Page 29 of Feral

Only then did he realize he was snarling, the anger roiling in his gut spilling out through his throat.

“No one,” he rasped.“Calm.”

Despite being coated in his semen, the smell of her fear still permeated the air in the cell, wreaking havoc on his nervous system. Everything in him roared tofightandprotect,but their enemy was out of reach.

351 went back to pacing, staring at the bars as he searched for a weakness in them he knew wasn’t there.

His mate wasquiet until one of the guards brought their evening meal.

351 snarled the entire time the man was within sight, blocking the female’s body with his own. This guard was an alpha, one who’d shot 351 during their attempted escape, and he reeked of aggression.

“I don’t know why you fucks act so damn ungrateful,” the guard growled as he shoved the food through. “You should be dead, yet here you are, handed a fuckin’mate.How ‘bout some goddamn gratitude, you stupid sonuvabitch?”

351 bared his teeth, his snarl deepening as he stared down the aggressor. He didn’t let up until the man spat on the floor and walked on to antagonize another alpha in one of the cages out of 351’s sight.

“Is everyone here a monster?”

He turned to look at his female, frowning at her question. “Everyone… but you.” She was the only one to ever show him any kindness, and definitely the only one to attempt to break him out. Even if he now wished she hadn’t.

“There has to be someone who will help us,” she said, even though he could see the doubt in her beautiful blue eyes. “Someone who will realize how inhumane this is.”

He grabbed the tray of food and carried it over to the mattress—it wasn’t how his instincts wanted to provide for her, but it was the best he could do. He crouched down by her side, ignoring how she flinched away from him when he reached for her, even if it tore painfully at the bond in his chest and made his instincts howl. Gently, he traced the curve of her cheek, yearning to soothe the broken desperation thrumming through their bond since she woke up.

Her eyelids fluttered, lashes lowering as heat rose to her face at his attentions, and a faint rose blush colored her cheeks. It reminded him of the evening she had come to his cage and cared for his wounds.

“I… should wash. Before dinner,” she said, swallowing thickly as she got to her feet.

He frowned, eyes roaming her body. “Eat.”

“I will. After. I’m… sticky. I don’t want to eat like this.” She avoided his gaze as she walked to the small sink by the toilet.

He growled, displeased that she wanted to remove his scent, but her flinching at the sound and the pungent stench of fear made him quiet. In the back of his mind, somewhere past the fog, he remembered a time before this place. A time when females prided themselves on their appearance. His mate came from that world. She wasn’t a slave to her instincts like he was, despite how willingly her body responded to his call.

He watched her as she cleaned her skin in the cold water, the tightening of her nipples while she scrubbed at his semen making his cock ache. She was beautiful, his mate. He’d thought as much since the first time he saw her. He remembered the jolt of surprise that something so beautiful and pure had entered his own personal hell.

But of course, even this his captors had managed to taint with their evil.

His bond gave a searing pulse as he watched his mate return to the mattress and start eating, careful not to look at him too much. His mind was always clearer on the second day without the drugs, but right now, he wished it wasn’t. Because seeing the female he’d claimed so scared and dirty, without clothes or even a blanket to warm her body… and knowing he couldn’t care for her and protect her like an alpha should? That was torture.

Once they were both done eating, and she once more wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, he pulled her against his body and—despite her protests—curled up on the mattress, ensuring his body covered hers. He might not be able to protect her from the horrors that awaited them both, but he could keep her warm. And, at least for a few hours, calm.

Burying his nose in her hair to mask the sterility of the lab and the aggression of other nearby alphas, he forced a purr from his chest.

The tightness in their bond immediately eased and her body went soft underneath him, making the sound easier to produce.

He was still purring for her when sleep finally claimed him some long hours later.

FIFTEEN

LILLIAN

“Get over here, you dumb brute. I’m not in the mood!”

The angry voice ripped me from the bliss of dead sleep, underlined by a deep, furious growl rolling around me.

I blinked the sleep from my eyes and lifted my head. Once again, I found myself completely encased by hard muscle.351.

The thunderous vibrations against my back told me with all possible clarity that the growl was coming from him.

---