“I tried that before. I was close. Then, I had to leave it all behind to go make Alec some money.” The pain surged in, as raw and fresh as when he’d turned me over. I guess I did need to think about it. “I hope you got enough for selling me out.”“I didn’t have a choice,” Alec said. He didn’t even turn to look at me. I should be grateful he was so focused on driving, but I knew it was out of avoidance rather than safety.“I don’t think I can do this,” I said.“Do what?” Kyle asked.“Any of it. Go to the camp. Be around all those people who think I’m a total sucker.” I liked the feral shifters. I’d made friends there and it was embarrassing to walk back there after making a fool of myself. “Wait, is this how you pay for things at the camp?”“No, of course not,” Alec said. “Sure, we might get involved in things that are a little shady, but we’d never turn over another shifter for money.”“So I was just an exception,” I said.“None of them know what happened,” Alec said. “They weren’t in

The only way I’d truly hurt them would be to take the power from them and put myself in charge. I couldn’t deny that seeing them meet a bloody end wouldn’t be a nice addition, but I knew what I had to do. I was going to fight for the pack that refused to fight for me. There was always going to be someone weak they’d try to break and I couldn’t let it keep happening. I had to stop them. And I had to make sure they couldn’t ever hurt anyone else again.I stood. “Thank you.”“Don’t thank me. You’re the one who’s doing all the work,” she said.I smiled and gave her a nod before making my way out of the tent. Kyle was standing outside, waiting for me. He tensed like a soldier standing at attention. Having him around was going to take a lot of getting used to.Trusting Kyle was going to be damn near impossible, but I was going to need help. I needed to know if he really had my back. There had to be a way to test him, at least a little. Kyle was still a mystery to me. He’d been a fixture of

I followed Kyle up the steps that led to the front door. He opened it and we walked into a cozy, bright, welcoming space. A worn couch covered in blankets sat on one side of the room, on the other was a double bed with a patchwork quilt. A lamp on the bedside table was on, giving the space a warm glow. On the right was a little alcove with a window. It held a small table with three wood chairs around it. To the left was a single door. My guess was that it was the bathroom.No kitchen or other rooms, but it was enough space for the two of us. The cabin was homey and peaceful. Despite the fact it had been Alec’s home, I felt at ease here. It didn’t look like it had even the slightest bit of Alec’s personality. I knew the cabin had once been Greta’s and it looked exactly as I’d imagine a space she’d decorated should look.I walked to the door and opened it to reveal a tiny bathroom complete with sink, toilet, and shower. It sure beat peeing in the woods. “Not bad.”“You sure Alec lived h

“I still don’t know if I want to know,” I said.“I get that.” Kyle took a deep breath. “Alright, let me see if I can explain without telling you. So, shifter politics 101: The alphas are linked with the higher alphas, right?”I thought back to my high school Shifter Politics class and tried to recall the structure. “Shit. I’m going to need a crash course in all this. I don’t remember this stuff and if I do it, I’m going to do it right.”“That’s not why I’m telling you this. You think Ace is doing anything by the book?” Kyle looked skeptical.“Probably not,” I agreed. “But I’m not Ace. I will do it correctly.”“I know you will but here’s the thing, Lola. If you are alpha, you’ll be connected to the higher alphas.”“You mean the king.”He nodded.“So?” I wasn’t following why any of this would matter. “It’s not like I’m the one who made the toxin or was cursed. They can’t punish me for what my grandfather did, can they?”Kyle blew out a frustrated breath. “Lola, you have to hear this eve

When Kyle insisted I take the bed, I was too tired to put up a fight. I climbed in and snuggled under the sheets. The blankets smelled like Alec. And why wouldn’t it? It was his bed.My throat tightened as I thought about everything I’d learned. Aside from my pack hunting me, there was a chance my father’s family would kill me if they ever found out I was alive. Then there was this new news about Alec. I didn’t know if it was the truth, but if Alec sold me out to earn the cash to help me, where did that leave us?Asshole could have explained it to you.I realized that if he’d told me, I’d have refused to comply. I would have taken my chances with the royal family rather than return to captivity in Wolf Creek. Alec would have known that. But he should have given me a choice.Why would the shifter king even care about me? I was nobody and I had no interest in getting involved in royal politics. Shit, if not for the mark on my hip, I wouldn’t even be going back to Wolf Creek. It was possi