Primals (Reverse Harem 1)

I sit at the edge of the bed, and take a deep breath.

“What about telling the Council?” Theo suggests. “They’ll be able to protect her.”

“Who’s the Council again?” I ask.

“It’s made up of leaders from every race,” Sebastian explains. “They’re our government. They make the rules and enforce them, punish those who go against them.”

Sounds like the government, alright.

“But if we hand Clarissa over to the Council, who’s to say they’ll protect her?” Toshi shrugs as he leans on the desk. “Didn’t the Cats keep the existence of Clarissa’s mother a secret precisely because they were afraid that the Council would...kill her? What if they think Clarissa is a loose end? You know what the Council does to loose ends.”

He has a point.

“The Council may be powerful,” Sebastian says, stepping forward. “But we can’t trust them.”

“I agree.” I stand up. “We can’t hand Clarissa over to them.”

“You know we can’t keep secrets from the Council,” Theo points out.

“We’ll do our best,” Sebastian says. “And face the consequences if we fail.”

“I can hide Clarissa,” I volunteer. “There’s a place my uncle left me. It’s by a lake and it’s pretty secluded. I added a new security system to the property, too, the last time I was there. I’m a human so no one can fault me for hiding her.”

“We’re not just hiding her. We’re protecting her,” Toshi reminds. “No offense but we don’t think you can do that, kiddo.”

I frown. But again, he’s right. I am only human.

> “Like you said, I put Clarissa in danger,” Sebastian says. “I’ll do anything to protect her.”

“As will I,” Theo swears. “Tell me where the place is and I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“Count me in,” Toshi pipes in. “I’m not about to let you guys have all the fun.”

I sigh. I guess there’s no shaking off these three.

Suddenly, we hear Clarissa scream.

At once, Toshi is gone, in the next room. Sebastian, too.

I follow them, a distant third, rushing to Clarissa who’s sitting up on the bed, shaking and sweating from her nightmare.

“Shh.” I wrap my arms around her, stroking her hair, amazed the others haven’t jumped in for comfort duty since they were here first. But I notice the way they look at each other and then back at me and realize they’re doing this for her, allowing her the most familiar thing in the room as a solace. I can live with that.

I wish I could tell her the nightmare is over but I know it isn’t. I wish I could tell her everything’s alright but it isn’t.

There’s only one thing I can say, the only thing I can assure her of.

“I’m here, Clarissa,” I whisper. “I’ll never leave you.”

She says nothing but eventually, calms down, falling back asleep.

I lay her down on the bed, pulling the sheets over her.

“Is she alright?” I hear Theo ask.

Toshi goes into the next room. “Yes, Clarissa’s fine. We’ll call you again soon.” He comes back, tucking his phone in his pocket. “I’ll check around.”

Sebastian nods. “I’ll be just outside the door.”