Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
The respect throws me for a loop, but that’s okay, because it seems to have satisfied the male who takes his leave. I guess it wasn’t me he took issue with, but Azlan.
There’s a heavy silence, in which I try not to feel too pleased about things, given how awful they are.
“Tell me what I just said was true,” I say to Azlan. “Because I just promised a lot.”
“I will not allow Leonidas to make a liar of you,” Azlan says.
Nyan comes to join us by the fire. He says nothing but warms his hands near the flames. He’s a comforting, solid presence on a very dark night. I haven’t heard him say a word since we landed, except to comfort the wounded. He doesn’t seem to have any interest in commenting how terrible Leonidas is, or how he deserves to be killed, or not. He just is Nyan. Nothing more. Nothing less.
“I’m seeing why none of you had Leonid brides,” I say. “This is a nightmare. A literal fucking nightmare. These poor women. These poor babies. Doesn’t he care about any of them?”
When Azlan first revealed that he’d gotten a human to make a kid with, I thought he was paranoid. Now I realize he was just being practical. It is every bit as bad as he described, and worse. I used to think that human social dynamics were harsh. Now I think humans are actually pretty fucking cool. We at least attempt to put boundaries around our cruelties most of the time. There are exceptions, I suppose. Maybe Leonidas is an exception to Leonid behavior. Maybe that’s why he’s so effective.
“He does not care one bit,” Azlan says. “Any cub that is not of his blood is worth less to him than a leaf on the wind. Leonidas craves control and dominance. We are the oldest of his offspring, but there are dozens of others. He considers himself immortal through the spreading of his seed.”
“Well, that’s stupid.”
“He doesn’t believe it to be stupid.”
“That’s somewhat how stupid works. That’s actually entirely how stupid works. You don’t know you’re dumb, and that makes you feel smart.”
“He is not stupid. He is devastatingly intelligent. He knew precisely when to make his move to claim the remaining females.”
“How?”
“How?” He frowns the question back at me.
“How.” I repeat. “How did he know when to come? How did he time the attack so well? Luck? Does he have spies in your camp? Or did someone betray everyone.”
“Yes,” he agrees. “How. I need to look into this.”
“Right. You look into that,” I say. “I’m going to milk the goats again. Here. Nyan. Take these two.”
I schlump the babies into Nyan’s big furred arms and go to milk again.
“Azlan! Are you coming!?”
Azlan
She’s a bossy little thing, but I am too proud of her to chastise her for the way she’s ordering me around like her owned beast. Many would go to pieces at finding themselves in a war zone. When I first met her, she was panicking over Growlers. Now she is dealing with infants and saving lives. She is every inch the pride mother I needed her to be. She is able to adapt swiftly as the situation requires her to.
I happily hold the goats for her as she milks them out, talking about how the babies will probably need to be fed every few hours and being able to sterilize and store milk, and hopefully making a milking machine of some kind.
She hasn’t eaten yet, and she doesn’t seem to notice that. She is running on adrenaline and compassion, all her energy and attention going toward the cubs.
“Once you’ve finished milking, you’re going to come with me back to the ship and I am going to feed you.”
“I can’t. I need to feed the babies.”
“Nyan can feed them. And we can train others to milk. You do not have to do everything, Ava. You have been invaluable today, but you need sustenance and rest.”
“After I feed the babies.”
“After you finish milking,” I insist.
“I’m going to feed the babies,” she tells me, looking up briefly with a determined glare.
She is going to get a spanking, that is what she is going to get. As good as she is, she’s not paying attention to orders, and that could be lethal.
I allow her to finish milking the goats, and once the milk is safely in the sanitizer, I pick her up and I carry her back to the ship.
“Azlan! Put me down! I have to feed the babies.”
“You do not have to feed them. Any of the others can feed them. What you need to do is listen to me.”
“Aren’t you glad I didn’t listen to you when you told me to stay back on the ship?”
She has a point. But so do I.
Ava is used to taking care of things by herself and being the only person she can rely on. It’s why her Growler infestation got out of control. On my world, you obey the alpha, or you die. I would never harm her, but I will punish her. The luxury of disobedience has well and truly evaporated now.