12. VANYA: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

In all the times Charlene and I snuck out into the forest, we’ve never been so deep before. The deeper we went, the denser the trees became, and the darker and scarier it got.
I stopped and tilted my head back to stare up at the tall trees that surrounded us. It seemed like they were never-ending, and I couldn’t even see the sky any longer. At some spots underneath the trees between thick bushes, bright flowers grew. Something about them seemed familiar, but that was insane since I was sure that I had never been this deep into the forest before. Maybe I had seen them on the TV or in one of the books I’ve read.
“Do you want to rest?”
I looked at Devrim and shook my head. “I’m just admiring nature.”
His eyes darted over my face and then dropped to trail down my body. Thankfully I had made the sensible choice by wearing sneakers instead of my usual sandals.
“We can rest if you want to, Vanya,” he said. “I know humans aren’t as fit as—”
My eyes snapped back to his. “Are you saying I’m fat?”
“No! I’m just—”
“I have you know that I go to the gym every other day and I eat very healthy. . .most of the time.” I placed my hands on my hips and glared at him.
Ezra muttered something too low for me to hear, but Devrim had heard him because he spun around and hissed at him. Like actually hissed like a cat. They were technically cats, right? Or part of the big cat family, right? I frowned.
My eyes darted between them. Devrim looked like he wanted to attack Ezra, and Ezra was smirking at him, almost daring him to do it. After a few seconds of staring at each other, Devrim turned away from him and towards me. His eyes darted over my body again but quickly locked with mine.
“We should get going before it gets dark.”
This was the second time they had mentioned getting home before dark. “Why?” I questioned in curiosity.
He winked at me. “We’re not the only predators out here, sweet cheeks.”
Did he just call me sweet cheeks?

***

By the time we reached the house, my calves were killing me. Somehow I had managed to keep my breathing under control even though I was struggling to get enough air into my lungs. Was this payback for lying about going to the gym? Shit, why am I feeling so shaky?
The first thing I noticed when we stepped through the front door was the smell. My stomach grumbled loudly, making colour flood my cheeks when the men turned to face me.
“I. . .skipped lunch, and there wasn’t time for dinner.”
Ezra growled. “You should eat. You’re already so little.”
Little? My lips parted, but before I could utter a word, Ezra grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen. My eyesight wasn’t as good as theirs, and since it was already mostly dark, I hadn’t seen the outside of their house yet.
The lights that I had seen coming from the house when we were approaching it was apparently the living room along with the kitchen lights.
“Sit.” Ezra gripped my hips and lifted me onto the high barstool by the kitchen island. “I’ll get you food.”
I turned and leaned my elbows on the marble countertop and glanced around as I waited for him to bring me the delicious-smelling food.
The whole house—well from what I could see of the first floor—was an open plan. We had used the front door to enter the house, which had opened right into the spacious living room that was set apart from the kitchen by a bar. The stairs were to the left and next to it was a dark hallway that led to another part of the house. Everything looked modern, which was a surprise considering they lived in the middle of the forest.
“Do you have electricity?”
“Not yet,” Devrim said, making my heart drop. “We still have to talk to some of the other members into allowing humans into their house to set up everything needed for it. Reeves said that it might take months to get it done. Some of the pride isn’t too keen on having humans invading their homes.”
“The appliances?”
“Gas,” Ezra said as he placed a plate down in front of me.
“They had it especially installed for you, princess,” a familiar voice sneered to my left. “We usually go hunting if we’re hungry.”
“Obsidian.”
He ignored them and walked around the island to lean against the sink opposite me with his arms crossed over his chest. My eyes darted over him, but my view was suddenly blocked by Devrim when he stepped in front of me.
“This was delivered for you,” he said, placing a can of Cola next to the plate. “I was told that it’s your favourite.”
“Eat,” Ezra urged. “Your stomach keeps grumbling.”
Right. Food. I just needed to try and ignore the three sets of eyes burning into me. I reached out but froze when I realized that Ezra hadn’t given me a fork to eat with. However, before I could even ask for one, one was placed within my reach. My eyes darted up and locked with Obsidian’s.
“Excuse them,” he muttered. “They’re not used to having. . .humans over.”
The way he said ‘humans’ made it sound like an insult. I frowned at him. What the hell was his problem?
I gripped the fork tightly and looked down at my plate. It smelled delicious, and it looked it, but I spotted something that could cause me another visit to the hospital.
“Something wrong, human?” Obsidian questioned. “Is it not up to your standards?”
Devrim spun around with his arm raised, but Obsidian was faster. A scream fell from my lips when Obsidian’s hand shot out and wrapped around Devrim’s throat.
I was off the chair and next to them in seconds. “What are you doing? You’re hurting him! Let him go!”
An arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me away from them before I could grip Obsidians and try to loosen it. The moment I was out of the way, Obsidian stepped closer to Devrim and squeezed his throat. A low growl fell from his lips, making icy shivers raced down my spine.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” he hissed at Devrim.
“Don’t fucking insult her,” Devrim hissed back.
Obsidian smirked. “Or what?”