Page 1 of Wolf Tormented
1
Jara
I wave at my fellow pack members as I tighten my wool coat around me on my morning walk. The weather has gotten colder, and there’s a light dusting of snow on the ground.
“Hello, McKenna,” I say warmly as the woman rushes toward me.
“Hello, Al… I mean Jara.” McKenna ducks her head.
“How are you fairing? I know it’s been months with so few deliveries from the city. Is your family doing okay?”
A month after Grayson imprisoned me, Archer lifted the total ban on deliveries, but he decreased their frequency.
Jack and Malcom’s packs have been routing some supplies through their packs, but the situation still isn’t like anything the pack was used to before.
McKenna shakes her head. “We are doing all right. It is quite the adjustment, and the boys are having trouble with their electronics being monitored.”
“Hopefully it won’t be for much longer. Archer has been working diligently to get this investigation under control.” I smile.
Almost too diligently.
I do my best to keep my depressing thoughts to myself as I walk alongside McKenna. Archer has been even more distant lately.
I’d thought everything would be better after the incident with Grayson.
I was wrong.
“Jara? Are you okay?” McKenna asks, bringing me out of my head.
“Yeah, sorry, I zoned out for a minute. What is it that you need?”
“I was saying that some of the other pack members aren’t fairing as well. They would never say it to you or the alpha but…”
“Who?” I ask, but I think I already know the answer. There are only a few pack members who would suffer in silence for the good of the pack.
“Patrick.” She sighs. “He will kill me for saying something, but he’s one of the best of us.”
“That stubborn man,” I growl and march back to the pack house. “What are they in need of?”
McKenna rushes to keep pace with me. “When he’s not patrolling, he’s hunting. He hasn’t come to the storeroom for supplies in weeks.”
I gasp. “He and his family are surviving off whatever he catches in the frozen wilderness?”
McKenna and her organization skills impressed me so much when this whole mess with the humans started that I asked Archer to have her run the storeroom for us. She is extremely fair and honest about rationing supplies.
I open the door to the storeroom and flick the switch to turn on the light. The shelves aren’t as full as they could be, but we are due another delivery in the coming days.
“Does Libby have a coat?” I ask.
I picked one out especially for her when doing some shopping a few weeks ago. If Patrick didn’t take it, I’ll strangle him.
“I told him the package had Libby’s name on it, but he insisted that her coat from last year still fits her fine.” McKenna shrugs and pulls out the package with Libby’s coat tucked inside.
“That girl has grown at least two inches since I joined this pack.” I take the coat from her and grab a large wicker basket.
Moving to the shelves, I add some fresh produce and canned goods. “What about Patrick and Mary? What do their coats look like?”
McKenna is already at the store of jackets and picking out two.
