Page 2 of Savage Wolves

I’m glad Clemmy doesn’t look at me. I can’t control the sneer tightening my lips. How disgusting and traumatizing. That poor woman. Like me, she was kidnapped from the human world and forced on Shadow Moon Island. She was broken and rebuilt as an omega for this alpha to do with as he pleased. I want to kill him for it. I can’t stand the idea of how the lykoswulves live. It’s savage. Barbaric. If I could do something to stop them, I would. I plan to. There’s no way I’m going to just submit and stand down, turning into the docile little omega that obeys a man just because she’s broken into it. If I’m ever going to bow down and lie ass up at a bastard’s feet, it’s going to be by my free will and because I want to. But right now? That’s far from a kink I want. It’s different knowing that I have no consent. The last time I played a good girl, my client understood it was because he had earned the right and hadn’t just taken the control from me.

I never thought I would miss my life before, even as fucked up as it was. But now? Fuck me. I would give anything to return to the human world. I might’ve been a sugar baby, but at least it was my choice. It was my doing. I could’ve chosen anything else, but I chose that. That’s what it’s about for me. My choice.

And right now, I choose to fight even if it must be with my intelligence instead of my strength. Brute and brawns don’t always win. I will get through this. I know I will.

I finish up and walk to the sink, washing my hands. “How many packs are competing for me?” I decide to ignore his comment about Tonya. I don’t want to get sidetracked. I just need to know what I’m up against so I can strategize.

Clemmy turns around and crosses his arms over his scrawny chest. The longer I look at him, the thinner and softer he becomes. His muscles are sinewy and small, nothing like the alphas I’ve seen. It makes me wonder about Kellan. He was far bigger and muscular than this guy. He also never spoke about his alpha as if he was his servant. It was always more in fearful obedience and not acceptance.

With the thought of Kellan...my heart. I never knew it would ache for anyone in such a way. It’s not even because I trust Kellan. I just...I don’t know how to explain it.

“Last I heard, he will have six men competing for you. Isn’t that amazing? I’m anxious to know who is worthy to claim you as an omega. It won’t be long though. I know that the packs have already entered the neutral territory of the meadow and prepare for the competition.”

My heart sinks into my stomach. I thought I would have more time.

“What are they like? What are their names? Are there any you think I would like and I should hope for?” I stride toward the sleeping bag and pick it up from the ground, wrapping it around my shoulders, hoping to fight off the trembles stealing my breath away. My fear gets the best of me, and I feel a panic attack coming on.

I try to keep it at bay, glancing around the room to look for five things to see, remembering what Chase had taught me.

Fuck. My situation suppressed my concern over Chase. I’ve been so worried about myself that I haven’t even had a moment to think about Chase. They hurt him. He could be dead, and I wouldn’t even know.

Oh, goddess. It’s strange how my silent prayer comes so effortlessly toward a being I never believed in until the moon picked me.

Two warm hands touch my cheeks, and I jerk my attention to Clemmy as he stands within my personal space. My distraction over my panic prevented me from even seeing him move. I need to get myself together. I need to focus.

“Sweetie, let’s sit down. I’ll grab the food I made you. How does that sound? Are you thirsty? I’ll bring you some water too. Just take a breath. I know you’re afraid, and that’s only because you don’t have the safety of your alpha yet.” Clemmy guides me to sit on the floor, and he helps wrap the sleeping bag around me.

I rest my back to the wall as he strides across the room and presses his hand to the metal door. It swings open with his touch, surprising the hell out of me. It wasn’t even locked, and the long rope around his ankle allows him to easily stroll into a dinky kitchen. What the fuck is this place? It’s a cell within a house of some sort.

“Are we still on the island?” I ask, hugging my arms around my knees. It takes everything in me not to follow him out of the cell. A part of me knows I can take down Clemmy, but another part of me refuses to try. He could be of use to me, at least, for a little while, and I can’t see anything beyond the kitchen. I doubt Mr. Kai would leave us unattended with what he has planned. Clemmy can unintentionally prepare me better. I only have to get him to keep talking.

