Chapter 45

Dropping it on my plate, I sit back down and cut into it. Blood oozes out as I slice the tender piece.

Popping it into my mouth, I chew slowly and try to swallow, wincing when I do and clutching my

throat. I glare at my plate, my stomach growling, yet I know it is going to be torture to eat it. Regan

also won't wait around for me to do so.

However, when I take another bite, Lyon drops his fork and Zeke gives me a strange look while

Regan tilts his head to the side, watching me.

"What? Or have you changed your mind about what I can eat?” I snap at Regan, my voice coming

out hoarse, and my eyes dart to my plate. I didn't add that much, although it is more than what I

would normally eat. There is enough here to last me a couple of days back in the cave if I rationed

it, but Lyon is right. Zeke will probably give me a damn lettuce leaf to eat tomorrow, so I should try

to eat what I can.

“But it's not cooked, it's barely even seared?” Lyon says, looking at me appalled, and I stare down at

the plate.

“Yeah, I don't know why they burned it,” I tell him, poking the outside with my knife before staring

at the massacred meat on the platter in the center of the table. It reeks of burned flesh.

“But you're human?” Regan says.

"Humans eat meat too, that doesn’t mean I'm vegetarian?” His eyebrows raise. Are all the servants

on a vegetarian diet? Come to think of it, I have never seen a servant even eating.

"Apparently not!” He says, sitting back in his chair. Zeke's brows raise and Lyon crosses his arms

across his chest.

“Go on then?” He urges, nodding toward my plate.

Shaking my head, I cut off a piece, trying to chew it as small as possible, and have to reach for my

glass of water. I can feel it scraping down the sides of my throat, my eyes burn at the pain, and my

fingertips prod my neck. Sighing, I am about to give up. It's not worth the agony it causes every

time I try to swallow.

Using my fork, I try to mash up some potatoes when I hear Lyon's chair scrape across the floor

making me look at him. He bites the side of his hand.

"What are you doing?” Zeke demands when Lyon holds it over my glass of water. His blood leaks

into the glass, turning it red, and I pull a face.

“She is in pain and my saliva won't heal the inside of her throat unless I kiss her. Or would you

prefer 1 did that, Zeke?"

“Let her suffer, maybe we'll get lucky and she'll starve to death before father returns!”

"Drink it, Zirah,” Regan orders beside him, and Zeke turns his head in his direction.

“Zirah?" Zeke spits at him.

“Yes, it's her name!” Regan growls and I quickly snatch up the glass, gulping it down if it means the

pain would go. Surprisingly, it doesn't taste bad. I half expected it to taste as crappy as their

personalities.

“I can think of many others more suited.”

“As can I, for you, want to hear them?” I ask and I almost moan at the pain leaving, his blood

making me feel tingly all of a sudden and I giggle. Lyon snickers.

“I dare you to speak them!” Zeke challenges. My head feels funny, clouded even, and his face

morphs and twists. One minute he looks normal, the next his nose is growing bulbous. I blink at him

before shaking it off when Lyon grips my shoulder, making me look at him.

“It's just the high from my blood. You're fine. It will pass in a few minutes.” He says, though his voice

sounds musical when his face also warps and twists.

“I don't think I like this feeling,” I tell him.

“Most humans like it. Some even become addicted to it.”

“You're an addiction?” I question. Trying to remember what the word means. He laughs, the sound

echoing around me making me turn my head to figure out where it was echoing from.

“No, our blood is. It's why Lycans aren't supposed to give it to other Lycans. Blood sharing can bond

you with them and make them extremely high, in some cases turn them rabid. Humans not so much

so it will just make you high as a kite.”

“Where's the kite?" I ask, looking for it but not seeing one.

“Just share all our secrets with the damn wench, why don’t you!” Zeke snaps, drawing my attention

to him.

His face swirls, his eyes morphing into one, making him look like a cyclops I saw in a picture book

once. He growls just like the cyclops in the book did.

Regan snorts a laugh for some reason, and I look across the table at him, stunned by his gorgeous

eyes and his smile. He shakes his head, grabbing his bottle of liquor.

“I might keep her high when she’s with me.” Lyon chuckles and the room begins to settle. My ears

no longer make everything feel hollow, and I can suddenly feel my tongue when I accidentally bite

it. My sense of smell returns and my stomach gurgles loudly as I shake off the lingering effects his

blood has.

“Eat. I want to have an early night. I have a Skype meeting at 8 AM," Regan states, and I pick up my

fork, suddenly feeling energized.

Cutting off a piece of steak, I pop it into my mouth and chew quickly, swallowing it down and

sighing when I feel no pain. Slicing into the meat, I start devouring my food, suddenly feeling

absolutely ravenous like I haven't eaten in weeks, the hunger worse than before making me wonder

if it is also to do with his blood.

"She's really eating raw meat?” I hear Lyon murmur, making me look up.

I raise an eyebrow at him and note both Regan and Zeke are also gaping at me. Making me wonder

what is wrong with them, not that I'm not used to weird looks. Granny and I used to get them all the

time for never cooking our meat.

Granny always said we'll lose all the nutrients, that it ruins the flavor and she is right. I have eaten

cooked food a few times. I tried it out of curiosity. It made me sick and gave me food poisoning the

first time. I've tried other things, but to me; they tasted bland. I have built more tolerance for

cooked food since but prefer everything fresh and raw. The only thing we ever cooked was fish,

poultry, and eggs when we could find a tree low enough to get them down.

But that was only after Granny got sick from some eggs we found when I was around seven. She

said they must have been off. She never ate eggs again after that night. In fact, it scared her off

from eating a lot of things besides fruit and wheat unless it was cooked. She was sick with fevers for

a week and could barely move besides throwing up.

I thought she would die, and the other cave people said it served her right for eating everything raw

and told her one day she would kill me. I was too scared to eat after that, but once she was better

Granny insisted I did not change my diet and that things affect her differently since she is getting

older. She said they don't understand what they don't know about. I was relieved because while she

was sick it was one of the first times I had eaten cooked food and I ended up right beside her

spewing my guts up.

Eating my dinner, I have to fight back emotions thinking of Granny. It's stupid. I know I'll see her

again in the next life, but knowing that doesn’t seem to make her loss hurt any less. By the time I am

finished, I just want to go to bed. “She really ate it all?” Lyon whispers, making me look at him

“Pardon?” I ask him. He shakes his head, giving me a weird look, and I look at Zeke.

“Natural selection at its finest. Maybe I won't have to accidentally kill her tomorrow. If we're lucky,

her weakened immune system will take her out for us.” Zeke chuffs with a smirk.

"Where are you taking her tomorrow?” Lyon asks, looking at his brother.

“Don't you worry about it, brother? We'll be fine, she'll be perfectly safe from any danger with me.”

Zeke says, though by his tone, and the way he speaks, means he promises something else.

"Get your rest, human. You'll need it,” Zeke states, reaching for the bottle of wine. Regan gets to his

feet, shooting a glare at Zeke. I push my chair out to follow him as he comes around the table when

Zeke speaks.

“Oh and Zirah, don't be breaking Rule 5. I'll be making sure.” Zeke laughs and my eyes go back to

the rules when I gape.

5. Bride must bathe the Kings.