I swallowed the lingering taste of the life-saving meal they’d gifted me.
I’d embraced death.
I’d wanted it.
Yet life had somehow given me a second chance.
With a soft grumble, the alpha stepped forward with a massive paw, crushing grass with his weight. He stepped again, tugging me forward with my hold on his fur.
With my shakes fading and stomach pleasantly full, I followed him.
* * * * *
Climbing the shower of boulders that’d tumbled from the hillside, skirting the thickets of weeds and vines that hung over the mouth of the cave, I ducked into the black yawn of a den.
A snarl welcomed me, followed by the scurry of claws on stone.
The alpha growled, his hackles raising as his yellow eyes glared into the absolute darkness. After so many nights of wandering with nothing but starlight to guide me, I’d grown used to seeing in even the darkest of midnights, but I still flinched as a female wolf exploded from the cave.
She skidded on pebbles, her tail lashing and teeth bared.
The alpha stepped in front of me, his tail swatting me in the face as his growl switched to a bone-shattering snarl.
The female instantly lowered herself to the ground, pressing her snout to the dirt, her horns coiled and not as large as the alpha’s. She showed submission to her mate but kept her luminous gaze locked on me.
Behind her came the fumblings of many paws and happy yips of pups. A tumble of them appeared from the depths, snapping playfully, their chubby bodies wriggling with excitement.
The female roared at them to halt, her growl full of protection and worry.
So that was why she was aggressive.
This was their den.
I was a threat to everything precious within it.
The pups whimpered as the female snapped at them, sending them scurrying back into the darkness. The alpha grumbled another warning, sending the female back to her belly.
She never took her eyes off me, hungry and hateful.
The alpha stepped toward her, towering over her as he took her nape in his powerful jaws.
My heart lurched.
I didn’t think.
“Stop.” Lurching forward, I dropped to my knees in front of the female, pressing my hand against the alpha’s muzzle where he held her pinned. “Let her go.”
I braced for teeth.
I knew I interfered and had done something incredibly stupid.
But I didn’t need the alpha protecting me.
I wouldn’t have him defending me against his own kin.
If his mate didn’t want me, then so be it.
I was used to being alone.
I removed my hand from his snout, swaying against the sudden crippling ache in my lower belly at the thought of returning to a life of emptiness.
I would prefer death over that.
Slowly, the alpha let his mate go. With a glowing, searching gaze, he studied me. He licked his lips and finally stepped back. With a snort of authority and acceptance of my suicidal plan, he moved past the female and disappeared into the den’s darkness.
I didn’t move as the other wolves who’d been out hunting with him trailed past, all sniffing me with their wet, cold noses.
Only once the last one had gone did the she-wolf swoop to her feet and snarl directly in my face.
My heart pounded.
I stayed on my knees.
I waited for her to either kill me or accept me.
With a violent sneeze, she dug at the ground. Her claws scraped over rock, her teeth wet with spit.
I stiffened as she sniffed my filthy hair. I cringed from her fangs as she licked at the hare’s blood on my chin.
She sneezed again, the noise explosive as if my scent offended her.
I raised my jaw.
I caught her ferocious glower.
I didn’t look away as I raised a shaking hand and reached across the small distance between us.
A growl grumbled, but she didn’t bite.
I steeled myself and...touched her.
Her glowing eyes widened as I stroked her thick ruff.
Her growls ceased as I sank my fingers into her warmth.
She suddenly whimpered and crowded closer, colliding our forms and making my heart ache with love.
I’d been loved once.
I’d loved someone once.
She tasted like sunlight and frost, her lips as soft as—
I shuddered as a gush of what I’d lost washed over me. Viciously intense. Ruthlessly overwhelming. My bones broke with longing and loneliness, and I couldn’t help myself.
I crawled into the wolf.
I buried my face in her fur.
I inhaled the musk and warmth of a beast that could so easily slaughter me and threw my arms around her.
She whimpered again, lowering her head onto my back, tucking me close against her. We shared an embrace as if we’d known each other all along.
As if, once upon a time, we’d been kin.
Chapter Five
. Girl .
I JOINED THE NHIL PEOPLE the next night—just as the sun died a brilliant death of reds and golds, casting its sunset over the plains with its sky-blazing power. I stood blinking at the swirls and swathes of colour, feeling utterly inconsequential and terribly, terribly alone.