“We are going to check out the place before we commit to this plan?” I ask. “We don’t want to create more conflict.”
“Correct,” Rex says. “There will be a meeting and agreement from the new pack, but since we killed their alpha and warriors, they are under our control, and they know it. We have to take full command and identify any potential threats to our rule.”
“Copy that,” I reply.
“Agreed?” Rex looks around, and all the elders are nodding, satisfied with Rex’s decision.
“Excellent,” Rex says. “Meeting adjourned—and get your shit together, alpha team. We’re leaving tonight.”
Faint shocks of surprise run through me, but I refuse to think ahead. So far, the only thing that’s been agreed on is a command meeting and an assessment of the Clover pack. The question of marriage hasn’t been set in stone yet.
Chapter 2 - Sara
The hot sun above beats down on me relentlessly, sapping my energy and slowly frying my brain like an egg on a hot plate. Even though sweat is running down my sides and I feel like I’m being slowly roasted alive, I don’t want to leave the garden.
My hands dig deep into the dry soil, uncovering the carrots and potatoes seeded deeply in the earth. The harvest isn’t as good as I would like it to be, but there is enough for dinner tonight. I’m grateful for that, at least.
As I stack the root vegetables and tubers into the basket, I lean back a little to stretch my back, closing my eyes against the sun. Even though it’s starting to sink towards the horizon now, I can’t enjoy the lengthening shadows or the cool breeze, because my next job is going to be cooking dinner—slaving over a hot stove.
My thoughts shy away from it, and I go back to digging in the dirt, trying to distract myself with the repetitive actions of harvesting and thinking about what needs to be done to keep the garden producing for another year.
As soon as there isn’t enough, Father will blame me. And now there is no one to stop him from beating me!
A small sob bursts out of my chest, and tears burn my eyes. I bite my lip trying to hold in my sorrow, but grief rises in me like a great, storm-driven wave, powerful enough to obliterate me and drown me forever.
Talon!
I sit back and take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. The mourning period for the old alpha and hismate is over, and if I’m found crying over them again, I can be condemned to an official punishment.
But how can I forget the only people who were always kind to me?
My life has been hell for as long as I can remember, with our old alpha as my only reprieve. Ever since the ill-fated attack on the nearby packs and Talon’s death, I’ve found out there is actually a place worse than hell.
And now I’m living in it! Things can’t get any worse!
Even though tears streak down my cheeks, I go back to my work, slowly harvesting vegetables and stacking them in the basket. I have to have enough for Father, his girlfriend Melanie, and his three henchmen who live with us.
Maybe the new packs will bring some positive changes.
My mind shies away from that thought immediately. Why would Talon’s killers be any different than my father? They slaughtered our entire contingent. They have to be horrible people.
Talon and Jess were the only truly kind people I ever knew, and now they’re gone.
I sit still for a moment, watching the sun sinking towards the horizon. For as long as I can remember, Talon was my only refuge. My mother ran away when I was young, casting shame on the family. I was cast out at school, overworked at home, and shunned in the pack.
Talon tried his best to protect me and often invited me to his house to play in the garden or read his old books. My father was mostly in support of this because he felt it gave him leverage over the alpha, but this made me so uncomfortable, I found iteasier to avoid Talon than be forced into a position where I might have to betray him.
Still, I often found the lure of his kindness too strong, and I’d hurry to his place in the afternoons to sit in the big greenhouse with him and Jess, drinking iced tea and learning about her exotic herbs.
Tears trickle down my cheeks and slowly dry as the fierce grief in my chest fades into a numb void.
There is no refuge anymore, if there ever truly was one. I am at Father’s mercy more now than I have ever been.
As I pack up my basket, I think about the events that led to the attack. My father’s plans are always a mystery to me, but I know he has the loyalty of many of the town’s elders. He stood between Talon and his people, pretending to be a trusted friend to both, but in reality twisting them against each other. I still don’t understand why he wanted to attack Eccles or what possible benefit it could have for us.
How he convinced Talon, I still can’t be sure. All I know is that Father whipped them into a frenzy and sent the warriors out to their deaths—while he stayed behind to “guard” the pack. His trusted man, Bruce, went with them on the attack, and he was, unsurprisingly, the only survivor.
All a setup…a complete setup. I still just don’t know how or why.
