Page 2 of Marked for the Pack

Maybe it was because I was in a weird mood, or maybe coming back into the wildlands made me feel bold, but I looked directly at Gage’s wolf, the largest of the three alphas, when I answered her.

“I’m not so sure about that, Shante.” I returned her embrace. “I think at least one or two of them hate me.”

My eyes darted over to Heath’s silver wolf. The first and only time we’d had sex alone together, he’d forced me to come without making a sound. Then he left without a word afterward, making me feel used and discarded. On the other hand, Gage simply didn’t like female wolves. Though I was curious about what had caused Gage’s hostility, Heath was a true mystery.

Shante’s body trembled, and I realized she was laughing. She pushed me away, her hands on my shoulders, her expression incredulous.

“Hate?” She jerked her chin toward the three wolves. “If that’s hate, I damn sure want to know what love looks like.”

The snapping of bones drew my attention, and suddenly Flint stood naked on two feet, his sling bag across his chest. Compared to the other two, he had a slender build, but hard muscles rippled as he pulled the sling bag off.

I was helpless to look away, watching his reverse striptease. His biceps bulged as he dragged his jeans on, and his long, black hair fell nearly to his bellybutton, temporarily veiling his gorgeous physique. My eyes devoured his smooth, flawless skin, a much richer color than mine.

I surprised myself with a growl, stepping between Flint and Shante, who quickly turned her back.

“Broken up, remember?” she chuckled.

My mind knew nudity was common around shifters, and that Shante and Flint had parted ways permanently, but my wolf felt differently. And even though I’d rejected him, my heart still wanted him.

Finally, he slipped on his colorfully beaded moccasins, one of the many hallmarks that showed he followed in his ancestors’ footsteps.

When his dark eyes met mine, the intensity — and the hurt — in them made it hard to hold his gaze. It didn’t matter that I’d said those things to protect him. What kind of fool rejected an alpha like him?

“None of us hate you, Freya,” he said in his low, raspy voice.

Maybe it was because his voice sounded like he’d just rolled out of bed, but my mind helpfully supplied memories of the last time we’d shared a bed together, and my heart ached to go back to that day. I got lost in his eyes, taking comfort in the assurance he offered as his gaze heated.

Shante coughed. “We better keep moving.”

“Right,” I agreed, feeling awkward because all the wolves, even Shante, could smell my arousal.

My upcoming heat allowed us to leave better false trails for Ironwood, so I tried not to feel too chagrined about it.

As we started walking again, Flint kept Shante between us, and I tried to keep my cool. His demeanor made me wonder if I had ruined things after all.

Why had he chosen now to shift back? When I thought back to what Shante and I had been talking about, I realized I’d come dangerously close to admitting I wasn’t actually part of the Howling Echo. Had Flint shifted back to keep me from telling her about our deal?

They’d promised to protect me up to and through my heat, as long as I let them do whatever they wanted with my body. My cheeks heated just thinking about some of the things we’d done together.

I’d started to think I might be able to find a place in their pack, but Heath had made it clear that I shouldn’t mistake camaraderie for acceptance. Flint might have developed feelings for me, but the other two clearly hadn’t. To them, I was their plaything. And that was before I’d thrown Flint’s affection, respect, and compassion back in his face. It was probably a matter of pride that they held up their side of the bargain.

Then I noticed Flint had pulled a phone out of his sling bag. I suddenly felt foolish for thinking he’d shifted because of me when he held it up to his ear. He couldn’t use a phone in wolf form, now could he?

Even from here, I heard Hugo’s commanding voice on the other end of the line. “Are you safe?”

“Safe enough,” Flint replied. “Shante’s with us. We’re making false trails in the wildlands.”

“We’ll delay them as long as we can.”

Flint caught my eye, and I realized I’d made some kind of sound. I’d left to lead Ironwood away from the Moonblessed pack. If they sacrificed anyone on my behalf, then—

“No,” Flint answered. “Tell them we fled. You don’t need to be involved in this.”

Without waiting for an answer, Flint hung up.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” He whispered it like a prayer.

“Idori will make sure Hugo sees reason,” Shante assured us both.

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