Free Beasts and Savages (The Beastly Series Book 1) by Emma Woods Page A

ending.”
I nodded for her to go on, though I wasn’t sure how any hunt could be a good story.
“My pregnancy went smoothly, and my mother and I finally had a close and wonderful relationship. Until the baby was born. They told me he was a boy and tried to take him away before I could see him. I begged a nurse to let me tell him goodbye. She gave him to me and as soon as I saw his face, all of the horrible memories of the hunt came rushing back. I began weeping. The nurse rushed the baby away.”
“So you didn’t remember your first hunt until you had the baby?” I interrupted.
“That’s right. It was something about looking into his face. He had his father’s eyes. Almond shaped and cloudy blue, like looking at the sky on a hazy day.” She stopped talking and looked through me, as if watching something I couldn’t see.
“What happened next? How could you even consider hunting again after that?”
“Patience. His story doesn’t end there.” She focused back to me and continued, “I was friends with one of the night nurses. I talked her into bringing me my baby boy. I told her that I wanted to feed him so that he would grow strong and seed a healthy girl when his time came. She thought I was a brave mother. Honestly, I felt connected to him. The more I nursed and cuddled him, the more I convinced myself that hunting was wrong and I would never do it again.
“When I came home from the hospital, your grandmother refused to talk to me. She would make remarks about how I was a disgrace for having a boy and that she was embarrassed to call me her daughter. These were directed to Nana. She never uttered a word to me.”
“How could Grandmother do that?” I whispered.
Mother gave me a sharp look. “You know your grandmother. She was more spiteful then. Perfectly capable of shaming her daughter when I needed her the most.” She sighed, “Can I continue now?”
I nodded, scolding myself for interrupting again.
“Good. Now listen.” She thought back to where she left off. “I was so distraught over losing my baby that I spent most of my time in my room weeping. The doctors told your grandmother that I had postpartum depression and that it’d go away, and I needed something to take my mind off of things. A month after the boy’s birth, I got the official letter announcing that I would participate in the next hunt.
“Your grandmother finally spoke to me, ‘Do it right this time.’
“I went through the motions at school. None of my friends remembered their hunt, so I felt like I couldn’t talk to them. I began to remember my changings. I used all my energy trying to control myself during them. It distracted me from the pain. My mother was going to force me to hunt and fighting with her was futile. So, I decided I would go through with the hunt and let the boy go. I thought that if I didn’t kill the next boy that I hunted, maybe one day a girl would do the same for my son. I cheered up a little. I even tried to laugh and joke at my feast. I never told anyone that I couldn’t kill again.
“The second hunt started out very much the same as the first. Another boy at another fire, waiting. This boy was older than me, but I was taller. His features were hard and dark. I attacked him the same way and expected him to be submissive. He wasn’t. I thought I had him, but he moved quickly and held me to the ground. I poked him in the face with my bristles. It was enough to get an advantage. Once I had him pinned, I leaned to his ear and whispered, ‘I don’t want to kill you. Just give me what I want, and I’ll let you live.’
“This time I was able to control my instincts. The rage was still there, surrounding me, but I could keep it at bay. He continued to fight me, and I ended up shredding his fur with my nails, but I didn’t hurt him. Soon, he stopped struggling. He gave in and let me mate him. By the time I was finished he was holding onto my legs, moaning and grunting.
“I bent down to kiss him, a thank