Page 34 of The Weakest Wolf

“And Melody?” It’s not a question I want to know the answer to, but I have to. Did Melody have the same terror bleeding into her eyes at the thought of a run with this pack?

She shakes her head.

If I wasn’t already leaning against a wall, I’d sag in relief.

Thank fuck.

“Not Melody. She had Kier to protect her then. He was an alpha, so none of the others would have gone near her when he was a wolf.”

Jealousy, hot and sharp, punches through me. “Tell me about Kier.” My voice is bland, indifferent.

Her gaze returns to mine, and she raises an eyebrow. “Why? You jealous?”

Clearly not indifferent enough.

Now it’s my turn to stay silent.

When I don’t respond, she sighs. “He was probably the only one who wasn’t a predator here.”

“If he was so good at protecting her, how come she’s dead?”

Calm down or she’ll guess the reason you’re here.

She stares at me. “This pack was nearly twice the size it is now before you turned up. It made it easier to hide what I was, but when you’re a target like Melody was, there’s nowhere to hide. Kier was one person. No matter how hard he tried to protect her, he couldn’t always be there. Sometimes the others would challenge him, or the alpha would give him a job that would take him away from her, which left her unprotected.”

Her eyes turn hard before she looks away. “They ground her down. There’s only so much a person can take before they break. That’s what this pack excels at. Breaking you.”

“Why didn’t she leave?”

“After Eden ran to her pack, Melody came back with her. Said she didn’t want her to be alone here. She refused to leave.”

Eden ran back to the pack?

As I straighten from the wall and uncross my arms, I try to remember if anyone mentioned Eden returning, but I’m positive no one did. “What are you talking about?”

When I went back to Idaho for Melody, all anyone would say was that Eden had left to mate with an alpha in Wyoming, and Melody had gone with her but had died years before. That’s all.

Mom.

She knew I would go looking for Eden if I knew what kind of hell she’d run from. And her plan worked. I ran back home to grieve Melody, and I left Eden there.

She needed you, and you failed her. Again.

Sierra’s eyes pierce through me. “You know what I’m talking about.”

The fury in her eyes warns me against saying anymore so I drop it for now. For the first time, I’m getting answers from her. I’m getting the truth. “Why didn’t you leave?”

Her gaze returns to the wall. “This is my home.”

“Liar.”

She turns to me with wide, innocent eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tell me about the pack run. What did Eden tell you would happen?”

Her silence pushes me over the edge.

“Sierra Stone!” I roar.

---