Beasts and Savages (The Beastly Series Book 1) (32 page)

“Ready?” Tanner poked his head in before he entered.

“My hair,” I answered as I sat on the bed, trying to run a comb through it.

He plucked the comb from my hand. “Let me help.” He sat behind me, cross legged, and ran the comb through my hair.

I sucked in a breath. “Ouch. It's attached to my head, you know.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “You just have so much hair.”

After some more pulling and cursing, I was finished. We opened the closet so I could see myself in the mirror.  My brown hair fell in waves past my shoulders, and my face was the thinnest I'd ever seen it.  When I looked closely, I could see a tiny scar below my lip, left from Miller's attack. I traced it with my finger.

Tanner put his hands on my shoulders and murmured in my ear, “You're beautiful.”

I turned to him. “Why? Why would you want to make me beautiful for them?”

He shook his head. “No. Not for them. For them you need to look scared and timid. Defeated.”

“I'm not afraid of them. And I'm not mating with someone because they tell me to,” I snapped.

“Do you want to end up with someone like Miller? Be somewhere I can't protect you?” His voice was angry, but it also carried anguish. 

I thought back to earlier, when he'd turned off his emotions. If he didn't deliver me as promised, they'd punish him, and the worst way to punish him would be to hurt me. A wave of nausea rolled through my stomach. I'd have to endure tonight, and probably much worse in the coming days.

Tanner picked up a piece of rope I hadn't noticed and clenched my wrist. “I'm sorry I have to do this, but they insisted. They still think you're dangerous. I won't tie it tight, okay?” He pulled my arms behind my back and wrapped the rope around my wrists. When he finished, I wiggled them. The rope already made my skin itch and I was transported back to the basement, my hands bound with rope above my head.

Suddenly, my chest tightened. I couldn't breathe and my heart jumped to me neck. I stumbled forward and he caught me, hugging my body to his. My gasps were raspy and stars were floating in my vision.

“Hey. It's okay. You're having a panic attack. You're not going anywhere, not tonight. You're okay. You're okay.” Tanner stroked my hair and shushed in my ear. After a few minutes, my heart finally slowed and the stars went away.

Tanner held my arm as he took me down the stairs, whispering, “Don't look at them, and stare at the floor. Timid and scared. No matter what.”

Seven men were sitting around the kitchen table. Dawning sat at the end, Locke to his right. I didn't know the rest of them, though I assumed the one with stark blonde hair and steely gray eyes was Anderson.  They all had mugs of tea and papers in front of them.

Tanner nodded to Dawning as he stood me at the end of the table. He squared his feet behind me and kept on hand on my forearm, his thumb rubbing circles on my skin. All the men studied me, and I met their gazes. Tanner cleared his through and I dropped my head.

A black haired man spoke first. “Locke, I was told she resembled you, but Flynn failed to mention how striking she was.”

“Torres, don't let their beauty fool you. They're deadly. When you let your guard down, they’ll get you.” I could feel the blonde man's eyes on me. His gaze made my skin crawl.

Locke snorted. “Now, Anderson, you know that's not true. Look at me. I'm fine. She's like her mother: harmless.” My breath caught at his name. The blonde man was Anderson, the one keeping Beth barely alive, the one who let that girl die. I jerked my head up and glared at him. Tanner squeezed my arm until I dropped my head back down.

Dawning laughed. “She still has some fire in her. That's why Miller would be the best for her. He would break her, make her more … submissive.”

“Miller's almost killed her twice, and would finish the job given the chance. Putting her with Miller wouldn't suit our needs. Tanner can control her without breaking her. I've seen him do it.” So that was Locke's plan. Get the council to award me to Tanner.

“Do you even know if she'll produce?” a man I couldn't see asked. “Torres, Flynn's note said she gave him medical books on child production. Does he know if she can produce?”

Anderson answered him, “There's probably only one way to find out. I saw we give her to Creech, see what happens. He could break her just as good as Miller.”

Tanner's grip tightened again and his thumb circled faster. I turned my head slightly and watched him out of the corner of my eye. He was staring straight ahead, eyes plastered on the wall above Locke's head.  His features were still, except the small movement of chewing on the inside of his lip.

“This isn't about breaking her. It's about finding a way to have our sons without sacrificing them. Flynn said she's highly intelligent and knows advanced technology and medicine. If we paired them, we may gain more than children,” Torres argued.

“You can't be serious, Torres. She's a killer. Flynn wouldn't stand a chance. How many boys has she already killed? Do we know?”

