Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
“Your Highness,” the gnome says, nodding to each of the Fae royals. “I am sorry to have bothered you, sir. I simply do not know what to do with the lass. She’s completely feral. The demon gave us a potion to keep her weak. We’ve given it to her every day, hiding it in the water she drinks, but I fear it doesn’t work. She wouldn’t eat for the first three days she was here until Cara had the idea to give her raw flesh. She is an animal, sire. Though I am loath to do it, I must ask you to put her out of her misery.”
“No,” Meg argues instantly. She rushes past me to her husbands.
I hold my tongue. The sounds coming out of the tent make me think that maybe Reeve is right. There’s a long, loud howl. I’m not sure how a sound like that comes from a thinking being. It’s primal. The sound is pure rage.
“Meggie, calm down,” Beck commands, his voice dropping to a low, dark bark. Meg’s head drops immediately.
“Yes, sir,” she says quietly.
Beck’s hand comes out to lift her face up. The harsh lines leave his brow, and he kisses her forehead. “I’ll do what I can, Meggie mine. Trust me.”
She smiles up at him, though I can see tears unshed in her eyes. “Always, baby.”
Beck turns his attention back to the gnome. He pulls his sword off the scabbard on his back and holds it at his side. “Let’s see her, then.”
The flap of the tent is pulled back, and I follow my cousin inside.
To my heightened senses, the room is quite pungent. Whoa. I check my gag reflex.
“I am sorry, sire,” Reeve apologizes, his face reddening. “We have not been able to clean her. She is filthy. When we attempt to get close, she tries to bite and scratch. She growls like an animal. It is the only language she seems to know.”
“I thought I gave you translator implants.” My eyes adjust as the sunglasses flow back into my jacket. It’s dark in the tent so I don’t need them. All of the flaps that allow light in are closed. There’s a single candle burning, and only a bit of light filters through the canvas at this time of the day. The place feels like a pit. Or a tomb.
Reeve snorts. “As if we could get close enough to get one in her. We’ve barely managed to keep her fed and to give her the medication the demon claims she needs. I don’t know what the bugger was thinking bringing me an animal to sell. She’s not fit for any society.”
Whatever else is said, I miss because I catch my first glimpse of the female in question. Through the gloom, I see a slender figure. I can see nothing of her face, but her form moves, flows, toward the front of the cage.
The cage is the largest of the ones kept in the tent. A “mate cage,” as the Fae call them, is supposed to be for show. It’s a tradition passed down through the centuries. Each cage is richly decorated. There are carpets covering the dirt floor and soft mattresses with fine blankets for the women to rest on. The blankets and pillows have been torn apart in the woman’s cage. It’s a chaotic mess, but still neater than the female herself.
She glows. Like all consorts, there’s an aura about her that no vampire can mistake. My cousins might need to physically touch her to know that she’s an adequate bondmate, but I can plainly see it. She glows like Meg glows. I wonder exactly how sweet she tastes. After she’s been properly cleaned, of course.
I can’t help but feel pulled to her.
Her brown hair is matted. I can’t tell how long it is, but there’s an awful lot of it. She’s covered in dirt and other things I don’t want to recognize. I’m surprised to see she’s naked. Reeve would have given her robes to wear when she isn’t on display. Her small breasts are round, and I can’t help but think they would make a sweet handful. She’s slender, but her hips flare in a pleasing way. She’ll be lovely when she’s clean. She sniffs the air around her and growls low in her throat at us.
“You see, Your Highness, she is completely feral. There is no intelligence,” Reeve says.
“Bullshit,” I mutter, not taking my eyes off the woman for a second. The woman in the cage bares her teeth, but I’m looking at her eyes. They’re a startling blue. They look like the seas of the tropics on my home plane, blue and clear, and I feel like I can see deep down to her soul. I stare, quite caught in her eyes.
The woman rattles the cage viciously. Her small hands wrap around the bars as though she can pull them apart with nothing but her own will. She howls, but I can hear something beneath the seemingly chaotic sounds.