Instead of a beast, Ramsey steps into view, staring intensely at Elena.
I breathe a sigh of relief, thankful it’s my second that’s come scouting and not one of the Veriskans.
Elena tangles herself in my legs, terrified.
Which is not good.
“So now we speak lesser tongue? A language of weak seed?”
I frown and look at Elena. “You needn’t worry.” I throw down my spear and grab my breeches. “This is Ramsey, my second.”
“And who is she?” he says, not even trying to mask his disdain.
“Her name is Elena.”
“The weak name suits the sickly girl.”
“The girl deceives you, for she is not weak.” I wrestle my pants on, though it’s a struggle with Elena trying desperately to cling to me.
“So now the strong cower?”
I exhale an annoyed breath. This isn’t going well. She wasn’t supposed to meet my people like this.
“There’s a lot to say, but it should be said in front of the rest of our people.”
“Aren’t you worried about what they’ll think when they discover you’ve bred a lesser?”
“She is no lesser. She is strong. In a different way.”
Ramsey sneers.
“And there’s about twenty more of her down by the shore.”
That got his attention. For as weak as Elena is, I can tell he’s roused by the sight of her body, which is fully on display now as she abandoned the fur for my protection.
The scent of her cunt lingers in the air, which must be torture to him. I know because it’s driving me mad.
“Why are they here?”
“They crashed on the northern shore.”
“Her coloring…is odd. Could it be the seed we sent so long ago?” He cocks his head to the side. “It must. She’s so small, but not a child.”
“She is…eligible, as she calls it. Eligible to mate.”
“How many men were aboard her ship?”
“The men are all dead,” and to emphasize their strength, I add, “The women killed them all.”
His eyes grow round when he realizes what I’ve said. “And there are twenty women aboard her crashed ship?”
“Around that number. All of them hurt and in need of care.”
Ramsey frowns. “Too weak to make it on their own.”
“Not weak. Strong in a different way.”
“The men won’t like this.”