“It’s just a beast. Don’t act like it’s your pup. You’re not really attached, are you?”
Attached? Perhaps not. But what of the seven years I had stood beside him?
I clenched my fists, swallowing my own voice.
Saying no meant punishment. I’d learned that well.9
Draven demanded I fetch it.
I said no. I wasn’t well.
In response, the guards dragged me out into the thunder and rain and dumped me in the mountain’s dark heart.
I barely survived the descent, slipping down a muddy ravine on the way back, nearly losing my life.
The memory made my fingers tremble. I knelt and lifted the tiny creature. She purred weakly, thinking it a game.
“Be kind to her,” I said softly to Freya.
The Alpha seemed pleased at my compliance and offered what he thought was kindness.
“You’re finally being sensible. Remember, the pup in Freya’s belly will call you mother, too. She’s giving you a child.”
Before I could reply, Freya shrieked. As soon as she touched the stray dog, it startled and ran off.
Freya clutched her stomach, moaning in pain. Alpha Draven swept her up and roared for the healers, the pack's very own doctors.
Her mother shot me a mocking look, as if I were some pathetic joke.
Perhaps I was.