Page 44 of Her Rabid Beasts

I’m not used to this version of Savage. This… gentle wolf who wants to please me. I stare at him, still uncertain about what the fuck I’m doing. He snares my gaze and holds it.

It’s a soft hazel that greets me, a mixture of greens and browns that catches the morning sunlight.

And then I shake myself because we’re standing there like absolute idiots staring into each other’s eyes.

I clear my throat. “For anything?”

To my great and intense satisfaction, Savage looks a little concerned. But he says, “Anything, my princess.”

“Great!” With my new phone, I all but leap for the bathroom.

When I emerge from a cold shower, Savage is gone, leaving only his lingering, heady scent. I make my bed, pat Eugene’s head, empty Henry’s litter box, refill his little drinking fountain and double-check my appearance. I can’t take my phone with me, because during my wardrobe purchases, I only had sexy in mind and not storage. By the time I leave, the other animas have already made their way to breakfast.

To my surprise, as I near the dining hall, I spot Minnie walking in from the animus dorm, wearing the same black mini dress as yesterday.

My brows fly up and I stop myself from battering her with questions.

“Walk of shame,” she admits, a shy smile gracing her lips as she tucks a pink curl behind her ear.

On complete instinct, I reach for her hand and she immediately reaches for me and clasps it back. I remember that first day here, during mating lines, when I’d grabbed her hand. She’d effectively been a stranger to me that day, but she’dhappily grasped my hand back. Minnie had never judged me. The criminal arsonist fugitive. She’d only shown me kindness.

“There’s no shame in a good fuck,” I say reasonably.

She chuckles, and together, we walk into the dining hall.

Minnie was there for me at my worst. At my most vulnerable. The last thing I want to do isnotstand by her when she needs me.

“I’m always on your side, Min, you know that,” I murmur as we get in the queue for the buffet. The warm, reassuring smell of bacon and eggs, toast and coffee fills my nose.

When she looks up at me, there’s a soft smile on her face and her eyes are all… glowy. She rests a palm on her heart and I gape at her.

“You’re in love with him!” I hiss, gripping her shoulder.

“Uh-huh,” she admits, grabbing my arm back as if she’s excited to finally tell someone. “It was love at first sight for us, we were bound to get back together. It was a big shock to realise he was coming here, but I think it’s fate! And I’m really glad you get to meet him.”

I laugh, but it’s an awkward one. “He seems pretty intense.”

She casts a look over her shoulder and briefly scans the animuses queueing behind us. I do the same.

“He’s not here,” she says quickly. “He usually doesn’t eat breakfast. These rabid guys often eat once a day.”

I pat my slightly nauseous stomach. I’ve been forcing food down for energy, but my body protests to the new volume of food. Lions and tigers in the wild only eat every so often, and my stomach is still adjusting to this whole thing.

Minnie playfully elbows me. “Youknow.”

“Yeah, I do.” I smile at her. “So, what’s he like? How’d you meet? I need to know every tiny, dirty detail.”

“We met outside my uni last year, actually. He was picking up his younger brother and happened to catch sight of me. Came upto me right away and demanded I come home with him and meet his dad.”

“He didn’t!” I say in disbelief.

But Minnie laughs as she picks up a single grapefruit and puts it on her plate. “It was really funny. But I felt right at home with him and we just… clicked.”

I frown at my tray as Minnie grabs a cup of black coffee from the urn next to me.

“Titus is enough of a beast to make up for a group of them, for sure,” she chuckles. “He’s pretty possessive too, like Savage.”

I load up my plate with croissants and pour myself some coffee, adding milk and sugar. “Possessive, huh? Girl, I’ve missed you. Make sure I get my bestie at least acouplenights a week.”

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