Page 2 of The Alpha's Silent Mate

My eyes widen.

He must be the alpha, even though he doesn’t look like he’s older than twenty-five. That means he’s the strongest and the fastest. It means he’s the one I should fear.

Once I’ve lowered my guard, he’ll attack. That’s what he must be doing. So I can never relax. But he studies me with a faint smile on his face and makes no move toward me.

In moments, the same man returns with a thick blue blanket he hands to the alpha. After a rapid glance at me, he backs up, this time not saying a word.

The alpha—Shay—opens the blanket and holds it up. “Come on, let’s get you warm.”

I don’t move.

When his smile fades, I tense to run. I won’t get far, but I have to try. “Pup, I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you. With me, you will always be safe.Always.”

I want to believe him. With every fiber of my body, I want to believe what he says is true. But I can’t. I can’t trust anyone. Not even myself. I only have to take in all the death that surrounds me, scents the air, and covers my fur to know that.

If I could run, I would never stop.

“Can I come to you, then? Just to wrap you in the blanket. We can stay here for as long as you want.”

Seconds turn into minutes. But when he doesn’t lunge or do anything to threaten me, I nod once.

Just as he said, he shifts a little closer and wraps me in the blanket. The moment he’s done it, he retreats, this time further away. To a distance where I think I might be able to relax. A little.

Instead of dropping into a crouch, he rests his back on the nearest tree with his legs stretched out in front of him.

I keep my gaze trained on his face. The forest is dark, but it could never be dark enough to hide all the bodies I desperately don’t want to see.

It takes a long time for the warmth of the blanket to reach my bones, but eventually—hours later—it does. Wherever the rest of the alpha’s men have gone, I don’t know.

For now, it’s just us in the dark and the cold. He never complains about the soggy ground or when a biting wind lashes him. He merely sits with his eyes fixed on a point in the distance.

I think he could stay that way forever.

The sun is peeking through the trees when I stir.

His eyes return to me. “You ready for me to take you somewhere warm, pup?”

After a long moment, I nod.

Moving slowly, he lifts me in his arms and carries me away from my dead pack.

* * *

My new home becomes one room in Wolfkeep, home of the Clayfell pack—so deep in the Utah forest that the nearest human town is too far to walk.

Or not so much a room. One tiny corner of it.

To reach me, someone would have to be a wolf as small as I am to squeeze themselves under the bed. And even then, they couldn’t get to me.

My sharp teeth would stop them before they got too close.

But no one tries.

The only one who enters the room is Shay, who brings my meals on a tray, which he slides toward me.

At first I think the only reason I don’t try to bite him or claw him is because, without the blood and death, I smell him. Sandalwood, vanilla, and fresh sage. It’s a scent that makes me feel safe and warm.

He never tells me to get out or tries to lure me out. He just talks. For hours. About his pack, about all the places to run and play. About how he wished he knew my name.

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