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Something in those eyes told me this wolf knew. “Do you have food for the day, little one?”
I pulled my hand free, shaking it out slightly, though some of the weird feeling stayed with me. “No, but I’ve gone a lot longer without food. Unranked, remember?” I tapped my ear tag.
“Unranked. Yes.” Joaquin turned away, and I tried not to let my disappointment show.
Patrick let out a soft curse. “So they do starve the unranked here. I’ve been asking around, but no one was willing to spill.”
I shrugged. “Lots of our unranked wolves don’t have enough to eat. Food rations gotta be earned, and there aren’t a lot of jobs inside the fence.”
“That’s bullshit!”
“That’s Southern. Worry about the kids, not me. I can hunt. I get squirrels, rabbits, all sorts of critters.”
Patrick frowned. “But you can’t shift.”
I frowned right back. “Doesn’t mean I can’t hunt.”
“I heard of some sort of Hunt game,” Patrick said, his words slow. “I was supposed to check it out. They say they hunt females.”
“Just one,” I muttered. “Me.”
The group got quiet, the air filled with a dangerous tension. Someone in the group murmured, “What the actual, inbred, redneck fuck?”
“Guys, one problem at a time. I need to get to my hiding spot.”
“You sure they won’t find you?” a giant shifter asked through his enormous beard.
“They haven’t for four years,” I joked.
The man growled louder. “Four years?” Rage began to swirl like an invisible hurricane in the group. “You were just a child.” All I could do was nod, stunned to have so many males nearby who seemed to care.
Joaquin was back in front of me, watching me again, his dark eyes moving over my face like he was trying to memorize me. Like I was some sort of treasure. “What have they done to you, little one?”
I sighed. “What haven’t they done?”
His brows furrowed, and a strange, low rumble started in his chest. In fact, all the shifters around me had started to change, their teeth lengthening, eyes flashing.
“Did they… Did they dare?” Joaquin hissed, and suddenly, it felt like all the air around us was bristling with danger. With rage. “Did they ever…?” His mouth was changing shape, the teeth growing sharp behind his parted lips.
Patrick was the one who finally asked. “Did they ever catch you, Flor? Did they… force you?”
18
Nightmares and Memories
FLOR
Acurrent of rage swept the area, and I froze in place. But then it dawned on me that they were angry on my behalf. Not at me.
I looked away, not certain how to respond to compassion.
“Flor?” Joaquin’s gaze caught me, and I shook my head one time, slowly.
“They caught me once,” I said, forcing each word out. “One of them did. He was going to… He touched me. But he didn’t do more than that.” I shivered, remembering Trevor’s hands on me, his breath on my face. “He would have. But I got away.”
“How did you escape?” Joaquin’s voice was almost too kind. No one but Del had ever spoken to me like that, with gentleness.
“My mother saved me. Attacked him, which gave me enough time to get away. And they killed her for it.” The area exploded with soft curses and growls.
