Weres

31. The Lesser Evil

"It's a shame that you don't eat meat. You're missing out on a lot of good things."

Marley turned to Theo who was busy stirring the contents inside the metal pot with a wooden spatula. The thick brown liquid and a few green lumps floating in it looked far from eatable, but Marley wasn't exactly in a state to nit-pick since it was the same food that was keeping her stomach warm for last three days.

Ever since she came here, her day hours were spent roaming around the hallways of the dilapidated building—that looked like a very old abandoned mansion or something similar to it— and nights locked away in a dark room. During her expeditions, she always had a company, mostly Theo and some rare times Jared. 

She had concluded that they were assigned by Odis to keep an eye on her. Even though their presence was a big hindrance to her escape, she sometimes felt grateful for it.

Around a hundred men (or whatever they were) resided in this old mansion. And Marley was subjected to their predatory gazes, like a food waiting to be devoured by them. She hated their prying eyes.

After all, they were men and she happened to be the only female among them and to top it all, a weakling human. She was grateful that Jared was keeping his promise of protecting her.

He made sure that every other man kept distance and never approached her in any hostile manner. His one glare was enough to convey the message. 

Marley wondered that Jared might had some upper hand on them to be able to pull this off because one cannot simply make those brawny brutes shrink back.

She decided to ignore Theo's remark and willed herself to finally have some solid conversation. He was the only man present here who came off as non-threatening, but then again looks can be deceiving.

"Why are you here?" Marley asked, keeping her voice low and looking around to make sure no one was around. They were in a small room—which she guessed to be the kitchen.

Theo turned to her with furrowed brows, still rotating the big spatula.

"You're a human. Aren't you?" She spoke again. "What are you doing with these... people?"

"What gave it away? My lack of muscles or my inability to growl." Theo chuckled which turned into awkward coughs when Marley didn't share his amusement. Given her circumstances, she wasn't particularly fond of laughing. All Marley wanted was to go home.

"Jared told me."

"Oh! that nosy prick. Couldn't mind his own business." He grumbled, looking at the boiling soup inside the pot. "Yes, I am normal just like you without any special powers."

"Why are you here? Did they abduct you too?"

"No, they didn't. Joining them was my choice." Theo replied and sighed when he she gave him an incredulous look. "Odis isn't as bad as you think of him. He's actually the good guy here..." His tongue felt bitter. "Okay maybe not the good guy but he's definitely not the bad one."

"I don't believe you."

"And I don't expect you to after what he did." He dropped the spoon and put out the fire. "Marley others were given order only to attack your pack but we didn't know Odis was there to get you. Jared would stop him somehow if he knew about that beforehand. Jared's not a rogue so he understands the importance of mates, but maybe Odis doesn't."

The last thing Marley wanted to hear was someone praising Odis. What the man did was simply evil.

"Why are you here?" She asked again, hoping if Theo could find these lycans (as they like to call themselves) then so could Eden to save her from this hell.