Page 27 of Wolf Forsaken

She'd been through hell too, and it was nice to see her smile. I tamped down a growl that threatened to escape at the thought of Dante throwing her into the cold river. I wasn't an expert on how rivers worked, but the water was probably freezing. How she'd survived and recovered so quickly was a mystery.

But then again, she had healed Cole, which was something we needed to keep quiet for as long as possible. If word got out that she could heal, I didn't know how other wolves would respond. I would have thought it would be a good thing, but they would probably take advantage of her skill and wonder how the hell she had it to begin with.

Iftheygot ahold of her, who knew how far they'd go to find out her secrets and abilities.

I stopped abruptly and shut my eyes. Dammit. I'd been doing so well.

Eli put his hand on the small of my back, and I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. "Sorry, sometimes it's just random moments."

"You don't have to apologize."

I let him guide me to the table, and I sat down next to Ivy. He sat next to me, and Ivy turned toward me and leaned forward slightly so she could see Eli too.

"While you two were outside, we decided to eat, shower, sleep, and then come up with a plan." She examined me closely. "If you want in on the plan."

"I do." I put my arm across the back of her chair and ran my fingers along the ends of her hair. "Don't worry about me."

She bit her lip and put her hand on my thigh. "I just... I know I barely know you... any of you really, but I don't want to see you in pain. Physical or psychological."

The old man from outside sat down across from me and scowled at Ivy. She squeezed my thigh and gave him a smile. Would it be so wrong if I jumped over the table and knocked the old man over?

"From what I hear, you've been stirring up quite a bit of trouble, young lady."

Ivy smiled even wider, and I knew it was to cover her true feelings. "Your grandson has actually caused all the trouble, sir."

The man howled with laughter and his hand smacked down on the table as a cough shook his body. Once the cough had passed, he cleared his throat. "Why are you really here?" His question held an underlying threat to it, and I sat up straighter, ready to pounce.

"I'm here because Silas is my mate, and he's going to help us."

"That's rubbish. There's no such thing as mates!" He acted like he was scandalized, which was curious considering his son had reportedly killed the former alpha.

"Pops, is there a problem?" Silas came through the swinging door leading to the kitchen, holding two big platters filled with food. "Let's put our differences aside until after we eat."

Cole was behind him, a scowl on his face. I was curious about what had transpired in the kitchen. No one had gotten stabbed at least. I had a feeling they were going to have it out before too long, and I wanted a front-row seat. In fact, they should have broadcast it on Pay-Per-View. I'd have paid sixty dollars to see it.

Do I even have sixty dollars?

There were so many things I needed to take care of: logging into my bank account, checking on bills, figuring out if anyone from my pack was still alive.

I narrowed my eyes as Silas put two trays of food in the center of the long table and sat in front of Ivy. Cole had shared with me why the two packs weren't one anymore, and it left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

Killing an alpha was inconceivable. Even in a fight for the alpha position, shifters didn't kill each other. If it was true, Silas's father deserved to die a very painful death, much like Dante was going to as soon as we recuperated.

I couldn't wait to see Dante squeal like a pup and beg for forgiveness. I wasn't one for torture, but something about the entire situation made me want blood, and lots of it.

It was always possible Cole would have mercy and banish him or lock him in the basement, but if he didn't take care of him, I would. Deceiving the alpha and his significant other didn't sit right with me at all.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." Eli licked his lips at the food laid out in front of us.

The spread was impressive with bacon, sausage, eggs, and toast. A woman was the last to come from the kitchen with a giant bowl of cut fruit. She sat down next to Silas, looked at Ivy, then shifted her chair a few inches away from his.

Interesting.

"Dig in." Silas rubbed his hands together, and everyone began serving themselves.

Everyone except me and Eli. The food looked and smelled delicious, but I didn't know if I should trust that these people didn't poison it.

"We don't follow that omega bullshit here." Silas looked at Eli. "So fill up your plate or I'll start making you go first."

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