Page 17 of Entangled in the Woods
“Oh, great—Kip and Elijah are here,” Kleio whispered to herself. She caught me listening and divulged, “They’re a bunch of assholes from the Juniper Pack. They love to beat up on weaker packs.”
The man on the stage continued to call hunters from the different packs forward.
“Is this like the Olympic Games or something?” I asked. All the flags in front of the tents made sense.
Kleio smiled, amused. “Kind of like the Olympic Games, except there aren’t any medals. And you have a high likelihood of dying.”
“Why do you guys even do this? What’s the prize?”
“We’re here because the True Alpha”—she pointed to the older man on the stage—“commands it. Every ten years, he brings all the packs underneath him to join in a pissing contest for his own amusement. Survival is the only prize.” Kleio then shushed me before I could ask anymore questions.
The True Alpha’s voice continued to rumble from the stage. “From the Cedar Moon Pack, Everett Silas and Wilder Dendron.”
Everett climbed gracefully onto the stage, followed by Wilder. They looked out into the audience, eyeing their competition. Everett’s golden eyes scanned over the crowd until they found mine. He looked powerful from my vantage point below. His brown hair was a little shorter than Wilder’s but still gave him a cad look. His tan skin almost glowed under his white shirt. I could see the defined muscles in his chest and arms.
My breath caught. Everett must’ve been one of the strongest pack members if he was up on the stage. What confused me waswhy Wilder was up there with him. Kleio had said nothing to suggest that Wilder was a strong pack member.
The last two pairs were called to the stage. In the end, there were ten pairs lined up on the stage for everyone’s viewing. Some looked confident and strong, while others looked nervous.
The True Alpha spoke again. “The wards are closed for the weekend. There will be no distractions. Enjoy your meal before the real feast is unleashed.”
As if on cue, the rogues rattled their cages and snarled at the audience. Members of his own pack surrounded the True Alpha as he exited the stage and walked away. The pairs walked down the stage and found their way to their packs.
“Come on, Elise. Let’s go eat before they leave for the hunt.” Kleio led me back to the main tent that flew the Cedar Moon flag. Looking back down the road lined with more tents, I viewed more carefully the flags that flew above them. Each had a different type of tree on it, designating the name of the pack.
It was almost fully dark outside, and I could hear my stomach loudly rumble. I hadn’t eaten yet today. Pulled into the tent, Kleio put me to work gathering plates and cutlery from the trunks that lined the back wall of the tent. We brought them to the table that had maps spread across it earlier in the day and set the table for seven.
“Why was Wilder up there?” I asked. “I get that Everett is strong, but it seems like Wilder hasn’t been interested in being here this whole time.”
Kleio sighed before she answered my question. “Wilder is the best tracker in the pack.” “Tracker?” I asked. “Like…looking for animal footprints and scat?”
“It’s a little different for shifters,” she explained. “For us, tracking is an ability kind of like a supertaster. Everyone can taste food, but only certain people are able to really taste every flavor at a heightened intensity. Wilder can smell every separatescent at a high intensity. It’s rare enough that not every pack has one.”
That was interesting. And for Wilder of all shifters to have that ability.
She went on, “Everett is the strongest shifter in our pack. Between Wilder and the alpha, they’re good at finding and capturing the rogues in the forest. Everett had to drag Wilder in this morning because we need him if we’re going to win again.”
“Again? Alpha?” I felt entirely in the dark. It seemed like for someone who prided herself on knowing a lot about plants and forestation, I knew nothing of what really lived in these woods.
“Everett’s the alpha of the Cedar Moon Pack. That’s the pack we”—she motioned around the tent—“belong to. He’s our leader. Ten years ago, during the last Deca Tournament, Everett and Wilder won. It was by the skin of their teeth, but they won. The True Alpha hasn’t messed with us for the past ten years, probably because he knows how strong we are. Everett will keep it that way.” Kleio continued carefully setting the table while she spoke. “If you couldn’t tell by his pompous attitude, the True Alpha is an actual piece of work. He can make pack life very difficult if he wants to. For the past several decades, he has kidnapped members of the losing packs and forced them to join his pack—all female shifters.” Kleio’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “Everett would never let that happen to his pack.”
As if my stomach knew what was coming, it rumbled as Wilder and Gavrill carried in plates of grilled meats they had been cooking over the fire. Kostas followed with grilled corn and squash. Everything smelled delicious. We all sat around the table and ate family style, passing plates and food. Now that I knew that Everett was the leader of the pack, it surprised me that everything was so informal, though he did sit at the head of the table. The rest of the meal he spent laughing and talking withhis pack mates. He seemed at ease and happy here with all his people.
I felt a warmth in my body that I hadn’t felt before. It wasn’t just the good food I was eating; it was the warmth of comradery and acceptance. Even Wilder seemed more at ease. He spent much of his time talking with Gavrill and shoveling down food.
When the meal was over, I helped Kostas clear the plates while Everett and Wilder disappeared to their tents to prepare for the hunt. Kleio and Jack were happily tucked away on a couch together. Gavrill stood in the middle of the tent, unsure of what to do. He looked at Kleio and Jack, and then at Kostas and me, and then he rubbed his face and mumbled something about going over the plan with Everett one more time.
Kostas laughed to himself. “Gavrill has never been one to help with the dishes.”
We settled into a rhythm cleaning the plates. He washed the dishes in a bucket of water that he had brought in, and I dried them with a towel I’d found in one of the large trunks of supplies. I careful to put each dried plate back where Kleio and I had found them earlier. Even if I didn’t want to be here, they were feeding me, and—for the most part—being nice to me, and I wanted to keep it that way.
When the dishes were done, I was about to sit on one of the empty couches when Wilder and Everett walked through the back flaps of the tent, dressed for the hunt. My mouth opened, but I quickly snapped it shut, not wanting to let anyone know what I was thinking. Wilder probably looked fine, but my eyes fell to Everett. He looked the part of alpha. Forget Wilder—if he had approached me in the woods, I probably would have peed my shorts like Jenny had claimed.
He’d covered himself in black. The black pants he wore hugged his thighs tight up to his waist. My tongue pushedagainst the back of my teeth, trying to banish the inappropriate images in my head of what lay underneath.
No, he kidnapped me and is holding me hostage here,I reminded myself.I shouldn’t be having these thoughts at all.
I tried to swallow as my eyes traced his body up his abdomen and up his chest. The shirt he wore was thick but still athletic enough that he could move freely. He wore black gloves, made of leather, that had to have been custom made to fit his large hands.
