Page 119 of Never Submit

It’s not an honor, it’s a penance, no matter how Mathis wants to spin it. He’s just trying to butter me up to make the sting a little less sting-y. But I know him. And I know when he’s feeling guilty, or stressed, or hungry, or horny.

I know him better than he knows himself most days.

He’s embarrassed at the mate bond and how I’m taking it. And he’s embarrassed that he’s shuffling me off with Noble even if it’s our damn jobs.

But I’ll go because he asked me to and it’s better than making a third loop around the camp. Everything is settled.

The two deltas, one from each of the packs, are put in their place with only a few scratches from me to remind them not to fuck around. I don’t give a shit who has more supplies at this point. Infighting stops now.

I shake my head, canines too sharp for my crowded mouth. The wolf is close. The wolf is all I’ve ever needed.My companion and my shield when life gets too shitty to bear.

The empty pit in my head is waiting for me, too. It’s been growing. Wider, deeper, darker, since Ren came into my life and showed me how it felt to feel again.

If I give in to it, the nothingness of my past?—

“I’ll lose it.”

Saying the words out loud means nothing.

My feet grind into the frozen mud of the trail. The lack of memories used to hurt. Splinters in my brain, constantly poking and prodding. Agonizing. Being around Mathis always helped.

Now, as I draw frigid air into my lungs, somethingelseis there to pick up the slack and distract me. The air carries her scent.

A wicked grin splits my features, and I stalk forward, rounding a corner to where Red is perched on the front porch of her cabin. She stiffens, her movements sharp, and turns around to pin me with her eyes over her shoulder.

Red always knows where I am. We might not have a fucking mate bond, but she knows. Just like she knows who fucks her good.

Mathis does.

I should keep my hands to myself for his sake. I should do a lot of things. The pins are back in my head, slicing things they always slice.

I purposely unclench my fingers and fix her with a territorial grin.

“Hey, Little Red.”

She shivers when I call her name, even as a few of the other wolves, up and enjoying the moonlight, sprint off. Bleating like sheep. I take them inwith the detachment of someone who knows I have much more interesting prey in front of me. The sheep will always be there. They’ll always be afraid.

“Are you upset with me?” She drops her head into her palms, elbows balanced on her knees. “You kinda left without saying anything, and Mathis says you just need time to adjust?—”

I stalk forward one purposeful foot at a time. Making sure she knows my movements. Tracks me. I wait until I’m close enough to absorb the way she shivers as I tower over her.

“Upset with you?” My growl vibrates my throat and chest.

“About the mate bond with Mathis.”

I shake my head until too-long hair falls over my eyes. Lips peeled back in a leer, I tip her chin up, pinching the skin just hard enough to make her gasp. “Mad at you? Nah. Not my style.”

It’s my style to attack. To destroy, like a tornado. To relish the way people fear me and laugh in their faces.

“You can’t help the bond. It’s a gift, as I’m sure you’ve been told. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to screw your brains out.” Or chase her through the woods again, likeshe’sthe prey, and when I catch her?—

Her eyes are pools in the darkness with a slight amber glow around the irises. “Is that why you ran off?” Ren asks.

My cock jerks. “I’m about to take off again. The alphas want me and Nobie to head out and check on Andras. See if we can scout his lair.”

“You’re leaving now?” Ren breaks my hold and surges to her feet. “It’s after one a.m.”

“No time like the present.”

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