Chapter 5 Craven, the Feral - Craven's POV

I stood at the top of the stairs, watching her take in the Isle of the Forgotten. Darren, the lucky idiot, was with her, standing at her side. That was where I should be.

I hated that she was enjoying her first day here with him. 

My grip tightened on the railing as Darren wrapped his arm low around her back. Jealousy surged through my veins, making me grit my teeth. What if she fell for one of the others? What if she found them more attractive?

Fear took over jealousy. 

Most of the males here were searching for a mate, but it was rare for a female to be exiled, so there were only about thirty. The number of exiled males was in the hundreds. 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 as they’d want to take her from us.

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. 

“Maybe she’ll choose one of us…or all of us.”

“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 one here were mostly wolf shifters, vampires, 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.

“Do you think the mainland is going to start sending more females?” He asked, one brow arched.

“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. That is why we don’t get many females.”

My eyes landed on the door, wondering what was going on. Females had many uses depending on the clan or pack. They were never exiled unless circumstances deemed there was no other way. They were too..valuable. But each female who was sent here was perfectly fine. 

None of us could find a single thing they did that should have warranted banishment.

Oh, what I’d give to be a fly on the wall in that room, just to find out why she was sent here.

“I know. Most are used for breeding, and sending them here gives them less. I’ve heard it all,” 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.

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.

He shrugged before heading downstairs to the kitchen. 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. “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 rolled his eyes. “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 the woman were still standing there, unaware that I was up here glaring at them.

“You look murderous,” Tyler admitted.

“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.”

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 resorted to resting against the railing and watching 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 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.