Page 25 of Winning the Wolf

Frowning, the teen pouted before nodding and returning to her seat. When she announced that the band had been cancelled, they all got up and left, glaring on their way out.

My cheeks were warm from Dinky’s rude remark. Why had she cut me off like that, surely the alpha would need to be buried by Saturday at the latest?

“The ceremony was yesterday,” she said, barely looking me in the eye.

A choke squeezed my throat, and I had to grip the edge of the worktop as black dots danced in my eyes. “The alpha burial?”

“Yes.” Dinky dropped her gaze. “It was held in the grounds of the headquarters. We ran with Phileas and Miranda’s wolf spirits yesterday afternoon. They were buried in the crypt after.”

My breathing grew heavy as the air left my lungs and refused to replenish itself. No, if they’d excluded me from the ceremony, it meant that I had been banished for good, exiled from the pack. Why would Killick do that to me?

“Shit.” Wobbling over to a nearby table, I plonked myself onto a chair.

Dinky was beside me, concern etched into the lines on her usually smooth dark-skinned forehead. “I was furious with Killick when I saw you weren’t there, even told him.”

“You did?”

“Of course!” Going back to the counter, she poured a strong coffee and brought it back to me. “I wasn’t going to sit quietly while every member of the pack, bar you, was in attendance. It was wrong.”

“You could’ve been exiled right along with me.” Despite myself, I smiled.

My friend might pretend that she didn’t care if she had got banished from the pack. I knew better, though. No wolf wanted to be a wanderer, disowned from those who understood them the most.

“Who cares?” Dinky said, indicating that I drink from the mug in front of me. “Also, Killick assures me that you’re not exiled–”

“Oh, thank the wolf spirit.”

“Yet…” Dinky finished, shrugging when I glared. “They need to find your sister and Jeremy. Once that’s done, they’ll turn their attention to you.”

My heart broke a little. I had trusted Killick to do the right thing by me. Not because of our forbidden kiss but because I was innocent. Surely a part of him knew that?

Sighing, I leant my forehead against the cool wooden surface of the table. “It’s all so fucked up.”

“I know.” Dinky stroked my hair gently. “And to top it off, the Mating Games were meant to go ahead tonight.”

My head shot up and I stared at her, blinking. “I totally forgot about them. Thank the wolf spirit they’ve been cancelled, I couldn’t cope if I was called up.”

“That’s the thing,” Dinky said, checking her phone. “I’m not sure they are cancelled. Nothing has been said. We’ve assumed it’s been cancelled, but technically, it’s the only night the games can go ahead.”

I fucking hated the games. Every year, the seer wolf of our pack was given a list of names. They would be the pairs chosen by the wolf spirit, ready to be joined and fated. No one knew who would be called up. Every werewolf had to stay single until they were called up. Casual sex was okay, but there was no point in falling in love with someone who wasn’t destined to be your mate. It was all a bit controlling in my opinion.

“Luckily for me,” I said, shaking my head, “I’m banished. So, I won’t be included, anyway.”

My shoulders dropped as relief flooded my veins. At least there was one good thing about being excluded from the pack.

A pang of sadness gripped me as I imagined what the last alpha run would’ve been like. I wasn’t so happy about being left out of that farewell.

When I’d attended other wolves’ last runs, I’d watched in fascination when their wolf spirit rose from their bodies and looked over their shoulders, inviting us to join them. We’d all followed their ethereal spirits as they set off, their focus on the new spiritual life ahead. My wolf had felt freer than ever before, basking in the inclusiveness of our lost friends.

Dinky tucked a dreadlock behind her and blinked her thick black eyelashes. “I’m sorry this is happening. I hope I’m not called up either. I’m not ready to be forced to be with someone.”

Always the independent woman, Dinky had hated the idea of being tied to someone who wasn’t chosen by her. I’d always agreed, but even I had to admit that every single wolf who had been mated, male or female, had been much happier than we’d ever been.

When I’d asked them what the games entailed, they’d refused to tell me. I did know that the males were the aggressors, chasing the females through the woods. It sounded totally archaic, hence why I was pleased that I’d be left out this year if they did go ahead.

“I’ve noticed that no one is here,” Dinky said, checking her watch.

Pushing away from the table, I chuckled in an attempt to laugh off the embarrassment. Hardly anyone had been in since I’d opened. I had been tempted to stay away, but if I was being watched by Killick’s men, I wanted it to appear as if I were going about my normal day.

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