Hunger Awakened (The Feral Book 1)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “Only other iron-containing objects.”

  She smiled as if what he had just said was funny. “Yes, exactly. A magnet can also refer to a person though.”

  “A person cannot be magnetic.”

  “Not literally, no. If a person is considered to be a magnet, they easily attract others.”

  Talon gave it some thought. So his shirt had a picture of a feline ‒ a cat ‒ and the word magnet. “It means I attract cats.” He frowned. That made no sense. “Oliver does like me very much, so—”

  "I told you, another word for cat is pussy." When he didn't respond, she sighed loudly. Something she did when she was frustrated. "Pussy is another name for a female part of the anatomy." She widened her eyes.

  Talon hated it when she assumed he understood. She was vague and then assumed. Infuriating. “Which female part?” Was it specific to humans maybe?

  Vicky’s cheeks turned pink and she put the cooking instrument down, folding her arms. “A very private part of a female’s anatomy … her vagina.”

  “I have never heard of a vagina.” What was she trying to tell him? Why didn’t she just say it?

  “You’ve never heard of a vajayjay, a vag?” She pulled in a deep breath, looking horrified. “What about a cunt …?” She cringed when she said the word.

  He shook his head.

  “Okay then, what about a fanny or a muff?”

  “No and no. Just tell me.” There was a growl to his voice that couldn’t be helped.

  “Fine.” She narrowed her eyes. “Men and women have sex, I know you know what sex is.”

  “Yes,” he pushed out the word. “I know what mounting is.” Again, it came out with an edge. He normally didn’t care either way about a subject like this. It left him cold. Right now; however, it irritated him. Made him feel prickly all over. He didn’t feel like talking about mounting with Vicky. The whole subject irritated him.

  “Guys have cocks … penises … Pricks!” She yelled the last word, when she remembered it. Hearing her say it, made his balls feel odd. Scratchy. He didn’t give in to the urge to give them a tug, or maybe to reposition them. Tried to ignore them altogether. “Yes,” he urged, wanting this conversation to be over.

  “Well, guys have pricks and women have vaginas, often referred to as pussies.”

  “Oh, a snatch.” His balls pulled up a little. The need to scratch them was almost overpowering. Very irritating. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” he snapped.

  "Snatch." She choked out a laugh. "The only name for a vajayjay I didn't think of. Well, excuuuuse me." She dragged out the word. "So, you have pussy magnet on your shirt, meaning you attract and are irresistible to women. Only you are referring to them by their female part which is considered rude." She rolled her eyes. "Let's get you fed and then let's go shopping. I'll let you wear this shirt when I'm done with you in a couple of months. Maybe by then it will be true." She looked away and sighed. This time it was wistful rather than out of irritation. "I'm sure it will be," she mumbled the last.

  “I hope so, otherwise you will not have done your job. We don’t have months though. I am here for six weeks.”

  “Weeks?” Her face visibly paled.

  “Yes, I’m afraid I will have to return to my people once the six weeks are up.”

  The human shrugged. “It’s fine. Not like I have a ton of clients or anything,” she mumbled under her breath. “We will need to have daily sessions though. Are you up for that?”

  “Yes, I’m here to learn.” Talon sat down at the table. Vicky walked over, both hands full, and placed a heaped plate of food in front of him.

  “Thank you.” Talon took a bite of a thin strip of meat. It was fatty and delicious. He moaned. “You are a very good cook.” He looked her over. Flared hips, large swells on her chest which were interesting to him. Females of his species had small mammary glands. These were large and soft looking. It made him feel odd in the pit of his stomach to look at them. Not arousal though. It definitely wasn’t that. Must be curiosity. He needed to stop looking at them from here on out. He didn’t like that feeling. Didn’t like that her chest interested him.

  Vicky smiled, looking down at his plate. “And? How does it taste?”

  "It's delicious." Talon swallowed. Vicky was kind; talked too much sometimes but was still sweet. She was attractive and could cook. He frowned. "Why are you unmated?" She had mentioned a male earlier. Her pussycat hadn't liked him much.

