Page 26 of Howling
She stops mid-chew, her wolf staring at me with narrowed eyes. Her attention flicks toward the plate, then back toward me. Almost faster than I can track, she lashes out and snatches the steak with her claws.
My heart fucking cracks.
Memories I long since buried resurface.
For a shifter, you would think food wouldn’t be an issue. Just shift and hunt, right?
Wrong.
Shifters own almost every inch of land. If you’re caught hunting in their territory, you either die…or you’re forced to work off your debt. You become nothing more than a slave, willing to do anything to survive. Every day, you accrue more fees for room and board, the vicious cycle trapping you into a lifetime of servitude.
The desperation to belong to a pack is a pull that is nearly irresistible.
I’ve done horrible things to survive, things that still haunt my nightmares.
I won’t allow the same thing to happen to Frankie.
She’s safe now, and I’m determined to keep it that way.
FRANKIE
It’s only when my stomach is near bursting, my plate clean of even the smallest scrap, that I become aware of the silence in the room. Maybe I should be embarrassed by the way I devoured my food like a feral wolf, but the rest of me is just pleased to be full.
Food in Kyperian is limited, the choice meats offered only to the chosen few. Most shifters are lucky if we get scraps of meat three times a week—only enough to keep us from turning feral and going on a killing spree. It wouldn’t do to have us healthy and able to fight back.
When I first stepped into this realm and saw all the food offered, I thought I was dreaming. Unfortunately, food costs money, and I nearly starved before figuring out how to earn cash. I’m not proud to admit that I stole from a couple of houses in the first few weeks.
I was so hungry that I shoved as much food as possible into my mouth, nearly choking as I swallowed it down. It didn’t take long for my stomach to churn, and I threw it up a minute later. I couldn’t figure out what they did to their food to make it taste like cardboard. After that, I became more picky about where I ate.
As much as I craved to shift and hunt, I didn’t dare, afraid to draw attention to myself.
Something about Tyler preparing food, specifically for me, sent my wolf into a tizzy.
It smelled so fresh, and tasted even better.
After the first bite, the only thing that mattered was shoving as much of it into my face as possible. It’s been weeks since I smelled or tasted anything that wasn’t synthetic or so processed that it barely tasted like food anymore.
I glance down at my empty plate a little mournfully, then sigh and shove it away.
“Did you want more?” Garth leans his arms on the island, studying me so keenly that I barely resist the need to squirm.
I brace myself for his cruelty, maybe a demand that I pay him back for the food I consumed by sucking their cocks, but his blue eyes are sincere. I shift uncomfortably, disliking the way my insides flutter at his concern.
The last person who worried about me ended up dead.
I vowed never to let anyone get close again, unable to bear the heartbreak, but something about these guys has my resolve wavering. Turning away from their too penetrating eyes, I focus on his question. For a hot second, I’m tempted to ask for another steak, my mouth watering at the thought, but my stomach gurgles in protest, and I reluctantly shake my head. “No. Thank you.”
Though I know I should leave, I’ve lingered too long already, I can’t make myself go.
At least, not yet.
For the first time since Gramps was killed, the urge to run and keep moving is gone. In its place is sheer exhaustion. The three of them created their own little pack, a place where they belong, and the yearning to have that very thing is nearly crippling.
That doesn’t mean the men are not without their own troubles.
Garth’s beast is almost feral, Tyler’s fox is nearly pushed beyond his endurance, while Dante… Well, there is no cure for being an asshole. The least I can do is answer a few harmless questions. On the off chance that the Orion manages to track me here, the information I give them will send them on a wild-goose chase.
“To answer your question, I’m only passing through town. I stopped for gas when I saw Foxy being bullied.” I push my plate away and rest my arms on the table, glancing between the guys. “What else do you want to know?”
