Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
He sniffed the air, but all he got was a strong sense of vanilla. In the back of his mind, his wolf woke and wanted to rub against her. To know just how far her kindness went.
“What did I do wrong?” she asked. Her lips wobbled and tears filled her eyes. The sight of her angered him.
“Why were you locked up?” He grabbed the nearest chair and sat down, straddling the seat and looking right at her.
She had dirt on her cheek. It was kind of cute.
They had the humans working the fields, tending to the food. He found a starving human was mostly a willing one. He could work with willing people, especially if it meant he got what he wanted from her.
“What?”
“Are you thick or stupid?”
“I’m neither. I’m confused.”
“Get unconfused and answer my fucking question.”
She licked her lips. “I … they knew of your pack and they kept on talking about invading it. I don’t … I don’t want to hurt anyone. My family lived there and I never moved away. I don’t believe in violence, ever. What did I do wrong?”
“I’m the one asking the questions. So they just locked you up?”
“I wanted to run, but they thought I would warn you about what they were going to do. They’ve been planning this for some time. I didn’t want to be part of it. So they locked me up. Are you going to kill me?”
“If I was going to kill you, you’d be dead already. You took care of that girl. Why?” He’d never gotten involved after she helped to treat the young girl. His men informed him of it, but he’d not followed up.
“What? Er, because she’d fallen over and she was crying and in pain. I did what any … I mean, most people would do.”
“Most people don’t help wolves. You know that. Your people wanted to kill us.”
“I don’t want to kill you.”
Wolves and humans had been fighting a long time, ever since their kind was discovered. Peace had never been won. Some could live in harmony, and he’d heard of them but had yet to see any of them in action.
“You wouldn’t kill me to help get back in with your people?”
She snorted. “They’ve hated me a lot longer for stupid reasons. I’m not going to hurt anyone to win favor. I won’t kill them for you, nor will I kill you for them. I don’t believe in violence.”
“That makes you stupid.”
“I don’t care. I am who I am.”
“And how are you at taking care of kids?” he asked.
She frowned. “I’ve never had children.”
“But do you know how to take care of them?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
“Do you have any family?” he asked, wanting to know more and hating himself for even thinking about trying to understand her.
“No. My brother died when I was young and my parents were killed fighting a few years ago.”
“How old are you?”
“What does my age matter?”
“I want to know.”
She sniffed. “I’m twenty years old.”
So young.
He glanced around the basement. She made no move to fight him.
After opening the bindings, he took her hand and then marched her upstairs toward the bedroom where he had … someone for her to take care of.
He didn’t let her go even as they stood over the cot.
“It’s a girl.”
“This is your child?” she asked.
“Yes.” The lie fell easy from his lips. “My mate gave birth just before an attack. All that I have left of her is our daughter.” Again, more lies, easy to tell. He didn’t owe this woman anything. “If you want to live, you’re going to take care of her. You’ll live here. You will do whatever is necessary for her to survive. You will not leave the house, nor will you ever answer the door to anyone. There is a garden for you to visit. Your old life ceases to exist and this is your life now. Do you understand?”
“And if I don’t agree?”
“Then you can say goodbye to any kind of life. You will die with the rest of your people if they put a foot out of line.”
“I don’t have a choice?”
“You do. Are you willing to risk your life for the sake of your friends?”
****
Two days later
Winter didn’t see it as picking a life for lives. The alpha, she didn’t know his name, didn’t understand that her people hated her. They would gladly kill her for the sake of their own lives and she couldn’t justify that kind of existence.
There was a baby who needed help, love, and attention. Being chained up all day, working the fields, it wasn’t a bad job. The guards who watched them didn’t see the constant physical abuse she suffered for her care of wolves.
She didn’t have a place in the world, not a real one.
The microwave opened and she took out the bottle, testing the liquid on her arm to make sure it wasn’t too hot. She made her way back upstairs to find the little baby making soft sounds. The kind that people adored and couldn’t help but love. The sight alone was everything.