Meat

Chapter Nine

Hunger gnawed deep in her stomach. Jemima held herself against the tree trunk, breathing hard through gritted teeth as the pain of the transformation slowly receded. A hand stretched out before her, a pair of soft linen trousers and a shirt hanging from the fingertips. Jemima looked sideways. Her son was staring at the sky as he shook his hand and ripples of air went through the clothes he offered her.

"Thank you, baby," she said.

She took the clothes from him and draped the shirt over her arm, shaking out the trousers. Stepping into them, she tugged them up her legs. Vince crossed his arms over his chest and blinked sleepily.

"How was your night?"

Vince shrugged and glanced at her, only to look away just as quickly when he saw she wasn't finished dressing. Jemima tugged the shirt over her head and smoothed it down her body, wincing at the lingering muscle pain.

"Where's your father?"

"He's inside."

It wasn't Vince who spoke and Jemima and her son both turned to see Priya walking towards them. A white sundress danced around her thighs as she padded barefoot through the grass. She ran a hand through her long dark hair, sweeping it back from her face.

"Already?" Vince asked. He frowned and looked around.

Priya nodded and stretched her hands high above her head, teasing out the muscles in her sides. Her gaze fixed on the open kitchen door just across the courtyard.

"He followed Carson into the woods after a man," she said. "When Carson returned to his kill Kal took the man back across the fields. He went into the house before sunrise."

"A man?" Jemima asked. "Who?"

Priya shrugged and finally looked at her. Her dark eyes were narrowed and she drew her bottom lip between her teeth, sucking on the flesh. She still had smears of blood along her skin, trailing out from beneath the pure white dress.

"Look after the others."

Pressing her hand to her son's stubbled cheek, she saw the disappointment and betrayal in his eyes but now was not the time to talk about it. He nodded just the same and Jemima clambered over the fence, followed by Priya. As she jumped down behind her, Jemima rounded on the young pack member.

"Stay here, Priya."

"But Kal is..."

"Kaleb is your alpha," Jemima reminded her. "And whatever this is, I am sure he will tell you in his own time."

Priya's eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth as she turned away from her. She returned to the fence and clambered back over it without a backwards look. Returning to Vince, she snatched a box of clothes and set off along the edge of the field to where more of their pack were completing their transformations.

The house was quiet as Jemima entered. She checked the kitchen and living room with no sign of Kaleb or this mystery man he had brought into their home. There was a distinct smell in the air, a scent she had not caught for a long time but familiar in the distaste it left in her throat. She knew Kaleb wouldn't have taken the man upstairs, there was nothing up there but bedrooms and personal space. So maybe Priya had been wrong? No, a stranger had definitely been in their home.

"He's in the cellar."

Jemima spun on her heel. Her brother rested his shoulder against the kitchen door, his look as sour as the taste in the air. He picked under his nails and ground his teeth, staring at the cellar door. Like Priya, she expected to have to tell her brother to stay out of it. Instead, Carson held his ground, a sentry at the door.