Page 11 of Pack Captive

Her stomach growled again. It would’ve been funny, but I glanced over at the main part of the camp.

The pups had fallen on a deer by themselves, their sharp little milk teeth ripping into it. I knew that feeling as well as I knew the sadness of losing your home.

And starvation wasalwaysworse.

The Caller’s nose twitched as I took another bite of the meat.

She was too thin. We needed her in top shape if she was going to help us defend Lykos.

That was the only reason I offered again. We needed her power desperately.

It wasn’t because she was beautiful under the dirt, or because she looked forlorn, or because the fucking shackle was too big around her ankle.

“Last chance,” I said, holding it out once again. “I’m not going to baby you. Eat or starve, it’s all the same to me.”

“I didn’t ask you to baby me,” she snapped, but her eyes were on the food, and didn’t pull away. They were too big, her sockets nearly hollow, just like the pups. “All I wanted was the option tochooseto go with you. You didn’t have to leash me like a pet.”

I couldn’t tell her the real reason why she didn’t get a choice.

It had nothing to do with the Alpha’s sudden interest—although I was sure that played a role—but the fact that we’d lost Tyra recently.

She’d gone out with the patrol. A third of them had returned, and she wasn’t among them.

We’d been down one Caller who was of mating age, which was a huge blow, until today, when our runes had lit up with the presence of a new Caller.

The Alpha had tracked her relentlessly all the way into the valley.

I would worry about Ryden’s personal interest in Ayla later. Right now, all we cared about was making sure that Lykos was defended against Fenris, and that we got this one back safely.

I’d lost too much, and sacrificed too much, to let one Caller’s hurt feelings get in our way now.

“Just eat it,” I said, feeling tired. “You’re not going to make it another day if you don’t.”

Maybe she hadn’t made the best first impression on me, but I had to give it to her, she had some common sense.

She could’ve chosen to struggle, to turn her pack against us, but instead she’d gritted her teeth, sucked it up, and told them it was safe.

Itwassafe, because Ryden would never have slaughtered innocents, but technically she couldn’t know that.

She finally gave in, leaning forward and taking a huge bite of the meat. I had to hold my hand still, making sure she wasn’t struggling without her own hands to help her.

Less than a second later, she went in for a second bite, chewing so rapidly she looked like a mouse.

I didn’t want to like her. After all, a Caller was too high in the pack hierarchy for the likes of an orphaned wolf, even if I was a Second, and besides...she was so fuckingstubborn.

But the sight of her chewing so quickly was pretty funny. I bit back a chuckle, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

“It’s not bad, huh?” I prodded.

She chewed, swallowed, and examined the roasted deer. “Better than a lot of what we’ve had lately,” she said quietly.

There it was again. That annoying pang of sympathy in my chest.

This girl had obviously been starving as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had given up her own food rations to the pups.

Surprising even myself, I sat down beside her on the sandy, scrubby grass.

Despite her anger, she was like a pinpoint of strange calm, accepting everything that happened to her and making the best of it so far.

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