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“No. They asked for our help. A bit of an embarrassment for your pack’s leadership, that they can’t bring in a teenage girl.”
The corners of the drab girl’s mouth turned up for an instant. There was the faintest hint of fire in her eyes as she hissed, “Serves them right. They won’t catch her. If anyone could escape, it’d be Flor.”
That seemed an odd thing to say. “Is she unusually clever? Strong?”
The girl gave a tiny shake of her head. “No, not really. Stealthy, maybe. The unmated males—and honestly, some of the others—have had it out for her since her mama… Well, for years.”
“What do you mean?” What could a young shifter have done to make so many powerful enemies?
She bared her teeth. “They hunted Flor. Called it a game.”
“Hunted her?” My teeth begin to elongate, and fur prickled on the backs of my hands.
She paused, her eyes on my mouth. “Yes. The Hunt. Flor was the prey. Well, I suppose it used to be other girls, but it’s just been Flor for about four years now.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Hunting a girl? That’s…” No words seemed to fit, so I settled on, “Dishonorable.”
Her shoulders slumped into a posture of shame and defeat. “Don’t look for honor in this pack, Alpha Heir.”
“Thanks for the tip.” I discreetly handed her a fifty-dollar bill, ignoring the jar in front of her. I had a feeling those tips didn’t land in her pocket. She gulped again and nodded in appreciation.
I grabbed my glass and turned to go, but a whisper stopped me. “Sir? Flor would never have hurt Del. He was all she had. Please, don’t hunt for her too hard. She’s better off anywhere else.”
I whispered back, “You know her well. Are you a friend of hers?”
Her head shook almost imperceptibly. “She doesn’t have friends. She’s not allowed.”
It was almost impossible to keep my voice low. “Why not?”
“She’s the pack reject. If anyone helps her, or even talks to her, they get punished.”
“Punished?”
Her eyes filled with pain. “I gave her half my sandwich once, when we were in fifth grade.” She pulled the neckline of her shirt down slightly, the gesture most likely appearing respectful from a distance.
But I saw the scars there, the burns that silver left.
Punished. For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, what she’d meant. Then her meaning clicked into place. They’d punished this unranked woman for giving a young girl a sandwich. They’d scarred her permanently.
And they’d hunted Flor. My wolf raged inside, demanding we bring justice to this tainted pack.
“Thank you for showing me. Telling me,” I managed to say to the trembling waitress, though my teeth were already too sharp to be mistaken as human. “I am grateful for your trust.”
She didn’t answer, but gave me a solemn nod before she moved away.
I looked around to make sure no one had heard our conversation, then stalked off to find the other Alpha Heirs. As I moved through the crowd, a few of the Southern women reached out to touch me, like I was some sort of lucky talisman. As if they didn’t fear me.
If this pack was as horrific as I was coming to understand, it might be worth losing a hand, if you could discover your true mate and be whisked away instead.
I didn’t want to find my true mate, not anymore. The only female I wanted to see was an underfed, boyish waif whose scent I wouldn’t even recognize. An emaciated warrior girl who smelled like shit and was possibly the fated true mate of one of the only wolves in the world I called brother, though it was a brotherhood built on friendship, pain, and shared secrets.
I guess I had a new type. Unattainable.
I cursed out loud, scaring the piss out of at least two young males nearby. I was losing my temper. It was time to retreat to my bunk, behind a locked door.
But on my way down the steps of the Pack House—a piss-poor, scaled-down version of the Alpha’s Den my great-grandfather had built in Colorado for our pack, with none of the rugged grandeur of ours—I heard a man cursing quietly.
Then came a gasp of pain, and the smell of fresh blood.
