Alpha's Regret: His Wrongful Rejection

Rodric, and then I urge Annie to hurry on before Delphie can pop her head out, and I catch the scolding meant for Leon. On a normal day after a hunt, I’d check on the butchering first, so when we get to the clearing, I grab Annie’s hand and lead her toward the smoke shack….

The pecking voice sidetracks me for a second. For once, it’s not an order or a warning. Is it bragging on us? Is it agreeing with someone? A male? I give my head a shake to clear it and then look around to distract myself from the need to answer him. When I fell, we…

The voice hurls bombs at me, dredging deep in my memories, like horror is fuel, like that’s what I run on. Camphor. Rattling lungs. A white sheet almost flat except for the knobs of Ma’s knees and the ridges of her hips. The voice scrapes the very bottom. Declan Kelly at our door, smirking, with…

Oh. I’m the tree. Gross. My cheeks heat. Justus’s gaze shifts awkwardly to the side, and he clears his throat. “It would take more than Calvus’ big mouth to piss me off,” he kind of mumbles. I overreacted. My brain leapt to the worst-case scenario. Like always. My cheeks burn hotter. “I’m sorry,” I say….

So that’s why Last Pack looks so different from each other, like they could be from all the packs. They are. “So these dens—they used to belong to one of the packs?” Justus nods. “This was Salt Mountain’s. Our winter camp belonged to North Border. Moon Lake and Quarry Pack kept their dens.” Little pieces…

Close by, a female yips. Behind you! Ashleen appears at my side and bumps me with her hip. “Like this, Annie. Look at my feet.” She slows her steps, so gracefully, until it seems she’s dancing in slow motion. “There are eight bars.” She begins to clap. “One-two-three and two-two-three and three-two-three and four-two-three.” She…

“Oh, he was fully grown,” Diantha says, her gaze hardening as it turns to me. “He was newly mated. That’s why he was out in those woods. He was trekking back to his mate’s pack territory yet again to check on her.” My stomach knots. Yet again ? How many times did he come back,…

I’m about to do it again when there’s a disturbance across camp. Males are howling. Voices are raised. There’s a mass movement toward the entrance to the clearing. Danger. Run. Run! I stand, lifting Efa into my arms so I can bolt with her. She promptly grabs my face, accidentally sticking a finger in my…

I’m still on the table. Justus has me stuck up here, treed like a raccoon. To get down, I’d either have to jump—and risk losing my makeshift gown and my dignity—or I’d have to turn my back on him to step down to the bench. Something inside me won’t let me do that. “She’s taken…

The elk’s pupils blow wide. My arrow hits home, seconds before Khalil’s splits mine in half and Alroy’s wolf leaps from the brush, slitting the bull’s throat with his claws. The animal falls to his knees and then collapses, eyes open, staring sightlessly at the perfect sky. I jog down the ridge, joining Khalil. We…