Anderson's words angered me to the core. I couldn't listen to them talk about me like this any longer. I couldn't take the anxiety radiating off of Tanner. My anger boiled over.

I jerked my head up, stepped to the edge of the table, and screeched, “I'm not a killer! I haven't-”

Before I could finish, Tanner wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into him while he clamped his other hand over my mouth. “Lea,” he hissed in my ear, “Lea calm down.”

Though I shook with rage, I didn't fight him. Instead, I searched the eyes in the room. Every pair was frightened, except Locke and Dawning's. Locke was glaring at me, furious.

Dawning's were full of smug satisfaction. “Do you have her now, Tanner?”

Tanner wrapped his arm tighter around my waist, eliminating any space between us. The palm of my hand pressed awkwardly against his lower abdomen and I could feel his breath hitch. He kept his hand over my mouth, but raised his head to nod at Dawning.

“Good. Now, we have Miller and Flynn-”

“And Tanner,” Locke interrupted, “Tanner’s proven that he can control her. Without violence.”

“What about Creech?” Anderson had recovered from his fright and glowered at me.

“No.” I was surprised to hear Dawning's answer. “Anderson, you can't even take care of the girls you have. One died. We can't risk losing the only daughter of an Elder.”

Tanner let out a deep breath and I realized I'd been holding mine. His fingers were gripped so tight around my waist that I was sure there'd be bruises tomorrow. He had buried his nose and mouth into my hair, and every breath tickled the back of my neck. I leaned into him and he loosened his grip over my mouth, but didn't drop his hand. We stood completely still like this, hearts pounding. Waiting.

“Well, if my son is out, then Miller is too. We all know about the broken ribs and busted jaw. She could die at his hands just as easily.” Anderson eyed Dawning, not bothering to hide the threat in his expression.

I noted how calculating Anderson was. My heart ached for Beth, and I closed my eyes.
I'll get you out of here, Beth. I'll get us all out.

“Fine,” Dawning sighed.” Then it's between Flynn and Tanner. Torres, Locke, last words for your sons before we vote?”

Torres spoke first. “I think I've said my piece. They're both highly intelligent and if we combined her knowledge with his skill we have a real chance of defeating the women.”

“I've been hunted, and Lea is a result of that.” Locke leaned forward in his chair, his expression grave. “Torres, Lea doesn't have to mate Flynn for them to work together. She needs to mate someone she respects, someone she'll listen to. Look at them. She'll do whatever Tanner tells her to do. And Tanner is my most obedient son.”

“How do you know she'll do what he wants?” Torres challenged.

Locke hardened his eyes at me and said, “Tanner, demonstrate.”

“Scared and timid,” Tanner breathed into my hair before he let me go. I moved a fraction of an inch, just enough for him to know I understand.

I glanced at the men, at the sink-less counter, the wood stove. Right now, I didn't have to fake scared. What did he mean by demonstrate? Despite the heat of so many bodies in a small room, I shivered. I already missed the warmth of Tanner's body against my back.

“Lea, I'm going to untie you and you're going to sit in a chair and answer some questions. You're not going to move from the chair, and the only time you talk is when you're answering me, okay?”

I nodded. Relief washed over me. How hard could answering questions be?

Tanner untied my wrists and pulled a chair from behind him. When it touched the backs of my legs, I sat and folded my hands in my lap.

“I'm going to ask you questions, and I expect direct answers, understand?”

I wanted to laugh at Tanner's attempt to sound like his father. I glanced at Locke. His face looked a little flushed, but he wore a proud grin.  Dawning looked amused at this show, but the other men stared at me, mouths gaping.

“I understand,” I whispered. I ducked my head and tried to look as meek as possible. I didn't know what Tanner's plan was, but for now, I'd play along.

“Louder please.”

I cleared my throat. “I understand.”

“Lea, how did you get here?” Tanner paced around me, his hand behind his back. The combination of nerves and his ridiculousness made me want to giggle. A smile curved at the corner of my lips, and I opened my mouth to take a breath and straighten it. Scarlet crept up his neck to his cheeks. He'd noticed.

“I was sent to hunt. From the woman’s city. You and Miller carried me here.”

“And did you want to hunt? Were you looking for a boy to hunt?”

I glanced at Locke and the other men. They were watching me intently. Locke gave a barely perceptible nod.

“No,” I sighed. “I was running away. I didn't want to kill.”

Anderson pointed a long pale finger at me. “She- she's lying. I don't believe her.”

Tanner rolled his eyes and knelt in front of me. “Lea, are you lying?”

“No. My mother didn't kill my father, and I didn't want to kill either. So I ran away.”