“The Lycan King made his stance quite clear.”
His voice drops to a dangerous whisper.
“Or did you miss that part while cowering on your knees?”
A shudder runs through me at the memory of last night-the way everyone dropped except me. The raw power that had filled the room. The blood that followed.
Ellie’s gaze darts between me and the Beta, uncertainty clouding her features.
“High Alpha said harboring humans goes against international law.”
Her voice wavers.
“The Blue Mountain Pack intends to follow such law to the letter.”
“And this human is no longer the Blue Mountain Pack’s concern.”
The Beta’s words slice through the air like ice.
“Your new Alpha would do well to remember whose leniency allowed him to live.”
The threat in his voice makes my blood run cold. Ellie pales, her perfect complexion turning ashen.
She takes another step back, then another, until she’s far enough away that even I can breathe easier.
“I apologize, Lycan Beta. We will leave her fate to your discretion.”
The Lycan Beta spins away from her, meeting my gaze briefly.
“Follow.”
I stumble after him, my bruised wrist throbbing as I cradle it against my chest. So many questions fill my head.
A chill runs down my spine, and I glance over my shoulder. Ellie stands frozen where we left her, her perfect features twisted into something ugly. The hatred in her eyes burns into me, raw and primal.
My stomach churns at her use of that word. Not that it’s the first time I’ve heard it, but somehow it cuts deeper coming from her perfect lips, especially in front of someone who could actually help. If he wanted to.
But he doesn’t. The Lycan Beta’s gaze slides between us, assessing, measuring. Like he’s watching a mildly interesting experiment rather than someone in pain.
My wrists throb, and I can feel the bones grinding together under Ellie’s supernatural strength.
The Lycan Beta’s nostrils flare, probably catching the scent of my fear, my pain. These wolves, they can smell everything-tears, blood, terror. And yet he stands there, unmoved.
What did I expect? These are the same Lycans who turned the event hall into a slaughterhouse last night. The same ones who piled bodies outside the building like a haphazard Lego pile. One girl’s crushed wrists probably don’t even register on their scale of acceptable violence.
Ellie’s fingers tighten further, and a small whimper escapes me before I can stop it. The Beta’s continued silence is all the permission she needs.
I should have known better than to hope for mercy from monsters-
“Who are you?”
the Lycan asks Ellie bluntly, and her grip falters.
“Lycan Beta, my name is Ellie Thornton, mate to Raphael Wilder, the new Alpha of the Blue Mountain Pack.”
My knees almost buckle, but I lock them before I fall. Rafe is alive. Not just alive-he’s Alpha now.
But I can’t process it. My mind stutters over the reality that Rafe survived while Alpha died. That in the aftermath of carnage, he claimed leadership. That somehow, in the space of hours, everything has shifted again.
“The new Alpha?”
The Lycan Beta’s voice carries a dangerous edge.
Ellie’s fingers finally release my wrists, she sounds cautious now, no longer deranged with her hatred of me.
“Yes, Lycan Beta. Raphael is the former Alpha’s heir.”
I cradle my arm against my chest, angry red marks blooming where her grip crushed blood vessels. The Beta’s gaze drops to the bruises.
“Does the Blue Mountain Pack make a habit of touching what doesn’t belong to them?”
CAINE
Even without being manifested, I can feel my wolf staring holes into my head.
You’re an idiot, Fenris observes for the twentieth time today. 2
Ignoring him, I nudge a plate closer to the empty seat across from me. The table is covered in a feast, plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, biscuits, scones… 2
This pack runs well enough, and it’s objectively a loss to have murdered its Alpha last night. While Jack-Eye hasn’t spoken to me about my sudden decision, I know it’s going to be a headache when we get back to our territory. Once news reaches the other packs, protests will come to the throne. Other packs will even send envoys.
There’s no way to sugarcoat an act of war, even for the Lycan King. If I want to keep the peace I’ve forced onto our people, I can’t go around killing Alphas-but his treatment of her…
Was it much better than yours? Fenris asks, with a bit of a snarl in his mental voice. He’s still angry with me for acting as if I was going to choke the girl. 2
“I didn’t hurt her. She’s alive, isn’t she?”
