Page 51 of Wolf Hunter

“Not when they help me toward my end goal.”

“Which is?”

“Maintaining the safety of the people who count on me.”

He doesn’t have anything else to say, and for the life of me, I’m not sure what to toss back in return. The answer sounds rehearsed almost, like it’s been memorized and practiced, and I wonder if his father was responsible.

Two days later, the storm winds down and the roads clear enough for the rest of the wolves to come home. The spell on the door kept the fanfare of their return from me, but Reid tells me about it when he comes up to bring me my next meal.

I notice his excitement right away.

So I go to dinner with him the following evening, after taking a long, hot shower and changing into the clean clothes he got for me. Emily’s, it has to be, because they seem to fit me better than Darcy’s did.

No one pays me any attention for the longest time, and I think that pisses me off more than anything. They’ve been told to accept me into the fold, so to speak, but I guess I want to see their honest reaction to my presence. Not just their politeness because Reid ordered them.

None of them trust me, and the feeling is certainly mutual. But they barely notice me as I move among them, several keeping their heads down like I’ve been shamed.

Is this what happened with the others who’d been sent as the sacrifice? Had they been assimilated? Or were they killed outright?

I don’t like the thought of Reid taking another woman, another witch, to warm his bed. I really don’t. And that leads to me being even more ticked off with myself. Because what does it matter who he slept with?

None of it matters.

The moment I get what I came here for, I am out the door.

The worst part of the group dinner, as I sit at Reid’s side with the rest of the pack gawking at me, is noticing the way they isolate Reid. They might stare and lick their lips as though they can’t wait to take a bite out of me, but they practically ice him out.

The only one who doesn’t is Bullet. Sitting on Reid’s other side, the guy whispers at him, making jokes in mumbled tones that I can’t hear. It’s such a strange contrast against all the stiff quiet from the others.

Although they appear more buddy-buddy, even he still tosses uncertain glares my way every now and then.

Damn, the hatred against me is strong here.

And it’s mutual.

The next time he meets my eyes, I narrow my gaze on him and cross my arms, showing him I can participate in a staring contest too.

Bullet leans back in his chair. “You don’t look like you’re enjoying your stay with us, Tasha.” He rolls my name along his tongue, and I hate the way it sounds.

“It’s fine,” I grumble.

“Listen, if the current company’s not to your liking, I can surely help you find some better entertainment. Reid can be rather boring.”

The man in question growls, and at once, his hand slaps down on my knee and squeezes.

I’m not the one who needs the reminder.

But I leave Reid’s hand where it is and place mine over it in a silent reminder to Bullet to watch what he says.

Person of interest number one, for sure. I might not have found anything in his room, but that doesn’t make him innocent, either. I also take note of the way Bullet treats his wife. How she refuses to say anything without his permission or take a step out of line. That behavior only forms from years of being trained.

The thought leaves a sour taste in my mouth that even the roast chicken doesn’t erase.

“I enjoy the company just fine. It’s dogs I don’t like.” I sneer down my nose at him. “They definitely shouldn’t be allowed to eat at the dinner table with the rest of polite society.”

Liam lets out a strangled laugh, and Bullet immediately turns his glower in the other wolf’s direction.

“Kitty has a sharp tongue,” Julius comments offhand. Although his attention remains on his plate, I know he misses nothing.

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