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“Fine. You’ll need to ensure that your duties are covered while you’re gone,” Acksel said.
Row stiffened once more and Acksel’s nostrils flared. Kammie stood swiftly and Row rose behind her. “I’ll make sure everything’s fine, Acksel. Thank you both. I need to get my things from the woods and get my mate home.”
Brynn stood and hugged Kammie tightly. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks, Brynn.”
Kammie was happy, too. Row followed her out of the house and she led the way to the backyard and into the woods.
“Can I ask you something?” Kammie said.
Row’s hand squeezed hers as he walked beside her. “You can ask me anything.”
“You had a strange look on your face when Brynn and Acksel first sat down in the living room. Why?”
He hummed. “I’m not used to seeing someone in power be publicly affectionate. My king has a mate, but he’d hit the roof if she talked to him the way your alpha female talked to the alpha male.”
“That sucks. For wolves, the alpha femalehasto be strong-willed. Male wolves are pretty aggressive and most of them prefer their females to be able to handle that aggression, to be capable on their own. It’s strange to think of affection as being viewed as a weakness.”
“I don’t think it should be. I suppose from a bear’s point of view, if it’s widely believed that a king doesn’t care about his mate, then she couldn’t be used against him.”
In a way, Kammie could understand that. Brynn had been kidnapped before she and Acksel were mated, in an attempt to use her against him. Because of her uncle’s behavior, she knew all about someone with bad intentions using something wonderful against another.
“My uncle,” she said, her mouth suddenly going dry, “would watch me to see what I liked, and then he’d take it away.” It was why she tended to keep everyone at arm’s length. The thought that someone she cared for could be snatched from her had kept her from establishing more than superficial friendships.
Row stopped walking and drew her close. One arm wrapped around her, pulling her against him, and he cupped her face with his other hand. His eyes were dark with anger, and his fangs peeked over his lips. “What did he take from you?”
“Everything.” She blinked rapidly to stop her tears. She hadn’t cried over her uncle’s treatment of her since she was a teenager. “If he thought I liked a certain food, he’d throw it out. All the electronics were kept under lock and key, so I couldn’t listen to the radio or watch television. The worst was when he destroyed my mom’s things. I think that hurt more than his belt or his fists, in a way.”
Row’s whole body vibrated as he growled. Fur sprouted on his cheeks and his eyes flashed dangerously. “Where is he?”
“The former alpha punished him and kicked him out of town. If he comes back to Wilde Creek, he’ll be killed.” Which was a small consolation considering he’d been allowed to beat her within an inch of her life for far too long. It wasn’t until the second time he’d nearly killed her that the alpha finally stepped in.
She gripped Row’s wrist, holding his hand to her cheek. “Pack members knew what he was doing, but they didn’t step in until the second time I almost died. The human authorities threatened to come in and investigate, so the former alpha made my uncle disappear. I was raised by a widowed female named Maggie after that. My mom died when I was twelve and my dad took off.”
“I thought alphas cared about the pack members?” His voice was thick and rough, his bear clearly riding close to the surface. “How could they let you be hurt when you were young?”
She knew that was where her low self-esteem stemmed from. She’d realized then how little consequence she’d been to her fellow pack members. Her uncle was a disliked, unpleasant omega, and no one had cared what happened to her until the humans had threatened to expose the pack’s tolerance of child abuse to the public.
“If I was alpha, I’d throw out the hierarchy,” she said, her voice strong with her conviction. When she was younger, she’d prayed for someone to intervene, but no one had. Not even when her body had been shredded by the belt. “I’d make sure that the weakest ones were the most protected, the most looked after.”
“In the sleuth, the king is the leader and there’s no hierarchy, but abuse isn’t tolerated. Things are harsh in the sleuth at times, like during the monthly battles, but there’s also a strong sense of community. The king wouldn’t tolerate the kind of abuse you suffered, and neither would any of the males or females. Preying on the young—or watching it happen and doing nothing—is inexcusable.”
He opened his mouth to say something else, but then snapped it shut. She rubbed her thumb on the underside of his wrist. “What is it, Row?”
“I hate this place. I hate how you’re treated and what you suffered. Your alpha only cared that your duties were covered. He didn’t even congratulate us on our mating.”
“Brynn did.”
He shrugged and his lip curled.
“I can’t change what I am here. Females are always omegas, and everyone in the pack sees my scars as a weakness.”
“That’s the biggest bunch of bullshit I’ve heard in my life,” he snarled. The fur on his cheeks darkened. “You’re a survivor. In spite of being left to fend for yourself against a madman, you survived. You should be lauded as a warrior, not shunned.”
She stroked his cheek. The fur was thick and soft, but despite that, it made him seem more dangerous. Not to her, of course. She knew way down in the center of her being that he’d never harm her. Fresh tears surged.
“What is it,Adara?” He breathed the words softly, his tone filled with worry.
