Page 16 of The Weakest Wolf

Bowen nods. “Women can be more trouble than they’re worth.”

One of the men chuckles. “You remember that blonde girl, the one who did nothing but cry?”

Melody. Please don’t let them be talking about Melody.

Male laughter erupts as Leo returns to his seat and Sierra goes back to re-filling mugs and plates.

Leo picks up his newly filled mug. “Beautiful girl, but stank of fear. At least she did around me. What about you, Ash? You remember what she smelled like?”

Like a fresh spring day. Like sweet rose from the shampoo she loved. Like my mate.

Another of the men snorts. “Who cares what she smelled like? Remember the pack run?”

Smiling faintly as I visualize ripping through every man in the room, I lift my mug and take a sip. “What’s this about a pack run and a girl who cried all the time?”

Leo grins at me. “Oh, you didn’t miss much. One of the old alphas mated a girl called Eden. She was just as bad as the blonde girl. What was her name again, Neale?” he asks the dark-haired shifter on his right who smells like he’s rolled out of bed for the last week and never thought about stepping in the shower once.

Neale shrugs. “Something beginning with M, I think. Molly? Macy? I remember her ass, though. I’d never forget that.”

Brute force alone holds my wolf back.

Sport.

That’s how they treated Melody and Eden. As just a game to pass the time.

Leo shifts his focus back to me. “Anyway, whatever her name, she was friends with the Eden girl. Terrified of her own fucking shadow.” He picks up his knife and fork.

I keep my eyes trained on him as I lean back in my seat. “So what happened to this Molly or Macy, girl?”

Leo forks eggs in his mouth, and once he’s chewed, swallows. “Scared herself to death, I think. Funny enough, the guy who wanted to mate with her was here just before you. Killed our last alpha.”

She found someone else.

The thought is surprisingly painful.

It never entered my mind that Melody would mate with anyone, just as it never crossed mine to look at anyone else.

But she did.

You walked away. You didn’t fight when you should have. What else was she going to do? Pine for you for the rest of her life?

I take another sip of coffee that’s suddenly tasteless. “Because of this Macy or Molly?”

“Who the fuck cares?” Neale sneers.

I stare at him until he lowers his head. After a long silent moment, I turn back to Leo. “You were saying.”

He takes another bite, this time of bacon, and resumes his story. “Kier Stone, or Savage… whatever he’s calling himself now. Made out that he just wanted to protect the girl, but if you saw her ass, you’d know what interested him.”

From over Leo’s right shoulder, movement draws my gaze in that direction. Sierra stands against the wall with her hands tucked behind her back. I’d swear she wasn’t standing like that before. She had them by her side. I’m sure of it.

Why would she hide them?

It doesn’t matter. What does is how this pack of hyenas treated Melody like a piece of meat.

“Anyway,” Leo continues, “Kier Stone or Savage came back and killed the alpha before you.”

Since the coffee feels like it’s doing nothing but burning a hole through my gut, I return it to the table beside my mostly untouched breakfast. “Why?”

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