40. EZRA

“He demands to search the forest for clues,” Devrim muttered as he ran a hand down his face.

I frowned at him. “We already searched and found nothing.”

Devrim nodded. “I explained everything when we gave them the body.”

“They think you killed her.”

We turned to find Vanya hovering in the doorway. She was a mess which was expected considering what she had been through the last few days.

Vanya hadn’t said a word since she found the body of her friend, not even when the Chief questioned her. The moment we returned from the main house, she went straight up to her room and stayed there.

My eyes trailed over her as she stood in the doorway. Vanya was pale, trembling. The shirt she wore was hanging off of her too thin frame. She had always been slim, but she lost so much weight in the last few days.

“Vanya.” Devrim stood and walked around the table towards her. “You know that we would never harm—”

“Do I?” she questioned.

Shock filled me. “You know us, Vanya,” I said as I moved to stand next to Devrim.

Vanya’s eyes darted from his to mine. She said nothing, but her eyes told us everything. The accusation made my heart drop to my stomach. How could she think that of us?

Vanya crossed her arms over her chest and lowered her head. “I talked to my father. I’m going to stay with him until after the funeral because it’s closer to town.”

“No,” Devrim growled. “You’re—”

 “My best friend is dead! Nothing you say or do is going to stop me from paying my respect to her and her family!” she yelled.

Before either of us could utter a word, she spun on her heels and stormed off.

I grabbed Devrim’s arm to stop him from going after her. “She’s grieving. Humans say things they don’t mean when they are grieving,” I told him.

“Vanya can’t go alone,” he sneered. “She’s—”

“Don’t worry about her. You find out who the bastard is and I’ll take care of her.”

Devrim hesitated. “I don’t trust her father, Ezra. Something about that man doesn’t feel right.”

“Obsidian rubbing off on you?”

He frowned at me, but said nothing. Walking back around his desk, he took a seat again and started studying the photos spread out on it.

Taking his silence as my dismissal, I walked away.

***

Vanya was pissed which I couldn’t understand. She knew that we wouldn’t allow her to go anywhere alone with the killer still out there.

The humans had thought him to be dead. They thought the man who was killed by the bear had been the killer. How could they be so stupid? How could we have let our guard down when we knew he was still out there?

My eyes darted over to Vanya.

She was unpacking the bag she had brought with her. There was so much violence in the way she pushed the clothes into the drawers.

It was also a very big turn on, but I was sure she wouldn’t appreciate it if I walked over there and kissed her.

I sighed and made my way over to the window instead. My eyes darted around the backyard, but I spotted nothing odd.

A drawer suddenly slammed shut, making me turn to face her. Vanya stood in front of the chest of drawers and stared at the stuff on top of it.

“Vanya?”

She shook her head. “We talked on the phone,” she whispered. “Charlene and I, but she hung up, saying that she needed to get back to work. I should’ve called her back later to make sure that everything was okay, but I didn’t, because I was preoccupied.”

Swallowing, I walked over to her and hesitated before I reached for her. The moment my fingers brushed her skin, she jerked away.

“We need to get ready for dinner.”

***

Joy had a name that didn’t match her personality at all.

There was nothing joyful about her. The false smile slipped from her face the moment I joined Vanya at the table.

“What the hell is that animal doing here?” she questioned.

Mayor Reeves glared at his wife. “Really, Joy?” He shook his head. “Ezra is a guest.”

Joy huffed and dropped her eyes to the table, but not before giving me a sneer.

My eyes darted over to Vanya as uncertainty hit me. There were a lot of forks and spoons placed on either side of the large plates. Did they use all of that to eat with?

A soft brush against my arm pulled my attention away from the table. Vanya gave me a small smile, but it quickly faded and the cold mask slipped back into place again.

“Start from the outside and work your way inwards,” she said softly. “The spoon directly next to the plate is for dessert which is the last meal we’ll have.”

My hands curled into fists. “Okay.”

The urge to run was strong.

Vanya took a seat at the table opposite her father. I hesitated before I took a seat next to her.

I clutched at my thighs when the door opened on the other side of the room and more humans entered. The smell of unfamiliar food filled my nostrils, and a second later, a bowl was placed down on the plate in front of me.

“Chicken noodle soup,” Reeves drawled with a smile. “You’ll like it, Ezra. I’ve added an extra ingredient.”

I doubt it.

Pursing my lips, I glanced at Vanya from beneath my lashes. She was frowning at her father.

As discreetly as I could, I leaned down and sniffed at the soup. Alarm hit when the smell of something familiar filled my nostrils.

It was a daily occurrence at the facility. They drugged our food when they wanted to move us or do some tests. After a while, it became easier to make out the smell in our food and sometimes our water.

My eyes snapped to Joy when she moved.

“So Vanya,” she said, “what’s it like living with a bunch of animals?”