Page 46 of Wolf Claimed
“You’d make a good alpha heir, Maddox,” Rafe said.
“Alpha heir? Just when I was starting to like you, you insult me.”
Rafe stepped in so close to Artemis she could see the flecks of yellow in his bright green eyes. “Be strong, Artemis, and watch yourself.”
His lips sealed over hers, reminding her of last night. Rafe centered her, as much as Maddox made her feel safe. And Tiernan taught her how to trust, to have faith in others. Which is what she had to do now. Trust that Rafe would find Tiernan and keep him safe.
“Be careful,” she said asRafe shifted. His wolf rubbed his head along her thigh. “If you’re thinking of distracting me bybeing all furry and cute, it won’t work.”She scratched behind his left ear, and his wolf leaned into her hand,demanding more attention. “Okay, maybe it’s working a little, damn you.”
Maddox’s hand moved to the small of her back, guiding her out of the dorm lobby and away from the massacre. “We need to get out of here.”
“I know,” she said, recoiling when she glimpsed the lobby doors with the bloody handprint.
“Let’s go,” Maddox said, taking her hand in his as Rafe bounded into the woods. “As soon as we find a secure place to stay, you’re going to tell me what’s going on.”
Chapter Twelve
MADDOX
The three-story brick building looked and smelled abandoned. Maddox couldn’t find a single sign that anyone had been inside the old office building in years. The entire town they’d stumbled upon a mere three miles northwest of the training center looked more like a ghost town than a modern human town, despite the evidence that people had lived and worked here recently.
“The virus. HEV,” Alyssa said rather solemnly as she read the flyer she’d torn from a store window. “We’re in Hanson, Nebraska. The ad’s from ten months ago, promoting a farmer’s market. That’s the time the town in Wyoming was attacked with the Human Elimination Virus. I’d heard rumors about a town in Nebraska getting hit as well, though there was nothing in the news. The government must have taken over the town and surrounding land to keep reporters and others away.”
“I wonder how many died here. The town isn’t very big.”
“Even one is too many.”
“We lost a lot of lives, too. Innocent lives. And we didn’t start this,” Maddox said, his voice heated. “The WSSO—”
“I know,” she said, walking ahead of him.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, Alyssa. I wasn’t thinking when I said that.” Her father was responsible for creating and using the SEV virus that killed thousands of shifters. There were no winners. Certainly not Isabella. And from how shaken Alyssa looked, she’d suffered too. He rubbed his hands over her cold, bare arms. “It’s not your fault. None of it. Just like my pack isn’t to blame.”
“Why would your pack bear any blame?” she asked, turning into his arms and rubbing up against him for warmth. It felt so good holding her in his arms, being able to wrap himself around her and know that she was his. Or could be his.
“The shifter who used the virus on the human town in Wyoming, and I’m guessing this one too, was from my pack.”
“Oh.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“I’m the last one to judge, Maddox. From what I’ve heard about your pack, it’s not a place I’d like to be. But then again, neither was my house growing up. I guess it proves how alike humans and shifters really are. Both can kill easily and without remorse.”
“That’s not you talking,” he said, tilting her head up with a finger beneath her chin. “What’s going on with you? Talk to me, angel.”
She rubbed her arms again. “I’d like to find a jacket or sweater if I can, first. I’m rather cold.”
Cold and probably still in shock after what she’d seen at the dorm. “I saw a clothing store down that way,” he said, cutting over a street. The area had a lot of retail stores, most still intact, though they’d fallen in disrepair. Broken windows, a sign dangling from metal hooks above a barbershop, weeds growing through the pavement, and saplings sprouting in the oddest places, like the pothole in the middle of the asphalt street.
Maddox punched through the glass door to the retail store and unlocked it. There was no power, but they still had a few minutes of light before sunset. “Go ahead, beautiful. Take whatever you need.”
Alyssa wove between the racks of clothing that remained in pristine shape, except for a layer of dust. She carefully stepped over items that had been knocked from shelves, probably as whoever left here did so in a hurry.
“I feel like I’m stealing.”
“You need clothing. Survival. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“You have an interesting way of looking at life.”
