"It's simple. I want to be fed for a whole month," Bella said, her raspy voice flat.
Neve's eyes widened in genuine shock.
Of all the things he had expected her to demand, food hadn't even made his top three. He had assumed she would ask for her exile to be lifted, for a clean slate, or for the tribe to accept her back. He expected her to leverage this moment for power or social standing.
To ask merely for meals...
Taking a closer look at her, the harsh reality settled over him. Bella's cheeks were sunken, her collarbones jutted sharply under her thin, ragged clothes, and her hands were trembling faintly from chronic malnutrition. Pride didn't fill an empty belly. Survival came first, and Bella was starving.
"Fine," Neve agreed without a moment's hesitation. "If it's food you want, food you'll get. You have my word."
