Page 145 of The Hunger
Willow: Yep. I’m heading to the fire in a few minutes. Where are you?
Me: At the fire.
“Good luck,” Raiden called, signaling the second mass exodus from the clearing.
Another shiver racked through me, which Raiden noticed.
“Are you all right, Eliana?”
“No. I’m not. I had to give my jacket away to Aubrey, and since she doesn’t need one, I didn’t get one in return.”
He sighed like I was being the most unreasonable person on the planet.
“I’m not keeping you here, Eliana. If you’d like to leave and feed so the cold doesn’t bother you, you’re welcome to return later.”
I didn’t bother replying to that. Of course, he wanted me to leave. He still thought that I was somehow influencing Fenris’s interest in me.
The woods filled with a series of howls that drew Raiden’s attention. Snarls broke out nearby. He raked his hand through his hair in a move that was eerily similar to Fenris. I had to look away. All the pain and frustration Raiden was causing hurt too much.
“He’s willfully evading all of us,” Aubrey said, marching from the woods. What was left of my clothes hung in shreds from her body. “Order him here. Forced matings aren’t unheard of.”
“You’re going to what? Rape him?” I said, standing. “Don’t even think about it, Raiden. If you do that to your son, he will never forgive you. He will leave just like he promised.”
Aubrey snarled at me. That dark thing moved sluggishly inside of me, settling before it rose at all.
“Girls, that’s enough. Aubrey, you’re wasting time. I suggest you return to the trees and use what time you have left wisely.”
She pulled what remained of my clothes from her body.
“This is my home. My pack. It will never be yours,” she said as she glared at me.
With a shimmer, her form collapsed into a wolf, and she took off into the woods once more.
“Why do you love her so much? She’s awful. The rest of your pack can see that. Why can’t you?”
“She’s strong enough to hold them together.”
I snorted.
“She’s violent enough to tear the pack apart. Don’t be blind.”
A whisper of noise behind me announced Willow’s arrival.
“I’m sorry for interrupting,” she said, quickly looking at Raiden. “I brought a coat for Eliana.”
“Thank you, Willow,” I said. “I really appreciate it. Aubrey shredded mine.”
Willow gave me a sympathetic wince.
“She does that sometimes.”
“Do you want to sit and wait with me until it’s your turn to run?” I asked.
She nodded and joined me on the log. Like the last time, it didn’t take long for more people to gather. They milled around and chatted, and the lust clouding the air grew. My stomach rumbled.
“Do you want a cookie?” Willow asked softly. She produced a fold of parchment paper from her pocket and unwrapped the cookies Jenna’s mom had made. “Jenna thought you might be getting a little hungry by now.”
I took a cookie with a small smile of thanks and nibbled on it. The chocolate did little to soothe the growing hunger. We were only two-and-a-half hours into the pack run, and I was already struggling. What would it be like in four hours? In seven? I knew what would happen if I waited that long. I’d snap and probably—
