Page 5 of Untamed

Maybe... maybe others are alive, too?

I walk away from my parents, from my village, back into the woods. I see a blood trail close by, just a few drops. A gift from the goddess? Anything is better than turning around and walking back into the village. I am... Iwasan Alphason. I need to find any survivors. Then... maybe I can burn my family.

I shove my fist into my mouth to keep the sobs quiet. My family. My parents... they're gone. Goddess. I don't want to burn them. I don't want that job.

I hear whimpers, crying, and almost throw up a little. Suddenly, finding survivors isn't as important anymore. Escaping is.

No.No. I'm an Alphason. I am. Even if my pack is gone, I need to do this. Pa is watching me from the moon, just like gramps and grams. I can do this.

I see the flicker of a campfire and creep closer. It's attackers. I know that by the things that they've stolen. Loot, spoils of war. A few spears, some jewelry... but no wolves.

My heart drops. I was hoping to find some of the others. Females, like Skylar and Greta. What happened to them? But all I see are attackers, just a few wolves and a couple of females.

They don't seem happy. They aren't celebrating. When I creep closer, I see that they're... I think they're drunk. Sleeping, some of them awake but not paying any attention to anything from the forest.

My fists clench. I can kill them. I can see their blood on my fists, on my teeth. I can...

A face appears in front of me, and I fall backward onto my butt. I don't have time to be embarrassed. Fear is crawling up my throat and buzzing in my ears. My lungs stop working again.

The female, not so much older than me, makes a shushing motion. I freeze, scared, but also... curious.

She motions to the edge of the campsite, to a tent. I follow her, knowing that this could be it, but this female, even young, could have killed me. She is the only one here that isn't sleeping or drunk. Maybe I'm not as good at sneaking as I thought.

The female lifts a flap on the tent, closest to the woods. I look in, hoping to see some of my pack. Maybe they were taken by prisoners?

All I see is a tiny pup. The female picks it up and shoves the pup at me.

"Sage," she says softly, motioning to the pup. Large, dark eyes stare out of swaddling cloth. The pup is big, not a newborn, but I don't know much more than that.

I stare in astonishment at the female, at the pup, back at the female.

"No," I whisper, shaking my head and trying to hand the pup back to her.

She shakes her head. Then reaches into the fur and cloth and pulls out one of the pup's thin arms. Even in the dim light, I can see the mottled black and blue skin. Fingermarks, all up and down. The pup is hungry, too, thin, and probably weak.

The pup whimpers in my arms. I look down at him. Blood covers both of us. I'm nearly naked, and my skin feels like I was set on fire with my home. I'm so weak I feel like lying down and sleeping for years.

"Alpha, you take, yes?" the female says in a hushed voice.

Alpha. I cringe. My Pa is the alpha.

I couldn't save Eoff. I couldn't save my Ma, or the village, or Skylar. I couldn't save my Pa.

But I can save this pup.

"Come with us," I offer. My voice sounds broken, like I swallowed too much smoke.

She shakes her head, her eyes sad. I see it then, the Mark on her shoulder. One of these attackers is her mate. I don't know if this is her pup or a pup they stole, but I do know that he's in bad shape.

I nod, accepting the responsibility. She offers a fleeting smile, then turns and disappears back toward the campfire, leaving me holding the pup in the rear of the tent with the forest to our backs.

I start to let the tent flap close when I come to my senses a second later. I stop and take the furs from the bed. I find a knife, a waterskin, and some jerky. I take it all. I need to survive and make sure that this pup survives.

When I've gathered all I can in the dark, I escape back into the forest with the pup in my arms. I wrap us up as I start to carry him away. Away from the village. Away from the attackers. Away from the north.

As I walk, it begins to snow. At first, I'm horrified. We'll freeze out here. I've lost everything else. But it's a blessing. As long as it snows steadily, then my tracks will be covered. I keep walking, holding the pup close to me.

When the sun comes up, I know I've never been more exhausted. I can barely walk any longer. My eyes don't seem to want to work anymore. The pup is in my arms, eyes wide on my face. It doesn't struggle, slept through most of the night. My arms are burning from carrying it.It.

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