Chapter 22

Lilitha’s hands gently caressed her swollen belly as she and Carmella made their way to the feeding ground.

“You don’t have to do this,” Carmella insisted.

“I do, actually. Someone has to take care of them,” Lilitha responded.

“Silus or Damon could…” Carmella began, but Lilitha cut her off.

“No, it needs to be someone non-threatening.”

The food basket was heavy, its weight pulling her down almost as much as her burgeoning belly.

“You should rest,” Carmella suggested.

“I need to stay strong,” Lilitha countered, halting Carmella’s protest with a stern, “Don’t argue with me.”

Carmella’s long black braids cascaded down her shoulders, her cloak worn at Lilitha’s request, tail hidden, hood down.

Lilitha, on the other hand, saw no need for such pretenses. She paused at the forest’s edge to catch her breath.

The sounds of weeping and crying were absent.

It had been weeks since their capture. The thought that they were growing accustomed to their situation was horrifying.

She pressed on. The early morning’s gray light illuminated the remaining captives, their shackles glinting, their eyes wide with fear as they watched the two Diablons approach.

Some buried their faces in their arms.

“Food!” Carmella announced, scattering fruit, roots, nuts, and seeds everywhere.

“They’re not chickens, Carmella,” Lilitha chided.

Carmella sneered, then shrugged.

Lilitha wasn’t much better, distributing the food from a distance with a bit more care. She couldn’t let them get too close.

Some could become aggressive. And now, she had more to protect.

One captive, a young man with a broken nose, spat at her. “Foul demon,” he sneered. “Breeding harlot. Devil’s whore!”

Lilitha tried to ignore him—unsuccessfully.

She bared her teeth at him. “Maybe we should eat him next.”

Carmella grinned at her. “I think so too.”

The man lowered his head but continued to glare at them from beneath his brow, his gaze lingering on Lilitha’s prominent belly.

The other captives were more grateful, scrambling to grab their food before others could.

Carmella held Lilitha back as they changed the water tubs. No one attempted to attack as they emptied and refilled them from a nearby stream.

“Done,” Carmella announced, dusting off her hands as they stood at a safe distance.

“So many left,” Lilitha observed, counting thirty. “Will we have enough to feed them?”

They were looking thin, their clothes hanging loosely on their bodies.

Gathering enough food to feed them once a day was a time-consuming task. And the nearby trees were quickly being depleted of their resources.

“Of course we do,” Carmella assured her.

Lilitha looked at her, puzzled.

Carmella returned her gaze with a meaningful look.

Lilitha narrowed her eyes. “You don’t.”

“Of course. What else can we do?”

“You—you actually feed them… But—but…it’s wrong.”

“Is it? They don’t know, and they enjoy it. And they don’t need very much. Just enough to stay alive.”

Carmella rolled her eyes as she took Lilitha’s wrist. “Come on.”

Lilitha glanced over her shoulder as they left the captives behind, contemplating what it must be like to eat one’s own kind.

It certainly couldn’t be the way Lilitha enjoyed it. They enjoyed it.

Lilitha shivered. How many new “evils” did Lilitha have to overcome?

As they walked, Carmella wrapped her arm around Lilitha’s waist. “It’s any day now, you know,” she said. “We have to be careful. You have to be careful.”

Lilitha drew in a fearful breath.

Carmella gave her a firm squeeze. “I’ll look after you. And when the baby is born, I will do everything I can to help you. It’s my job. It’s all our jobs.”

Lilitha nodded.

They entered the cave.

Lilitha looked around before selecting a thigh bone, the knee joint still attached. She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she didn’t want to wake up famished, as she often did these past few weeks.

Settling down, she turned to the broken end near the hip where a mouthful of marrow awaited her.

Lilitha sucked it away. Then she turned to the bits of flesh still clinging to the bone, salty and fatty.

It wasn’t long before there was nothing left.

