Page 41 of Her Feral Beasts

I shove down the urge to lean into it and send him a reply.“I hated it. It’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Savage’s dark brows rise and I know immediately that the other two sense something is up by the way Scythe puts down his chopsticks and sits back in his chair. Xander continues eating, but his head is slightly cocked.

Savage’s face morphs into something resembling fury. I’ve rejected his gift, and it’s struck a chord with the wolf animus in him.

I snarl,“Stay out of my room, wolf.”

“Are you going to stop me, princess?”Even telepathically, he’s biting his words out.

“Maybe I will.”

He presses his lips together just before he tears into his steak without taking his eyes off me.

The girls start to leave the table to head to our first class, and without another look at Savage, I follow.

* * *

Our ‘Interacting with Humans’ class is a hoot because two senior eagles are giving a presentation as part of their own studies. My mates sit at a table far away from me, thank the Goddess.

“Now, what are some things you shouldn’t do?” the eagle with a bubblegum-pink bob says. “Yes?”

Minnie has enthusiastically raised her hand and says, “Um…smack them on the ass?”

More than a few people laugh, and I cast her an appreciative glance. A jaguar animus did that very thing to her this morning at the buffet, making Minnie scream at the top of her lungs. The entire dining hall had turned to stare, and quickly, that guy was presented with a detention slip. But I like that she can make humour out of that sort of thing.

“Sometimes that’s okay if you know the person,” Pink Bob says.

Theresa lets out a small cough and the eagle roughly corrects, “If you have consent beforehand, of course. But you’ll learn about appropriate methods of courting later in the year. What else?”

Raquel raises their hand and says in her deep alto, “Y-You c-can’t sniff them.”

The second eagle, a male with a black mohawk nods. “Yeah, they get offended if you’re obvious about it. Humans can’t smell half as well as we do, and besides, their scent isn’t always so nice.”

“Nothing smells as good as one of your mates though,” a scruffy wolf with an untamed beard says loudly. “My rex smells like peppermint.”

I glance at Xander, who sits closest to me. He’s leaning back in his seat, his long legs stretched out and his arms crossed like he’s unimpressed with the world, which I’ve realised is his default look. I can't help but wonder what I smell like and if it affects my mates. To me, Xander smells like warm glowing embers, molten spices, and something like a vast cavern deep in the earth. It’s hard to explain, but there is so much dimension to what I smell it’s like seeing a whole new part of the world. A new part ofhim…as loath as I am to admit it. But I have to remind myself that it’s only natural and nothing to be ashamed of.

Once I get out of here, I won’t have to deal with it.

The day I realised the three psychos were my mates, it was by accident. As unprepared as I was, stepping out of their dungeon into the light of day was an assault to my senses. Everything looked different. The way I physically saw the world completely changed.

It was like going from standard definition to 4K.

I wonder if it was the same for Xander.

As if he knows I’m watching him, the dragon swivels his head towards me and I find myself unable to look away from his glowing white eyes. There is a moment of stillness between us and I just stare into the white abyss of light. How the hell does he make them do that? Is it his power shining through his eye sockets, or what? The more I stare at them, the more beautiful it gets and I begin to see other colours in there as well. Flashes of blues, purples, greens, and even a colour I can’t quite name…

But then Xander sneers in disgust and snaps away as if he’s smelled something off. With my heart pounding in shame, I tear my gaze off him and sink deep into my seat. I think I’m going to pretend that didn’t just happen. Henry nuzzles my neck from where he sits on my shoulder as if he knows I’m a complete idiot and is trying to make it better.

“What else?” the presenter with the blue mohawk asks us.

Maybe I can forget, but my anima sure can’t. Quite suddenly, I’m furious at Xander’s dismissal of me and I throw my hand up in the air. “You shouldn’t set them on fire.”

Raquel, Sabrina, and a bunch of other people turn around and gape at me and my audacity. Minnie grabs my arm as if she’s trying to rein in my apparent death wish.

Blue Mohawk and Pink Bob exchange a look before the latter clears her throat and, pointedly refusing to look at Xander, says, “Yeah, you shouldn’t use your powers on humans either. Telepathy or telekinesis is the worst. It freaks them out and makes them scared of us. Er…let’s move on, shall we?”

* * *

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