Even in the darkness, I could see her cheeks turn red under her tan skin.
She lifted her chin in a defiant gesture. “You’re pretty demanding for someone who was just gone for a month.”
“I make no demands,” I clarified. “I’m just making it abundantly clear that you can come to me for anything.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll be fine on my own,” she replied in a firm tone that left no room for argument.
“So be it, but if I find you needlessly suffering in any way big or small, I will take it upon myself to care for you whether you like it or not.”
The red in her cheeks grew even more crimson. “G-g-goodnight, Zander,” she stuttered as she rushed to close the door behind her.
I had watched Fatima enough to know that she does not accept help easily. I hoped her stunned reaction was a sign that she believed my words to be true. She will not suffer in my presence. I will take care of her and her child’s needs for as long as I live.
Chapter 6
Fatima
I will take it upon myself to care for you whether you like it or not. Zander’s words rang through my head as I waited in line for breakfast. There was something about him that made me feel all gooey inside. He did not wait for my invitation to help, he just saw a need and took the initiative to take care of it. I liked that.
He’s just being nice. I told myself. Zander had also experienced the loss of a luminescence mate. He was just trying to be friendly, that was all.
“Next,” Orsu called out.
He and Julie had two teenage sirret males working with them now. They were essentially their line cooks and beamed with pride as they helped cook and serve meals for the entire dekes. It had been easy for Julie and Orsu to cook for our smaller group in the mountain, but there was no way they could cook for the entire village now that we’d combined our two dekes’ into one large group.
I was more than ready to eat. However, much to my chagrin, I’d only been able to keep down one meal a day, and thatwas breakfast. I had severe food aversion to everything else but pancakes and bacon. Unfortunately, this left me feeling weak and tired for the past few days.
“Any word on Anusha?” Ashley asked.She was standing with Axon who was holding their little boy, Leon. She’d given birth just last week. This was the first I’d seen her out and about since the baby was born.
“No, not yet,” Beatrice shook her head. She had also announced her pregnancy recently and had a small baby bump already.
“All the hunters and shifters have taken turns searching for her, but nothing’s turned up,” she explained.
“Wherever that big shifter took her, he was damn good at covering his tracks,” Axon muttered. He, more than anyone, had the skills needed to find her.
“I should have been able to pick up on a scent trail at least, but he’d found a way to hide that too.”
“We will find her,” Rhaz stated with more confidence than any of us felt. “It’ll just take time. Gil told my sire that he wanted a female to love and protect. The only reason he worked with Dameron in the first place is because he believed his lies that we were holding them against their will.”
“So you don’t think Gil will hurt Anusha?” I asked, joining in the conversation.
“No,” Rhaz shook his head. “He also thinks we killed his parents so I doubt he’d be willing to bring her back here, either.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine. I could only hope he was treating her well. It had been one month already, how many more would it take for her to be found?
We moved silently through the line to get our food, but my stomach sank to my feet when I noticed they weren’t serving bacon today.
“How many pancakes would you like today?” Orsu asked with his usual warmth. He really was like a big teddy bear.
“Four please,” I replied, then looked down the table to make sure I wasn’t mistaken about the lack of meat on display.
“No bacon today?” Normally I wouldn’t care, but lately bacon had become the only protein I could stomach. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would stay down. Just pancakes and bacon.
“I’m sorry, we ran out. We make the bacon from the fatty meat of the wild boar, and there’s none left in storage,” Orsu explained.
“I’ve got jagwa steak cooking,” one of the newly appointed line cooks informed me with a smile.
Jagwa meat, the mere thought made me want to hurl. Why did everyone else get food cravings during their pregnancy, and I had to get severe food aversion?
