Hunger Untamed (Feral Warriors #5)(11)

Easing his big frame into the cell, he squatted beside her, hoping he didn't scare her by getting too close.

"Natalie?"

She straightened, looking at him with tear-drenched eyes, her hand going to her face as she choked on another sob.

"Look at me. Look into my eyes, and let's see if we can't make you forget."

Her head jerked. "I don't . . ." The sobs wouldn't leave her, and she quit fighting both of them and looked into his eyes as he'd requested.

He cupped her tear-damp jaw, his gaze dropping to the thick, grotesque gash across her cheekbone, then back up. Staring into gray eyes as deep as a storm-tossed sea, he attempted once more to cloud her mind and steal her memories, but as before, on the battlefield, nothing happened.

With a frustrated sigh, he released her and rose as she curled in on herself, swept away by the chaos of her emotions.

Kara and Lyon finally arrived, and he went to join them.

"No luck?" Lyon asked.

"No."

Kara made a sound of misery. "She's suffering, Lyon. Can't you steal her emotions as you did mine?"

"She's human."

Kara looked at him askance. "So? Until a few weeks ago, I thought I was, too."

Lyon caught Wulfe's gaze, his trepidation about going anywhere near a crying female clear in his expression.

Wulfe gave him a wry look. "This one's okay. Come on. She could use your magic touch." Lyon was the only one of the Ferals with that particular gift to any substantive degree.

He walked into the cage first and once more squatted beside the grieving woman. "Natalie? This is Lyon. He's going to help you. Give him your hand."

The woman struggled against the tide of tears, gasping as she straightened again, her gaze moving from Wulfe to Lyon with wary uncertainty.

Lyon held out his hand. "I won't hurt you."

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she slowly placed her hand in Lyon's much larger one. Almost at once, the tension began to visibly drain out of her, the tears subsiding. "What are you doing?" Even her voice sounded almost clear again.

Kara came to stand in the doorway of the cell, a water bottle in one hand, a small bag of crackers in the other. "He's a healer of sorts. He helps heal broken hearts."

Lyon grunted. "I take emotions."

Kara smiled softly. "It's often the same thing. I'm Kara. I'm sorry for all you've been through." She handed Wulfe the water and crackers.

Wulfe screwed off the top of the water bottle and handed it to Natalie.

The woman took a long drink, her intrigued gaze returning to Lyon beneath tear-spiked lashes. "That's amazing, what you can do. I feel . . . okay, now. Like I can handle this."

The moment Lyon released her, she dug into the bag and pulled out one of the crackers. Her gaze swung to Wulfe. "How long have I been asleep? I'm starving."

"Longer than you think. Eat up."

Lyon rose and joined Kara at the cage's door, his arm going around his mate's shoulders.

"Esmeria says only one bottle of water and a few crackers this first time," Kara told him. "She needs to take it slow."

Within minutes, the crackers were gone and the water bottle empty.

Lyon steered Kara out of the cage. "She needs to sleep, Wulfe."

"Agreed."

Natalie's gaze snapped to his, wariness leaping into her eyes. "You're going to knock me out again. I watched what you did to Xavier and Christy. I know you did it to me."

He didn't deny it. "It won't hurt you, and the less you hear, the better for you and us both. I'll leave you in here with your brother if you'd like."

Her tension slid away. Slowly, she nodded. "All right."

Sliding his hand to the side of her warm neck, he found the spot beneath her ear with his thumb and pressed. He caught her as she collapsed. Beneath the acrid scent of fear and sweat that still clung to her, he smelled another. Her own scent. A calm gray-eyes scent, like a warm summer breeze.

Lifting her into his arms, he laid her on the opposite side of the small cage from her brother so the male wouldn't accidentally kick her when he woke, as he was sure to do soon.

As Wulfe left the cage and locked it behind him, Lyon lifted a brow. "She didn't appear to be afraid of you."

"Why would she be afraid of Wulfe?" Kara asked.

Wulfe looked down at his chief's mate from his seven-foot height with his badly scarred face, and saw nothing but genuine puzzlement. Not for the first time he marveled at their good fortune in being blessed with this woman as their Radiant.

With a smile, he hooked his arm around her neck and pulled her to him for a hug as he met his chief's gaze. "Think of all she saw that day."

A quick smile of understanding flickered across Lyon's face. "Daemons. You're flat-out pretty compared to them."

Wulfe grinned, releasing Kara.

Lyon nodded toward the unconscious male. "Who is he to her?"

"Her brother. And she confirmed it. He's blind."

All hint of amusement left his chief's face. "Shit."

"Yeah." He felt the same way about the prospect of killing the male. But he wasn't sure how they were going to avoid it.

"Well, we don't have to do anything about them today. Do you want someone to spell you for a while?"