Silence reigned a moment before Koe pushed, “And?”
It was hard being strong, kneeling in the mud in front of one of the greatest Alpha’s in the northwest. It was the first time Jury had been safe from Bragga and his Biters. Exhausted, starving, relieved, and terrified, Jury was reluctant to offer the next words but had no choice. Quietly, hoping the Beta scowling down at her disapprovingly wouldn’t hear, she whispered, “You could let me go.”
She startled when Koe barked out a laugh.
Head shooting up, she pleaded, “If I go straight through, you’d know that I’m no threat. I couldn’t gather any intel. I wouldn’t have seen or learned anything.”
“You’ve just seen how many Enforcers there are in our pack,” the Beta snarled from above her while Koe watched her intently. “You’re an enemy in our territory”, the Beta continued. “You’ve made your way through a quarter of our land. You know the timing of, and our response to an intrusion.”
Pissed, Jury couldn’t help but snap, “I wasn’t counting Enforcers, I was running for my life. And I wouldn’t know I’d made it a quarter of the way through your territory if you hadn’t just told me.”
The Beta snarled, “Well, it’s intel you now possess, and intel that can’t leave this land.”
Koe thundered, “Enough, Thrall.”
The Beta fell silent, and Jury and Koe simply stared at each other before Jury admitted, “I knew they wouldn’t be stupid enough to follow me here. I admit that, but I wasn’t trying to bring trouble to your doorstep. I really wasn’t. I was trying to keeptrouble from following me. It was selfish; I didn’t think it through, I just ran. I just…”
Thrall, raged, “We should send her back to them with a note for Bragga to try harder next time.”
Jury gasped, eyes rounding as she pleaded, “No! Please! You can’t.” She planted one foot to get to her feet, but when Koe’s glare shot to her foot, she froze. “Please, I’m begging you. Anything but sending me back.Anything! I can’t go back.”
Chapter 2
Koe glared at the woman for long minutes while Thrall stood beside him with his arms crossed and a deep scowl marring his face. His Beta was typically jovial and easy-going, but when it came to outsiders, Thrall was hot-headed and short-tempered, with a penchant for fighting first and figuring everything else out later, which is why he was Beta. The threat he’d just made, though, had absolute terror pouring from the woman kneeling before them, and Koe didn’t like it. The scent of feminine fear was objectionable to him and his wolf, and not something he was subjected to often, especially in his own territory.
“Thrall, go beyond our border,” Koe jerked his chin toward the cave entrance. “See what you can see. Be warned, Daemon’s already out there.”
Thrall dipped his chin, shot Jury one last hard look, and then jogged from the cave.
Alone with the woman, Koe ordered, “Get up.”
The woman slowly got to her feet, the tremble in her limbs a testament to how hard she’d been pushing herself. Koe felt aflash of pity spear through him, but quickly shook it off. It’s exactly the reaction The Biters would expect from him and a reaction they would capitalize on.
“Follow me,” he bit out, turning his back on the woman and stalking toward the cave entrance. “Do yourself a favor and obey,” he growled. Stopping, he shot her a menacing look over his shoulder, “Try to run or anything else, and I promise, you will regret it, Sweetheart.”
Another bout of fear wafted from the woman and had Koe’s jaw clenching as he curled his hands into tight fists. He hated being the one to evoke such a scent, but his pack had to be protected.
Exiting the cave, the sky had turned a murky grey with the threat of an impending storm. Clouds hung low and heavy over the forest, and the air felt electrified. Unsure if it was the change in atmosphere or the potential threat at his back, Koe stopped walking and waited for the woman to reach his side before he started walking again, asking, “Name?”
Quietly, she muttered, “Jury.”
“Excuse me?”
Lifting her chin, she said louder. “Jury. Jury Warmont.”
“Why did you abandon your pack?”
“Theyabandonedme,” she bit out angrily.
“Funny,” Koe snorted derisively. “You’re the one running through enemy territory in an attempt to escape.”
Almost too low for him to hear, Jury mumbled, “I’d run through hell if I had to.”
A second after the admission, a crack of thunder boomed overhead while a streak of lightning ripped across the sky. It felt ominous, prompting Koe to shoot Jury a sidelong glance. It had been a long time since he’d walked beside someone so small. There were no female shifters in his Allegiance pack, and none of his shifters were mated. Jury was a tiny thing, he assumed, even by female standards. She was no more than five feet two, maybe five feet three, and slender. He wondered if her weight was by choice. She could say whatever she wanted, but there was no denying her scent. The fear that had rolled off her when Thrall had threatened to send her back to Bragga had Koe leaning towardbelieving her. Was she being abused by her Biter’s pack? The answer to that would have to wait until his Enforcers reported back.
Beside him, Jury stumbled, and Koe instinctively reached out to steady her. When she flinched away from him, he jerked his hands back, pissed at his own instincts. Angrily, he demanded, “Are you hurt?”
“No.”
