Occasionally, a pup I knew would skip up to me and smile as I gave them food. It didn’t matter how poorly the other wolves treated me or how exhausted I was, there was always a smile where pups were concerned.
But when there weren’t children around to brighten my day a little, I allowed myself to zone out. As the dining hall faded to the background, I started thinking about the pack.
The Kings were a large, wealthy pack whose territory ran from the borders of the Kaniksu and Kootenai National Forests in Montana as low as Sandpoint and moved west across the Idaho panhandle and Kootenai River. The territory ended right along the border with Washington. The Kings had over five hundred homes and families and powered their compound with solar-powered electricity. They were one of the lucky packs with plumbing and clean running water at their disposal.
Every family rotated through shared tasks for the pack—cleaning, cooking, preparing for ceremonies, and maintenance. Some members had a specialty they contributed to regularly, like healing, teaching, or hunting. Due to this dynamic, wolves operated as a family—everyone looked out for each other. Though the women in the pack weren’t allowed to take up positions that men held and were raised to prioritize their beauty so they could settle down with a mate. I hated the way the pack treated women like objects and prizes to be won and lusted after.
For me, as both a woman and a human in the pack, it was tough. It made me wonder how different my life would be if I were a human man. Would they respect me for my strength? My deeper voice? Would they let me hold a weapon or send me on dangerous missions? Maybe they would have killed me earlier. I don’t know. That line of thinking never went down a good path.
As things were, at least I had Mom on my side. She loved me and did everything she could to make me feel comfortable, but there was only so much she could do. After serving the oatmeal, I picked up the empty stockpot and carried it into the kitchen.
There were bits of oatmeal stuck to the sides and the bottom, so it would need a good soak in hot water if the leftovers were going to be scrubbed off. As I approached the sink, I almost collided with a woman carrying a bundle of fabric napkins, nearly knocking me off balance. The heavy, stainless steel pot teetered in my arms as I swayed on my feet. Shifters rarely minded their strength around me.
“Watch it,” she hissed. Given her glare, one might assume that she was the one who had almost fallen over from the impact, not I.
“Oh. I’m sorry,” I murmured.
“Yeah. Right.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and continued.
I sighed and plunged the pot into the sink. I filled it with dish soap and water as hot as I could stand. As the pot filled with suds, I ran the back of my hand over my forehead. Most of the pack was anti-human. Though the Kings relied on some human goods, like dish soap, in their daily lives, shifters tended to be very private and avoided humans as much as they could due to conflicts the two species had endured hundreds of years ago.
That distaste for humans was largely due to the Redwolfs, the Alpha family of the pack. Troy, for one, did everything he could to make me feel unwelcome. Even when we were children, he had it out for me. I’d thought long and hard about what I had done to make him hate me so much; ultimately, I knew there was nothing I could have changed to make him leave me alone. Because I was human, because I was weak, because I wouldn’t have a voice in the pack—I was an easy target. Wolves had a strong prey drive, and even I had to admit that everything about me screamed, “prey.”
Troy’s father, Gregor Redwolf, was marginally better. Though the Alpha hated humans, his misogyny made it difficult for him to take women seriously—thus, he largely ignored me. While Gregor was Alpha, I didn’t have to look over my shoulder constantly, and I could get away with avoiding Troy like the scourge he was. If Troy became the Alpha, I wouldn’t have that luxury.
I had been thinking about the Alpha more and more frequently these days because he had fallen ill. It wasn’t the first time Gregor had been sick, but he was much older now, and defending the pack had undoubtedly put a lot of stress on his body. In addition to my dreams of the dark stranger, I had nightmares about Troy taking over the Kings’ pack. The nightmares always ended with my death.
I shook my head and picked up a sponge, plunging it deep into the hot, sudsy water. I shouldn’t think about that possibility. The Alpha was old, sure, but he was resilient. He’d pull through like he always did, and I wouldn’t have to worry about Troy’s harassment. He’ll continue to ignore me, and things will be the same. I won’t have to do anything extra to protect myself from Troy…
When I’d finished scrubbing the pot to a mirror-like shine, I returned to the table by my mom, who greeted me with a smile. The tables were old wood, well waxed and smooth beneath my touch. There were more wolves standing in line for their breakfast. The Kings accepted their oatmeal from me without making eye contact, which was nothing like the way they greeted the other women—with smiles and brief conversation. But after years of the same treatment, it didn’t bother me nearly as much as it used to.My thoughts drifted to last night’s dream, back to the green-eyed stranger who’d rocked my world.
