Page 17 of Alpha's Baby Girl
So this was survival: no preparation, no packing a bag, no forward-thinking. We followed him outside, where we were presented with watches that would track us. I hated mine, hated that eyes would be following me—until I saw Fenrys slip one on, too.
“She-wolves,” he said, “For the next twenty-four hours, you’ll be left to fend for yourselves. Food, shelter, protection. Lunas do not travel in their own packs, so you’ll be prohibited from joining forces.” His eyes swept over Shiba, no doubt thinking of her ambush during the first trial. A smug thrill ran through me before I forced myself to tamper it down. “While I’ll also be tracked for extra caution, I’ll be able to find all of your locations. I’ll be spending some time with those I choose at random. A Luna can rely on her alpha, and an alpha should be able to rely on his Luna. We’ll be presented with the opportunity to work together to find shelter for the night, food for energy, or an enemy to fight together.”
“An enemy?” One of the she-wolves asked. My heart clenched, going straight to Kato. Did he know something?
“Yes. These woods are vast. You may encounter any number of prey, yes, but you can also encounter foes. We’re predators, naturally, as wolves, but Silverlake Valley has always faced the threat of other packs wanting to take over. Be on your guard.” His gaze found mine, and although I wanted to look away first, I couldn’t. For a second, the rest of the hotel ceased to exist. Then I blinked. Fenrys looked away, and I only felt the heat of Shiba’s glare.
A jealous she-wolf wasn’t an enemy I wanted to make, but I gave her an innocent smile until she disregarded me.
I raised my hand. “Will there be an order in which you find us? What if you approach us through the night, and we attack you, thinking of you as a foe in the dark?”
Fenrys gave me a wide grin. “Then I look forward to besting you.” He laughed quietly. “But to answer the first question, there’s no order. It’ll be a matter of whoever’s closest or, when the night approaches, who might have gone too far to the edge of the woods or who might still be moving, indicating they haven’t yet found shelter.”
“We’re wolves,” Shiba’s second said, the one who had distracted me during the first trial so Shiba could snag Fenrys. “Why would we need—”
“Half of the trial will be spent in your human forms, the other half as a wolf. How you do this is up to yourselves, but you’ll be monitored to ensure no cheating occurs. Although in wolf form it’d be easy to track you by scent, the human trackers will help whether I’m in human form at any point and need to rely on the device in case not everyone is back at the end of the trial.”
Once again, his eyes swept over Shiba, and I smothered a grin, knowing he knewIhad been cheated out of my win on the last trial because of the ambush.
“Your wolves have incredible survival instincts, but how well will that work alongside your human needs?” His head lifted, giving us all one last look over. “Good luck.”
***
A shrill ringing broke the silence around me as I walked. I’d been walking for around two hours, letting myself get contentedly lost in the woods while light still showed the way. The hotel was lavish but I was feeling too cooped up in there. At least it had gotten me away from my family for a while. I loved them but our relationship had been strained when they didn’t know how to navigate both the shame of me being rejected by an alpha, but also comforting me so they’re simply become neutral, indifferent.
I answered my ringing phone, thankful to find it was Sasha. “Hey, girl, what’s up?” Her voice was so familiar and brought comfort to me that I sagged in relief as I trekked my way along a river. It led upwards, to the cliffs.
“Oh, have I missed your phone,” I sighed. “I’m actually doing my second trial so how’s that for timing?”
“Damn. Do you need me to go?”
“No, it’s a survival thing. I don’t need to shift yet. I still have a lot of light to work with.” I paused. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to see how you were doing.” Her voice was slow and thoughtful .”How you were doing with the plan as well. I need to know you’re not in danger, I mean.”
I let out a dry laugh. “The only danger here is myself, Sash.”
“Babe,” she cooed, “You still want him?”
I let myself slump against a tree trunk, pausing for a breather. “I thought I was over it all. But then I saw him properly and I just—Sash, I’m conflicted.”
“Are you backing out? I’m sure Kato would understand. It’s a lot of pressure and—”
“No, no,” I said quickly. I lowered my voice, in case anyone could hear me, but the woods were silent for miles around. “I’m not backing out. I know what I have to do, and I know it’s right. It’s just… I’m so focused on the plan. How will I ever know if he’s changed?”
Sasha laughed, soft and empathetic. “Lia, I may not have known you back then, but I know younow. I know what happened. I don’t think men like him change. He’s the kind you want desperately to change but they don’t.” There was something deeper in her tone, something distracted.
“You never did tell me how Kato got you away from your family,” I said gently.
“Let’s just say we both him big time. He helps people like us, people that systems have taken advantage of, and puts us at a higher station.” She sighed. “When I lived in Atlanta, I dated a guy who my parents didn’t approve of because he was a wolf shifter. My mother shunned me, my dad got nasty. Cruel. But it turns out that the guy was one—or was—one of Kato’s pack. He’d sent word to Kato to get me out before my dad could turn too awful.”
“You say was?”
“Nothing tragic,” she laughed. “We broke up some months back but I hung around Kato’s group because I’d gotten to know them. He wanted to leave. He said it was too hard being around me so much. But he saved me,Katosaved me, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
“Right.” I chewed on my lip as I contemplated. “This is a good idea, right? Kato’s vision for the town?”
“I couldn’t be with a guy because I wasn’t a wolf shifter,” Sasha said. “Now, I can be with whoever I please. Kato would see everyone get those sorts of opportunities. We’d keep hierarchies but take away the iron-fist rules that traditional packs hold. I believe he’s good, Thalia, and I wouldn’t have led you to him if I didn’t.”
