I open my eyes to grayscale gradient décor. The couch isn’t as stiff as I remember, and with utter embarrassment, I realize my personal space has been invaded by a well-muscled Sumair in his human skin, who’s holding me in his arms so tightly my bones might crumble inside his grip.

Despite inhaling deeply, I can’t distinguish his scent. Frustrated, I lift my head to look closer at his face. He has to sense my adjustment, but he maintains his rigid positioning. I briefly consider ripping myself free from his vice, then decide against any fast movements. Predators chase prey.

“Can you let me go, please?” I grimace when a whimper sneaks free with my words.

His jaw flexes, the tightened muscles further pronouncing his strong facial features. He loosens his grip yet doesn’t let me go.

“Where’s she going, Kibble Nibbler?” Tally spits from across the room. Declan and Ryan are next to her. They’re all staring in my direction, but their gaze isn’t fixed on me. They’re staring down the possessive Sumair, who’s decided, for some strange reason, to hold me hostage in his lap.

“We won’t hurt her,” Ryan pacifies him.

The beast-boy grunts, his chest rumbling. Is he trying to protect me? I don’t feel protected. I feel trapped.

“We were given a mission objective,” says a new voice. “Give him a few to register her coming around. He’s new.”

The man belonging to the voice isn’t new. He’s over six feet tall and muscular like the monster under me. His stance screams leader. None of this can be verified using my ability to read emotions. That part of me is dormant, along with my heightened senses. Something is definitely wrong.

My stomach growls loudly, getting their attention. Ryan frowns forlornly, Tally rolls her eyes, and Declan whistles low.

“Will you unhand her long enough she can eat something?” Ryan requests gently.

Tally places her hands on her hips. “Let her starve to death.”

She laughs when there’s another noticeable rumble that isn’t from my stomach. “You can’t intimidate me, Ruff Stuff. My kind brought you into this world. We. Can. Take. You. Out.”

The arms around me constrict again. They twitch, igniting my self-preservation instincts. How can I console him? Hmm.

Scratch behind his ears, Superego recommends unhelpfully.

I pat his forearm, making a whooshing sound. Tally will have a nice laugh at my expense when this is over, but it seems more important to calm him down than shirk her ridicule. If he turns back into the fur monster while I’m sitting on his lap, he’ll tear through me like a dollar-store chew toy.

“Watch it, Blowtorch. You wouldn’t want that thing humping your leg.”

“Tally, could you get her something to eat?” Ryan intervenes, obviously wanting to remove her from the scene. She has no respect for the Sumair holding me. I’m leaning toward Tally on this one. I don’t much appreciate being held without consent. The difference between us is I’ll always withhold my natural reaction. She relishes hers.

“What have you told her?” the leader probes, still not acknowledging my presence.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“To be wary of you,” Declan offers. “She understands you draw your energy from those like her.”

The thing restraining me rumbles again. His chest is straight up vibrating.

“Does she know why we draw the energy?” He lifts a challenging brow, daring Declan to tell me.

Tally returns, bearing fruit in a large silver bowl she hands to my captor. “We didn’t get that far. Some idiot animal kept colliding with my car. I was on the verge of telling her you were lesser beings made to serve us, but the car was turned over, and here we are. Expect a bill for the new one you’re buying me. I’ll slide it inside your doggy door.” She trains her stink-eye on me. “In a nutshell, they’re our pets.”

The vibration is stronger this time, so I rest one hand carefully on his forearm since it worked previously. No dice. Okay, maybe this is a me problem. Maybe he’s reacting to my reactions. What’s calmed me in the past? Kiley’s melodic voice? Yeah, no. That won’t work. I’m tone deaf. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly and pretend the arms circling me are his. As my breathing steadies, the creature under me cools down substantially.

I open my eyes to him shaking the fruit bowl. I casually reach for a grape. Though not overly excited to bite into a charcoal-coated candy, I need to eat. I swallow hard before pressing it to my lips. It’ll taste bad, but I need to get the job done to get better. I’ll handle it like a chewable pill, as Ryan has trained me to do. Shoving the grape into my mouth, I bite down tentatively.

I can’t stop the ensuing moan that brings all eyes in the room to me again. For once, I’m too smitten to care about the spectacle I’m making of myself. It tastes good. No, it tastes freaking fantastic. After weeks of the perpetual burnt flavoring, it’s mouth-wateringly appetizing. I gluttonously shove handfuls in my mouth. There’s no ash. There’s only sweetness, glorious sweetness, and I can’t get enough.

Ryan furrows his brow. “Did you…”

“How dare you!” Tally fumes.

“He didn’t,” the stranger assures them. “The temptation wasn’t there.”

I don’t care about their arguing. All I care about is how wonderful the fruit tastes. Once I’ve polished off all the grapes, I pick up a peach and bite into it, resisting the urge to lick the juice dripping down my forearm. I moan in appreciation. This. Is. Amazing. I genuinely missed eating.

“Best you fully explain your mission objective, Phelan,” Declan urges him.

I barely acknowledge it has been named.

“To protect her,” Phelan replies uneasily. “We were sequestered to secure the girl and return her to Sheelin if she was in danger, where she’ll await an audience with the Tribunal.”

“Are you bringing her against her will?” Ryan asks cautiously.

“We were only tasked to bring her back if she was in danger,” Phelan reiterates.

“You think we are a danger to her?” Tally shouts, causing clutch-boy to tighten his tethers. “She is our kind, and you, you’re only a fraction of what we have the potential to be. You are a danger to her. Not us.”

I’ve finished my snack and am increasingly uncomfortable with their conversation. Are they seriously bickering over who’s a danger to me? Have they forgotten the most dangerous person is me?

I don’t have the energy to remind them. I want more than anything to sleep, trumped only by my desire to free myself from the still-silent thing underneath me.

I stare into his dark, endless eyes. They’re a black hole. Will I get sucked inside if I keep staring? Part of me hopes I do. “Excuse me,” I whisper.

No response.

“Can we negotiate you letting me down?”

Nothing.

“Well, if I’m stuck here, and you’re set on being the sticker, let me introduce myself to you.” I feel an overwhelming urge to distract him from the ever-crescendoing voices. “I’m the would-be-Solathair, who’ll probably end up exploding most of North America because everyone here is too busy fighting over protecting me to see who they truly need to protect.” I take a deep breath to steel my resolve. “Who they truly need to protect are the people who go about their lives oblivious to all this. They’re helpless against everything we are. If helping them means you have to extinguish me, you should do it. I can’t bear being responsible for hurting anyone else. I’ve already done enough damage.”

I shiver when his gaze meets mine. His eyes soften, and under the hard edges of his face, I see a boy who, too quickly, was forced to grow up. I’m familiar with that sentiment. I’m fighting it myself. His lips twitch like he wants to say something but isn’t sure he should.

“Walk with me?” The soothing timbre of his voice nearly makes me forget he can become a giant monster that can devour my entire being in one feral chomp. “You deserve an explanation.”

We slip out of the house. They’re so busy fighting they don’t even notice us leave.