“Silence!” he snarled, bowing up at the larger male. His muscles bulged beneath his skin, making him feel as though he was straining at the seams, aggression suffusing his every nerve.
A small hand fell on his back, just between his shoulder blades. His sharpened scyra went soft as his tail reached for her, wrapping tight around her waist and dragging her close.
“Rentir,” she murmured. Her hand slid down his back and around his waist, joined by her other arm until he was wrapped in her embrace. “Just breathe, okay? Breathe.”
He pressed one of his sticky hands over hers; she flinched in disgust, but he could not help himself. Her touch evened out the wild tilt of his thoughts, bringing clarity back to him.
Melam looked unhappy, but he took a big step back, and then another, until the width of the narrow room was between them. Slowly, the tension ebbed from Rentir’s body, although he still struggled to pry his eyes from the other male.
“I think you should give us a minute,” Cordelia said from behind him. Her voice wavered with uncertainty.
Emotions rioted within him. He was angry that she was frightened, wanted to destroy what vexed her—yet as much as he wanted to vent that anger on Melam, he knew it was not the other male who was alarming her. Guilt made it easier to grapple for control of his own instincts. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to lose himself in the warmth of her at his back and the press ofher arms, a stark contrast to the bitter cold of the fridge. He’d hardly noticed the chill before she’d touched him; if anything, he felt like he was burning up.
“I should remain,” Melam said, disrupting the fragile peace Rentir had found. “I will not be able to rest easy if I leave and you come to harm.”
“He won’t hurt me,” Cordelia said, even as Rentir growled a warning. “Will you, Ren?”
“Never,” he grated, heartened by her faith in him, even if he could hear the faint thread of doubt in the sentiment.
There was a sigh, and Melam’s heavy footsteps receded from the room. When the male’s scent ebbed, Rentir felt more in control of himself. He opened his eyes and turned to face Cordelia.
She wore nothing but her oversized shirt and her socks. The hem of the shirt hung to mid-thigh, and her arms were covered, but he could see the pinpricks on the bare skin of her thighs. Her breath fogged in the air, and her teeth chattered. Were her lips turning blue?
“It is too cold for you in here.” He took her by the wrist and led her back into the more temperate climate of the kitchens.
In the brighter light, he glanced down at the mess he had made of himself. He looked like a wild beast more than anything, one fresh off a kill. Disgusted, he pulled away from her. Her sleeve clung to his sticky hand as he peeled it off.
“What happened?” she asked quietly, looking toward the open door that led to the dining room.
“I don’t know.” He spat the words, incensed at himself, and was dismayed when she flinched at his tone. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I did not mean to raise my voice at you. I-I am struggling to control myself.”
Anger gave way to fear as he looked down at the blood drying on his claws. What was happening to him? Maybe Melam wasright. Maybe hehadbecome contaminated somehow, and now he was turning rabid.
“Has this ever happened before?” she asked.
“Never.”
She hopped up onto the nearby metal counter. Her gaze went distant, as though she was lost in thought. Her bare legs dangled over the edge. He couldn’t quite pry his gaze away from that tempting flesh. If he knelt down…
“Are you sure?” she asked.
He blinked, jarred from his train of thought. It took him a moment to realize what she was asking. “I…” He paused, remembering what Haerune had said to him about his strange behavior, and the way he’d given a wide berth to the other females. “Actually, it has. Not to this degree, but…”
“But?”
“I feel protective of you.” He hid his bloodied hands behind his back when he realized she was looking at them. “I have from the start. When you first met Haerune… my instincts were difficult to ignore, then, as well.”
And again with Stelas, though before this moment he’d chalked it up to battle fever.
Cordelia’s brows climbed. “You think it’s me?I’mmaking you violent?”
“No,” he blurted, stepping closer. “You are blameless in this. But I cannot deny… something strange is happening to me.”
A breath whistled out of her as she pushed her hair back from her face. The scent of her wafted over him, complemented by the soap she’d used to wash the night before. It was a balm to him.
Her brow furrowed. “You guys have seriously never been around another female before?”
He shook his head, quickly grasping her train of thought. “I… I am beginning to wonder if there was some purpose to that. We were not permitted even to see pictures of females. Haerune hasseen anatomical diagrams in the files of the medbay, but that’s the most exposure any of us has truly had.”
