Staying alive and sane seemed to be much more difficult.

He put my bandaged ankle in a boot and gave me a bottle of werewolf-strength painkillers before Hunter helped me hobble back toward Enzo’s room.

“Does he know?” I gritted out.

My wolf was curled up in my abdomen, hiding from the pain with her paws over her face. She wasn’t interested in coming out at the moment.

“He knows.” My head turned slightly as Clay reached us and pulled my free arm around his shoulder, taking the other half of my weight. It was such a relief, I could’ve cried. “He’s snarling at everyone, but they took down the rabid and are making quickwork of the remaining rogues. It’s about a two-hour drive from where they are right now, but I imagine they’ll be back around three or four.”

My stomach clenched.

The idea of them killing sane wolves who were trapped in their fur was just… sickening. If the wolves were going to turn rabid, I did understand why they were doing it, but still. It was horrible.

Knowing I might be able to help was more horrible. I had never tried turning someone as an adult, or even a teenager. It had almost killed me as an infant, but I might be able to manage it without dying now that I was older.

I didn’t know for sure, though.

And they could lock me up for the ability, if they knew about it.

I was in too much pain to think about sharing it.

I needed to focus on figuring out what to do about my Alpha situation first.

They turned down the wrong hallway, and I frowned. “Where are we going?”

“He wants us to feed you,” Clay explained.

Ah.

“Can he talk to me mentally?” I asked, curious.

“He added you to the pack, so I’m sure he can. It just causes him less pain to talk to us.”

I frowned. “Why does it cause him pain?”

Clay shrugged. “Too many wolves. Not enough Enzo.”

I frowned and looked at Hunter for a better explanation, but he just grunted at me.

We reached the dining room, and Enzo’s brothers lowered me into a chair. Hunter propped my boot up on an empty one across from me, and my eyes stung with the motion.

“Did you take the meds?” Clay checked.

“She refused,” Hunter grumbled.

“I don’t want my mind scrambled by medication around people I don’t know.”

I flinched as a new feeling seemed to blaze to life in my mind.

That didn’t feel great.

Didn’t seem like a great sign, either.

The sting of it faded quickly, and Enzo demanded in my mind,“Take the medication.”

There was dominance behind the words, but it rolled off me like always.“I’m surrounded by people I don’t know, and they’re all stronger than me. I’m not taking it.”

“Stubborn little Princess,”he snarled at me.