  Her face got this pinched look. “I was married for eight years, although we were together for quite a few more than that.” She pulled in a deep breath through her nostrils, holding it inside for a few seconds before letting it out. “My husband cheated on me with another woman, so it’s over. Has been for a year now.”

  “He cheated?” He knew what the word meant, only not how it applied in this situation.

  “He had sex with another woman.”

  “What?” Anger coursed through Talon. “He did what?”

  “Okay.” She grimaced. “I know you know what sex is.”

  “Yes,” he growled. “For the last time, I know what sex is. Non-humans do not cheat on their mates.” He shook his head. “This cheating is a new concept to me.”

  “So,” she raised her brows, “your people don’t cheat on one another? As in, ever?”

  “Never.” He scooped some of the yellow food onto his fork. “It is not possible. It just, wouldn’t happen.” Even now, his mate long gone, he still couldn’t … be with someone else.

  “I don’t understand what you mean by not possible.”

  “We are only attracted to our mates.” He shook his head. “There is zero attraction for anyone else.”

  “Oh wow! That’s great.”

  Was it?

  Of course it was. Certainly for mated couples. He felt instantly guilty for his line of thinking. “It is very important for young to come from a stable environment.”

  “Yeah, from two people who are completely head over heels in love with one another.”

  “Compatibility is important.” He nodded.

  “Not really the same thing as love, is it?”

  Talon was quite sure the human was talking about compatibility, but he got the feeling she would argue if he expressed his opinion. Their species were certainly very different and yet, not. He put the fork into his mouth. The strange yellow stuff was soft and fluffy. It was not dry like he had expected. “Mmmmmmm.” He made a noise of appreciation as he chewed. “What is this?” he asked around his food.

  “What, scrambled eggs? Have you never had …”

  Talon spat the contents of his mouth into his hand.

  “Oh! Oh no … are you allergic to eggs or something?” Vicky pushed her chair back and stood up. “Throw it in here.” She opened a cupboard. A bad smell emanated from inside. There was a black bag in it, filled with other rubbish.

  Talon threw the … his stomach rolled … egg … inside.

  “Here. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” She pulled another one of those handles and water cascaded from a pipe. “You can wash your hands.”

  He did as she said, rinsing his mouth a couple of times as well.

  “Are you feeling anything? Is your tongue swelling or—?”

  “I’m fine.” He shook his head. “I don’t eat eggs. I choose not to.”

  She huffed out a breath and put her hand to her chest. “So, it has nothing to do with you being allergic? The egg won’t make you sick?” she added when he frowned.

  “No, it won’t make me sick.” He looked down at his feet and then back at her. “You do realize that you are eating another creature’s young?” He grimaced, feeling sick to his stomach. “That’s not right.”

  “Oh god! Really? That’s why you spat the egg out?”

  “You don’t mind,” he was sure to look her deep in the eyes, “that another animal’s offspring are dead because of you. That is exactly why I spat it out.” He shook his head. “It is wrong. It’s barbaric.” He felt
ill just thinking about the yellow on his plate.

  “Okay, wait up …” She held up both hands, palms out. “Those eggs aren’t even fertilized. There was never going to be a baby anything in them, so I did not kill anything.”

  Not fertilized.

  No baby.

  “That’s not important. It’s the principle of the matter.” Eggs! His head spun at the thought. Humans were wrong. Just plain wrong.

  “It is important. Especially when you’re accusing me of killing something before it had a chance to develop. I’m definitely not barbaric and I didn’t kill anything. You’re eating the meat just fine.” She pointed at the strip on his fork. “A creature had to die so you could eat that.”

  “This is different.” He waved the fork. “It’s not an unborn creature.” He grimaced as his stomach lurched. “Alright, maybe calling you barbaric went a bit far. I’m glad the eggs were not fertilized. Having said that, I never want to eat eggs ever again. Not ever.”

  “Okay. Fine. No problem.”

