The Taste of Home

Chapter 16

"I'm so sorry about the seat," Miguel said. Startled by the engine, he'd instinctively sunk in his claws. Saying he'd caused damage would be an understatement. Foam peeked out of rips in the leather like organs spilling out of a fresh kill.

"It's my bad," Alejandro said. "I should have warned you how loud this old hunk of junk can get."

The car rumbled to a stop about a mile from Mr. Miller's farm. "You sure you don't want me to take you the rest of the way?"

"Isabella would not react well," Miguel said with a sigh. "Thank you for letting me spend the night. It was nice."

Miguel limped long after he got out of the car. He winced each time his bad leg reminded him how unnatural the ride had been. Still, it had been kind of Alejandro to help him get home quickly.

Judging from how Martha and Esmeralda reacted, it had not been quick enough.

"Where in the stars' name were you?" Martha's nostrils flared as she drank in his scent. "You reek!"

"He always smells like that now, cariña," Esmeralda said. "You know how much time he spends with humans."

"Too much." Martha curled her lip over her fangs in a grimace. "Although at least he doesn't smell as bad as the others."

"What others?" Miguel asked.

"Not all of us have the luxury of dining with humans whenever we please," Martha said with a hiss.

"Ask Isabella," Esmeralda said quietly.

It didn't take him long to find her. With the sun still far from reaching its peak, Isabella stood among her packmates in the barn, informing the last handful of them whether they'd be hunting, watching the hatchlings, or taking care of some other task that day.

"There you are," she said as the chupacabras around her dispersed to attend to their duties. "I was starting to think you might not come back at all."

"Sorry, things got a bit crazy last night." Miguel sniffed the air. The barn smelled different this morning. Beneath the usual mix of hay and grass-tinted blood, there was something more predatory. Similar to the coyotes they killed out in the pastures, but less potent. "Is everything okay? Esmeralda and Martha seemed upset."

Isabella didn't respond right away. The only sound in the barn was the faint scraping of hatchlings' teeth against the bones that littered the floor. "We did what we had to do to make sure everyone got fed," she said at last. "It was a long night."

"The coyotes will run out if we hunt them off the pastures," Miguel said quietly. "Isn't there something else we can hunt instead? Maybe some rabbits or a boar?"

"You're looking at it." Isabella hooked her claw into the eye socket of one of the skulls half-buried in the hay and tossed it to him.

Its muzzle was short. Too short to be a coyote, with the front far too sharply angled.

A dog's skull.

"Why would you allow them to kill these?" Miguel hissed, his spines rattling. "You know how much humans care for them."

"Not these, they didn't. We found them wandering alone. They were boney, mangy things." Isabella blew out a long, slow breath. Her eyes traced the sharp angles of her packmates' ribcages. Over the past few weeks, they'd gone from thin to downright haggard, with sunken eyes watching Isabella's every move as she spoke with Miguel. "It's unfortunate, but we cannot afford to let even meager morsels pass us by."

Miguel was keenly aware of the meat on his own bones. Even as the rest of the pack wasted away, the stars shined brightly upon him thanks to Isabella.

There was no sense in warning her of the dangers humans would pose if they reacted poorly. No, for her to have allowed something like this, Miguel would have to try a different tactic. "Are we really so desperate that we must prey on sickly strays? I'm sure we can do better."

"Are you implying I cannot provide for my pack?" Isabella's spines stood on end, her pupils narrowing into slits.

Miguel bowed his head. "No, but—"

"But nothing. We will do what we must to survive. Maybe you would understand if you spent more time with us instead of humans. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go lead my pack in today's hunt." She stomped out of the barn with a growl rumbling in her throat.

Miguel let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It was dangerous to openly question the pack leader, even if she was his sister. The pack members who had stayed behind to guard the hatchlings and elders eyed him warily as he buried every skull he found under a scoop of hay. The evidence of what they'd done would be gone after their venom and teeth made quick work of the bones, but for now they needed to keep it hidden.