Page 11 of The Pack

She was a goddamned vision.

She stood before me, defiant yet trembling, clutching a stick like it was Excalibur itself. Her eyes burned with a mix of fear and fire, a contradiction that held my attention longer than it should have. She was a mess—mud-streaked, her crude leather wrap barely holding together, blood splatter all over her body. And yet, there she was, daring to jab a makeshift spear at a wolf like her life depended on it.

At me.

It was almost funny, in a tragic kind of way. Almost.

I let the smirk twitch across my lips as I shifted back to human form, the transition seamless and fast. My pack watched from behind me, silent sentinels in their wolf forms, their glowing eyes locked on the girl. She flinched when I yanked the stick in her hands toward me, her small stumble bringing her closer to me.

Into my arms…

The feral pack had been dealt with. Their snarls and howls were long gone, leaving only the quiet hum of the forest and the faint trickle of the nearby stream. And now… there was her.

Not one of the usual wolf shifters England usually dumped here like rotting meat. Not one of the ferals we usually fought against…

But ahuman woman.

I stared at her, tightening my grip on the stick as my mind raced. This wasn’t right. England didn’t send humans to Ireland. They had strict policies, ironclad orders to contain the infected and ensure their ‘problem’ stayed far away from their perfect, human-only paradise. Ireland was their dumping ground for shifters, for the ferals and the damned. But never,neverhumans.

A human woman was a rarity beyond measure here in Ireland.

Sure, there were female wolf shifters, but they’d long since become infertile—had been for as long as any of us could remember. The virus that turned us had stolen more than just our humanity; it had taken the future of our kind. We never had the chance to grow, to breed, to pass down our strength to another generation.

And now, standing before me, was something we had all given up hoping for—a human woman, untouched by the virus, healthy, strong… and so verybreedable.

“Magnus,”Tobias’s voice growled in my head, the mental link between us steady and familiar. I didn’t need to turn to know mycousin was pacing behind me, his heavy paws crunching softly on the gravel bank.“What the hell is she doing here?”

Good question. One I didn’t have an answer for.

“She’s just a girl,”Callum said, his tone tinged with curiosity, and probably a bit of pity. Of course, Callum would feel bad for her. He was the heart of our little pack, always the first to find the humanity in a situation—even when we were barely clinging to it ourselves. He’d always been like that and honestly, if he wasn’t, I’d probably start to miss it.

“She’s ahuman,” I said aloud, my voice cold and even.

The girl flinched again, her lips tightening.

“I’m standing right here, you know,” she snapped, the fire in her voice almost impressive.

Almost.

I arched an eyebrow, letting the corner of my mouth twitch up in a half-smile.

“I know you are, lass,” I replied.

Her glare could have curdled milk. “What do you want?” she demanded.

Ah, the same question as before. It wasn’t a bad one, all things considered. I crossed my arms, keeping the stick angled downward like I was holding a walking cane.

“You, apparently,” I answered.

Her cheeks flushed red, and for a brief moment, I thought she might actually slap me. Not a good idea, given the circumstances, but entertaining all the same.

“That’s not an answer. You can’t have me. I won’t allow it,” she said through gritted teeth.

Behind me, Tobias’s growl rumbled in my mind again.“She’s a liability, Magnus. If she doesn’t know what’s out here, she won’t last the night.”

“She already lasted a night,”I shot back through the mental link, not bothering to hide my irritation.“Against ferals, no less. That’s not something most humans can claim.”

“She was lucky,”Tobias said.

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