Page 7 of Claimed By the Feral Wolves

In comparison, Cayson and Ezra look like they came from another dimension.

“Can you believe the ferals will be coming soon?” a girl next to me asks her friend.

I look at Addilyn, and she nods. “Since the alpha-ferals don’t have the same standing as the alphas in packs, they have to come later. It’s a way to remind them that they’re outcasts of society and not respected, without being total assholes, since many of them will be able to join packs once they have omegas… and then will become alphas, recognized as such by the packs.”

“Fun,” I say. “A bunch of wild beasts who have done something awful enough to be tossed out of their packs.”

She gives me a look. “And some who were born to feral parents and did nothing wrong. Remember, one of my dads is a feral.”

I blush. “That’s right. You’re right. I’m just nervous about more male energy being here.”

She giggles. “I won’t mind it one bit.”

“Hey,” someone says, and I turn, pulled out of my thoughts by a pretty brunette leaning over the table to get my attention.

“Oh, hi,” I say, still getting used to making new friends. Addilyn was easy, because we grew up together, but when I talk to the other omegas here, I just feel awkward. “I’m Faye.”

“I know,” she says, somewhat uncomfortable. I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. “I just… well, I thought I’d heard that you were the one who found her.”

When I stare at her blankly, she clears her throat softly, glancing around as though she’s worried someone might overhear our conversation. “Serra,” she clarifies, and a chill rolls down my spine.

After the levity of goofing around with Cayson and Ezra, this feels like I’ve swallowed lead. She’s staring at me expectantly, but there’s something in her expression that makes me feel like she didn’t come here just for gossip, which I’m glad about. The murder of a young girl is hardly fodder for gossip.

“Yeah, I found her,” I say, chewing on my lip. “What was your name again?”

“It’s Janna,” she says, again keeping her voice low like she doesn’t want anyone to overhear. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this, but?—”

A door on the other side of the room swings open and Janna jumps, her face turning white like she’s expecting someone to come through and beeline straight toward us. My heart is hammering in my chest, and part of me wants to reach out, take her by the shoulders, and shake her, to tell her to spit it out or drop the topic, because I just need to not feel like this.

“What did you want to tell me?” I ask, quietly, insistently, staring as the color returns to her face.

“I saw Serra coming out of Kurt’s room,” she admits softly, “the day before, well, the day before you found her. It just spooked me, I guess, to know that they had been together so soon before it happened. And then, there were rumors that he was involved. I just…I wondered how you feel about having him as a mate. I’ve been getting bad vibes from him, but everyone talks about his pack, and his family’s honor and everything. I didn’t know if I was just getting a bad read.”

I stare at her for a moment, that information rushing through my head.

She saw Serra the day before she died. Coming out of Kurt’s room.

I think of how scary it would have been, to be vulnerable with him, alone in his room, allowing him to touch you. I think of how scared she must have been out in the woods, with nobody there to help her, her calls for help echoing off the treetops, unheard.

If she was even able to call out at all.

My brother wasn’t.

“Faye?” the girl asks, and I come back to the present, remembering that I was having a conversation with her.

I put the back of my hands to my cheeks, trying to cool them, then I realize that her telling me this might actually be useful. So far, the council seems to think there’s nothing linking Kurt to Serra outside of their dance. They think I’m just throwing false accusations around for fun. This little detail might be enough for them to properly investigate her murder.

“Janna,” I say, scooting forward and putting a hand on hers. She glances down at it cautiously. “Kurt and I are not mates. He’s claiming me to hurt me because I’ve seen him do some bad things, even though I can’t prove anything. And what you saw, it could really help our case with the council. I just know that?—”

“Keep your voice down,” Janna whispers, glancing around the room, though nobody is looking at us.

“Sorry,” I say, dropping it even lower. “I just…if you were to tell the council about what you saw, we might be able to?—”

Her eyes widen. “No, no, no–”

“Just listen,” I tell her, before she spirals too much. “If you can tell the council–”

The door bursts open again and Kurt walks in, his cool eyes sweeping the ballroom. No doubt he’s searching for me, since he didn’t enter in through the catwalk area like the other alphas. He’s probably pissed I didn’t come to dress him.

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