Page 49 of Pack Kasen: Part 1

The moment she’s gone, I squeeze my eyes shut and massage my forehead as I lie back on the ground.

A second later, metal chinks.

I force my eyelids open.

Angling my head to the right, I take in the small bottle of water just outside my cage. Beside it is a salami sandwich wrapped with paper.

Both are inches away.

If I had to guess, I’d say it was Finan, since I can’t see the Wolf King doing me any favors.

All of which would be fine. I mean, I’m not about to turn down water and food I don’t have to eat off the floor, but I didn’t hear a damn thing.

Worse, shadows stretch across the floor

Hours must have passed, maybe even an entire day, and I have absolutely no awareness of it having done so. It felt like I just blinked.

Which means whatever is wrong with me is getting worse.

A lot worse.

Maybe bad enough I close my eyes and don’t open them again.

“Shit,” I breathe.

16

AREN

“She’s dying.” Finan softly closes the door to my office. “So whatever it is you intend to do with her, you had better decide soon.”

My gut clenches. It’s closely followed by panic.

I don’t panic.Ever. So why now?

What is it about this woman that is twisting me apart like this?

Shaking my head, I open my laptop. “The only good feral is a dead feral.”

When I open my inbox, there’s an email from the Council, and, for once, it actually contains something I need to know.

If I’d known fighting in the week-long Wolf King Trial would lead to having a dedicated email address and a constant flow of spam, maybe I wouldn’t have fought as hard as I did to win the thing.

Finan doesn’t make a sound, but I feel his gaze penetrating the top of my head. My wolf is growling at me. Hasn’t really stopped since I sank into my chair. The growling is not unusual when I’m neck deep in emails. The day I meet a shifter who likes to sit at a desk and deal with emails is a day I never see coming.

“You’re going to stand there staring at me until I do something, aren’t you?” I sigh.

“My workload is light.”

“And that task you had to do this morning?” I ask, curious. Usually I always know what Finan is doing. Not this morning.

“Is one you will thank me for days from now.”

I snap my laptop lid down and release a frustrated sigh. “Okay, fine. Get Wes and Cruz in here.”

He raises an eyebrow. The man has unbelievable control over that one eyebrow. I’ve asked if he practices at night. He didn’t answer which means he definitely does.

“And the reason you need them?”

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