Instinct by J.A. Belfield

he would never allow me to bring her to our home.
    To bring Jem—a
human—after our fight would surely sign her death warrant.
    My step
faltered.
    I worked back
through my musings, to find what had caused the stumble, but could
not locate it before the door opened. An inhalation identified food
and Giles, before he descended, and I breathed out my relief.
    He paused on
the bottom step, his headshake showing his pity. “Was she really
worth it, Sean?”
    “She is worth it,” I said, ignoring his chosen tense.
    Nodding, he
held out the plate of food. “Breakfast.”
    “I have no urge
to eat.”
    He did not
argue, as though I had given the answer he expected. “What do you
plan to do?” he asked, placing the eggs and bread on the sole
table.
    I shrugged.
    He came nearer,
keeping his voice low. “You must have thought this through, Sean.
Where did you see this ending? With a bride, children—a home of
your own, perhaps?”
    “ This is
my home. And, no, I had not thought that far ahead. I just know I
need to be with her.”
    “James will
never sanction the knowledge of the pack being in the hands of an
outsider.”
    “She is not an
outsider in my mind.”
    He leaned his
rump against the table edge. “However strongly you feel about her,
she is not a member of this pack.”
    I frowned, but
as his words slowly sank in, my blood surged through me, my pulse
picking up. “She could be.”
    “James would
never allow a human to enter the pack. Think on it, Sean ...”
    My mind drifted
from his voice as my thoughts whirled. No, James would never permit
her access, not unless— “You are right.”
    The erupted
words cut his speech short, and he stared at me a moment, as though
disbelieving the ease with which he had my agreement. “Good.” He
patted my shoulder, and I hid my wince. “Now eat your
breakfast.”
    Stepping away,
I shook my head.
    “You must eat.
Twenty-four hours is too long to go without food.” He leaned in
close and lowered his voice. “I fear James has yet to finish with
you. You will need your strength.”
    Relenting, I
picked up the plate, and when I shovelled in the first mouthful, he
gave a slight nod and headed back up to the house.
    ***
    I did not have
to wait long for the cellar door to open again.
    My chin lowered
and shoulders stiffened, as my eyes trained on the entrance, and a
conscious effort had to be made to control the rumble vibrating
through me.
    James halted at
the bottom of the stairs. “Have you slept off your
irrationality?”
    I studied him
whilst formulating a response that would get me out of the cellar,
noticing his face bore no reminder of my blows. Ensuring my hands
remained uncurled, I nodded.
    “Good. You may
join us, then.”
    As he turned to
ascend, I trailed behind.
    The kitchen
offered brightness the dusty cellar had not, despite the rain
pounding the window. Squinting against the light, I peered around
the room at the rest of the pack, before, unbidden, my attention
shifted to the back door, my mind instantly calculating how far
away it stood, and what my chances were of reaching it before James
could react.
    “Sit.”
    I switched my
gaze back to James, but his narrowing eyes told me he had caught my
deviant glance.
    “I said, sit .”
    The feet of my
chair screeched against the tiles as I dragged it back, and my ribs
protested against the folding of my body as I obeyed. I disguised
my pain with a grit of my teeth, refusing to allow James to witness
it.
    “I need to
discuss something with you.” He drew out his own chair to sit.
    I have
nothing to say to you , balanced on the tip of my tongue, but I
held it back.
    “You meet with
this female each Tuesday, is that correct?”
    My gaze darted
toward the forest, at the thought of Jem waiting there for me and
my broken promise to meet with her, before I dipped my head in
admittance.
    “How long has
she known about you—about us?” He leaned back in his seat, most
likely watching for any sign of dishonesty, or