“I will not harm Mate,” I insisted.
His expression had tightened, face pale as he studied me.Was he going to run again?
“I did wrong?” I cocked my head, trying to understand. His lips were down-turned, and he seemed bothered. No, angry.
His jaw bunched, and I could hear his teeth grinding. “What are you?” he breathed.
“Mate.” What was he not understanding about that?
His gaze slid to my shoulder. “Youarehurt,” he said gruffly.
The slice was raw, but not awful. It would be fine. I shrugged, and a sting sliced through the cut on my thin, human flesh.
He raked his hands through his head fur, shoving them in.
“What is that?” I jerked my chin to the blood-colored tube on the ground. It scared the tiger away.
It took him a moment to answer. “A flare.” He rubbed his jaw. Mate plopped onto a stone, hands dangling over his knees. The fur over his eyes pressed together, making my stomach turn with sickness. I inched closer on my hands and knees, then reached out to touch his leg.
He jumped, eyes swinging to me.
“I have to be hallucinating,” he muttered. He didn’t push my touch away, and I nestled closer until I was kneeling between his legs, staring into his eyes. A deep color, rich like fresh dirt.
I had never taken the time to admire any human, but this one was different. I reached for his face, my fingertips lightly grazing against the plane of his jaw. He watched me, eyes unwavering as he took in my motion.
“I will not harm you, Mate,” I comforted.
He didn’t say anything, remaining still as I ran my fingers over his face, touching the high bridge of his strong nose, the puffy, smooth lips, and the fur over his eyes.
“What are you?”
What was I. . . His clear eyes stayed steady. I was different from humans. A creature of night and Jungle.
“Beast,” I answered, head cocked.
He breathed out harshly, looking over my shoulder. “Where are we?” I didn’t understand the question. “Why hasn’t the sun come out? Why are there two moons?”
I remained silent. He seemed angry, and I didn’t like it. He raked a hand through his head-fur. A shiver wracked my frame, and I shifted. He didn’t react, continuing to study the Jungle. He’d been sitting without moving for too long. A sound came from his belly, the rumble recognizable.
Hunger.
Mate was hungry. I slinked away from him, and he didn’t react, but when I turned to peek at him, he watched me. I chirped and sank into the forest to hunt for his meal.
I loped through the foliage until I was far enough from him and sank down on my haunches, watching and listening in silence.
It didn’t take long for the brush to rustle. I pricked my ears forward and narrowed in on the rabbit feeding on the greenery.
I rose on my paws, shifting my weight side to side. The rabbit lifted its head, freezing as it sensed a predator. I sprang off the dirt and burst forward, my loping strides allowing me to reach the critter in seconds.
Chomping down on the back of the neck, I shook quickly until it went limp. One of my fangs punctured its body, and blood spilled into my mouth. I barely stopped myself from chomping down. Rabbits were my favorite meal.
I loped back to Mate, and his head was dropped forward, fur fell onto his forehead while his eyes were closed. Making sure to make noise, I stepped harder so he could hear me approach. He lifted his head just as I stepped in front of him and opened my maw to drop it at his feet.
He said nothing. I didn’t know whether he was happy about my gift or angry. I let out a rumble and nudged it with my nose again.
“This is for me?” He raised the fur strip over his eye. What was he not understanding? I shifted, and dirt and twigs dug into my bare knees.
“I brought you food.”
