Page 55 of Wolf Tamer

I whimper but keep my mouth shut. He’s too strong for me to fight against.

“I said you’re going. Or are you such a weak little pup that you’re going to roll over and give me your belly?” he taunts. “Stop acting like a disappointment.”

He doesn’t need me there, but that doesn’t matter. I gasp as he yanks me toward the door, still in my pajamas as I scramble after him.

“You’ll do better,” he assures me. “You’re going to be strong if I have to make you that way myself. Everyone needs a little help, don’t they?”

He laughs as he hauls me out of my room and down the hall, his fingers biting into the skin of my arm. My feet skid, but there’s no way for me to stop this.

He takes me down the stairs and throws me out onto the deck with several of his pack members gathering around me, tensed and waiting to see what he wants them to do so that they can take his lead. Earn his favor.

I refuse to make the mistake of glaring at them.

Their eyes follow me as I struggle to my feet, but I’ll find no help from them. I’ve stopped expecting it. None of them step in when my mother screams at night. None of them help when Liam cries or when Julius purposely hurts himself.

They simply don’t care.

“If you ever manage to become alpha, then you can do things your way,” Edmund mutters as he saunters out onto the deck, staring at me like I’m an irritation rather than his son. Like he’d rather just get rid of me instead of love me. “Until then, we do them my way.”

He snarls as he brings his hand down across my face. My teeth rip into the inside of my lip, filling my mouth with blood. Pain splinters through me, but I manage to keep from crying out. Somehow. EvenI’mnot sure how I did it.

The silence pleases him, and Father looks down at me, the dreary afternoon sunlight making his face appear even crueler.

One day I’ll be alpha. I cling to that thought and curl up on myself like it will somehow make his beating hurt less. When I’m alpha, it won’t be like this. I’ll never have to beg silently for him to leave me alone. I’d be strong enough to keep him from hurting me and my brothers, my mother, to keep him from taking his sacrifices.

Halfway through the house, I slap the side of my head to expel those memories. They have no place here. Not when I’ve got bigger problems than unraveling my childhood trauma. Emily, for one. Mae and her band of bitch witches for another. And Tasha…

My groan turns into a sigh of longing. Nowthoseare some memories I’d prefer to explore. And new ones I’d like to make with her every night for the rest of our lives.

I hustle my steps to get through the mountain mansion and up to my room.

Bullet wants us to gather some wolves chosen at his discretion and go after his sister-in-law. Tasha doesn’t trust him, and whenever I talk about him, she stares at me like she’s wondering why I do.

Which has had me considering my beta.

Bullet and I grew up together. The shared memories make me more likely to keep him at my side and trust him the way an alpha needs to trust his second-in-command. And allowing him the honor of hunting down Emily will take a lot off my plate.

Automatically, I want to talk to Tasha about it.

I like the way things are going with us. Despite all the shit, having her with me, even against her will, seems like a balm to an endless existence of crap I never asked for. Sure, we’ve got our issues, but we’re together—

I never considered myself a hopeless romantic before, yet here we are.

And I’m forced to reevaluate my entire personality.

“Reid.”

Almost as though he’s read my mind, Bullet jogs up behind me and catches me in the hallway.

I shoot him a glance over my shoulder. “What’s going on?”

His eyes are dark, fathomless. “I went to inspect the boundaries at your suggestion. What I found isn’t good.” He drops his voice to avoid anyone overhearing us, although there is no one in proximity.

My stomach lurches at his tone. “Go on. Tell me.”

“I found some… weak spots,” Bullet continues. “And I don’t just mean spots where the barrier is thinning. I’m talking about the kind where anyone can walk up and come right in with enough of a punch.”

“What do you mean?” But I know. I already know what he means, and him saying it isn’t going to make a difference.

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