Page 18 of Guardians

Kane shook his head as he brought a stack of dishes to the table. “They’re too valuable. We hunt their wilder cousins, thebiforen. There are also a variety of smaller animals in the forest.Biforenmeat is in the stir-fry.”

As they bustled around gathering the components for the meal, Lexie took a moment to look at her mates, really look at them. She’d always thought Kane was attractive. Tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome, what was not to like. His dark hair and pale blue eyes were a lethal combination. Malik’s appeal wasn’t as flashy as Kane’s. His hair was a lighter shade of brown and his eyes were hazel. Still, his easygoing personality was comforting and unique in a cabin full of aggressive predators. The word shifted her gaze to Diego. He was by far the most predatory of her mates. Every expression, every movement of his body revealed his feline nature.

“Did Malik take good care of you?” Diego asked after a long, silent pause.

She nodded, instinctively lowering her gaze. Diego didn’t try to be intimidating. He didn’t need to try. Everything about him exuded danger.

Once all the dishes were on the table, the men took their places. Kane was directly across from Lexie. Diego sat on her right, Malik on her left. She looked at the meal before her and felt tears gather in her eyes. There was easily enough for all her friends, yet they would probably go to sleep hungry again. Hungry, cold, and miserable.

Diego scooped out a heaping spoonful of stir-fry and placed it on Lexie’s plate. There was sliced fruit and a basket full of bread. “Dig in.”

She picked up her fork, but her composure shattered in a deluge of tears. “I can’t sit here and feast while my friends are starving.”

All three men stood, but Malik reached her first. He pulled her up off the chair and into his arms. For a moment he just held her and let her cry.

“Please, can we send them some of this food?” She looked up at him pleadingly.

“We can’t and you know why.” His tone was firm but patient. For the moment.

“But we haven’t eaten real food in weeks. It would be so easy just to?—”

“We need them to join our village,” Kane cut in. “Sending them food is counterproductive to that goal.”

She shook her head, overwhelmed with guilt and sympathy. “Then I won’t eat either.”

“Like hell you won’t,” Diego growled, the warning clear. “Sit down and fill your belly.”

Kane pulled her out of Malik’s arms and turned her to face him. Lightly cupping her chin, he tilted her head back until she looked into his eyes. “We’ll go to your camp tomorrow so you can talk with your friends. Let them know that our offer is legitimate and encourage them to join you here.” Before she could argue, he bent and brushed her lips with his. “Do as you’re told.” Everyone returned to their seats and the men filled their plates.

The kiss had been brief and unexpected. Her first reaction was confusion. Part of her still wanted to defy them, but Kane’s lips had been soft, the kiss coaxing, and she wanted to keep it that way. With a sigh of frustration, Lexie sank onto her seat and took a tentative bite of the stir-fry. The meat was darker than pork, yet redder than beef. “It tastes sort of like elk.” She speared another bite now that she knew it wasn’t dreadful. The vegetables were unfamiliar, yet their taste was bright and slightly sweet, balancing out the richness of the meat. Food deprivation took over and she quickly finished off the first portion. Diego filled her plate again and she continued sating her hunger.

“Thanks for this,” she said in between bites. “Whoever made this clearly knows their way around the kitchen.”

“We had no choice but to learn,” Kane explained. “Everyone was required to fend for themselves until we started organizing into coalitions.”

“When and why did that happen?” She was curious about the village in general and her mates in particular. Hopefully if she encouraged them to talk about general concepts, it wouldn’t feel intrusive when she started asking personal questions.

“It started with the cabins,” Diego told her. “It took too much time and resources to build each one. Sharing them was the only thing that made sense.”

A deeper meaning unfurled within her mind. The same basic concept applied to females. Because the ratio of males to females was so disproportionate, sharing was the only thing that made sense. Her next bite was difficult to swallow, and restlessness made her squirm on her seat. “How long have you three been together?”

“That depends what you mean by together. We’ve been part of Zion’s guard since he was chosen as pride leader,” Diego said. “So we’ve been part of the same team since shortly after we arrived. We’ve lived together for the past two years.”

“Does everyone in the feline village belong to a coalition?” She knew how the village was arranged. There were larger buildings in each cabin cluster. She’d presumed they were barracks, but they could also be meeting rooms similar to the lodge.

“There are several hundred who have yet to be chosen,” Kane admitted. “They’re either too young or have failed in some way to attract the attention of a coalition leader.”

Kane had been very specific when he stated the conditions of the alliance. Each female must bond with a coalition. What about all the unattached males? Were they just shit out of luck? “Does a male have to belong to a coalition to claim a mate?”

“Absolutely,” Diego stressed. “Rydaria is not Earth. Life here is hard and dangerous. Only a coalition can adequately protect and provide for a female. If one of the rogues wants a mate, he needs to join a coalition.”

Anxious to learn more about her mates, Lexie moved on to more personal information. “Malik said he’d spent six years in the military. Were both of you soldiers too?”

“Most of the hybrids have a military background,” Diego answered. “We weren’t created in those labs. We were transformed. And don’t forget, the Griffin Project was funded by a military cooperative. The backers didn’t care if Nuevo explored other applications for the technology, but their primary focus was a stronger, more aggressive army.”

She knew all of this. She’d listened to hours and hours of details during the trial. What she really wanted to understand was how her mates had been affected by what took place in those labs. She started to ask a question then changed her mind. The memories had to be painful. Dredging up the past would likely make them angry.

She’d started to ask a question four times when Kane shook his head and said, “We’ve spent the last three and a half years trying to forget our captivity, but it’s obvious that you need to hear about it. I’ll allow you to ask me three questions about those years, but this is the only time I will speak about it. Think carefully before you pose each question. Make them count.”

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