Page 58 of Claimed By the Feral Wolves

“Alright,” I say, touching my fingers together under the table and trying to calm my beating heart.

This can’t be about Faye. My mind starts to go through the possible reasons he could be here. If something had happened back with my pack, surely Lance would not be so casual about everything.

“Ezra,” Lance says, clearing his throat. “I should not be divulging this information to you, but I trust that you’re capable of being discreet. Discreet meaning that it stays between you, your mate, and the men you’ve been bonded to.”

“Of course.”

He hesitates for only a moment. “We’ve been doing an investigation of the girl’s murder,” Lance says, his voice dropping so low that I have to lean forward to hear what he’s saying. “I promised that we would, and we are taking the situation very seriously. Some of the evidence we’ve gathered—it points to Kurt’s involvement.”

Of course, I believed Faye when she said she recognized that death. That she saw the echo of her brother’s murder in the scene we came across. But here, now, hearing this from Lance himself, is a different experience entirely. I want to ask about the evidence, figure out what they’ve learned, but my instincts remind me not to push with an ultima.

Even as an alpha, I defer to him, and his subtle power pushes through the room, influencing me. I wonder if this is how Faye feels when she’s around an alpha.

“There’s not enough evidence to make an official accusation,” Lance says, “but it is certainly moving in that direction.”

“I see,” I say, managing to keep my voice steady. “What can I do to help?”

“Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot we can do at this junction,” Lance says, steepling his hands together on the table. “I’m outvoted in this matter, at every turn. The council is just hesitant to take action against a man as powerful as Kurt. Angering his father would not be beneficial to anyone, and we must be absolutely certain that he committed the crime before publicly tarnishing his name.”

Right—because Kurt’s good name is far more important than the lives of fellow shifters. “You know, Kurt has been far more violent with Faye than we’ve let on, knowing that her word won’t mean anything against his in front of the council.”

We both look at each other, remembering our conversation just a short time ago about Kurt in the greenhouse. Lance had been upset, but not surprised, promising to bring it up with the council. I can tell he did, and that it led to nothing from the look on his face.

“I can believe that, unfortunately. But like I said, I was outvoted on how to handle him. Kurt’s father is the kind of man who would stage an all-out-war with the other packs, should he feel his good name is being tarnished. The council is tryingto avoid that at all costs,” Lance continues, almost as though he can sense that there’s more I could say. “I’m not a fan of Kurt’s general conduct, and I thought this was enough to warrant removing him from The Selection. But the other council members didn’t agree. I’m not sharing this information for you to take action—in fact, doing anything to interfere with the council’s investigation would be foolish. I’m simply telling you because this development might spur Kurt to take action.”

“You think he might go after Fayemoreaggressively,” I say, thinking of all the times he has managed to do just that—putting his hands on her, bursting into her room, fuckingattackingher in the greenhouse. Tonight, Xander had filled us in on everything he’d done. My blood starts to heat, and I have to re-focus on Lance to keep my emotions in check.

“Nobody can be sure what a man like Kurt might do,” Lance says diplomatically. “But I could not, in good conscience, risk this happening to another omega.”

“I see,” I say, clearing my throat, the image of Faye dead in the woods like Serra, the unfortunate omega, making bile rise in my throat. If this isn’t proof that a bond is forming between us, I don’t know what is. Thinking of Faye's death is like thinking of my own. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I trust you will not dishonor me by sharing this information with others outside of Faye and your men.”

“Your trust is well placed.”

Lance stands, and I show him to the door, my mind racing the entire time. What am I supposed to do with this information? The brutish, violent part of my mind insists that I just eliminate the threat—kill Kurt so he can’t hurt anyone else, and especially so he can’t hurt Faye.

But the more intelligent, composed part of my mind insists that there has to be a better alternative. And I’ll need to talk to the other alphas and Faye to come up with a plan.

22

Faye

Someone isalwaysknockingon my door.

I wake to the sound, just barely managing to yank a blanket up over my naked body when Ezra and Cayson walk inside, their eyebrows shooting to their hairlines when they see me sandwiched between Maverick and Xander. Xander’s arm is thrown over my torso, and Maverick is facedown in the mattress, his ass bare for everyone to see.

I’m so embarrassed that I feel like melting into the mattress and disappearing.

“Wake up,” I hiss, smacking Maverick so he can cover himself, then scooting up the bed, so I can sit.

Ezra is politely averting his eyes while Cayson is laughing and making some crude joke I can’t hear over the roaring in my ears. How is it that I walked into these games a virgin with literally zero knowledge of men, and now I’ve had four different guys in my bed? These guys must have changed some fundamental part of me. How? I have no idea.

“Uoof,” Maverick groans, not opening his eyes.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Cayson says and laughs, tossing his ball so it bounces off of Maverick, who lifts his face sleepily, grinning at the other alphas.

Xander stirs next to me as well, but he’s wearing boxers, at the very least. I don’t know when he put them on, but I’m grateful that he did. It makes this awful situation just a little more bearable.

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