Page 7 of Wild Fated

I growled low in my throat and forced myself upright again. Pain screamed through my limbs, but I got one paw under me, then another. I loped on shaking legs to the door.

And then, Kael was no longer small. He stood, spreading his arms and legs, glowering down at me as he planted himself between me and the she-wolves.Message received.

He herded me like a sheep, and as my eyes adjusted to the light filtering from the upper level, I took in the stairs ahead of us. My body sagged. Impossible.

Kael crouched beside me, his arm reaching out, his hand landing on my pelt. I snapped my teeth at him—a weak attempt, but enough to make him jerk back. His face darkened with frustration. “You bite me, and I’ll crush your jaw.”

I snarled again, but it was all noise, no bite. Kael knew it, too. He grabbed my muzzle with a firm grip, squeezing just enough to get my attention. His voice was sharp now, all patience gone. “I’ll drag you up by the scruff like a pup if I have to.”

The indignity of it made my fur bristle, but my limbs were jelly beneath me, and I had no choice. I went still, my breath coming in shallow bursts through my nose. Satisfied, Kael let go of my muzzle and slid his arm under me, grunting with the effort.

He hauled me up, dragging my limp body toward the stairwell. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest, but Kael didn’t stop, didn’t slow.

“I can help.” The woman in black strode toward us.

“No,” Kael snapped, his voice clipped and sharp. “You stay with her.”

The woman in black gave him a slow, measured look but said nothing. Just crossed her arms and waited. Kael cursed under his breath as he dragged me up the first step, then another. My claws scraped uselessly against the wood.

“Stop fighting me, damn it,” Kael muttered through gritted teeth. His arm and shoulder trembled with the effort, but he didn’t let go. He kept hauling me upward, step by painful step until the stairs finally ended, and the dim light of the exit glimmered ahead.

As soon as we hit solid ground, I wrenched myself free. My legs skittered awkwardly beneath me, but the wolf gave me just enough strength to stumble forward and through the door Kael slammed open, yelping at the bright sunlight.

The open air wrapped around me, sharp and cold, and it was like taking the first breath after drowning. I didn’t look back. Didn’t care about Kael or his mate or the woman in black. All that mattered was the forest—freedom. I struggled forward into the undergrowth, my paws hitting the soft earth like a heartbeat, the scent of pine and damp soil flooding my senses.

I needed to get far, far away from that place, but as I caught the scent of a rabbit, hunger caught me by the balls. I doubled back and lurched unsteadily, barely catching it between my jaws. Its bones snapped, the warm gush of blood coating my tongue as I tore into it. There was no hesitation, no thought—just survival.

I looked up from the kill, my eyes locking onto the woman in black again as she stood watching next to Kael and his mate. The taste of the rabbit filled my mouth, hot and metallic, but it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t sure anything ever would be. They didn’t understand. They couldn’t.

Kael waited for me to finish, then set down a small bucket, emptied his water bottle into it, then tossed a set of clothes on the ground near me as I licked the blood from my muzzle. “When you’re ready,” he muttered, stepping back.

I ignored him, rushing to the bucket, desperately lapping up the water. When I thought I might be sick, I stumbled back, dropping onto my haunches. The food and water were alreadyworking their magic. Strength surged through me, making me heady.

I dropped to my belly, panting as relief flooded through me and, with it, clearer thoughts. I looked up and blinked. It was Kael in front of me. There weren’t any alphas. Until proven otherwise, these wolves weren’t my enemies.

I shifted in one fluid motion, bones snapping into place as fur receded. I didn’t care about their stares. I pulled on the pants without ceremony but didn’t bother with the shirt. I needed a bath. I wasn’t going to ruin it with the week-old sweat, blood, and grime.

When I was decent, the woman in black stepped forward despite Kael’s look of warning. There was that feeling again. That strange stillness. I hated it. It made my skin itch. “Do you know anything about Lava Forks?”

I blinked at her.Lava Forks?I’d been starved and beaten half to death, and she was asking me about the national forest? I turned and stalked into the trees.

“Destin,” Kael called after me, and I heard the warning in his voice. He was like a son to me, and that tone made me want to knock him to the ground.

I turned. “I’m going back.” My tongue was slow to form words. Thankfully, I didn’t need to say more. He knew what I meant. I’d been kept here without any way to communicate with the wolves in my territory. They were loners and rogues, and they relied on my help.

“There’s more at play here.” Kael’s eyes were dark.

“Did you give it back to them?” I asked. It would explain why the alphas were gone, though how it had taken Kael a week to find me?—

“This is Lana. The dagger belongs to her.” He pointed to the woman in black.

Lana.Her name echoed through me. She reached under the hem of her shirt and pulled the blade from a leather strap around her waist. “You know what this is?”

I spit on the ground at my feet. “That blade doesn’t belong to anyone. You should melt it down. Destroy it.

“We found information about another relic.” Lana spoke as if she hadn’t heard me. “We think the alphas might be?—”

“Destroy that, and they have nothing.” My words came out sharp, slicing through the air between us.

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