Page 147 of The Hunger
“Fenris is eighteen. Just barely old enough for a full-time job in the human world. How is a fourteen-year-old supposed to support his new wife?”
Willow grinned at me.
“The human world isn’t the only place with jobs. They’ll be fine. When you think of your family, you probably only think of your mom and dad. Maybe the Quills, too. When I think of my family, it’s everyone here.”
“Even Aubrey?”
“She’s that cousin who nobody likes. But, yeah. She’s family, too. And we all pitch in and help with cubs or money or housing or whatever. That’s just how it works. We’re not human.” She gently shoulder bumped me. “And neither are you. Don’t forget that.”
She stood and quickly undressed. My hunger was a living, breathing thing, and it was tearing at my insides. I couldn’t ever remember it hurting that bad before.
While the main body of the group moved closer to the trees, the newly mated pair made their way to Raiden. Closer to me. The lust crawled under my skin, calling to me. I was on my feet before I knew what I meant to do. I tried to breathe it in. To take what they would never miss. I was so hungry. So desperate. But nothing happened. I pulled. I inhaled. No flavor coated my tongue. Nothing settled into my stomach to quiet the hunger.
“It’s your time to run,” Raiden called before the pair reached him. “Good luck.”
Howls echoed off the trees, muting the whimper that escaped me as I collapsed back onto the log and started to shiver with a ferocity that clacked my teeth together.
The girl’s voice carried over the fading noise.
“Raiden, this is Dean from the Rathlin pack.”
“Rathlin? I didn’t think there was still a pack there.”
“It’s a small pack to be sure. But a growing one after today.”
Something in Raiden’s expression shifted. I didn’t know the girl, but the way he looked at her made me think the news that she’d be leaving hurt him. He opened his arms to her, and she was quick to hug him.
“Go talk to your parents. They’ll want to hear the good news.”
He gave her an extra squeeze and released her slowly.
“Come back and visit any time.”
“We will.”
Hand in hand, they walked off together. Without the distraction, the pain in my middle consumed me. Raiden spoke, but his words sounded like they were coming from underwater. The movement to my right wasn’t enough to pull my gaze from the ground.
How could I be this hungry? I needed to eat. I needed Fenris.
Something gripped my hair and tugged so hard my head jerked back. Aubrey’s twisted expression swam into view. Her lips moved, and she pulled harder.
At the stinging pain in my scalp, the dark thing inside of me slithered under the barrier of the druid’s spell. I could almost feel it. That thin layer separating me from what I was.
“Where is he?” Aubrey demanded as the heaviness in my ears shifted.
“Aubrey, what are you doing?” Raiden asked, striding toward us.
“I’ve been in those woods for hours. There’s no scent trail. There’ve been no sightings. Nothing.”
Raiden’s steps slowed, and he withdrew his phone from his pocket. Aubrey’s grip on my hair only tightened. That thing inside of me surged at the barrier, stretching it thinner.
“The druid’s tracking spell is working.” He turned the phone toward her, showing a dot on a map. “He’s in the woods, not far from here.”
Her zealous gaze swung back to me.
“Scream for him, Eliana. As if your life depends on it.”
Something sharp scraped along my exposed throat. The dark thing inside of me seethed, crashing against the barrier.
