Hunger by Harmony Raines Read Free Book Online Page B

went off to meet his fellow conspirator; he had no intention of allowing Grenvet to be violated by human females.
     
    ***
     
    By the time he reached his house his mood was black. The Hier Ruler had made him uneasy, and then the meeting with the other Hier Council member who he thought he could count on had been, well … odd. There was an undercurrent of distrust between them now. If Ishk didn’t know better, he would think someone had either got to him, or made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
    And as he opened the door, Ishk could find only one person to blame. His female. Now, he planned to make her pay, he had tension in his body to release. Normally a long run across the open grasslands would be the thing to get rid of his bad mood. But the thought of the little human female in his bed waiting for him had given him an erection, and it seemed a pity to let it go to waste.
    He opened the door, expecting to see her in his bed. However, his bed was empty. She had run. Despite everything he said, his threat of punishment, she had run. Now he would be faced with even more embarrassment: the very council member who wanted to keep these females locked up had lost his on the first night. His mood worsened when he realised she had no tag to enable them to track her, either.
    Maybe he could track her himself just as his ancestors had tracked wild beasts across the open plains. Going to his closet, he pulled open the door; he would get his running shoes and a flashlight and try to hunt her down.
    But as he stepped forward to pick up his shoes, his foot came into contact with something soft and warm. She hadn’t run; she was asleep on his closet floor.
     

Chapter Twelve – Evie
    The need to visit the bathroom had woken her. In a daze, she had figured out how the toilet worked and then gone back to bed. But the enormity of where she was and what had happened hit her and she lay awake listening to all the strange sounds around her. Animals she had never seen moved around outside, the sounds unknown, conjuring up images of terror.
    Evie had done what she always did when she needed to feel safe; she had moved to the closet. Careful not to damage any of Ishk’s things, she had made a nest for herself, and, with a blanket for a pillow, she had curled up in a ball and slept. Deep, dark nothingness took hold of her and pulled her down into its safe cocoon.
    Until something struck her.
    It took a few moments for her to realise where she was. Then she saw Ishk looming over her. Instinctively she moved backwards as fast as she could, a wall preventing her from moving too far out of his reach.
    Ishk was only a dark silhouette against the open closet. His expression unreadable, but across his skin colours skimmed, fading and then resurfacing, making him look ethereal. If angels existed, then this was what they would look like. But she had to remind herself he wasn’t an angel, and he was angry.
    “Evie. What are you doing? I thought you had run away.” His looming bulk came towards her and she pressed herself back further, trying to evade him. Pausing, he let out a breath and the colours became more muted. “Evie. Did something happen?”
    She shook her head, not knowing if he could see her. But her mouth refused to make a sound. Be quiet, she had to be quiet , the words of her mother came back to her.
    Ishk moved, slower now, until he was kneeling on all fours. He had something in his hand: a knife, a club? Maybe he was going to beat her for causing him trouble; he had promised her punishment if she left. Her mind reeled, telling her it was OK. Yet Okil’s words came back to her, this man didn’t like humans, didn’t like Evie, and would no doubt think nothing of teaching her a lesson with his fists. He was, as far as she could tell, a bully.
    Yet when he spoke his voice was softer, soothing, and the thing in his hand only a flashlight. He switched it on, and she had to blink until her eyes got used to its brightness. When she