Lilitha didn’t have the strength in her hands like Mateus, Damon, or Silus, but her jaw and teeth were strong.

She bit down deeply until she reached more marrow, which she sucked away again.

Finished, she tossed the leftovers into the corner, then leaned back against the wall, her hand resting on her belly.

She watched as Carmella picked up a man’s head and pried away an eye with her fingers.

“I don’t know how you can eat those,” Lilitha said, repulsed.

“You haven’t even tried it.” Carmella popped it in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. “It’s an acquired taste. Very salty. But not particularly nutritious. Continue eating your marrow.”

“No thanks. I’m full.”

Discarding the head, Carmella stood and helped Lilitha to her feet.

Carmella wiped at Lilitha’s mouth. “Still such a mess.”

“I know,” Lilitha admitted, looking down at her shirt and realizing it was covered in blood. She sighed.

Why did she always seem like such a child?

“Just take it off.”

Lilitha tried to stop her, but Carmella ripped it off anyway. “Come on, Silus isn’t anywhere close.”

And she took Lilitha’s hand and led her through the trees.

The forest was quickly brightening.

Lilitha yawned. Her eyes were starting to close. It was late. Very late.

She was staggering by the time Carmella finally guided her to rest amid the roots of a massive tree. The large, diamond-shaped leaves made the ground soft.

It was dry and clean, and the scent of the tree’s sticky white flowers filled Lilitha’s nostrils. One fell into Carmella’s hair.

Carmella pulled her close, their breasts pressing together, their mouths barely touching.

Lilitha gazed into her dark eyes before her own finally slid shut.

Lilitha jerked awake sometime during the brightest part of the day.

Sunlight streamed through the branches. She clutched her belly with a wince, needing to urinate.

Carmella was curled up against her, her back pressed against Lilitha’s front, her head nestled in Damon’s throat, his large body curved around hers.

Mateus’s strong arm was resting on Lilitha’s belly. His breath was warm against the nape of her neck.

Gently, she moved his arm aside, wincing at the pressure in her bladder.

“Damn it,” she muttered. This baby needed to make its exit soon.

As she tried to maneuver her pregnant body, Mateus stirred.

“You okay?” he mumbled sleepily.

“Just need to pee,” she whispered back.

Carmella let out a sleepy groan. Damon’s eyes flickered open, watching her as she attempted to stand up—without much success.

“Here,” Mateus offered.

Lilitha gasped as Mateus pushed against her, helping her to her feet.

“Shit.” She stumbled. “Thanks.”

Damon was still watching her, his gaze cautious.

“I’m just going to pee,” she reassured him.

He didn’t follow her as she disappeared into the trees.

After relieving herself, she was about to return when she stopped. Where was Silus?

She sniffed the air, but his scent was barely there. It was fainter than she’d ever known it to be.

A frown creased her forehead. She was about to go looking for him when she remembered her state of undress.

Quietly, she returned to the group and found her tunic, pulling it over her head.

Damon was asleep again, holding Carmella even closer.

She vaguely remembered hearing them making love while she had been asleep.

Typical alpha behavior, she thought. They were always most vulnerable after sex.

Mateus was still motionless.

She quickly set off again, trying to follow Silus’s trail.

His scent was on the trees, the leaves, the dirt, but not in the air.

Not the ~actual~ scent that told her he was safe and close by.

She wanted to call out his name but didn’t want to wake the others.

After about thirty minutes of searching, she still hadn’t found him.

Her heart was starting to race. Something was off. Where was he?

Why couldn’t she smell him?

Lilitha lifted her nose to the air and closed her eyes.

There was something…different. Something she couldn’t quite identify.

Her eyes flew open. Was she imagining it or could she smell…

But that couldn’t be. They were locked up behind her, not ahead.

Had one of them escaped?

Her eyes widened. Her heart pounded even harder.

She began to back away slowly. Then it happened.

Lilitha recoiled as an arrow embedded itself in the tree behind her.

“Damon!” she screamed.