Page 3 of Wolf Marked

“Astrid!” Filip’s voice echoed behind her.

“Someone’s here!” When she reached the mound, she dug as fast as she could, tossing handfuls of snow at a time. Her fingers were numb, but she didn’t stop. Almost a foot in, blond hair popped through the whiteness.

Heart slamming against her ribs, she fervently scooped away more piles. Suddenly, Filip was at her side and joined in. He cursed.

“Quick! Get ’em out of there.”

A face as pale as the snow around it appeared, eyes closed and lips blue, followed by more amber hair and a long, muscular arm. Cobalt spirals swirled around the shoulder, and from what she could see, across the right upper chest.

Moving fast, her brother grasped the body by the elbow, anchored his boots in the ground, and yanked hard. The stranger slid out of the snow.

Astrid’s eyes widened.

It was a man. A handsome, naked man.

Chapter Two

Erec shot up, his skin sticky with sweat. His foggy head whirled. Where was he?

Struggling to catch his breath, he looked from side to side. Canvas walls surrounded him, and the flickering of a dying candle bathed the small space in orange light and tall shadows. He spotted an open trunk filled with animal furs and clothing, and a colorful, half-completed tapestry stretched out on a nearby loom. A pair of snow-covered boots sat in the far corner on top of a mud-stained fur rug.

The hair on his arms raised as his inner wolf hovered close to the surface, ready for another attack, but when Erec sniffed the air, he caught only the fragrant scents of lilacs mixed with the crisp, soothing midnight breeze and wolf fur. There were no sounds of chaos coming from outside, no snarling wolves, crackling fires, or screams. Nothing besides his own erratic breathing and the thudding of his pulse against his eardrums.

He glanced down and noticed that he was sitting in an unfamiliar bed, his fingers gripping a quilt around his waist that wasn’t his. His head was foggy, and his most recent memories were painted with blood. Jerrick and the ambush in the middle of the storm. The horrific sight of old friends being slaughtered and fed to the fires. He’d witnessed families being ripped apart right in front of him and then dragged into the woods.

Had he been brought to Jerrick’s camp as a prisoner? His chest tight, he slid to the edge of the bed. He would have to make a run for it. If it was still nightfall, the darkness would cloak him enough to sneak past any men on guard and the snow would help cover his tracks. Ripping off the quilt, he paused. He was naked.

Erec racked his memory again. He remembered shifting into his wolf form to help in the fight. He killed a few of Jerrick’s men, too, but the moment Erec saw Jerrick seize Mikel by the throat and snap his neck—the man who had accepted him into his pack as an orphaned child—he lost it. He leaped for Jerrick’s throat, teeth exposed, ready to rip out his jugular, but a colossal brown wolf rammed into him like a sledgehammer. He’d never forgetJerrick’s rumbling, mocking laughter as he slipped into the blackness.

A fiery mixture of anger and pain swirled inside him, and he gritted his teeth. Part of it was toward Jerrick and the brown wolf’s cheap shot at him, but most of it was toward himself. He should have never run away as a child. If he’d ignored his fears and stayed, he might have been able to save the east pack during the attack. Mikel had offered him a home and a family when he had none, and what had he done in return? Thrown it back in his face. Rejected it, hurting the only man who had meant anything to him.

After that, Erec couldn’t bear to face Mikel, and now he would never get the chance to again. Nine Blue Moons later and he was still a coward with the pack’s blood on his hands. He’d been sleeping in a cave nearby, debating on whether or not to return, like he had done so many times before, when he’d heard the screams and smelled the smoke. By the time he reached the camp, it was too late. Jerrick’s wolves were everywhere.

So much blood. It had stained everything red.

Erec ran his fingers through his hair and stood. His feet sank into the soft rug. This didn’t seem like a place where Jerrick’s men would sleep. It was too neat, the air inside too warm and inviting. The clothes, the tapestry, the white fur carpet—Jerrick and his men were cold, murderous fiends. None of this fit.

He noticed a pair of trousers folded neatly on a bedside table. Strange… It was as if they were placed there just for him. Erec snatched them and tugged them on. They were loose around his waist, but if he pulled the drawstrings tight, they’d work. He took a good look at his bare torso and noticed the dark purple bruises marking his skin. A large white bandage also had been taped under his ribs. No way was he in the enemy’s camp. They’d rip him to shreds, not patch him up.

At least you aren’t dead.

True. Very true.

Keep quiet and get out of here—wherever here is—alive.Slowly and with light feet, he crept across the tent to the entrance. The flaps were closed, completely blocking out any sight of the outside. He lifted his nose and sniffed again for any hints of nearby wolves or men, but only the flower and wolf smells greeted him.

Heart pounding, Erec sucked in a deep breath and reached for the flap.

“Filip!” A female voice rang from outside the tent, making Erec shift back a step. She must have been standing several feet away from him, but with his wolf still teetering close to the skin, he could hear her high-pitched tone as if she were standing just outside.

“Father wasn’t too harsh on you, was he? I told him it was all my fault, that I’d snuck away and followed you. I told him bringing the man back here was my idea, but he doesn’t listen.”

A defeated sigh rolled out. It must have belonged to whomever the woman spoke to.

Then a male responded. “He didn’t tell me anything he hasn’t said before.”

“He’s angry with you, isn’t he?” Her tone lowered to a sad whisper, and Erec could imagine her frowning. “I’m sorry…”

“I think it’s best if you don’t leave the camp anymore. That means no more late-night runs, either, Ash. I’m serious. Jerrick is too close. It’s dangerous to be away from the protection of the pack.”

---