Page 1 of Outcast
Chapter One
Kira
When I was abandonedby my parents and taken in by a pack of wolf shifters at the age of four, I’d never have imagined that this was where it would lead me. Hunched over on all fours, cleaning the blood-covered, rough stone floor of a prisoner cell.
At least, Ithoughtthe thick, black, tar-like substance was blood. I glanced down at where the black matter clung to my fingers and grimaced when it made a thin web as I spread them apart.
Sighing deeply from exhaustion, I wrung out my rag into the bucket of water that was now a murky grey color. I repeated the process what felt like a thousand times, until the floor was clear of the blood-slime, and ambled to my feet gingerly.
My back groaned in protest as I straightened, feeling stiff from the cold air blowing through the network of underground cells, in combination with being hunched over for so long. A dull ache thrummed through my lower back and into my tailbone, making me wince.
“I will never understand why you put up with the shit they make you do, Kira. You’re not a torture clean-up crew. You’ve been down here practically all day.”
How did he manage to always sneak up on me?
The deep rumble of Milo’s voice behind me made that ache in my back disappear, and then reappear between my legs for an entirely different reason. Him acting protective of me was quite possibly the sexiest thing I’d ever experienced. Okay, no—it definitely was.
Turning around, bucket in hand, I slammed into a stone wall of muscle, not expecting him to be that close, and the breath whooshed out of me on impact. His scent lingered, swirling around me while teasing that ache and turning into an insistent throb of need. He always managed to smell like a bonfire, the smokey wood scent making me want to curl up in his lap on a cold night—or anytime really.
Neither of us moved, both hesitant to even breathe. We had toed the line of this attraction between us for years, and I’d likely combust soon with the amount of sexual tension that sizzled between us incessantly.
Daring to tilt my chin up, I found his large blue eyes, framed by dark lashes thick enough to make any girl jealous, staring deep into my own. It always felt like we were looking past the surface in these moments. Like we could sense each other's fears, hopes, and insecurities. As if each of our deepest secrets were suddenly on display for the other to bear witness.
Willing myself to find the words to once again express why I felt it okay to be the pack’s grunt, even though he’d never accept my reasoning, I reached up with my empty hand to lay it against the dark stubble of his sharp jawline.
I’m the outcast here. The human taken in by a pack of wolves. I was just a child when I was found, close to death with hypothermia overtaking me. I didn’t have many options.
After thinking about it, I refused to give him the spiel again. He’d heard it a million times. “You know why. I’m the only human here,” I looked at him imploringly so he’d drop it.
He leaned his forehead against my own and whispered to me. The ends of his short curls tickled my skin, making me shiver.
“You still deserve better. Human or not. You are not any lesser than us, despite what they’ve made you believe.”
My heart fluttered at the sincerity in his voice, and the crack in my heart he had wormed his way into widened further, now a gaping chasm. He was one of the select few in the pack that didn’t care about my lack of supernatural powers.
He had tried to stand up for me before, speaking out against the others after a particularly horrid prank, but when the pack started to shun him, I’d pleaded with him to stop.
I wasn’t worth becoming a lone wolf over, that’s for sure.
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” I whispered back, wondering if he could hear my wildly thumping heart, given how loudly it hammered in my chest at our nearness.
Just a small tilt of my head up and I could seal our lips together, giving in to what we both so desperately wanted.
“Milo!”
The voice of the alpha’s son echoed through the Pit, annoyance clear in his tone.
Jameson. The bane of my fucking existence here.
He was sex on a stick, the next in line to lead the pack, and an all around asshole.
A soft sigh escaped Milo’s mouth as he lifted his head enough to press a featherlight kiss to my forehead before he turned to leave. With one last glance over his shoulder, a sly smirk appeared as he winked at me. With the way my heart fluttered, I knew that I was dangerously close to giving in to whatever this was between us.
A girl could only deny herself for so long. My reasons for doing so for the past few years suddenly started to fade from the forefront of my brain.
I felt drawn to the man. Who wouldn’t be, though? He stood well over six feet tall, was built like a lumberjack, and had a heart of gold.
Running a free hand over my face in frustration, I felt stickiness on my cheek and remembered that traces of the black blood still covered it. Milo had been lucky to escape being marked by the goo.
