Page 4 of Wolf Marked

There was a long pause. In the stillness, Erec mulled over all he was hearing. This Filip and Ash—who were brother and sister he guessed from their back and forth—also feared Jerrick’s power. Were they the ones who had found him and bandaged his wounds?

“I mean it, Ash,” Filip pushed with an underlying growl.

“I got it.”

Erec could almost see the eye roll attached to her words.

Filip’s tone hardened. “Listen this once. Don’t run off.” The crunch of heavy footsteps in the deep snow signaled his leave.

Erec listened for a few breaths more but heard nothing else. Then, the tent’s flaps ripped open.

Erec’s breath caught in his lungs. Staring directly at him was a pair of striking green eyes; their unique light color shined against the creaminess of her skin. A dusting of freckles kissed both her cheeks and nose, and even though her fur hood was up, a few reddish-brown curls peeked out from underneath. At first glance, she appeared as delicate as a moonlight blossom, but there was a glint of mischievousness behind her youthful gaze that made his heartbeat skip.

Then, the sweet scent of lilacs filled his nostrils—her scent. His inner wolf licked its lips as the realization hit. This was her tent; he had been in her bed.

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” she said. Her sing-song tone matched the one Erec had been listening to just before. She tied back one of the tent flaps to keep it open and then pulled down her hood. A waterfall of auburn locks spilled over her shoulders and a coysmile lifted her lips. “Eavesdropping, were you?”

Headstrong and beautiful? Any lingering unease drifted away the longer he looked into her eyes. Erec couldn’t help but smirk. “You must be Ash then?”

“It’s Astrid.” She crossed her arms over her chest, pushing up the small mounds of her breasts. “Only my brother calls me Ash.”

She was studying him, her brows knitted together in mild annoyance and only a slight bit of interest. After a few moments, he forced himself to find another place for his gaze to rest on, but no matter where he looked, he found that every part of her was equally mesmerizing. She had to be one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen.

“So,Astrid—” He pronounced her name slowly, letting it roll off his tongue. “Where am I exactly?”

She hesitated, probably debating how much she should reveal to him. “Boden’s pack, west of the river.”

Erec’s stomach flipped. “Did you say Boden? As in, Boden the Warrior?” Mikel used to tell him stories of his neighbor and ally whose territory covered most of the land west of the river. Like Mikel’s, his pack was one of the oldest. “Boden brought me here?”

“No, my brother and I did,” she replied. “We found you buried in the snow. Are you from Mikel’s pack?”

Erec mulled over the explanation of his relation to the alpha in his head, not sure how to answer. “Not exactly…”

“Then you’re one of Jerrick’s,” a booming voice called out.

Erec looked up to find a man trudging through the snow toward them. The closer he got, the more he seemed to grow, towering over Erec with each step. Although gray streaked his wiry copper-colored hair and long beard with age, it did little to lessen the air of intimidation radiating from him.

A vibrating power reached out to Erec’s wolf, commanding obedience.

This had to be Boden.

The moonlight reflected off the metal chainmail vest he wore over his round frame as he stepped in front of Astrid and stared down at Erec. “I’ll be damned if I let one of Jerrick’s dogs sniff around my pack and live.”

Erec’s anger spiked at the insult. He’d rather die than be one of Jerrick’s puppets, but he gritted his teeth and told himself to stay calm. He was a stranger in their territory, afterall. The one who didn’t belong. Like always.

“You have me confused with someone else,” Erec pushed out as meekly as he could manage. “Mikel was my…”Father. The word hovered on his tongue, surprising him. He shook his head and chose a different one. “He was my mentor, of sorts.”

Erec glanced to the other canvas shelters surrounding the roaring fire pit. Men stood with their fingers wrapped around sword and axe hilts. Their mates and children poked their heads out of their warm tents to watch the commotion, all wearing looks of confusion and worry. There seemed to be over forty shifters in all, and that wasn’t including the other homes behind the ones closest to the fire. Boden’s pack was twice the size Mikel’s had been. Maybe even triple.

“Father—” Astrid’s face poked out from behind one of Boden’s massive arms. “We found him unconscious in the snow. He—”

Erec’s throat instantly went dry. He had been staring at Boden the Warrior’s daughter?

“Enough, Astrid. You didn’t even think that you may have healed the enemy and brought him into our home?” Boden’s voice sounded as deep as thunder and as dangerous as lightning. “Go find your brother and stay with him while I deal with this.”

She stepped around him. “I’m not a child, Father.”

Boden ignored her and turned back to Erec. “What is your name? What pack do you belong to?”

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