AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shall I call the vet?”
“Pardon me?”
“Clearly, the treats were spoiled, or someone made off with all the chew toys.” Crossing her arms over her chest, Cortana rested her shoulders against the wall next to the other woman, her gaze spearing out over the assembled packmates.
“Riaz went on a hunt.”
Before she could ask for clarification, a lone howl arrived like a whisper on the wind, a call from a faraway place that was oddly familiar and entirely too forlorn. Everyone in the den went supernaturally still as it trailed off, disappearing in the summer evening.
And then they responded.
The howls of wolves vocalizing out of their human throats, each voice perfectly chorused with the others. It made Cortana close her eyes, enraptured by the utter perfection of their communal melody.
For the first time, she wondered what path her life would’ve taken if she’d been bitten by a werewolf instead of a vampire. Would she have made the same mistakes? Would she have taken a life?
As the minutes ticked by, the pack grew restless, a frenetic kind of atmosphere rising through the air. Even Cortana wasn’t immune: she unholstered her daggers, absently flipping them in her hands to work out the excess energy she’d suddenly unlocked.
Built to a crescendo, the tension suddenly released as the door opened to reveal the silhouetted frame of their alpha. A few barked eager salutations, but none approached. As he strode inside and the light banished the shadows from his features, Cortana understood why.
In place of the man whose infectious joy radiated to everyone around him, this wolf wore an entirely different face. His blazing orange eyes were shadowed with a darkness that held no hint of mirth.
This Riaz was dark. Predatorial.
Offering no form of greeting nor acknowledgement, Riaz continued into the hall, stopping in front of Ava and Cortana.
Though the she-wolf wouldn’t admit it, the change in her posture betrayed an anxiety that Cortana shared. A ping of apprehension tingled through her veins at his approach, the hairs on the back of her neck raising in supernatural awareness.
Riaz, as he was now, was a deadly threat she’d never considered. Devoid of emotion, the alpha locked eyes with Ava for a brief moment before she dropped hers in submission.
“The rogue’s dead.”
That’s when the salty tang of blood registered to Cortana’s senses. “You’re wounded.”
Blazing orange eyes cut to her with sharp intensity, his pupils dilating without any emotion behind his features. “Yes, that is a risk we take.”
With the weight of his gaze fully seated on her, Cortana’s nerves tingled in anticipation, warning her to shift from beneath his attention and run. Another part of her delighted in his interest, the misplaced part of her psyche that desired thrill and danger. A shot of adrenaline ignited in her blood, nearly overwhelming the sudden need to check him for injury all-encompassing.
“Is it serious, alpha?” Gadriel’s voice broke through the intimacy of their connection, the other betas having joined them in the scant few seconds that Cortana was otherwise preoccupied.
“I’ll heal.”
He shook his head dismissively, his eyes never leaving Cortana. A question hid in the depths of the animal’s eyes, but what, Cortana couldn’t say. So much lingered in the air between them, a heaviness that she could taste and feel but couldn’t see. Even if she could find her voice to speak, what would she say?
By that point, many wolves had scattered back into the den, pacified by his return. Only one dared to close in on them, intruding in the stalemate between Riaz and Cortana.
“Riaz.”
Renata’s purr, velvety smooth, breached the circle of betas around them. Turning to look, Cortana saw the she-wolf twisting between the larger forms of Arno and Gadriel. Each step was a sultry performance intent on securing her prize.
Before Renata could reach him, something shifted in the burnished orange of the wolf’s gaze. A scathing hatred flooded them, dropping all inhibition.
“No.”
The snapped command from Riaz took Renata to her knees. Even Cortana quivered under the dominance in his tone. Her eyes squeezed together under the force of it, trying to disengage herself from it all. Beating back the impulse through sheer force of will, she glanced up again, only to find Riaz gone.
Swallowing harshly, she saw concern—but not fear—lingering on Ava’s expression. As they locked eyes, Ava gestured for her to follow when she started down a corridor to their left, leaving the other betas behind. The pair walked in silence for a minute before Cortana broached the topic.
“What happened?”
