I take it there are more shifters around these parts, but the only scents I have picked up on so far are Butch’s and his two men.
He says he has an entire pack, but he’s not giving me any specific numbers yet. I guess he just wants to see what we’re all about first. Then he will decide if he can trust us.
When we first got to the outskirts of the city, I had sensed the presence of a strong wolf, since his scent takes precedence over the others. But I never would have suspected he had a whole pack.
It appears his pack is spaced out. That may explain why the animals roam so freely here. If there had been more wolves around, the deer wouldn’t have been grazing out in the open. The dogs wouldn’t be so bold, and the cats would have stayed in the shadows. Mostly.
Brianna, Theresa, and Andrew don’t know what to make of Butch as he chomps loudly on his deer leg, filling the alleyway with his gross chewing sounds. I toss my own deer leg to one side, suddenly losing my appetite.
A stray cat slips out from a crack in a building next and drags it away; at least it won’t go to waste.
We all got a leg each. The alpha’s right-hand men killed three full-grown deer for us, and he even offered me the antlers. I passed.
Now we all wait until he finishes his meal. Butch burps next, and throws the remains of his leg to one side; he’s such a pig. When wild cats run out from the shadows and start hissing and fighting over his scraps, he laughs.
At least he’s dressed now. He’s wearing some old camouflage pants and a stained brown T-shirt as he leans on the heels of his hands, watching us all with careful, yellow eyes. He grins, his gaze falling on me.
“I finally figured out who you are... You’re the lass from the Games that those old geezers host every year at the Fortress. Word travels, after all. Even to abandoned shitholes like this city.”
My heart thumps. If he knows who I am, then he knows what I did. I let Raven go, and I bet he’s going to kill me for betraying the shifter community.
“Have no fear. You are all welcome to stay in the city for as long as you need. I have plenty of space. Some of the rich humans who used to live here left their mansions behind, so take your pick.”
My eyes expand. A mansion? That does sound nice.
“Though anything of value is long gone now...” Butch chuckles again, wiping the grease from his lips.
That doesn’t mean much to me as I don’t really care about human valuables. My eyes travel to Brianna, who looks as if she has a bad smell under her nose. I doubt she would have cared much for the elite of this city if she’d been alive back then, but I can tell she’s seething at the idea of us all stealing from abandoned human homes.
She’s pissed at Butch. All this space left to one middle-aged wolf and his two betas, while the likes of her have to live on the fringes of lycan society.
It seems such a waste. I’m sure the humans could make use of this old city when we give them their lands back.
Wolf packs prefer forest over concrete. This city still has the vague scent of human. It lingers here and there, even though it’s been a hundred years.
Unless it’s just in my head?
Well, at least we’ve got somewhere to stay now.
I won’t lie. Sleeping in a luxury mansion, even if it is abandoned and most likely haunted, is a far cry from sleeping in the undergrowth.
“Fine. We will stay. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Butch smiles, watching us all carefully as we get up and leave. Why do I get a sense as if I know him from somewhere?