  “Good then.”

  “Glad we settled that.” She pointed to a box, it had a picture of an orange on it. “Would you like some juice?” Before he could answer, she went on. “There is also coffee, if you would prefer?”

  “Coffee?” He shook his head. “I’ve never heard of coffee.”

  “Oh, brother. You don’t know what coffee is? Java, brew, joe—”

  “Stop,” he growled. “Throwing different names for the same thing at me won’t help.”

  “Here …” She handed him a cup.

  Talon sniffed at it. He wrinkled his nose. “Smells bitter.”

  “You can always add cream and sugar.” She pushed over a bottle of cream, which he also sniffed.

  Talon made a face, his stomach gave another lurch. “You drink food meant for newborn young?”

  The human looked at him like he had just sprouted wings, or a couple of feathers, and for a second, he was tempted to check. Just to be sure that he hadn’t done exactly that. “It’s cow’s milk. Nothing wrong with that. Everyone drinks milk.”

  “Nothing wrong! You’re drinking food meant for the young of another species. That’s sick!”

  “It is not. It’s normal.”

  “For humans. You said everyone drinks milk. We don’t.”

  She sighed. “Yes, for humans and you’re not human.” Her voice sounded different.

  He shook his head. “No, I’m not.” By the way she looked at him, he got the impression she didn’t believe him. Strange. They were so different. There was nothing human about him. Okay, maybe he looked like one. Mostly anyhow. Other than that, they were night and day. Up and down. Hard and soft. His gaze drifted back to her chest. Stop it! No more curiosity about the human. He had a job to do.

  Chapter 6

  I’m not so sure about this,” he growled, though somehow his voice still managed to retain its singsong quality. Rasping yet ready to break out in song. Joe Cocker meets Jared Leto. Super sexy.

  “I am sure.” She spoke up so that he would hear her. “If you’re fully dressed, get your ass out here, Bright Eyes, and let me take a look.” If he looked half as good in this as he had in the last five ensembles, she was in for a treat.

  “It’s scratchy.”

  Like she hadn’t heard that one coming out of his lips today already. “Get out here!” she yelled.

  “It’s …” He huffed out a rumbling breath. Even that had a melodic quality to it. “I don’t know. I don’t think I like it.”

  “You haven’t liked anything yet, so you need to let me be the judge of that.”

  “You’re sure, you’re sure?” He sounded hesitant. That, and … irritated.

  “For the hundredth time, I’m the expert. It’s what you’re paying me for. Now, let me do my job and get your …” Sexy! Hot! Yummy! Unfortunately, crazy! “ass out here.”

  The curtain opened, the rings scraping on the pole. Her mouth dropped open. It was the best outfit yet. “Wow!” She put a hand over her lips for a few seconds. “You look great.” Understatement of the year. He looked edible.

  He looked at her like she’d lost her mind, looking down at himself. At those jeans. They actually made it to below his ankles and hugged his thighs in such a way that made her mouth just a tad dry. The sweater. Man, that sweater. Made from a light gray, angora wool, it accentuated his shoulders, his chest. Best of all, those biceps. Hubba freaking hubba!

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” He rubbed a hand down the front of his chest. Forget dry mouth, it was suddenly wet with drool. “It looks terrible doesn’t it?” He narrowed his eyes and began to pull the sweater off.

  Vicky caught a glimpse of his abs. His rock hard, magnificent abs. For a second, she was tempted to let him take the sweater off so she could ogle him … again.

  “Stop! Leave it on. It looks amazing.”

  His hand stilled.

  “I promise, you look perfect. This look is exactly what I had in mind.”

  He pulled the sweater back into place. “You’re sure?” He cocked a brow in her direction, not convinced.

  “Very sure.” Her eyes drifted down. Oh … nope. That wouldn’t do. He didn't have bad feet, considering their size. They were well put together and perfectly tanned, despite the fact that it was mid-winter. "We just need to find a giant-size shoe to fit your huge feet. I know a footwear store that, just like this one, specializes in out of the ordinary sizes."

