Blood on Sand

SCRAMBLED EGGS

Zoe was sure he was dreaming. He was warm and cosy, the humidity was almost perfect, and he could smell plants, living plants. If he'd felt the warmth of the sun he'd have believed he was at home, but he wasn't. He was in the cold north. Being in this sanctum was only temporary, as was the feeling of strong arms holding him close. He knew that once Wojtek woke up there'd be air between them again. It almost made him feel bad that he enjoyed the closeness, the body heat, the powerful arms shielding him from the evil of the outside world.

The respite was short-lived, though. Satul barged in through the door, and in the same moment, Wojtek flew up. He changed instantly as he positioned himself on all fours over Zoe, probably unaware of the protective stance he'd taken. His eyes never left Satul as he bared his teeth and growled. It took a few seconds before he woke up properly, long enough for Zoe to fear for Satul's life. It took a few very long seconds before he changed back.

"What the fuck, Satul?" Wojtek's voice was growly enough to make Zoe shiver, and not out of fear.

"I... erm... I just wanted... to make sure he was okay." Satul stared at the floor in front of him, looking like a kicked puppy.

"And you couldn't have done that by knocking on the door?"

"Erm..."

"You know the bet is off, right?"

"No, please, Alpha. I need to get away for a while. I just want some peace and quiet at the end of the day. I'll still do everything I do now. Please."

Zoe didn't understand what they were talking about, but he felt the need to interrupt, which was pretty darned stupid. Why would he want to protect Satul? "Hey, what do you two say about some breakfast? I make a mean orange juice."

Both Wojtek and Satul frowned. "I didn't think lizards drank," Satul added after a little while.

"Well, no. I still know how to make juice, though."

The corners of Wojtek's mouth twisted, but he didn't let it turn into a smile. It didn't matter, Zoe was happy he'd managed to break the tension.

"What are you waiting for? Make yourself useful." Wojtek turned to look at him as he spoke, and there was a sparkle in his eyes Zoe hadn't seen before. "I'd like some scrambled eggs too."

"Ew, eggs. I came from one of those." He added some hand-flapping to his wrinkled nose.

"You did?" Satul stared at him as if he'd just arrived in a spaceship. Fuck! Yet another thing he'd let slip.

"Yeah."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"Yeah, you're real science freaks around here." He flicked back the cover, glad he'd slept in his clothes—Wojtek's clothes—and went out of the bedroom. It really had been a good way to wake up, even if Satul had ruined everything.

****

Wojtek watched him go, shoulders stiff and chin stubborn. He wanted to smile. His little warrior didn't like Satul asking questions—questions to which he'd been given the answers freely the night before. It shouldn't please him, but it did. Satul should back off. Zoe didn't want him knowing things.

"So... what's the plan?" Oh, his Beta knew he'd stepped over some boundaries by barging into his bedroom.

"We go talk to Tedor. I'm not sure he has anything to do with it. Yesterday's meeting could've been a coincidence—"

"Do you really think so?" Satul didn't look too convinced.

"No, I don't think the meeting was a coincidence. He's definitely up to something, but I'm not sure it has anything to do with the break-in."

Satul seemed to consider it. "You think we have two unconnected parties trying to harm us or our business?"

Saying it like that, it sounded hard to believe. Did he really think that? "I think Tedor wants us to care about the lizardian—"

"Zoe."

"Yes, Zoe. I think he wants us to care, and maybe to start questioning what we are doing. If we realise Zoe is an individual with needs and feelings, what does that tell us about the rest of our business?"

"You think he wants us to close shop?"

"I have no idea. Either that, or he's counting on our pride to hurt us. Like you said in your stupid bet, he'll wait a couple of weeks then give us an offer we can't refuse. We'll put Zoe in the pit and then suffer the tortures of the damned while he's in there. Worst-case scenario for us would be to watch him kill himself, if there's one thing we know, it's that our boy is a tad suicidal."

"Tedor wouldn't put himself through the trouble if he didn't gain anything, so what does he gain from us being heartbroken?"

See, he knew Satul was Beta for a reason. "No idea."

"Me neither." Oh, he'd thought he'd had a point. "Unless it's a pride thing."

"How do you mean?" Wojtek needed his coffee. He really couldn't think while he still was sitting on his bed, especially not when he smelled of Zoe—only way he'd smell this strongly of him was if he'd held him. He probably had.

"Simply that he's bested you. It could be as simple as that. They were having a good laugh when they saw that Zoe wasn't there to fight." His voice turned a little growly. "They were probably joking about you fucking him and therefore not wanting to put him in the ring."

Wojtek pursed his lips. Could it be that simple? He shrugged but stopped the movement when he saw the black look Satul was giving him. He wondered if his Beta was aware of how protective he'd become of Zoe. "You know he's not yours, right?"

"What?" Satul snarled.

"He doesn't want you, and I'm not just saying that," he hurried to add when he saw Satul was about to protest.

"It's not like that. I don't want to mate with him—"

"I should hope not! I don't think Ria would be happy to know you're considered fucking a man, and he's not even a man, he's a lizard. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be the one telling her."

Satul opened his mouth, then closed it again before saying, "It's just... they're just like us."

Hardly. "How do you mean?"

"That he has feelings, that we took him from his home, his family. That we've mistreated him, and forced him to fight for us, risking his life every fucking Friday."

"We didn't take him. He was here before I became Alpha, and he doesn't have a family."

"All the worse. He's without protection, and we profit from it."

"Yeah, well, let's have some breakfast, find Koray, and pay Tedor a visit." He didn't want to think about what Satul was saying. He knew Zoe had suffered, and he knew he wasn't the only one, but the pack needed their income. How would they survive if they gave up the fighting? A few already had jobs, human jobs. But the more they socialised with the humans the more they put themselves at risk. It wouldn't take much for their existence to be revealed and what would happen then? They had to keep the fights going.

Satul sighed. "Yeah, that'll be pleasant."

Wojtek couldn't help but grin. Pleasant was not the word he would've used.