“Yes,” he says plainly. “I will. Think of it this way. When your country enslaved all those African Americans to do their dirty work in the fields, your Constitution only deemed them three-fifths of a person. Is that true?”
“Not even close,” I say.
“They were still fully human, though people tried to convince them otherwise.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from tearing into this man. I don’t know what it is about him, but he rubs me the wrong way. I don’t like him, and I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to stay here. But I can hear Theo still bellowing in pain, and I know he can’t move.
None of us can move until the Council is off our trail.
“I’m not human,” I say.
“And if you believe that, then that’s okay. Somewhere along the line, someone convinced you that you weren’t any longer. But that isn’t true, Clarissa.”
I watch Joel take my hand before I yank it away.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Stay with us,” Joel says. “I can see it in your eyes. You’re out for blood. And if you get yourself killed, Kyle or whatever he’s been turned into won’t be able to see you again. This is a fight for your companions. For us. Not you.”
“Funny. I’m supposed to be a human, but I can’t fight the same battles humans are fighting.”
“This is dangerous, and I don’t want you getting hurt.”
I roll my eyes and take a step back from him. Is this what my life is being reduced to? Men throwing themselves at me because I somehow lure them in even though I don’t want to. I shake my head and step off to the side, brushing past him as I make my way back into the living room.
“It isn’t safe!” Joel exclaims.
“You listen to me, and you listen right now,” I growl. “I haven’t been safe since the plane crash that opened my eyes to this entire fucking world around me. Now I don’t know what your plan is or what you guys think you can do against the Council, but whatever it is you won’t survive. If they kill and experiment like you say they do, then you don’t stand a chance against them. You say this is a fight for you and my companions, yet I’m supposed to belong to one of you? Well, listen closely, Joel.”
I stand to my tiptoes and grow in height as his sister gasps behind me.
“I belong to neither,” I say.
Chapter 4
Sebastian
Ihate being cooped up with humans. They stink, their taste in food is horrendous, and it’s boring. Joel constantly talks about plans of war with his sister like this is something they can fight. Like the paws of the first Cat they come across won’t crush their skulls and coat the snow beneath their feet in red. And I can tell Joel is getting on Clarissa’s nerves. A trait which I do not enjoy. And Vlad is still trying to control himself around her, and it’s becoming exhausting to police him. Theo is still recuperating after three days, and in those three days, he claims Kyle is clawing at his mind.
I can’t wrap my own mind around everything happening.
Clarissa says the Council’s been experimenting and that’s how Kyle was turned. Injected with a serum meant for fetuses to see if he would change into one of us. But what would be the purpose? At least with females, there was a purpose. There is an overabundance of male Primals in all species. What is the point of turning men into Primals?
We already have enough clamoring for the females around us.
I sniff the air as a twinge of something akin to garlic hits my nostrils. It’s not the most disgusting scent, but it’s different. It’s not something I’ve been smelling for the past three days. I walk out of my room and head for the kitchen, thinking maybe Josie is in there making us all something for dinner.
But there are no pots on the stove.
Only Clarissa on the couch.
I sniff the air again, and it draws me closer. The scent is coming from her, but I’m not sure why. I lean down and place my nose in her hair and take a good, hard sniff.
The twinge of garlic is pungent, and it makes my eyes water.
Her scent is changing, but I don’t know why. Clarissa’s napping on the couch with her hair haloed on the pillow and I stare down at her beauty. It must be the stress. I can’t imagine what she’s going through. I can hear her thoughts swirling. Wondering when we’ll leave to get Kyle and wondering what he will be like. Images of his new form flash through her mind multiple times a day, and I try to swallow down my jealousy to be happy for her.
Her mate is still alive, which is more than what many in the room with her can say.