The World of Beasts: She's Got Their Hearts

Finlay immediately got up, found a clean set of clothes for Analise, and ordered sanitary pads for her from the mall. He even specifically marked the order as urgent.

"During your blood cycle, you need to stay warm. Ana, just lie down for now. I'll turn on the heater. You can change clothes in a bit. Don't worry about the sheets. I'll clean them later."

His ears were red from embarrassment.

"Okay," Analise murmured from under the covers.

Finlay went downstairs to the water dispenser, filled a container with hot water, and kept checking the delivery status. Thankfully, the store was located only about ten minutes from Scott's villa, so the pads arrived pretty quickly.

Scott happened to open the front door just as Finlay was coming up the stairs carrying a large bag.

"You..."

He wanted to ask if he had mated with Ana. Scott hesitated but couldn't bring himself to ask.

Scott noticed Finlay seemed to be back to himself. He looked clear-minded, unlike the dazed and confused self he was yesterday. The dark circles under his eyes indicated that he hadn't slept all night.

Scott wondered if Analise had become Finlay's first mate.

"Scott, do you need something? If not, I need to get these to Ana. Her blood cycle started."

Finlay moved past him, ready to head upstairs.

"Blood cycle?" Scott blinked.

"Yeah, it began this morning," Finlay said and headed up.

"You didn't sleep with her last night, right?" Scott called after him.

"You can't mate with a female on the first two days of her blood cycle and the three days after it ends. She's too vulnerable for that. You could seriously hurt her."

Scott knew Analise wasn't from their world, but Analise was still a female, so her blood cycle must work the same.

"No, I didn't," Finlay said as he knocked on Analise's door and stepped inside.

"Good to know." Scott sighed a breath of relief. His mood felt oddly better.

That meant he still had a shot at being Analise's first mate. Finlay hadn't taken that from him.

"I didn't know what kind you preferred, so I bought a bunch of different types," Finlay said, blushing as he set the pads on the bed.

"Scott's here, too, so go ahead and change. We'll remake the bed for you," he added.

"I'll handle," Scott offered. "You need to stay nourished during your cycle. The fridge was empty this morning, but the fresh produce and meat I ordered earlier should've arrived. I'll go cook."

Just mentioning food made Scott grimace as he recalled the disaster in the kitchen last night.noveldrama

After Analise had gone upstairs, he'd gotten the housekeeper and a cleaning bot to help him scrub the place down.

"Alright," Finlay said, glancing at Analise. "You just rest. Don't come downstairs today. I'll bring your meal up."

But instead of heading to the kitchen, he detoured into his room and pulled out the recipe book Scott had copied from the top floor of the library. He'd skimmed through t before, so he knew there were some dishes in there good for restoring health.

After reading a bit, Finlay went down to the kitchen to see what was in the fridge.

The housekeeper had already unpacked the groceries. Finlay picked out a few ingredients, washed them, and started cooking. He even asked the housekeeper to help prep the vegetables. In just over half an hour, he had a feast ready to gó.

He prepared a plate of food for Analise and added a bowl of soup, placing everything neatly on a tray before heading up to her room.

Analise was surprised when she saw the food Finlay brought in. His cooking looked way better than Scott's.

And the dishes resembled meals from the human world. There was seared steak, scrambled eggs, and a salad.

"Finlay, you made all this by yourself?" Analise blinked at him, finding him more and more charming by the second.

"The housekeeper helped, too. He seasoned the steak and washed the veggies. I just did the cooking," Finlay said, scratching his head with a sheepish smile. "Ana, try it. See if it tastes okay."