Page 137 of The Wolf King's Mate

“If I’ve got to struggle a bit to buy my safety, I’ll struggle,” she said firmly.

“We have a handful of old pack members who only left because they took mates,” Clay said. “They’re as trustworthy as they come. We’ll get in contact with them and line up the first three women from that group. To make sure everyone’s recovered, we should probably go through with it tonight.”

Enzo tensed, but didn’t argue.

Everyone else murmured agreements.

“Say your goodbyes to your best artist, just in case,” Nova told Silas, smacking him on the chest.

Hunter snarled again.

Everyone ignored him.

Silas decided he shouldn’t say anything, which seemed for the best.

“I’m going to talk to the ladies,” I said, squeezing his hand before I pulled it off my thigh and stood up.

He jerked his head in a small nod, and reluctantly stood. “I need to talk to my brothers in the hallway.” Enzo’s gaze went to Hunter, and the Gamma stood stiffly.

“You’re coming too, Silas-boy,” Clay said, clapping him on the shoulder. “You good to stay, Fletcher?”

Fletch grunted. “I’ve got it.”

The Savage brothers and Silas stepped out of the room.

“How bad is it out there?” I asked Nova and Sydney.

Nova tipped her head toward the door. “I don’t know. Jackass out there won’t let me outside. He programmed all the doors in the Lodge to lock as soon as I get near them.”

I lifted my eyebrows.

“It’s bad,” Fletcher said. “The forest is packed with wolves on every side. If you did go out there, we would never see you again. Any of you.”

All of us grimaced at that.

“Hopefully the announcement of our plan will help,” Sydney said. “Or the Savages’ plan, I guess.”

“You’re participating in the plan,” Fletcher pointed out. “So it’s yours too.”

“That makes us tools,” Nova corrected. “You can’t create a tattoo without ink, but without an artist, the ink can’t tattoo on its own. We’re ink.”

“Irreplaceable ink with the power to resist being used and the choice to walk away at any time,” I said.

“Fancy ink is still just ink, Aspen.” Nova sounded tired.

I didn’t blame her for it. I knew what it felt like to have recently been stolen from your home, though Enzo had never truly trapped me inside the Lodge.

“What does it feel like to have a wolf?” Fletcher asked Sydney, changing the subject to keep the peace.

Her lips curved slightly. “Loud. It’s like I have a whole new person inside me. A hairy, curious one. She wants to run everywhere.”

I smiled. “After the forest is cleared, we’ll all go out.”

“It’s a plan,” she agreed.

We all chatted while we waited. Nova was reluctant, but she did join in.

We learned that Sydney had been trapped in the forest for nearly a year after her dad lost his mind. She had been about to start her first semester of college before he went rogue and his wolf herded her out to a pack in the woods. They’d moved around constantly, and slept out in nature. The wolves shared the meat they hunted with her, but it wasn’t enough, so she’d learned how to grow vegetables and tend existing berry bushes. During the winter, the pack had kept her warmish in a cave.

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