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I let out a laugh. “Join up? Listen, Blondie. If you think the Southern Alpha would let a rogue join his pack, or even let one live for more than a breath, you’re bugnuts. You take me back, he’ll kill me. Or worse.”
The huge guy glared. “No decent Alpha would kill a child.”
If he only knew. “Trust me, he might do a lot worse. I was born in this piece-of-shit pack. I should know.” I shot him what I hoped was a scathing look. “And I’m not a child, Bearman. I’m almost twenty.”
For some reason, Finnick let out a strangled sound. “Too young to be on your own in the woods.” A clanking sound came from behind me, and I spun around.
“What the hell are you doing? Get out of my stuff!”
Blondie had stopped poking at my bag with his tennis shoes and was now pawing through the contents of my backpack with both hands. He held up the butcher knife Del had sent. “What’s this for? Doesn’t look like camping supplies.”
“Give that back, asshole!” I shouted, and almost killed myself tripping to get to him. At the bottom of the bag, there was something I really didn’t want him to find. Del had slipped in a few tampons, which I wouldn’t need unless I was out here for another week. It had been thoughtful.
But these guys thought I was a boy, and I needed to keep that up. Who knew what they would do if they figured out I was a female? They might make me return with them to the compound.
Time to get aggressive. I pulled back my fist, pulling strength from my hip. I was close enough to Blondie to punch him in the face, or I thought so. But before I could connect, I felt a giant hand on my shirt, whirling me around. It was the bear shifter. I still thought he might be a bear; he couldn’t be a wolf and be that big.
His chocolate eyes were gleaming with amusement now. “Please don’t punch my friend Glenda right before the mating events. He’ll need his good looks to get any girl to look at him twice, true mate or not. He doesn’t have anything else going for him.”
I stopped, my mind whirring. There was so much to unpack in all that. For some reason, the only thing I asked was, “His name’s Glenda?”
Finnick let out a sharp laugh. “Glenda, the good witch of the North. See, you didn’t need to be offended, ‘Bearman.’ This kid hasn’t heard of him either.”
“It’s Brand, not Bearman.” He rubbed one hand over his beard, and I fought the urge again to run my fingers through that beard. It was short, so it might be wiry, but it gleamed, and I had a feeling it would feel soft like a pelt. He was still holding my shirt, so he was close enough… I shook the thought away.
“Call me Glenda again, Finnick,” the blond angel snapped, looking up from my backpack, “and I’ll kick your ass, too. I’m more your size, so I won’t even have to fight dirty.”
“Still say we should take him back, Glen,” Brand growled.
I tensed, ready to fight my way free if I had to. “Don’t even try it.” I tried to hide the panic I felt at the thought, but his grip loosened slightly, and his head tilted to one side, like he was trying to solve a riddle.
“Let the kid go, Brand,” Finnick said. His voice sounded weird, and clearly I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Brand and Glen gave him a couple of raised eyebrows. Finnick just shrugged. “Southern here has to be at the Conclave, right?”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” That much was true.
Glen perked up. “You plan to fight in the Enforcer Games, kid? What’s your name?”
I was instantly suspicious. “Why?”
Glen’s blue eyes twinkled. “Just thought I might sign up for a round.”
“No!” Finnick shouted. “You can’t fight a kid.”
Glen rolled his eyes. “I can fight anyone. You’ll be fighting on the first night. Unranked, right? I’ll go easy on… What was your name?”
I sure as hell wasn’t telling them my real name. But I couldn’t think of a decent lie. “It’s, uh, Wills.”
Glen froze. What had I said? Then the world started again, and I wondered if I had imagined it.
“All right, Wills,” Finnick choked out. Maybe he still had some dirt in his windpipe. “We’ll see you back inside the compound.”
“At the Games, sure,” I said, hoping I could sneak in when none of these giants were around. I didn’t just want to fight in the Games. I needed to win one round if I wanted a chance to get away from my pack.
If I wanted a chance to survive.
6
True Mate, Fake Name
