“I was diagnosed as an infant. It’s severe anemia, not a flaw or an illness. My body just doesn’t produce enough iron and I have to take supplements. We have that in common. Where are your pills? You need them just like I need my shots.”

“With our people, any type of need for medicine makes you flawed. It means you’re weak. And you smell totally human.”

He completely ignored her question about his pills. It irritated her. “What planet are you from? Mars? Saturn? I’m thinking Uranus.”

He caressed her cheek. “Very funny.” He didn’t look amused. “Don’t scream or be afraid. I need to know how human you truly are.”

That so doesn’t sound good for me, she thought, her body stiffening. She wanted to fight, to push him away, but instead held very still when he tilted his head to lower his face into the crook of her neck. A shiver ran down her spine and goose bumps broke out down her arms when his hot breath fanned her sensitive skin.

She had no idea what he would do but fighting him would be as effective as trying to attack a tree. The blows would only hurt her hands, and she knew she couldn’t move the heavy guy away from her.

Something warm and slightly wet dragged along the top of her shoulder. She gasped when pain jolted that area for a second before his warm tongue flicked where the pain had emanated from. Her eyes widened and her hands gripped his shirt. She pushed at him when she realized he had licked her.

A deep growl sent her heart into overdrive but he didn’t budge an inch. His tongue left her skin but his hot breath against her neck remained. The sound he’d made reminded her of a vicious dog. It scared her.

He stayed in that position, breathing on her neck, and kept her pinned against the tree. She stopped pushing when it was clear it didn’t work.

“Not all human,” he rasped. “I can faintly taste it on you, but it’s very weak.” He suddenly chuckled. “You’re not ill. You’re just starving for what you really need. Marvilella’s bloodline is stronger in you than Decker’s is. Your father’s blood is also strong, and masks it.”

The guy is flat-out bonkers, she realized, deciding he must be just like Greg. He probably saw aliens everywhere, certain they were spying on Earthlings so they could attack one day.

The smile that curved his mouth shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did when he lifted his head.

“Your grandfather doesn’t realize what you are. You smell completely human and he took that at face value.”

“Okay.” Dusti cleared her throat. “Can we go back to the fire now? I’m cold.”

“You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”

“Not a word.”

“Do you know who Marvilella was?”

“No.”

He shook his head and his hand returned to cup her cheek. The pad of his thumb stroked her skin lightly. “She was your grandmother.”

“My mom said her mother died when she was a teenager but it was too painful to talk about. They were really close. That was her name?” Dusti wasn’t sure if she could believe a word out of his mouth. His mind obviously wasn’t all there but he did seem to know more about her grandfather than she did. It was possible he knew about his wife. “What kind of weird name is that? It sounds European.”

“She came from my clan and married your grandfather to bring peace between us.”

Dusti let that statement settle into her brain. Nope, he’s totally unreasonable and gone, she concluded. Nothing he said made sense and it sounded as though he’d watched way too many movies. “Just stop. Let me go.”

“You need to understand what you’ve been brought into. Decker Filmore is dangerous to you and your sister. You said yourself your mother warned you, that she disliked him. Bat said she died. Is that true?”

“Yes.” She pushed at his chest again but he didn’t budge. “Nobody would lie about a horrible thing like losing both of their parents.”

“Decker didn’t molest your mother. He killed your grandmother so she wouldn’t stand in his way anymore. That’s when your mother fled. We assumed she figured out it was no accidental death. He wanted to use his daughter to bargain with Aveoth. To Antina, death would have been preferable. Trust me. Now I understand why he’d want your sister to come to him. It’s the only way he could force Aveoth to break our alliance. Bat is his bargaining chip to start a war.”

“I’m glad one of us understands what you’re saying. Did you know my mother? You seem to have.”

“I know more about your family than you seem to. Aveoth’s lover died a week ago. He’ll be looking for another to replace her…and he wouldn’t be able to resist your sister if she were offered to him.”

“Offered to him? Who the hell is Aveoth? Some alien warlord in your head?”

“Stop with the aliens. I’m not insane. Aveoth is a powerful clan leader. He will be looking for a new lover and Decker will give your sister to him.”

“Whatever.” She was getting a headache trying to make sense of his ranting. “You’re making my grandfather sound like some pimp, as if my sister is a hooker. She’s not.”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“Oh hell,” Dusti sighed. “I’m not even going to try to follow what you’re saying. There’s medication out there that will help you. You really need to see your doctor. I believe Decker Filmore is a rich ol’ perv, but you’re saying he wants to turn Bat into some kind of hooker? No way.”

“Your mother should have told you the truth.”

“About what? That there are crazy people who live in their own made-up worlds? She covered that when I started noticing boys and she taught me about stranger danger.”

He hesitated. “Now isn’t the time to go into all of this. We’re going to talk later, when we’re somewhere more private.”

She wasn’t about to point out that he’d dragged her out of the clearing so no one could see them. She just wanted to get away from him. “Great. Let me go.”

He took a deep breath. “Your mother wasn’t human.”

“Really?” Dusti relaxed, the bark of the tree lightly digging into her back when she leaned away from the man pinning her to it. “She was an alien?”