered.
“You are their breeder.”
“Don’t!” I choked out, but stars played over my eyes, and so instead of closing them, I kicked and kicked and kicked.
Where was Torrent?
Chapter Twenty
Torrent
Funny how the brain worked. Instead of thinking about my beautiful mate, thinking of ways to change the crappy mood at my mating party, I sat there thinking about the damn balloons. Balloons floated, moved around, so the motherfuckers should twitch at least. These balloons seemed…heavy. Oh, I’d sniffed plenty as I entered the place, watched everyone and anything, and prepared to leave as soon as I felt my mate’s frustration.