“Of course, we are. I told you we were on neutral territory just outside of my home in Mistharbor, sweetie.” Clemmy peeks at me from over his shoulder. He smiles again, though it does nothing for my nerves. He pulls out a tray from a small oven and waltzes back to me. “It’s across the island from where you were staying.”

“How big is this island anyway? Is it comparable to one of the Hawaiian Islands? The Big Island?” I’ve never been to any island before Shadow Moon, but I can try to imagine it for myself. “Or maybe it would be easier to compare it to California.”

Clemmy chuckles as if my question is the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. “I don’t know those places to reference. I honestly can’t tell you much. I’ve never seen Shadow Moon on a map, nor have I’ve been far outside of my territory. But I think it’s pretty big. There are about twenty territories here. A couple more elsewhere too, but we don’t deal with them.”

Damn it. His answers only leave me with more questions. Twenty territories? Does that mean there’s twenty alphas? And what about the couple of territories elsewhere? Is he talking about Starrise Island? I hate this. I hate not knowing anything. At least back at home, when I had a question, I could search for answers on the internet. Sure, I wasn’t always great at finding the right ones, but all the information was there at my fingertips. Here, it’s as if I have to sacrifice a virgin or some shit just to find a water source.

Maybe that’s where I messed up. I don’t think there are any virgins among the group that was brought with me...

“This sucks. Do you have a history book or something? Some hidden website?” I don’t even know why I bother asking when I know the answers. The wolfpacks pass down information through their ranks on a need-to-know basis. And Clemmy, considering he is an infraborne, won’t be able to give me too many details. “Or how about you tell me about the packs? You said there are twenty of them? I think I know six. What about the other fourteen? How are they different from Sunset Pointe, Twilight Cove, Crystalrock, Lagoon Hollow, Windshore...and yours?” Had Kellan or Ravi mentioned others? Maybe. I just can’t think right now. “Please don’t tell me that the alphas are from any of those.”

Clemmy picks up the fork from the tray and scoops up what looks to be some sort of mixed veggies. He offers it to me. My hunger takes control of my body, and I automatically open my mouth and let him feed me. It’s the strangest thing, but I’m too distracted by the information to think things through. “Oh, goddess no. Those packs would never peacefully coincide with Mistharbor. Your future alpha will come from—”

Clemmy snaps his mouth closed and whips his attention to the kitchen. I don’t even have a chance to process what’s happening before he transforms into a wolf beside me, his blond color similar in lightness to his hair. He whimpers and drops to his belly, resting his snout between his paws.

The man that stole me from Chase fills the doorframe, pausing to drink me in as I sit beside Clemmy. Just the sight of him sets me off, his smug face in need of a sucker punch. And now that I think of Chase again, fear explodes through me.

“Keep your eyes down unless Mr. Kai tells you otherwise, sweetie,” Clemmy whispers telepathically, his wolf whimpering as he speaks the words.

My rebel ass wants nothing more than to disregard his suggestion, but the more rational survival side of me screams to comply. Bringing my hands together, I link my fingers and bow my head. I train my eyes on the bare floor, studying Mr. Kai’s shadow as it shrinks with his quick strides to close the distance.

He stops in front of me, his filthy feet an inch away from my knees. Reaching down, he touches his meaty fingers to my chin, tilting my head up more gently than I ever expected from a man as horrifying and brutal as him. “Look at you, Eliana. My Clemmy has already been a good influence on you. My allies will love it...well, most of them. Some expected a good fight. Like Rivermore.”

I blink my eyes, clearing my vision from the hazy light haloing the man. Now that I’m not trying to escape, I can study the alpha. Hopefully doing so will give me a chance to break free. He obviously likes docile and obedient people. I need to keep up this persona as long as it takes to surprise him.

Clemmy barks from beside me, staying low on his belly while wagging his tail. Reaching down, Kai scratches his fingers between the wolf’s ears. “Be a Good Boy and transform. I need you to help Eliana get ready. We’ve had a few additions to the competition. Night Peak and Duskstar have decided to try their skills.”

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