Page 26 of Wolf Heart

She’ll heal or she’ll learn. Either way, I don’t care. I only saved her and abandoned my friends to save my sister and the rest of the pack. She means nothing to me but a means to an end.

The cabin needs work, but it will do. I duck my head and barrel through the hall, pulling Juniper behind me. The walls are cracked and a few old, dusty couches sit in the middle of the living room.

“That won’t help you.” I pry the branch from her hand.

She’s shaking and the branch has splinters sticking out of it. She held onto it so tight, that I’m surprised it didn’t pierce in her palm.

“You called me human.” She shakes her head, rubbing her arms. “I’m not, I’m a wolf.”

I drag one of the couches over to the door, propping it against the door. The thunk, thunk, thunk of the wolves throwing their bodies against it grates on my nerves. At least the windows are boarded up. Whoever lived here knew how to protect themselves, but I still need to scope the place and ensure we don’t have any unwelcome company.

“You said yourself that your mom’s a witch.” I scoot the couch deeper into the doorframe. I spot a table and debate using that too.

“So?” She pours venom in the word, daring me to contradict her. “I’m half-wolf, not human.”

“You know what the lost ones crave more than wolf flesh?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.

She gives me a blank look, but her face turns ashen.

“The fact you haven’t been able to shift and have a witch for a mother tells me everything I need to know.”

“Really?” She locks her arms at her sides, lifting her chin. “What’s that?”

“Your mother must have put a spell on your pack to convince them that you’re a wolf, cause everything I see,” I make a point of looking her up and down, “says you’re no wolf.”

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