rm free from

widened i

hat are y

matting my hair with grime. I tore a small rip in the sleeve of my simple tunic. Then, I shuffled

ading to disbelief, and then to a cold, hard underst

horror. She straightened her back, lifted her chin, and stepped forward, positioning herself in the center of the cle

young men, their faces flushed with a mix of lus

untlet

ed out, a sound that was both pained and theatrical. It only seemed to excite the men more. One after another, they stepped u

of proud suffering. She was becoming what I had been in

trembling, but triumphant. As the "mos

announced, her voice

ssessive arm around her waist. They were the new power

t the edge of the crowd, and Andrew Wright, the quiet carpenter everyone ignored. The Eld

hesitant. He didn't reach for me or treat me li

by, leaning heavily on Cal

at you. Paired with him. I guess some people are just me

. I remembered Caleb' s cold hands, his

y," I said, my voice low and ste

. Caleb scowled an

stion in his eyes. I gave

home," he

ehind. He didn't lead me to a crude cabin or a mud hut as Gabby had s

ished wood, a sturdy-looking roof, and a winding staircase built around the trunk

kets in rich, earthy colors, and a jar of wildflowers sitting on a s

e was more slender than the other men, his strength

asked, my voice fill

lips. "I like to work with wood. And

ight choice. Let Gabby have her alpha.

A few months from now, the Elder would die in a "hunting accident." An accident that was anything but. It was the eve

tiful treehouse, at the

ed to myself. This t