ra

custard. It sat in a chipped wooden bowl right in front of me, a stark contrast t

lpha's Share" while the people who loved me starved. My hands trembled as I sc

irmly around my wrist. She pushed the spoon back toward my lips, h

sive frame, was trying to make himself look small, though his eyes linger

red, offering th

his own battered bowl of broth, protecting it as if to prove he had enough.

ir fierce, watchful gazes, I ate the custard. With every bite, the heavy, burning reality of their love settled into my chest. In this brutal Pack hierarchy, being a wolfless

ath toward the Pack's center for our weekly rations. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth, woodsmoke, and the

grating voice sneered

fted. She was whispering to a companion, but her voice was deliberately loud enough to carry. "Wasting all th

tracks. The air around us

that belonged to a fiercely protective she-wolf. A low, threatening

lips pulling back to bare her teeth. "I dare

ntent radiating from my mother terrified her. She clamped her mouth s

m her shoulders instantly. She reached out, her rough hand gently smoothing my wind-blown hair.

figure stepped into our path. It was Brenda, one of the nos

lating pity. "But your Elara is eighteen now. Maybe it's time to think about a Pairin

"Don't even think about it," she cut Brenda off, her voice dripping with

n awkward, tight-lipped sm

m survival of a practical Pairing-this was the world I was trapped in. Diana tightened her grip on my arm, a