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Chapter 4
Meira
Night spreads her wings over the forest.
Usually, I sit up here, feeling safe in my wooden home, a simple box I made of thick branches I bound with rope to build walls and a roof. The branches are uneven, leaving gaps in the walls that blink at me with darkness. Just like me, it has imperfections. But I love it here.
I cut a glare across to the wolf shifter next to me, who’s going to tear all this away from me.
He sits with his knees bent and arms draped over them, staring at nothing in particular. It must be killing him to have to hide up here with me instead of dragging me back to his pack to appear a hero to his Alpha.
“How have you survived alone so long?” he asks.
Shadows dance across his gorgeous face, and he doesn’t even look at me, instead dropping his gaze to the wooden floor between his bent legs. I don’t answer, except I remember Mama would always say:Knowledge is power. And this shifter has information that might help me understand the wolf packs so I can better avoid them.
“Life can be savage,” he continues.
My response comes flying out. “You’re an Alpha, working closely with the big wolf himself, so I doubt your life is that difficult.” I regret the snarkiness in my voice immediately. I remind myself all of us who are left behind are still alive because we faced hell itself to not perish.
When he doesn’t respond and guilt gnaws on my insides, I say, “Sorry, shouldn't have said that.” We may be enemies, but in truth, are we any different? We’re both making a life amid a horrendous virus that wiped out so much of the population. We’re survivors, no matter who we are on the inside.
“This isn’t where I wanted to end up,” I admit. “But the endless strain of surviving forces you to make do.”
“I haven’t met many who are happy with their situation. But shit happens.”
“Shit like kidnapping females and selling them to other packs like cattle?”
He turns toward me, and there’s fire behind his eyes. I’ve touched a sore point. “No females are ever harmed. They’re kept safe and looked after. That is part of our agreement.”
“But we’re still taken against our will, aren’t we?”
“Aren’t we all trapped by the undead? Forced to live in small settlements, make the best with what we have? So what’s the difference?” His voice darkens, his words clipped.
“The difference is that we should get a choice if we go to the other pack or not. How do you sleep at night?”
He barks a loud laugh. “Count yourself lucky the Ash Wolves rule over Romania because things would be a shit show for everyone if we didn’t. There are hardly any humans left in this territory after the virus, and the wolves moved in to dominate. But that shifter who attacked you earlier wouldn’t care if you had food or shelter. He’d tie you to a tree and just rut you until you perished. Those are the kind of monsters that are out there. So, yes, I sleep soundly knowing I am making a difference.” The depth and sincerity in his voice touches me more than I expect. It doesn’t settle the fire in my chest about getting kidnapped and shipped off, but there’s something almost beautiful about his passion to make a difference. My earlier hate for him eases a bit.
A sudden ache lashes across the middle of my stomach. It hits me with a sharpness pulsing through my limbs. The sickness has never left me after so many years. That feeling overwhelms me, and I hug myself, leaning forward as the wave rushes over me. It comes and goes, but as of late, I’ve noticed it hits me more frequently, as though it’s building inside me. I’m scared it’s my wolf wanting to come out, this damn beast who has tortured me my whole life.
“Are you hurt?” he asks.
I shake my head. “It’s just hunger pains.”
He reaches forward and grabs one of my green apples from the bowl I have in the corner. “Eat this.”
I accept the offering and look over to him. Beneath the tough exterior, he does give a fuck about others. I bite into my apple, its sweetness coating my tongue and the juices dribbling from the corner of my mouth.
He stares at my lips, at the way I wipe away the mess. His lips part as he watches me. Is he going to lean in and kiss me?
The thoughts steal my breath, beads of sweat pooling between my breasts. My body has never reacted this way before, with such arousal and need all rolled up into a bubble ready to burst inside me. And just from a single thought.
But he never leans in closer or kisses me. He sits there, staring outside and biding his time.
By the time I finish eating, the ache settles, and I toss the apple core outside through the narrow doorway. A cool breeze curls inside the treehouse, and with it comes the shifter’s woodsy, wolf scent. My heart skips a beat, blood rushing through my veins. What is wrong with me?
I rub my arms, noticing the goosebumps covering his skin.
I turn to the small bundle of clothes I’ve stolen during my searches from homesteads I’ve ransacked. I pull out an oversized black coat. It was made for a large man, and I’ve been using it as a blanket.
