Page 9 of Fated to the Feral Wolf

SEVEN

Shay

“We should step outside.” Kane’s words broke my reverie, stilled my hands where they were sunk into Dirge’s filthy, matted fur. I didn’t even care. There was something soothing about touching him, even if he needed about ten baths and a major haircut.

“Not yet,” I pleaded, squeezing Dirge’s neck a little tighter.

“Just for a few moments. We will return.” When I didn’t move, he added a hint of alpha command. “Come.”

My limbs moved without my permission, releasing Dirge as I rose to my feet like a puppet on strings.

I bit back my irritation. I was trying to moderate my emotions so that Dirge could better control his. He was attuned to me. I knew it instinctually, even though he couldn’t say. When I’d gotten upset, he’d comforted me in the only way he could.

Following Kane out of the room on wooden legs was a low point, but I was proud that Dirge didn’t move, didn’t throw himself back at the door as it shut behind us.

As soon as the door lock ground back into place, the alpha command dropped from my limbs, and I spun to face Kane.

“Why would you do that? I was making progress!”

“I agree,” he said, so calmly that it stopped my fury midwindup.

“Okay… so if you agree, then can he come out?”

Kane sighed. “It’s not that simple. To knowingly break pack law about something as significant as this, I would need to bring it before my top five.”

That was surprisingly fair. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure how the Johnson City pack ran, but I vaguely remembered a similar process happening a time or two over the years when a rule was changed. “How soon can you talk to them? And can I wait with Dirge while you do?”

“I think you’re correct that he won’t hurt you. He seems to have uncanny understanding, for someone who’s been feral as long as he has. I’d like you to be there for the beginning of the meeting so you can speak on your own behalf. But in this case… I think seeing that with their own eyes will help convince the five to side in your favor. So, yes. You can wait with him after you speak to them. I just wanted you to be aware of what was happening. You’re very dear to my mate, and I don’t take that bond lightly. But as Alpha, your protection has to be my top priority, even if you don’t like it.”

I wanted to bristle at the implication that he knew what was better for me than I did, but I had to grudgingly admit that he knew more about feral wolves. “Where are we meeting them?”

“I’ve sent for them through the pack bonds. They’re already on the way.”

We walked back into the monitoring room, where we could see Dirge patiently waiting in the middle of the room, staring up at the camera above the door. My heart ached at seeing him locked up, and determination built in my chest, brick by brick, to get him out of there. A wolf I didn’t recognize was first through the door, but Gael was only moments behind him. My heart lifted when Brielle walked in, pressing a quick kiss toKane’s lips before coming to stand beside me and hold my hands tightly in hers. The touch of my pack mate and best friend anchored me in a way that little else could. I only wished that Leigh could also be here, so our trio would be complete.

One friendly face was more than I expected, though, and I’d take it. I’d forgotten that as the Alpha’s mate, Brielle automatically became one of the top five.

Reed walked in with a pensive expression, but with his dark hair still wet from a shower. It was one of the few times I’d seen him out of a suit, but he still wore a crisp button-up and smelled of freshly applied cologne. He sank gratefully into the lone chair, sparing a glance for me before watching his brother on the monitors while we waited for the last member of the Pack Blackwater’s top five.

My heart sank a little when Julius, one of the pack’s senior enforcers, walked through the door. He was a sharp man in every sense of the word, a fact the graying hairs at his temples didn’t detract from, and I couldn’t imagine him voting to break pack law, not even for a good reason. He was thickly muscled and weathered from too much time in the sun. My pulse pounded loudly in my ears as Julius let the door swing closed behind him without a word.

“Thank you all for coming so quickly. This is an important issue. Quick introductions before we begin—Everyone, this is Shay of the Johnson City pack. You likely recognize her as Brielle’s second from the challenge for mating rights last week.” A hint of gravel entered his tone when he mentioned the challenge, when he’d come so close to losing his own fated mate. Kane cleared his throat before continuing. “Shay, you already know Brielle, Gael, and Reed. This is Samuel,” he paused, pointing to the first wolf through the door. He had swarthy coloring and keen intelligence in his eyes. “He is my fifth, and Julius is my fourth as well as the top enforcer for our pack, after Gael.”

I nodded to the two of them, too tense to say anything. Silence had always been my go-to in times of trouble, and now was no different. Silence, or music. Composing had been my escape ever since I’d become obsessed with music in my teens. Music spoke when words failed me.

“As you all know, Dirge is back. Unfortunately, there has been no change to his feral status, and he remains in wolf form.” Kane pointed to the monitors, and every head in the room swiveled to take in the image of the patiently sitting wolf.

“He doesn’t look feral at the moment, apart from the eyes,” Gael mused.

“I agree, and there are some extenuating circumstances we need to discuss. There has been a request to release him from his cell.”

“Seriously?” Samuel’s voice was incredulous. “There’s a very clear law on this. No skin, no release. What’s there to discuss?”

A sharp growl poured through the room at his callous disregard, and it wasn’t until Brielle nudged my shoulder with hers that I realized it wasmegrowling like an idiot. I reeled it in, but it took an enormous effort. Clearly, my control was lacking today.

But was it the wound, or the proximity to my unclaimed mate?

“He was getting to it, asshole,” Reed snapped, his bloodshot eyes narrowing on the pack’s fifth.

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