Page 44 of Runaway Hucow

She felt as though she ought to say something, so she said, “I think I don’t like you very much, Roscoe.”

“I imagine not,” the bisonman replied. “Nevertheless, we need to talk… about what we’re going to do with you.”

Tess’s body tensed. “Are you going to send me away?”

Roscoe grunted and shook his big, horned head. “No, I’m not. Don’t get me wrong, I would certainly like to do that. But I’ve had a little time to think it over, and I’ve decided that’s not the most prudent course of action.”

Tess allowed herself a little sigh of relief. “So you’re going to let me stay until Peyton finishes his airship?”

Roscoe shook his head again.

“You’re going to be staying longer than that, I’m afraid. A hell of a lot longer.”

Tess frowned. “How long?”

“Forever.”

“What!?” Tess started to jump out of bed. Then she remembered she couldn’t do that unless she wanted Roscoe to see her naked. “What are you talking about?”

Roscoe gestured toward the window. “You’ve seen what’s out there in that valley. A herd of wild buffalo over two thousand strong. The biggest herd in existence, bigger than all the other herds combined. For as long as I can remember, it’s been my duty to protect that herd, and the way I’ve done that is by keeping this here valley a secret. The only people who know this place exists are me, my brothers, the Walkers… and now you. I trust myself. I trust my brothers. I trust the Walkers, they’re like kin to me…”

He extended one arm and pointed a massive finger in Tess’s direction.

“…But you, you I don’t trust.”

Tess’s chest constricted with fear. Suddenly it was a struggle to breathe. Tears were welling in her eyes.

“I won’t tell anybody about this place, Roscoe. I promise.”

“Your promises mean nothing to me, woman. You’re staying. That’s the way it has to be, for the safety of the herd.”

“But you can’t just hold me prisoner like this,” Tess sobbed.

“Watch me.” Roscoe rose from the chair and headed for the door. His hooves shook the floor with every step. “There’s porridge on the stove,” he said. “Coffee too. Get dressed, get some breakfast, then head out to the barn to see Peyton. The kid has some work for you to do. As long as you’re living here, you might as well make yourself useful.”

CHAPTER 23

Less than an hour later, Tess was in the barn, following Peyton down one of the raised walkways that ran along the length of the structure. She’d eaten a small bowl of oatmeal porridge for breakfast and drunk a cup of coffee, but the porridge was sitting like a lump of clay in her stomach, and the coffee had only seemed to make her jittery. She still hadn’t recovered from her conversation with Roscoe, if one could even call it a conversation.

“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Peyton reassured her. “I’m sure Roscoe didn’t mean it. Once the airship is ready, he’ll let you leave… if you still want to, that is.”

Tess definitely wanted to, but she didn’t say that out loud. The reason she wanted to leave had nothing to do with the handsome, bespectacled minotaur with whom she was currently speaking. It had nothing to do with Spike either. Had it only been the two of them, the two younger brothers, Tess thought she might have wanted to remain in the valley. Spike and Peyton were handsome, protective, strong, and they certainly knew how to treat a hucow, both in and out of bed.

No, the problem was the oldest brother, Roscoe. Mean, awful, terrible Roscoe. Tess couldn’t imagine how she could possibly spend the rest of her life living in close proximity to such a monster.

“I don’t know,” she said. “He sounded pretty serious.”

They were about halfway down the walkway now. Peyton stopped and turned to look at her. He placed his big hands gently on her arms and stared at her through the round lenses of his spectacles, gazing deeply into her eyes as if they held some scientific quandary he was pondering. It was a look that made Tess a little weak in the knees, and a little wet between them.

“You don’t know Roscoe the way I do, ma’am. I know he can come across a bit gruff when you first meet him, but underneath it all he’s got a heart of gold.”

That last phrase made Tess think of the golden stripe emblazoned across Roscoe’s chest and hard stomach. His alpha sign. Among humans, alphas were another type of mutation that had emerged following the Occurrence. Human alphas were almost always males, and they were known, among other things, for their bad temperament and their aggressive, violent behavior.

So Tess didn’t find the fact that Roscoe was an alpha minotaur very encouraging. His peevishness was bred into him, into his blood and bone. When an alpha made up his mind about something, there was little anyone could do to change it, and it sure seemed as if Roscoe had made up his mind about her staying.

But she didn’t say any of that to Peyton now.

Instead, she cocked one brow and said, “A bit gruff? Really? Don’t you think that’s an understatement?”