I stare out the window, watching my warriors train. My eyes remain fixed on my newest tribute, Oliver James. The former gamma of the Craven Lunar Pack and brother of Ember James.
Joshua found it yesterday at the collection point, just as I requested. Alpha Stone is nothing if not a…
coward.
I shouldn’t have given Stone the option of sending another tribute. I should have gone there, annihilated his misogynistic pack, and put his head on a spike as a warning to the others.
But that would have meant killing Ember’s brother. Under normal circumstances , one more death wouldn’t bother me, but that pack has already done enough damage to Ember.
Everyone I’ve spoken to claims the Craven Moon females are happy under Stone’s oppressive yoke. I don’t know if I believe that, but it’s not my place to interfere with the functioning of another pack.
However, according to Ember’s brother, his sister found it much harder to fit in, or at least
His wolf did it.
Ember’s wolf was never content to be subdued by the males she was forced to run with. Her alpha was likely more than happy to find an excuse to get rid of her before she caused any kind of rebellion among the females.
Unfortunately for Ember, her wolf’s rebellious nature turned against her when she lost her mate.
I can sympathize with that, as can my wolf. Perhaps that’s the real reason he didn’t end her when she attacked. He could no doubt sense her pain, a twin of the pain we felt over Alessia.
I study Oliver James carefully, but he looks nothing like his sister. In fact, they are polar opposites except for their strikingly blonde hair.
Oliver is tall, muscular, and solidly built. As I watch him spar with one of my strongest pack members, I can tell that he fights with his brain as well as his brawn. Meanwhile Ember is small, thin, and looks like a gust of wind would blow her over.
I sigh. I’m not happy about having to drug her wolf, or her for that matter. A cocktail of wolfsbane and a human sedative knocked them both out. It had to be done, though. I can’t have an out–of–control wolf attacking me or my pack members.
Normally, a pack teaches all its pups–males and females alike how to control their wolves. But the Craven Moon Pack is anything but normal.
I will take them down, one of these days. But right now I need to fix this broken little she–wolf, especially since my own wolf seems so keen to protect her.
A loud bang on the door breaks me out of my musing. I growl as the door bursts open. No one enters my study unless I bid them entry first–not unless It’s an emergency.
Joshua stands there, his eyes wide. I’m not sure if it’s because he just burst in and knows that annoys me, or if it really is an emergency.
“Your little tribute has done a runner,” he states.
I narrow my eyes, all my annoyance gone as I process this news. “What do you mean? She’s in the hospital.”
Joshua shakes his head. “She was. She was either faking sleep, or she woke up and decided to make her bid for freedom while the nurse was out of the room.
“I don’t know what she was thinking. The weather has taken a turn for the worse after that storm, and she’s only wearing a flimsy hospital gown. She could freeze to death out there.”
I sigh. “That may have been her intention. How long has she been gone?”
Joshua frowns, then shakes his head. “Only about fifteen minutes. She won’t get far. I’ve already sent Samuel after her,” he says, naming one of the pack’s larger warriors.
The thought of another male touching Ember has my wolf pacing in the back of my head. I’ve been trying to ignore his sudden, unwarranted interest in her, but it only seems to be getting stronger with
time.
My wolf has shown no interest whatsoever in any female since we lost our mate. Now all of a sudden he wants to protect this one–maybe more, if I let him.
That isn’t going to happen. The last thing I need is another mate, and certainly not a suicidal one.
“Tell him to bring her here. And she is not to be harmed, understand?”
Joshua bows his head before leaving the room. I think he half–expected me to consign Ember to the dungeons. Perhaps I should. But my wolf growls at that thought.
How can one small female can cause so much trouble?
It’s only a few minutes later when Samuel returns, Ember in tow. I can hear her before they even approach the door to my study, yelling and cursing angrily.
In some ways, I find it quite cute. She’s so small that even the weakest of my warriors could crush her, but that doesn’t dissuade her from putting up a fight.
My door crashes open again, and Samuel walks through. His arms are wrapped around her tightly, pinning her arms to her sides. It doesn’t stop her from trying to struggle, though, or from trying to kick him.
She looks livid. As soon as Samuel crosses the threshold, her angry eyes turn to
- me.
“Release her,” I growl, and he does. Ember’s eyes haven’t left mine, and I fight the
urge to smirk.
“I hate
you,
,” she screams. “You evil, vile piece of shit, how could you?” Then she rushes toward me, her small hands balling into fists.
She wants to punch me. I consider letting her for a moment, but Samuel is still standing there, staring at her. He won’t touch her unless I tell him to, but it certainly wouldn’t look good if I allowed Ember to hit me.
It was bad enough sparing her life when her wolf attacked–although, to onlookers, her wolf was so small they probably thought it was a pup.
With that in mind, I grab her wrists before she has a chance to throw a punch, spin her around, and pin her against the wall, her hands held above her head.