My cheeks warmed when I thought about how his hands had felt on my skin. If he were real, would he treat me the same even though I was human? Would he open his arms to me? The fantasy of being somewhere safe, of being accepted, put a small smile on my face as I worked.Suddenly, a woman burst in from outside, the same one who had been carrying the fabric napkins. She still smelled of cigarette smoke. Her face had gone pale, and her mouth was a trembling line. I didn’t need the elevated senses of a wolf to see how hard she was shaking or to clock the way her eyes darted from face to face until they finally settled on my mom.“What’s wrong?” Mom asked as the woman approached.“It’s the Alpha,” she whispered.I froze, staring openly at the woman.Mom’s face grew still. She placed her hands on the woman’s shoulders and squeezed until the woman’s wavering gaze focused. “What about him?”“He…he passed away in his sleep last night,” she said. “He’s dead.”He’s dead…he’s dead… The words echoe
Their flashy clothes clung to their lithe, muscular frames and showed off their assets to any interested male. And there were plenty of men who were interested. They wore the latest in human fashion, unlike me and Mom, whose wardrobe consisted mostly of hand-me-downs.“Ew,” Trish dusted off her shoulder as if coming into contact with me had left a residue. “A rat.”“Someone ought to call an exterminator before it becomes an infestation,” Tanya added.Tara covered her glossy, pink lips with her hand and snickered.I’m surprised you notice anything beyond that massive ego, Trish. I kept the thought to myself and schooled my expression into a neutral mask. After years of this treatment, it took much more than this to crack through my shield. Though inside, as always, the insults pelted me raw. These were the Terrible T’s, as I thought of them, and they had bullied me almost as horribly as Troy.“It’s a shame that Alpha Gregor is dead,” Tanya said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Troy
Unfortunately, life had done more than enough to convince me that if magic was real, it didn’t want anything to do with me—and honestly, the possibility of magic was beside the point. The benefits that Mom’s green thumb provided for the Kings’ pack were evident. I liked to think that I had some connection to the land, but it wasn’t as strong as my mom’s. I could only hope that I would one day accumulate a fraction of her knowledge.As we stepped over the tilled fields, I switched out my winter gloves for the old, worn gardening ones. They were designed for hands larger than mine, but they fastened at the wrists for easy adjustability.The garden expanded for acres. Corn, squash, and even tomatoes and cucumbers were among the plants that spread across the ground. Though we were well past the last frost of the season, it still got cold at night in the mountains, so the vegetables that required the warmest temperatures grew in a greenhouse of PVC pipes and green-tinted plastic. I had des
If the Terrible T’s or Troy were looking for me, they would find me easily. I felt exposed as I reached the shed that sat on top of the root cellar. Once I was done here, I’d need to hurry back to the safety of the garden. The shed was made of pine, and it held a few landscaping supplies. The trapdoor that led to the root cellar had a heavy-duty brass and iron lock on it, but it was kept unlocked during the day. Today, fortunately, was no exception.I turned back to the door, but before I stepped through it, I heard voices on the other side. A pair of women, from the sound of it.“—mate told me that the humans just get worse and worse,” one of them was saying. “Did you hear about them?”My eyes widened at the word human. I stepped closer to the door and pressed my ear against it.“No, what happened?”“Well, apparently, when he went into a nearby city, he learned there was a major sex-trafficking ring busted.”The other woman gasped. “No!”“Yes! They’ve been trading young girls and boy
“Rough night?” she had asked me that morning when she saw my black hair messy with sleep and the crease from my pillow imprinted on my face, just below my cheekbone. “Did you dream of the girl with the ghostly eyes?”I’d rubbed my face with my hand. It wasn’t uncommon for Mom to let herself into my cabin while I slept. It used to annoy me, but I had given up on telling her to keep away long ago. Besides, her visits didn’t interfere with my duties, so there was no reason for me to fuss about it.“It’s too early for this, Mom,” I’d said with a sigh.She had grinned, and her teeth shone in the morning light. Her hair was pushed back from her face; her small hands wrapped around one of my larger mugs. “I disagree. Now is the best time to talk about your dream while it’s still fresh in your mind.”Reluctantly, I had admitted that yes, I’d dreamed of the girl again, and no, I was no closer to figuring out who the hell she was. As always, it was too dark in the dream for me to make out any d
“Walk with me?” he asked.I nodded. At his expression, I pushed all thoughts of Mom, destiny, and the woman haunting my dreams aside.The cool night air outside my cabin smelled slightly sweet; the blossoms of late spring had released their scent for everyone to enjoy. My pack was encased in darkness, but because shifters tended to keep late nights, torches and lanterns were ablaze within most cabins. It was a rather enchanting sight, but Dom and I turned away from the compound and into the thicket of trees near my cabin. We had something serious to discuss.“I’ve got news,” Dom said.“Go ahead.”“We received word last night that the Kings’ Alpha died.”Stillness fell over me, so total that even my wolf was silent. It wasn’t the silence of dread or sadness—it was more like the calm before a terrible storm.Dom, sensing the shift in me, took a step to the side but continued speaking. “The week of mourning and celebrations has already started. In five days, Troy Redwolf will ask for cha
Neither could I. In fact, at the thought of blood, my wolf was salivating at the mouth. This lust for blood made me think that even if I did end up having a destiny, it would be anything but “divine.” I crossed my arms and began walking again. Dom followed.“I’ll want to pull our best hunters to nail down the details,” I said. “It’ll be five days until the challenge ceremony. That’s less time than I’d like, but we need to have an airtight plan of action for this to work.”“Of course. I’ll get the guys together. Once we know what we’re doing, I’ll put together obstacle courses and practice runs to make sure we move like a well-oiled machine.”“That’s what I like to hear.” My lips pulled away from my teeth as I grinned. “Earlier, I was debating whether or not I should go on another run, but I think I’ve made my decision now.”Dom grinned. “Do you want company?”“No, I’m good. You get things started. We’ll talk again once we have something more in place.”“Understood.”He ran back toward
Finally, Mom and I were so far down the pecking order that we were never given the opportunity to pick from the new goods.Because the Kings’ pack went through apparel so quickly, there was an abundance of wasted fabric. Sometimes that fabric would be recycled into the pack as blankets or home textiles, but the bulk of the fabric was dispersed among other packs in the area, beginning with those most in the Kings’ pack’s good graces. The Wargs, of course, were never given any of the Kings’ resources.My solution to the issue of the worn-out flats was a little spur of the moment, but I’d make do. And maybe I was biased, but I kind of liked the way the black laces looked against the pale skin of my legs. I wondered if I’d ever be able to find someone who made me feel confident and desirable.That question caused me to think about the green-eyed stranger again. Lately, whenever I had a quiet moment to myself, he returned to my thoughts. The only place I felt safe and warm, other than wit