I had fallen for her. I know I had. Josie was right in that regard. But seeing her in her Primal form? It was disgusting. Watching her slaughter all those other Primals even though I wanted them dead as well triggered something inside of me I would never be able to shake. I couldn't look at her the same way. I couldn’t see the beauty in her any longer. She’s strong. Capable. But inside of her, a beast rests. A beast that can easily turn on us without a moment’s notice.
She can’t stay.
I won’t have it.
“You’re heartless,” Vlad says. “You won’t even let a pregnant woman rest.”
“She is not a woman,” I say. “She proved that on the battlefield. She’s a primal. A beast.”
“Clarissa is no beast,” Sebastian growls.
“I’m only going to say this one last time. Get out and leave this village. Never come back.”
“And if we don’t?” Theo asks.
I grip my sword and swing it over my head, and I watch them poise themselves. Vlad is growling, and Sebastian is salivating, and I can feel Josie’s hands around my arms. Blood is rushing through my ears, and she’s tugging on my muscles, and Theo is slowly growing before my very eyes. This is my home. My village. I’m in charge of the people. The trai
ning. The children that are now left behind without a father. They brought this upon my village. Them and their beastly ways. Our version of war was sneaky. A long game. A tactic the Council would’ve never seen coming. And now, thanks to them, our children have seen a carnage no innocent eyes should ever be exposed to.
They are a virus, and they have to be taken care of.
“You are no longer welcome here, and my sword will show you that!”
I whip my sword around in the air, but it’s soon knocked out of my hands. I look up and see Clarissa bounding through the air, her naked human form wrapping around the blade of my weapon. She rips it from my grasp and lands on her feet on the kitchen table, crouching and gnashing her teeth as she crumples the piece of lead in her hands like it means nothing to her. I watch with widened eyes as the lead blade slices through her hand, but it isn’t enough.
She mangles it between her fingers before tossing it to the floor.
I can’t take my eyes off her. That naked human form. She’s gorgeous. A sight to behold. Until I get to her face. See her teeth snarling at me. The saliva dripping from her fangs. The claws protruding from her fingertips. How I wish she were human. With her supple curves and her strong legs and her toned stomach. Her beautiful hair could be fisted within the palm of my hand every night. We could fill our own cottage full of children she could be proud of. Children with her stunning eyes and my strong demeanor. Her graceful presence and my steady determination.
Her wild hair is blowing around her in the breeze from an open window, and I force my eyes back to her face. I have to remind myself that she isn’t human. Clarissa was right. The world she once belonged to no longer lays a claim on her. She is stronger than any of us. Stronger than all of us. I’m staring down the barrel of the most powerful gun on the face of the planet, and she has her sights trained on me.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she growls.
Clarissa is no good to me. My eyes take in her round stomach and the reality of it is sickening. She’s pregnant with one of their children. Pregnant with a Primal that will soon run this earth like she does. Like they do. They bring nothing but carnage and destruction in their wake, and I can’t stand being in their presence any longer. My village has to rebuild. Children have to be comforted. Men have to be buried. Women have to mourn, and crops have to be planted again. Cottages have to be remodeled, and there’s a very good chance we will have to pick up and move altogether.
Start over because of the war they brought to our doorstep.
“We will no longer protect you,” I say. “You brought war to us. A war we planned to fight from the shadows. We lost good men on that battlefield. Men who will never see their children grow up like you will.”
I watch Clarissa’s stance falter as her eyes drop to her stomach. Her hand cups her waist protectively as she bounds from the table. I take a step back from her, watching as her naked body slowly stalks toward me. Her fangs retreat, and her claws recede, and instead of the fiery anger pouring from her stare, I see something I didn’t think a Primal was capable of.
Empathy.
Sorrow.
Sadness.
“I’m sorry,” Clarissa says.
“You don’t have to apologize to him,” Sebastian snarls.
“For once, I’m with the Wolf,” Toshi says.
Clarissa’s stare holds mine, and just as quickly as my disgust for her raged, it dissipates into respect. Admiration. She is so unlike a human, yet so unlike the Primals that want to accept her. She is different. Capable of so many things they aren’t. I can only hope the child growing within her will be more like her. Able to sympathize with humans who are afraid of them. Humans who even hate them. I don’t wish death on her. I don’t even wish a meager existence.
I only wish her the capacity to raise her child in a different way.
“Let’s get our things,” Clarissa says. “We’re heading out tonight.”