Semua Bab The Tyrant alpha: Bab 121 - Bab 130

Oblivious, Mr. Shah lets out a well-fed sigh and drops his napkin next to his cleaned plate. “My compliments.”Father inclines his head. The creases at the corners of his eyes are deepening, his face graying. He’s fading fast. He needs his shot.“We hope you’re enjoying your stay at Moon Lake.” I take over the conversation, drawing attention to my end of the table.“Very much.” Mr. Shah accepts a digestif from an attendant. “Our family is excited to join the community. It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I have to say—I expected something a little more—” He searches for a word.“Exotic?” I suggest. With humans, we’re always “exotic” or “wild.”Mr. Shah chuckles. “I would have said wild. The media would have us believe shifters live as wolves, running wild in the woods.” He gestures toward the Kandinsky and cocks a dark eyebrow.“The truth is always less interesting, isn’t it?” That’s talking point number two in our PR packet. Talking point number one? Everything you’ve heard

“Her household is almost all female.” My jaw tightens. “Males are in and out of the place. The sister whores herself. The sister-in-law, too.”Mother lowers herself to the sofa, folding her legs and smoothing her silk slacks. “It’s such a shame.” She shakes her head. “If only they took advantage of the opportunities we give them.”“That’s beside the point.” I have no desire to dwell on shit I cannot change.Mother, of course, plows on. “This pack provides them with everything—an education, housing, food, medical care, everything. And they huddle down in that swamp, running wild, thieving whatever we don’t outright give them.”“You sound like Uncle Alban.” It’s not untrue, but it’s not how Father likes to talk about the scavenger problem.“Alban’s not entirely wrong.” Mother purses her lips and idly spins her diamond bracelet. “I’ve told your father a hundred times that we do them no service by treating them like pups. We encourage their laziness. They’ll never become ranked members of

I’ve been here before. It’s the alpha’s duty to survey his territory. Father and I tour the Bogs at the summer solstice each year. Whichever random unkempt half-wolf they designate as spokesperson escorts us by lagging behind and barking an occasional “left” or “keep going that way, and you’ll end up in the drink, you will.”We bring special allotment baskets, accept a tribute of moonshine from a scavenger with her tits hanging out, and say, “Until next year.”They don’t want us here. We don’t want to be here.I don’t want to be here now, except—My heart slugs against my ribs, a slow, syncopated rhythm, excitement gathering. I smell cloves over the fish heads bobbing in the marsh grasses, and it’s a beacon.I pick up the pace. As I turn down a narrow board, a couple tumbles from a trailer, laughing, holding each other upright. They startle when they recognize me. The female cackles before her male cuffs her on the side of the head. They both lower their heads and scurry past, giving

My head was fucked. Her scent was driving me crazy, and she was upset, and my wolf was as close to taking our skin without my consent as he’s ever been.All I could do was squat on the ledge behind her trailer, sweating bullets and wrestling the wolf back. The more distressed she smelled, the worse he got. At some point, I figured I’d play her some music, and it worked. She calmed down and fell asleep, and my wolf chilled out.I listened to her heartbeat until I left at dawn. I’m sure that when I become more used to the bond, I won’t be so messed up by her moods, but last night—it was new, that’s all. I’ll adjust in due time. As will she.It’s good that she’s acknowledging that she did wrong by taking my things.“Stealing is destructive to the community.” I know she’s been told a hundred times, but no matter how much we educate them, the scavengers can’t grasp it. Or won’t.“Okay,” she says.That’s how they always respond—with lip service. You can’t teach them, but you have to try any

“I don’t want anything from you.”“You want this watch.”Her chest is rising and falling faster as her agitation grows, her breasts straining against her sweater. A surge of lust like I’ve never felt rocks me on my heels. I’m an idiot for standing here, tempting Fate, but I have what she wants, and I’d cut my own arm off before I’d give up this power.And then there’s my wolf who’s planted himself like a sentinel. If I found the strength to leave, I’d have to drag him away, and he’d fight.We’re not going anywhere quite yet.“Come on. Tell me why.”“It’s mine.”“No, it’s not. I bought it.”She snorts softly. “That doesn’t mean anything.”She would see it that way. Her kind has no respect for property rights. “Explain to me why something I paid for with money I earned doesn’t belong to me.”She’s getting flustered, shifting from one foot to the other, her fists stretching out those sweater pockets. “It was yours, but now it’s mine.”“And you still want it, even though it’s broken, and