  “I don’t like those tube shoes.” He shook his head.

  “Tube shoes?” She frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of those.”

  “You know, the ones that cover the whole foot. They are tight and uncomfortable. At least, that’s what Soren said when he tied them onto his foot.”

  “Who is Soren?”

  “One of my kind. He is one of the other males who came on this journey to find out about human females.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that there are more of you running around?”

  Talon nodded. “Yes, there are four of us.”

  "Okay." Lord help this city if there were four of these Neanderthal types on the loose. Clueless wonders! Sweet but … sheesh, so very naïve. "Let's go and pay for these." Then again, Soren could also be a figment of his imagination. She pointed at the pile of clothing on the chair next to her. "You can leave those on." She nodded towards what he was wearing. "We're buying some shoes ‒ yes, they will cover your whole foot ‒ and then we're going on our first outing." She glanced at her watch. "It's lunchtime, so we can grab some food and people watch. You will be amazed at how much you learn from a little bit of observation."

  “I need to do more than watch. I need to meet females. Interact with them.”

  Vicky smiled at the poor guy. “You are nowhere near ready for actual interaction yet … yet being the operative word.” She quickly added the last when she saw him prepare to argue.

  He squared his massive shoulders. “Fine, but we can’t fool around too long, I need to learn the ways of human females. I don’t have very long.”

  “Hold up right there.” She put a hand up. “You need to stop referring to us as human. From here on out you are banned from saying the word ‘human’.”

  “Why? You are a human and I am not. There are differences. Major differences.”

  Yeah, right! “Still. Drop the whole talk of humans, and while we’re on it, say woman, not female and man, not male. Can you do that?”

  “Why? It’s stupid.” That beautiful voice of his turned a tad smoky and a lot sexy. “You are a female and I am a male.” He shrugged. “But you are the expert, and if you insist.”

  “That’s not how we talk. I don’t want you to stand out as being different. You need to blend in, act more human.”

  “You just said human. You aren’t permitted to say that word.”

  “No, you’re not permitted to say that word. I can say whatever I want. Now, say woman.”

  “Woman.” He pushed a breath out through his nose.<
br />
  “Good. That wasn’t so difficult was it?”

  He shook his head. “I am willing to do what it takes to get this task done. If changing the way I dress and speak helps me reach my objective then so be it.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  The female, looked down at him, a smile on her lips. “And you, Sir, have you seen anything that piques your interest?”

  “Yes, I see women.” He felt proud that he had said the right thing. “There are lots of them here.” He looked around the room. “I am very interested in women.”

  When he looked back at her, her eyes had widened, and her mouth had flopped open. “Um …” She blinked a few times. “I meant on the menu, Sir.” She looked pointedly at the leather-bound book on the table in front of him. He really needed to learn to read. That was one of the first points he would bring up in the meetings with his people. If they were to mingle with humans, they needed to be literate. “Would you like anything to eat from the menu?” Another nod in the direction of the book. Her smile, not nearly as genuine as it had been a few moments ago.

  “Meat.” He was hungry. Very hungry. Trying on tight, scratchy clothing would do that to a male. As would wearing tube shoes. Vicky called them boots. He called them torture devices. They currently strangled his feet.

  “Hmmm …” Vicky flipped through the menu, her eyes darting from left to right and up and down. “What Talon means is that he would like the New York Strip, please.”

  “I want meat.”

  Vicky threw him an angry look. He knew that kind of look well. Had been on the receiving end of a look like that on more than one occasion when he was still mated. It was a look that was designed to put him in his place and shut him up. He glared back instead of answering like he wanted to.

  “The New York Strip is steak … um, meat.” Vicky smiled at him. It didn’t reach her eyes, which were still telling him to keep his mouth closed. She turned back to the other fem— woman. “He’ll have the steak with the baby potatoes and roasted medley of vegetables.”

  “No potatoes.” He shook his head. “Or vegetables. Just the meat.”