Page 14 of Pack Captive

It would never match a razor for efficiency, but if Calian left me alone for long enough, I might be able to saw through the ropes.

It was impossible to go on like this.

I couldn’t lie. I was grateful that they had taken in my pack.

But I would be damned if I let Ryden bring me back to his home like some war prize.

Especially if he had me tied up like I was no better than a pet dog and treated me like I would abandon my own pack.

I even hated myself a little for how attractive I found him. He’d stolen me from my home, without even giving me the chance to follow my own people. I shouldn’t feel anything at all.

Maybe he was gorgeous on the outside, but his inside would never match.

As for Calian, there was something magnetic about him. I thought he might have sympathy for me deep inside, but he’d ruined even that.

I couldn’t give him the chance to explain it. If I was going to Lykos, it would be on my own terms, or not at all.

I leaned against the tree, settling in as I kept the rock in my slowly numbing fingers, and began scraping it against the ropes binding my wrists.

It was unbelievable that they’d even send me out to pee while I was tied up, but at least I could use it as an excuse for why it was taking me so long.

I adjusted the rock, angling it against the tight knot Calian had managed, and found purchase.

The faint sound of scraping filled the air as I sawed desperately, trying to work fast, but also as quietly as possible.

I was torn. How could they be so kind to the children and elders of my pack, and yet tie me up and throw me over a Guardian’s shoulders like I was a sack of grain?

Maybe they were deliberately punishing me.

Maybe this was because I had failed my people so badly, I couldn’t even be trusted.

I’d never thought about how other packs might treat their Callers, but maybe I had done something terrible and wrong, and had never realized it.

Lost in my dark thoughts, I sawed even harder, and then felt the slightest give.

Biting back a gasp of surprise, I almost dropped the rock. The ropes must’ve been flimsier than I’d thought if it had worked that fast.

I pulled my wrists apart, testing the strength. There was definitely more give now. I could almost slip my hands out if I pulled hard enough.

I was so absorbed in seeing how far I had cut through the rope, I almost didn’t hear the muffled growl coming from the darkness.

The second growl was louder, only feet away from my tree. I nearly dropped my rock for the third time and crouched down as low as possible, peering out into the deep shadows of the wasteland.

There was something out there. No blue runes lit up the darkness, and whatever it was, it was slowly creeping behind a stand of trees.

By the light of the waning moon, I saw the briefest flash of blood red eyes.

My heart seemed to stutter to a halt, then came back to life with a vengeance, galloping against my ribs.

One of Fenris’s shadow wolves. It must have followed us all the way from the valley.

And here I was, huddled beneath a tree, with my hands tied behind my back.

Completely useless, unless I called for the Alpha or Calian.

I didn't want them to be the ones to save me again, but neither did I want to be torn apart, my body left in the wastelands for the birds to pick to the bone.

But this shadow wolf didn't attack. It crept around one of the trees, staring me down, its dark outline becoming more obvious in the moonlight.

---