Page 105 of The Female

It worked when my parents were arguing, and I hope it works on these men, too.

Silas reaches over me to grab another hash brown, and I hurriedly lean back to avoid bumping into his arm. Besides some very uncomfortable glances, we haven’t spoken to one another since his rejection. I’m more than okay with that, though. The last thing I want is to hear him explain in more detail why he doesn’t want me. I got the memo last time.

He remains silent as he pulls back and drops one of the larger hash browns on my plate.

I stare at it, my eyebrows pulling together as he gruffly tells me to eat.

This man’s giving me whiplash. I try not to look too annoyed as I shove my fork into the potato heaven. I’m only doing this because I love hash browns and wanted another.

“How domestic,” Aziel comments.

I don’t respond. Despite what Gray said, I still hope Aziel will leave again soon. It’s only a matter of time before he finds himself irrationally angry about something and storms off to the pits again. Maybe he’ll come back with a better attitude next time.

He doesn’t care about me, so I’m not going to care about him.

I want Aziel and his evil demon girlfriend out of here.

Today’s original plan was to badger Gray for more information on the females, but now I fear I won’t get the chance. It’s hard to get any information out of these men on a good day, and I know I won’t get so much as a crumb when they’re angry.

Nonetheless, the slight bit I learned from Silas is enough to have me bouncing on my toes. I hope they let me participate in their plan to help. I may not be the most educated person, but I’ve sure got spirit and am willing to do the work.

I’d try to pull more details from Silas if I hadn’t embarrassed myself so much last night. He doesn’t seem eager to tease or hold it over my head, though, so hopefully, it’ll be forgotten in a few days and we can go back to normal.

The silence in the room is deafening, the only noise the quiet scraping of silverware against plates and the occasional sigh. This is potentially the most uncomfortable, melodramatic meal I’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting through.

Although maybe now that Gray realizes how awful it is, he won’t drag me to another. I’d much rather eat in my room or office.

“This food is pretty good. Do the humans eat this all the time?” Shay asks, breaking the silence.

I frown as I realize she’s talking to me.

“Some do,” I tell her.

She hums before stabbing an egg and lifting it curiously in the air. The food dangles dangerously before slipping off and landing on her plate with a wet slap. I cringe at the sound.

“Well, I can honestly say I’m surprised. I was under the impression you guys ate nothing but trash. Gray and I used to crack jokes about the human slop.” She laughs.

Aziel chuckles, but otherwise, her joke receives no response. How am I supposed to respond to that?Thanks?

Shay turns and beams at Aziel, visibly happy he found her words funny. It’s hard to tell if he actually likes her or if he’s doing this in an attempt to hide his slight feelings for me. Although, at this point, I’m no longer confident in my earlier assumption that he has any softness in his heart for me.

And to think I was going to apologize to him.

For all I know, he’s already striking up a deal with Asmod or reaching out to the auction houses to try to get a quote on me. Gray promises he won’t do that, but I’m not sure. Aziel hates me for absolutely no reason. I’ve never done anything to him. He’s just angry I exist.

I’m probably worth a pretty penny since I’m still a virgin. I should give in and fuck Gray to spite him. You can sell me, but you sure as hell won’t get back most of the money you spent.

“Gray, remember when we were drunk and you licked eggs out—” Shay starts, but she’s interrupted by Gray before she can finish.

“How long do you plan to keep up this little charade for?” he asks Aziel.

Aziel frowns, looking confused. “What charade?”

I jump as Gray slams his fists against the table. The tension in this room is unbearable, and I have trouble understanding why Gray even insisted we all eat together in the first place.

I get it’s in his nature to want everybody to get along, but that’s not going to happen any time soon. I don’t care whom Aziel decides to spend his time with, but I refuse to sit around and play house with the woman who started the drama that almost had me killed.

Besides, her constant glances toward Gray and Silas are grating my nerves. I trust Gray isn’t going to touch her, and I believe him when he says I’m his only female, but Silas hasn’t made those same promises. He’s made it clear he doesn’t want me, and given what Shay said about him and Gray taking turns with her, I assume he’s already fucked her.

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