Page 12 of Pack Captive

Before us, the wastelands were a vast stretch before we reached Lykos. It was a hot, grueling, and thankless run to come out this far.

It had only been because we’ve been hunting several of the Fenris wolves that had skirted too close to the river bordering Lykos that Ryden had even considered the direction that had led to her.

The Caller gave me an annoyed look, as though I’d sat far too close to her despite the arm’s length distance between us. “Why are you out here with me?”

I shrugged again, not really sure what to tell her.

Or rather, I wanted to tell her that she should be grateful she had a second chance. Not everyone got that.

Instead, I chose to nod at the remains of ruins out in the distance.

It was nothing more than a fallen stone wall, where Fenris had come through and eaten everything in his path. My own home had looked a lot like that by the end.

“That’s what would’ve become of your village. You couldn’t have stayed behind.”

She followed my gaze, and her eyes narrowed.

“I’m well aware of that,” she said, her voice as cold as ice. “If you came out here to rub it in, you can just leave. Trust me, your stupid shackle keeps me from going anywhere.”

I looked down at the bracelet around her skinny little ankle. Her skin was already a little red beneath it from the number of times she’d decided to test it.

Ryden had been irritated that he’d had to force her to have her hands tied, but he wasn’t willing to risk her damaging herself. I knew that the shackles hurt like a bitch.

And Elder Yasemin herself, our oldest Caller, had enchanted this one. It would pack a hell of a punch if Ayla tried to run.

“You need to eat more,” I told her, my gaze still locked on her thin legs and the sting-reddened skin. “Quit worrying about running, and just worry about taking care of your pack.”

She tucked her leg under herself, hiding it from my view.

“That’s all I worry about,” she told me. I leaned over and popped the last of the meat into her mouth, and she gnawed on it, obviously trying to chew slowly and make it last.

I guess I could’ve told her that much better food was available in Lykos, but there was a stubborn streak in me, too.

If I told her that and gave her something to hope for, I could as good as admit that I liked her grit. And Istilldidn’t want to like her.

She was still chewing when she spoke next. “I’ve been surviving for much longer than you think. My pack has depended on me for years. I don’t need you walking in and treating us like we don’t know how to take care of ourselves.”

“Where were your Warriors?” I glanced at her and found myself unable to look away. Even covered in dirt, with her hair unbrushed, she would be beautiful when she was washed and dressed like a true Caller. “All you have are your elders. You wouldn’t have survived for much longer.”

Ayla stopped, going as still as a statue.

She chewed one or two more times, made a face, then spit the last bite out into the grass below the ridge. Then she stood suddenly, wobbling from getting up without the help of her hands, and looked down at me imperiously.

“I need privacy for a moment,” she said.

I stared at her blankly. “This is as private as it’s going to get. It’s a camp.”

She’d been fine a moment before. It wasn’t until I mentioned her Warriors…

They were gone. She would’ve been the one to bury them and hold all the rites herself, taking on the burden alone that was meant for a full pack to bear.

I wished I could take back my question.

She shook her head, not meeting my eyes. “No, I need to pee. Do I need your Alpha’s permission to do that now?”

Oh, that’s what it was. In fact, the Alphadidneed to know if any of us were leaving the camp.

But speak of the wolf and it shall appear.

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