ra

in the freezing air,

m of predatory instinct and Alpha pride swirling within them. The suffocating heat radiat

that made the hairs on my arms stand up. He stepped closer, forcing me

pected a plea for a warm bed in the Pack house, a title, or a desperate gra

mily was starving, and t

, and a sturdy iron shovel," I said clearly

med down ove

w clenched so hard I thought his teeth might shatter. To an Alpha, my pragmatic, dirt-level request wasn't j

iolence, Alistair stepped in. The Beta leaned close to Ka

e relaxed. The killing intent melted away. When he looked back at me, the anger was gon

s a nuisance, but as a fascinating, cunning puzzle he was eager to solve. "You'll get your supplies

care about his weird mood s

e entrance to our Dugout Shelter. The heavy sack of flour an

our cramped den

d off any starving eavesdroppers. Catherine fell to her knees. Her trembling fingers traced the white canvas of th

fire until the metal hissed. Slicing the cured meat with my pock

, intoxicating smell of grease, salt, and woodsmoke filled

ll for weeks, slowly turned his head. His hollow eyes locked onto the sizzling meat.

poke. We just ate until our stomachs ached in the best way possible. For the first time sin

I knew I had made the right choice. Let the Alpha play his ar

y throat. We had food, but our water skins were completely empty. To survive tom