Page 8 of Pack Captive

One of the elders, Reeva, saw me standing there with the Alpha. Her eyes drifted down to the gold shackle and her eyes tightened.

For their sake, I managed a small smile.

All of my anger would be reserved for the Alpha and his Second—my people didn’t deserve to feel bad for throwing in their lot with the stronger wolves.

“You can trust them,” I said firmly, trying to sound calm and pleased despite my situation. “They’ll take us to Lykos and protect you.”

It burned me inside to say it while the weight of the bracelet pulled on my leg, but...the pups. They needed another chance to survive.

The little ones had hollow cheeks, their eyes too big.

They’d seen too much, and we couldn’t hunt far enough these days for enough food. That would mean leaving the pack behind, and the shadow wolves were good at sneaking in behind our backs.

Reeva had her arms around one of the pups, a little boy. Not even four months ago I’d buried his father beneath the temple and held the lunar rites for him.

His son carried the runes all Warriors were born with, but he was too young to use them to his advantage.

Only Alpha Ryden would ensure he stayed alive that long.

To my surprise, it was Noel, one of the more cautious elders, who scowled at Ryden. “She’sourCaller, not yours.”

My heart warmed a little, even while panic jolted through me.

I couldn’t let Noel ruin this for the pups, even though I knew he’d also seen the shackle and had some idea of what it was.

“I trust him.” Every cell in my body screamed against it, but I put my hand on Ryden’s arm, trying not to feel the hard muscle beneath my palm. “He saved us from the Fenris wolves, and they’re offering us shelter and food. I won’t leave you, Noel. We’re still a pack.”

I shouldn’t have glanced at Ryden, but I did. He looked pleased, casting me a quick, appreciative grin, and I was pretty sure he was flexing for my benefit.

I pulled my hand away, resisting the urge to wipe it on my baggy clothes. He had a brilliant smile, the kind that made my heart pound a little faster.

“Lykos is only two days away,” he told them, but Noel wasn’t having it.

“You’ve got our Caller in binding runes,” the elder wolf snapped, and it was Fenn and Reeva who shut him down.

Reeva released the pup she’d been holding, rounding on Noel. “Do you want Ayla to die like Rasvati—fornothing?Who would put her spirit to rest if she died here while we escaped?”

“You can stay,” Fenn added quietly. “But we owe it to our fallen to ensure their children live. I’d rather give up pack pride than let our last Caller and offspring die in a futile last stand.”

I swallowed the hard lump in my throat as Noel backed down under their combined pressure.

This was for the best, no matter how the Azurans were treating me.

Ryden looked over my people, his gaze lingering on the pups’ thin faces.

“We head out now,” he ordered, and the Azurans immediately fell into formation, surrounding my pack.

He looked at me once more, his eyes shadowed now. There was nothing left of that magnetic grin. “Do you need to pray in your temple?”

I shook my head, even though the lump in my throat felt like a stone now.

Our ancestors were buried there, but right now...they wouldn’t want us to linger just so I could pray to their bones and say goodbye.

The pups needed food. The elders needed comfort and safety.

And, after all, I hadn’t expected to leave this valley alive. I’d been ready to close off the valley and let my bones go unburied, my spirit doomed to wander without the proper rites.

“No. I’ll pray in yours.” I couldn’t stop the next bitter words that spilled out of my mouth. “I have no choice.”

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