He sighs. How was she supposed to know you wouldn’t hurt her?
Nagging isn’t a usual part of our relationship, and his insistence on taking care of this human is frustrating. I’d spent all morning cleaning up our mess, and even kept her golden-haired lover alive to take over as Alpha. She should appreciate my restraint, considering the mess I created over her. 1
You’re going to regret thinking like that.
Ignoring Fenris’ warning, I drop into the chair, drumming my fingers against the table. Where is Jack-Eye with the girl? The food is nearly cold, and the girl hasn’t eaten all day.
That’s your fault. You forgot about her.
“Shut up.”
The words escape through clenched teeth. Besides, I didn’t forget about her. I just forgot to feed her. 4
You’re an idiot, my wolf opines again, sounding disgusted.
“Get out of my head.”
My knuckles whiten around the edge of the table.
“I’m only feeding her because she needs to stay alive until we sort this mess out. She goes back to the humans after our investigation is complete.”2
Fenris snorts. And how do you plan to investigate when you slaughtered everyone who might have answers?
Pain shoots through my temples. I squeeze the bridge of my nose, a snarl building in my chest.
“There are survivors.”
It isn’t like I massacred the entire pack. Just a chunk of it. Enough to make an example and take the edge off the anger burning in my chest.
“The girl will answer my questions.”
Will she? Then why didn’t you ask her some when you went to visit her?
Because the entire room smelled like her. Because as soon as I walked in, I was drawn to the bed, where everything was drenched in her obnoxious blueberry muffin scent. Because it was all I could do not to throw her onto it when she came out of the bathroom, wet and steamy-so I stole her pillow instead, taking it to my bed.
Fenris remains silent, but his smug presence is overbearing in my head. I want nothing more to punch that son of a bitch wolf in his muzzle the next time he manifests.
Footsteps echo down the hall. My head snaps up, nostrils flaring at her scent before she even enters. Jack-Eye opens the door, and there she is.
The human girl steps inside, her brown hair falling in waves around her shoulders. Dark circles ring her grass-green eyes, her skin pale from lack of food. Not that I care. This is purely Fenris’s obsession making me notice these details.
I wonder what possessed me to think you were intelligent enough to become King. Ignoring Fenris’s sarcasm, I watch her hesitate beside her chair. Her eyes dart between me and the spread of food, her throat working as she swallows. Her entire body is stiff, and she keeps cradling her hands against her chest. Does she really think I’m going to hurt her?
Why wouldn’t she? What part of you has shown you won’t?
The skin around my eyes tighten, and I fight the urge to scowl at the frail human, saturating this room in the scent of muffins. I might have tied and gagged her, but it isn’t like I hurt her. Scared her, maybe, but she should realize how much restraint I’ve shown-
As you keep pointing out when it’s convenient for you, she’s human. Not a shifter. Violence is not normal in their world.
I scoff. Human news glorifies violence. O
Fenris sighs.
My beta’s hand brushes her arm as he pulls out her chair.
“Sit,”
he tells her, and she does, though with hesitation.
My fingers dig into the table’s edge. That casual touch sets my blood boiling. Even if it’s just Jack-Eye being courteous, the sight of his fingers grazing her skin makes me want to separate his hand from his wrist. 2
“Get out,”
I snarl.
The girl flinches, shrinking into herself. Jack-Eye raises an eyebrow in my direction, but doesn’t argue. If anything, that bastard smirks,
“Call me if you need me.”
The door clicks shut behind him, but the sound of his retreating footsteps does nothing to calm the rage coursing through my veins.
I dig my elbow into the wooden arm of my chair, focusing on the dull ache that spreads through the joint. The pain grounds me, keeps my wolf’s influence at bay. Keeps me from reaching across the table and-
And what? Fenris asks, sounding far too smug. He has front-seat views to the obscene visions in my head. Hell, he probably put them there.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.