Chapter 5 Craven, the Feral - Craven's POV

I stood at the top of the stairs, watching her as she stood just beyond the front door with Darren, admiring our village. He was such a lucky idiot getting to stand beside her. A growl rumbled in my chest as jealousy rushed through me. I hated that it wasn't me standing there.

Darren's arm snaked out, wrapping low around her back. My eyes widened as the jealousy grew, growing hotter and making me grit my teeth.

Though all women were given a choice upon arrival and mostly stayed with those who saved them, there had been times they had chosen otherwise. Sometimes they wanted one of the guys or they'd take them all. But the mere thought of her choosing anyone other than me set me ablaze.

What would I do if she fell for one of the others? What if she already found them more attractive?

Fear took over jealousy. 

Most of the males here were still searching for a mate, because it was rare for a female to be exiled. Right now, there were only about thirty women. The number of exiled males was in the hundreds, so those thirty women were snatched up quickly, and only five were monogamous. The rest had at least five men each.

It did little to help the hundreds of men still left without.

Now that she was here, there would be a fight because they’d want to take her from us to have her as their own.

Tyler glanced at me, his eyes heavy with sleep. He glanced down at the sight before me, rolling his eyes. “Do you think she likes him? Is that why you are so irritated?”

“I’m not sure,” I said, my gaze narrowing in his direction. "But I don't like how close he is to her."

“Maybe she’ll choose one of us…or all of us," he said hopefully. "It would be nice to have a woman, even if it means...sharing."

“We’d be lucky if she did,” I mumbled. “But look at how many unmated males are on the Isle. We could easily lose her if her interest lies elsewhere.”

I sighed as I thought about the other villages near here. In total, there had been five of them built, all in clearings and as big as they could get. That was the only way we could live in peace with so many men on the loose. It was separate or kill each other.

The ones here were mostly wolf shifters, elves, dragons, and a few demons. Other villages had cat shifters and other paranormal creatures. It was more than I could name or even think about.

Vampires were even fewer. I was the only one here, and I knew of one other in a village close to this one.

“Do you think the mainland is going to start sending more females?” He asked, one brow arched. "Maybe this is a sign that they are exiling some?"

“I don’t know,” I hissed, sounding more like a cat shifter than a vampire. “How would I? You know it’s sporadic and only those they don’t find value in are sent. That is why we don’t get many females. They'd rather use women to breed and get more productive people from that union."

My eyes landed on the door, wondering what she had done to be sent here. Females, to me, were very useful and were the backbone of the packs or clans. They were rarely exiled unless circumstances deemed there was no other way. They were just too valuable to let go of.

Oddly, each female that had arrived on the Isle didn't have anything wrong with them that I was aware of. None of us could find a single thing they did that should have warranted banishment. It made me think maybe they had dismissed someone's advances or maybe they just couldn't bear a child quick enough, and that was what did it.

I sighed. Oh, what I would give to be a fly on the wall in the room when they told her she was banished. I wondered what could have been the final straw with the coven.

“I know, but sending them here gives them less,” he said, his voice barely audible. “But she smells…good.”

I rolled my eyes at his words. It was always this way when a new female arrived. All the males lost their sense of control and their minds. They could only see the potential of what she could give them, and they would relentlessly pursue her just for one chance.

We were no better than the others roaming the village. But I couldn't blame them. We knew what it was like to be truly lonely and have limited pairings.

Darren laughed, drawing my attention to the door. My gaze narrowed with jealousy again. 

“We'd better keep a close eye on her,” I snapped. "We don't want to risk any of the others taking her from us."

"I don't think that will be a problem," he said, shrugging as he turned to head downstairs.

My gaze followed him until he went past the partition separating the kitchen from the living room. I knew he was hopeful, but I didn’t know if there would ever be enough females to go around. 

All paranormal males were jealous creatures. It wasn’t easy for us to share. I didn’t know how the others did it, because I knew I couldn’t. If she chose me, I would fight every male to the death to have her. I’d be no better than a mindless beast.

“Greedy,” I whispered to myself. “That’s what they will call you.”

Tyler stepped out of the kitchen, glancing up at the railing where I was still perched. He had a bright blue bowl in his hands. “Do you want stew today?”

“Why does my taste matter?” I asked, one brow arching. “You know I like blood better.”

“Since you can’t get it fresh, I figured you might want some stew,” he said, batting his eyes in defiance.

“Why are you such a brat?” 

He laughed, shaking his head. “It’s living here with all of you that has done this to me.”

I looked away, my gaze returning to the door. Darren and Adele were still standing there, unaware that I was up here glaring at them.

“You look murderous,” Tyler admitted. "Stop it."

“One more word and it’ll be you who finds their neck with my fangs in it,” I growled.

“Fine, Craven, the Feral,” he remarked, whirling on his heel to return to the kitchen. “I will leave you…alone to your brewing."

He made sure to say the last word really loud, which alerted Darren to my presence. I watched him turn subtly, not enough to alert her to what he was doing, and look up at me. A smirk crossed his lips.

“I hate you,” I seethed.

That made his smirk widen even more. He looked at me a second longer, then returned to talking to her. If I didn’t know any better, he had just tightened his grip on her as well. Everything in me demanded I go down there and tear his arm off, but I stopped myself. She wouldn’t come to me if she thought I was violent. No, I had to do this differently. 

With a sigh, I rested against the railing and watched them. I hated it more than I cared to admit. If any of the others found me standing here, they would be worse than Tyler. They’d practically demand that I explain why I’m watching her so intently.

But I didn’t want to tell them about the nagging in my chest nor what I was certain it meant.