Page 4 of Aine

“He refuses to come in and settle her arm. We just need to get it over with.” She hisses, reaching over me and grabbing my shoulder. “I’ll hold her still.”

Jenna groans, wiping at her brow with the back of her hand. It leaves a tiny smear of blood behind, and I watch it with another slow blink.

“Okay,” she says, sounding hesitant. “I’m sorry, Aine.”

Her movements are quick, and before I can process them, she’s grabbing my arm and forcing the bone back into place. My breath hitches as fire spreads down the limb and into my shoulder. I’m unable to force out more than a small groan due to the drugs, but if that weren’t the case, I know I’d be screaming.

I breathe in shallow gasps as I struggle to think beyond the pain, my muscles seizing up as a result. The hands on my body are removed just as the pain stops, the fire simmering into a dull ache as both Jenna and the tall woman step away.

“That was the worst part, I promise.” Jenna grabs a rag from behind me and dots it along my forehead to soak up my sweat.

I glance between the two before turning to Jenna, my fear growing as some of the haziness of my mind disappears with the pain. The tall woman takes that as her cue to leave and disappears without another word.

“Where am I?” I ask again, praying she can understand me now.

She grimaces, shaking her head to convey that she still can’t make out what I’m saying. The words feel clear as they slip from my lips, but it seems that there’s a disconnect between what I think I’m saying and what’s being heard.

“I still can’t understand you,” Jenna murmurs, sitting on the edge of the bed I’m on. “But I assume you’re confused.”

She takes a deep breath before continuing, her hands moving to the blanket that sits on my calves. She fiddles with the fabric for a moment, worrying it between her thumb and forefinger, before pulling it up to my belly.

“I don’t know where to begin,” she admits, offering a timid smile.

There’s a pause as she adjusts once more, her cheeks expanding as she fills them with air. Her hesitance to answer has my pulse racing, and the monitor to the left of my head picks up on it and loudly displays my anxiety to the room.

I’d like to believe her when she says I’m safe, but the beasts have only ever been a nightmare to us. The fact that she’s alive and, seemingly, healthy after so long is a good sign, but my brain is swimming in questions she’s clearly not in a hurry to answer.

I want to know why I’m alive and why they brought me here, and more importantly, I want to know what they intend for me to do. I’m sure the beasts don’t go around collecting humans for fun, and I’d be naive not to realize there’s surely some reason they chose to spare me.

I’ll kill myself before I let them use me as some sort of prostitute.

“Do you remember being attacked in the woods?” she starts, waiting for me to nod before continuing. “The beasts usually kill the humans they come across, which you know, but occasionally, they bring us to their village instead. Sometimes for labor, sometimes for, uh, companionship.” Jenna pauses for a moment to take a breath, her fingers fiddling with one another.

I struggle to keep up, her explanations answering very little. I’m not particularly skilled in any fields, my role as a village cook not teaching me much beyond how to chop a carrot. That only leaves option two, which I refuse to do.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Jenna continues. “The beasts believe in something they call mates, which are like predestined soulmates, and one of them has claimed you as theirs.”

Her large eyes bore into mine as she tries to gauge my reaction, and I can tell my confusion is apparent as her face falls. She rubs at her cheeks with a quiet groan, her shoulders rolling forward in defeat.

“Our leader, Damien, says you’re his mate.” Jenna brushes my hair out of my face. “He’s the man who saved you in the woods. The beasts are like us, and their village is similar to ours. It’s hard to explain, but they have this animal presence inside of them, sort of like a split personality, that they share their body with. They’re mostly human, though, not savage animals like we’re raised to believe.”

What? I know the beasts are a mixture of animal and man, but they are not human. They may take our form, but we are nothing alike.

“I know they seem scary, but they’re good to us,” Jenna continues, a slight bite leaking into her words. “None of them are going to hurt you. You’re safe here.”

I shake my head, refusing to believe it.

I’ve been told my husband won’t hurt me before, and that was all a lie.

“Why me?” I ask, careful to enunciate so my question is understandable.

Jenna leans in as I speak, her eyes focused on my lips. A look of understanding spreads over her features as I repeat myself for the second time.

“They believe it’s fate that determines whom their mate is,” she says. “They don’t choose and don’t know who their person will be until they meet them. I’ve heard them explain it as a soul-deep connection before, and it seems Damien felt that when he saw you.”

I’m struggling to even wrap my head around the fact that I’m alive, let alone that a beast is crazy enough to think I’m some sort of soulmate to him.

The curtain around my bed slides open as another face I’m unfamiliar with pops inside. This woman gives Jenna a wide smile, her straight teeth on full display as she steps entirely into the makeshift room. Is she a beast? She’s got the same tall frame and brown hair as the other woman. I suppose it would make sense most of the people here are beasts. I’m in their village after all.

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