“Hallo!You there!” the gentleman called. “Might we have a word?”
Shedidn’thave to come out, she could pretend she wasn’t here, butthey knew she was. They’d crossed the scent she’d marked.
“Ipromise, we mean you no harm. We wish to speak with you.”
Shecame out far enough to sit on the rock and laid her spear across herlap. This was as far as she would go, let them do with that what theywould.
Thegentleman nodded in understanding, even as he frowned.
“Iam Mr. Brandon and this is Sergeant Cox. First, however trying thecircumstances of your arrival to our Island, may I offer welcome andhope that you are settling in as well as can be expected.” His speechwas very proper, almost laughably so, given the landscape. He oughtto be in a fine drawing room with a matched tea set and ancientportraits on the wall. How had he come to be exiled? Did he knowEdgerton?
Thesoldier, Cox, glared at him a moment, then rolled his eyes. Brandonhuffed a little. “Yes, well. To explain the rest to you, then . . .each of us commands one of the Island’s two packs. We are here to .. . invite you, I think is not too strong a word. That is, we’d eachlike to make an offer, so that you may choose which of us to allyyourself with.”
“You’llbe safer with one of us.” Cox’s accent was rougher, his mannerstraightforward. Not a gentleman. She caught his scent, studied thehint of gold in his eyes—he was the rangy black wolf who’d visitedher yesterday. A scouting mission.
“Andso we do you the courtesy of offering a choice, rather than resortingto . . . more direct persuasion.” The gentleman showed his teeth, aflash of a smile, and her stomach clenched. As laughably proper as hewas, she should not underestimate him. His fine manner disguised amonstrous bearing. Others had likely underestimated him. He likelycounted on it.
Shecould not find words. The beast trapped inside her wanted tohowl, her hands clenched on her spear, and she could very nearly feelthe claws about to rip through her fingertips, bent on slaughter. Shewould not choose, she would not, and if she tried to speak, the wordswould come out all at once in a roar.
Theymust have taken her for a simpleton. They looked at one another,uncertain.
Coxlicked his lips and said, “Full moon’s in five days. You’ll have tocome out then. Then we’ll have you.”
Herlips curled, a snarl. “You will not. I’ll drown myself first.”
Brandonsmiled. “Ah, she speaks.”
Shestood and shook the hopeless spear at them. “I won’t choose! I won’t!That’s what got me booted to this bloody place. They told me I mustchoose, I must be some wolf’s mate, but I said no, and I fought, and sothey sent me here to be torn apart by brutes. And now you tell me thatI must choose? No, a thousand times no!”
“Itisn’t . . . you misunderstand us,” Brandon said patiently. “You needn’tbe anyone’s mate. But as the sergeant says, you cannot be alone duringthe full moon, you must have the protection of one of us. So we—or atleast I—propose a more conventional domestic arrangement. More suitedto your . . . um.” He gestured at her simple clothing, as if thatexplained everything. This choice actually boded worse than the other.Brandon continued, matter-of-factly. “You see, you are a woman.”
Shelooked skyward and laughed. “And what of that?”
“Wehave been without women’s company for some time. And, well—”
“Howdare you, how dare you come here and think you can . . . useme so!”
Brandonsaid, “It isn’t that, our motives are entirely upstanding. We’veno wish to use you in that manner at all.”
Therough-looking man said, “What he means to say is he wants someone towash his shirts.”
“Andcook for us. We’ve had no one to do the mending, either, and—”
Shescreamed. Clenched fists on either side of her face and gave voice toher fury.
“Itake that as a . . . no.”
Shespoke, snarling. “You’ve all been here for years, and not one of youever made a stew or darned a sock?”
“We’vedone what we can, but a woman’s touch—”
Sheleft. Slid down the rock and slipped back into her hovel, pulling herknees up and hugging them hard. So. She had come to the Island ofBeasts and found . . . civilization. It was civilization that had puther here in the first place. Looking outside to an overcast sky,threatening more rain, she waited. Her nose flared, searching the airfor the men’s scent.
Atlast, Brandon called up the hill. “We’ll come back after you’ve had abit of time to think things over.”
“We’vegot fire,” Cox said. “You want a warm fire and a hot meal, you’ll comewith one of us.”
“Justso,” Brandon said.
Sheput her hands to her ears and squeezed shut her eyes, because shedidn’t want to listen anymore. They went away.
Shecarried the spear with her when she went foraging on the strand again.She did not trust that they would let her alone, let her choose. Thewolves had managed to get themselves arranged in packs—they would fightover her, sooner or later. Why should she believe that they would lether alone?
She’dnever been let alone before.
Aftergathering more crabs and an armful of seaweed that she thought shemight knit into a net to catch fish, she went back to her cave toconsider how she might find fire and more weapons. How she mightsurvive the full moon night without being torn apart by the Island’swolf packs.
Thegentleman, Brandon, was waiting for her. He stayed the samepolite distance halfway down her hill. When she appeared he glanced ather—and away, and did not try to meet her gaze again. In the languageof beasts he was saying that he meant no harm, no challenge. She wasunconvinced and kept her own gaze on her hand, around the spear.
Hehad put a tray on the grass in front of him and knelt before it. Thetray held a tin kettle with steam coming out of the spout. A pair oflittle china tea cups, and how on earth had such delicate