She tries to kick me, but I move forward. My body presses against hers, stopping all movement.
It doesn’t stop her from struggling, though, and I can’t help but smirk at her efforts. This seems to rile her up even more.
“You think this is funny?” Her voice cracks, and I can see tears pooling in her eye
eyes.
“You’re all the same. You think I’m worthless, well, I am now that you’ve taken my wolf. I’m less than worthless. You should have killed me or left me to die. My wolf was right; we’d be better off
dead.”
Her head drops, and she looks at the floor. A single tear trickles down her cheek.
I look over my shoulder toward Samuel, who is staring at her. I don’t want anyone seeing her like this, in despair. “Leave us,” I growl.
Once I hear the door close, I hold her wrists in one hand and stroke her cheek with the back of my other hand. She tries to pull away, but she has nowhere to go.
“I know what happened to you, Ember,” I say softly. “I know your mate rejected you, and I know
your wolf wanted to throw the pair of you off Lovers‘ Leap.”
Her eyes snap
Levanta la vista. Ya no está tan enojada como antes, pero aún hay una mirada de rebeldía en sus ojos.
Ella sigue siendo luchadora, a pesar de todo lo que ha pasado.
—No tienes control sobre tu loba, cariño —continúo—, y no voy a dejar que ella, o tú, acaben con tu vida.
Ember entrecierra los ojos. “No puedes decidir eso. Es…
mi
“La vida y mi elección”, espeta.
Niego con la cabeza y sonrío con suficiencia. “Ya no, no lo es. Ahora me perteneces. Tu alfa te regaló para…
Yo como homenaje .
Si tú o tu lobo intentan hacerse daño, el tratado que tengo con tu manada se romperá. ¿ Sabes qué pasa entonces?
Ella traga nerviosamente y sacude la cabeza.
Odio eso. Toda mi manada sabe que debe responder a mis preguntas con palabras, por muy difícil que les resulte. Pero por ahora, lo dejaré pasar.
—Si el tratado se anula, eliminaré a tu antigua manada y a todos los que están en ella —amenazo.
Ella suelta un pequeño jadeo. “¡N… no! No puedes. Tengo familia. Amigos”. Algo en esto huele a mentira, curiosamente, pero no le doy más vueltas por ahora.
Le aparto suavemente un pelo de la cara. “Entonces, pequeño tributo, te aconsejo que no intentes hacerte daño, o
” Huir . “
Abre la boca para decir algo, pero luego parece que lo piensa mejor. En cambio, inclina la cabeza, obedeciendo mi orden. «Sí, Alfa», susurra.
Asiento. Aprende rápido y prioriza a los demás antes que a sí misma. Es leal, aunque nunca sabré por qué le es leal a esa manada de mierda.
Probablemente pueda usar eso a mi favor. Ella no tiene ni idea de que su hermano está aquí, pero aunque lo supiera, dudo que quiera que su antigua manada sufra algún daño, ni que nadie más sufra.
por su cuenta.
Me conecto mentalmente con Joshua. Si mis instintos son correctos, la empatía de Ember hacia los demás me favorecerá.
” Envía a buscar a la chica. La que intentó hacerse amiga de Ember . Crystal , dijiste que se llamaba … ¿no ? Tengo una …
No tengo que esperar mucho antes de oír un golpe en la puerta.
Suelto a Ember. Si mi advertencia sobre su manada no le caló, la siguiente sin duda sí. “Ven”, gruño.
Joshua entra acompañado del tributo femenino.
Cuando vi a esta hembra por primera vez, supe que ya se había entrenado como guerrera. Está aquí porque quiere serlo. Tiene una oportunidad de oro para ascender en mi manada; por eso la elegí.
esta tarea .
Agarrando a Ember por los hombros, la guío suavemente hacia donde están Joshua y Crystal.
—Crystal —comienzo—, pongo a Ember a tu cuidado. Es tu responsabilidad mantenerla a salvo. Si algo le sucede, si sufre algún daño o intenta hacerse daño, serás severamente castigada. ¿Entiendes?
Crystal hace una reverencia. “Sí, Alfa”, susurra.
Ember nos mira a Crystal y a mí con una expresión de horror en su rostro.
¿Entiendes, Ember? ¿Qué pasará si intentas hacerte daño?
La veo apretar la mandíbula. Me mira fijamente, pero luego baja la mirada. “Sí, Alfa”, dice entre dientes.
—Bien —respondo—. Puedes irte. La madre de la manada debería tener ropa que te quede bien. La que trajiste no es apropiada.
Ember crosses her arms over her chest as she follows Crystal out of the room, glancing back at me one last glare.
Joshua stays in the office. “Very clever, Alpha. I hope it works.”
I smirk. “Don’t worry, Joshua. It’ll work out.”
