Page 35 of Rule
Bran picked up the tray and set it closerto me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Come, Bella,” Bran said.
Bella pouted at him. “No, I stay withgirl.”
Her tail wrapped around my forearm like a snake.“I stay with you. Okay, girl?”
I gave Bran a timid look. “It’s okay withme if she stays.”
“It is her nap time,” Bran said. “Bella, donot argue with me.”
Her lower lip pouted out, but her tail unwrappedfrom around my arm and she slid across the bed to drop onto the floor. She crossedher arms over her chest and shook her head when Bran held out his hand. “No.Papa mean.”
Bran ruffled her dark hair. “Perhaps, butyou still need your afternoon nap. Come, meena.”
He stopped in the doorway. “Court did notmean to scare you earlier.”
“He didn’t,” I said.
He sighed and stroked Bella’s dark hairagain as she leaned against his legs. “May I give you some advice, human?”
I nodded and he said, “We will be spending thenext month together. Stop lying to us. Court does not care for lying, nor doI.”
He picked up Bella and walked out of theroom, shutting the door behind him.
Chapter Nine
Bran
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at mycock. I’d been hard this morning. A woman had made me hard. That hadn’thappened since…
Since Dana stopped allowing Court into herbed.
I closed my eyes, scowling a little. Therehadn’t been an exact moment where I’d stopped getting an erection, but I couldn’tdeny that the day Dana finally made it clear she no longer wished to have bothof us was the catalyst.
The old and familiar guilt creeped intome. I rubbed at my forehead, my tail flicking back and forth across the bed. I’dchosen Dana over Court, and I would never forgive myself for it. Even worse –neither would Court.
I studied my crotch again. In thebeginning, when it became clear that I wouldn’t get an erection, no matter whatshe did, Dana was hurt. The hurt quickly turned to anger, like it so often didwith her. The woman Court and I had both loved had a quick temper and sharp tongue.
Did you love her though?
I had loved her. As did Court. We’d broughther to our planet with the belief that she was our mate and we would spend therest of our lives together.
I snorted in disgust. The way she keptputting off the mating ritual once she moved in with us should have been ourfirst clue. But my paternal urges had begun, and I was blinded by my love forDana and the need to have a child, and while Court hadn’t yet felt the same desireto be a father, he wanted a mate as much as I did.
She never loved either of you. Nor didshe love Bella.
No, she hadn’t. While I was over the fact thatthat she’d left me, I would never understand how she could have left herchild.
She left because you couldn’t satisfyher, and she knew you would never allow her to take Bella with her. It’s yourfault Bella doesn’t have a mother.
More guilt tinged with despair made me feelsick. I pushed all thoughts of Dana out of my head and headed to the kitchen.It was Court’s turn to cook and he was scrolling through recipes on his tablet.He glanced up at me. “What do you think about maluken stew for supper?”
“We need to talk about the human.” I sankinto the chair beside him.
“What about her?” Court said.
