Page 59 of Her Feral Beasts

“That’s a little of what it is,” Theresa admits. “You haven’t appeared all that feral before, but I have reason to believe that you’ve just been keeping it tucked away. Do you need to go again?”

My muscles suddenly feel loose and now a weariness makes my bones heavy. My anima cries out in sadness because, yes, I’ve been keeping that part of me locked away. “No,” I say weakly. “I’m done.”

Theresa throws Minnie the pillow and sits down on Minnie’s bed, clearly knowing I need space. “I can’t see any physical damage on you two, but there was a fight, by the look of it. Do you need to see the healer?”

I shake my head. In between my own sweat, all I can smell is Savage on my skin; ancient forest and pine, a heavy masculine scent. I shiver in memory of his hungry mouth devouring mine.

ButIwas also starving for him. And I hate myself for it.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Theresa looks at me. So does Minnie, from her bed, still chewing on her now swollen lip. “Why you tried to run away? You’re an intelligent girl, Lia. I admit, I didn’t quite expect you to be the one trying to run.” She glances at my neck where my stupid ‘Flight Risk’ lanyard should be. It’s still on my bed side table as a sort of ‘fuck you’ to Lyle. Instead, it’s now a ‘fuck me’.

I shake my head because I’m not intelligent at all because that escape attempt was a shambles. I screwed it up massively, though it might have worked if it weren’t for the Slaughter Brothers.

“I just feel stupid,” I admit.

Weariness clings to my bones. Likely from having Scythe tear my shields apart and also the guilt of seeing Minnie, Henry and Gertie get hurt.

Theresa makes a thinking sound. “Lia, your feelings are justified. I think you have every right to be angry.”

I stare at her blankly because this is the first time someone has validated my feelings. “You do?”

She nods. “Yes. You don’t want to be here, right? Your choice was taken away from you. You’re an adult, and it’s a hard thing to come to terms with. Then…thathappened. Whatever that was.”

My skin suddenly feels itchy, like I need to scratch it off and get out of myself. “I… I think I’m in shock,” I say slowly. “I just need a moment, Theresa.”

Theresa accepts this and gets up. “I’m going to return tonight, and we’ll need a statement from the both of you. Write them down before the details get hazy, alright? Savage is a convicted felon, Lia. The authorities will want the full story. And… if you need to rage again, use the pillow.”

All I can do is nod as Theresa leaves. The moment she closes—and locks—the door behind her, I drop onto my bed and bury my face in my hands. The tears come hot and fast.

“I’m so sorry, Min!” I choke. “If you never want to see me again, if you want me to move out, I will— Actually.” I get up from my bed, rubbing at my eyes. “I’m going to pack my stuff now and tell Theresa it’s safer for us to—”

“Lia!” Minnie shouts, throwing her hands up in the air. I stare at her. Her face is pink when she says, “Honestly, Lia? That was the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in a while. Being friends with you is… something.”

I stare at her in disbelief.

“Sorry, that came out wrong.” She blushes, rubbing a tear away, and for the first time, her wrists don’t chime with all the bangles. They were torn off her arms when she shifted. Now I feel worse. But she continues, “I know they hurt you. I’m sorry. I just meant that I… sort of felt alive, you know?”

My mouth drops open because Minnie is the last person I expected to be an adrenaline junkie. “What the hell, Min! I thought I was nuts, but you’re nuts too!”

Minnie levels me with a look. “Here’s the thing, Lia. I heard what they said. I also saw Scythe turning your head to look at your neck.”

My heart stops in my chest as she takes a deep breath, like she’s hammering the final nail on my coffin.

“And they were all staring at you…” She takes a deep breath. “Like you were their mate.”

Her words ring with surety, and her eyes are steady on me.

I look at her, my face no doubt a mess, and immediately hide my face again in my hands. “No one was supposed to know.”

“Oh, Lia.” Minnie’s voice is thick with her own emotion as the bed depresses next to me and she leans her body against mine. “Holy shit. I don’t blame you. This is… This is…”

She doesn’t even know what to say. Hell, even I don’t know what to say.

“No one was supposed to know,” I repeat, because my brain is a scrambling mess. She’s seen too much. Knows too much.

“It’s hard to hide something like that in a place like this,” she says softly, like she’s trying to calm a startled animal. “I started to suspect when I kept smelling Savage around you and the room. His scent is strong. They all have a strong scent, because they’re so powerful, I guess. But what the hell happened? I was honestly trying to come to terms with the fact that you were leaving… and nowtheytried to attack you? They’re your mates. What the hell!”

“Please stop saying it out loud,” I whisper, sagging into her and finally looking her in the face. “You can’t tell anyone, Min. Like, I mean,no one.”

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