Liam approached Mal cautiously, the piece of raw meat trembling slightly in his hand. Her glowing eyes locked onto it, and the growl in her throat deepened.
“Here,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Mal strained against the ropes, her canines bared. “Closer,” she rasped, her voice guttural and barely human.
Liam shot me a nervous glance, and I nodded, urging him forward.
As soon as the meat was within reach, Mal lunged, her teeth sinking into it with a feral intensity that made Liam stumble back in alarm. She tore into it like a starving predator, blood dripping from her mouth as she devoured the piece in seconds.
“Whoa,” Liam muttered, his face pale. “That’s… unsettling.”
“She’s not done,” Logan said dryly, pointing at Mal.
He was right. Mal’s head snapped up, her glowing eyes sharper than ever. Her breathing was harsh and ragged, and her gaze flicked between us and the deer, her hunger clearly unsated.
“More,” she growled, her voice trembling with urgency.
I stepped in front of Liam, holding up a hand to keep her focus on me. “Mal, listen to me. You’ll get more, but you need to calm down first. Do you hear me?”
Her eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I thought she might snap again. But then, slowly, she nodded. Her breathing steadied slightly, though her muscles remained tense.
Liam exhaled in relief and moved back to the deer, cutting off another, larger piece. This time, he handed it to me. “You give it to her,” he said, his voice still shaky.
I crouched down and held the meat out carefully, watching as Mal’s eyes followed every movement. “Here,” I said softly, keeping my tone calm.
She reached for it, her hands still bound, but hesitated. For a brief moment, her glowing eyes dimmed, and something like shame flickered across her face.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I don’t want to be like this.”
My heart clenched, and I leaned closer, offering the meat again. “It’s okay, Mal. We’ll figure this out. Eat. You need it.”
She took it from my hands this time, slower and with more control. As she ate, the tension in her body gradually eased. Her eyes, though still glowing faintly, no longer burned with the same feral intensity.
Logan stepped forward, his arms still crossed. “Well, that was fun,” he said, his tone light but his expression serious. “Now what? She’s clearly not back to normal yet.”
“We untie her,” I said firmly.
“Are you insane?” Logan snapped.
“She’s calming down,” I insisted. “And she’s not going to hurt us.” I turned to Mal, who was licking the blood from her hands. “Right, Mal?”
She nodded weakly, her voice hoarse. “I won’t. I promise.”
Logan still looked skeptical, but Liam surprised me by siding with me. “She needs to feel like she’s not trapped,” he said quietly. “It’s not helping her to stay tied up.”
With that, I reached for the ropes and began undoing them. Mal stayed perfectly still, her eyes watching me carefully as I worked. When the last knot came loose, she let out a shaky breath, rubbing her wrists.
“Thank you,” she murmured, her voice soft and full of regret.
I helped her sit up, offering her the glass of water Liam had brought earlier. She drank it in slow, careful sips, her glowing eyes finally dimming to a soft amber hue.
Logan sighed, shaking his head. “Your funeral,” he muttered, though he didn’t argue further.
Liam and I exchanged a relieved glance as Mal leaned back against the couch, her breathing steadying. For now, the storm had passed-but I knew this wasn’t over.
Whatever was happening to Mal, it wasn’t just hunger. It was something deeper, darker-and we were going to have to face it soon.