Page 26 of Untamed

"She would not eat from my hand. Do not feed her. She will eat only from me."

Tabitha lets out a hmph that lets me know she thinks I'm incompetent. "Away, Alphason," she growls, "and let us take care of your mate."

I growl at the insult as it hits its mark. I step away, however. I want my sweet cat to be cared for, and until she submits and trusts me, I can't do a proper job.

"She needs to be lotioned," I tell them. "Her hands are cut up. And make sure soap doesn't get into her eyes. Is that water warm?"

"Away, Inuit."

I let Rhet pull me away from the Post. "Lyri is going to cut off your balls," he tells me with grim satisfaction.

I'm not worried. By the time Lyri and Ezra return to the pack, my Qitsuk will be in my home and Marked.

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Willa

Somanywolves. By the goddess's left titty, I didn't know just how large The Pack truly is. Nothing could prepare me for all these eyes, these scents. There must be as many wolves here as there are dandelions in my meadow.

At least toxic-walnut-eyedMactiiris gone. I wanted to laugh outloud when this blue-eyed female chased him away.

"Such a pretty she-wolf," one of the females with dark eyes and even darker skin exclaims softly. She gently pours water over my skin, letting days of accumulated dirt wash off. Their touch... It's the strangest thing, but my she-wolf is accepting of their attentions, her soft whimpers telling me that they remind her of Mama. Acceptable, even if they are Pack. I disagree. They arePack.

"The Post," mutters the blue-eyed female who chased off Mactiir. "Who would have thought sweet, little Inuit would grow up to be so... so..."

"Alpha?" one of the other females says wryly. I look at her curiously. Her hair is all white, and her face is covered in lines and grooves. Her hands are too, but when she gently rubs soap on my face, I feel that her palms are soft and cool.

The blue-eyed female sighs, "this isn't how we should treat females, Bea. This is the old way."

A quiet pause feels uncomfortable. Like when I asked Mama what the white reeds we pick in the spring from the swamp do. She would drink it every day in her tea. She told me they would make sure Father's seed didn't take. When I asked her what seeds Father plants, she told me to wait until I'm older, and she would explain. It was confusing. He never planted anything that I saw.

The dark-skinned female picks up my hands, clucking her tongue. I try to cluck my tongue back, but it's hard to do when the white-haired female massages my face.

"Her hair needs a nice trim. And she does need lotion."

"Inuit could have taken her home, cared for her properly," the blue-eyed female snaps.

"Tabby," the white-haired female says, "do you want him to take her home? What do you think a young male does with his mate? Look at how young she is?" she continues.

They all look at me. I shift on my feet, uncomfortable with the eyes staring at me. This iscalamitous; grievous, regrettable, unfavorable, ruinous.Ruinous; cataclysmic, dire, harmful, pernicious.Pernicious; detrimental, devastating, ruinous. Did I already say ruinous? I did, I think I-

"There we go, little one," the white-haired female grabs my wandering attention as she wraps a thin, green cloth around me, tying it in place around my neck. It falls to just above my knees, covering my body from all of the prying eyes.

"My goodness, you are something otherworldly, aren't you?" the dark-skinned female muses.

Otherworldly; magical, uncanny, alien. I feel like an alien, so very out-of-place here. I look up at the chain, high above my head. I can't undo the chains or the manacles around my wrists. Mactiir the Ogre made sure that they were just tight enough that I wouldn't be able to wiggle free. And, goddess knows Itried. Over and over again.

"Well, the males will check her over next."

My blood freezes when I hear that. I look up again. The dead tree I'm chained to is very straight and fairly smooth. Not the easiest thing to climb. But, the chains have enough slack that I may be able to get to the top with my claws. Will I be safe from male hands up there? The females washing me is discomfiting enough. I won't let males put their filthy paws all over me, too.

The blue-eyed female shrieks when I take off up the dead tree. The white-haired and dark-skinned females just laugh.

"She won't go easy for the Alphason," the dark-skinned female says proudly.

I wrap my legs around the top of the post, settling my body on its new perch carefully. It makes me sad to be so high off the ground on a dead tree. No roots carrying messages from one end of the forest to the other. No lichen to lean on. No little forest creatures to watch and play with.

I let parts of my body relax. At least I won't be bored up here. I can see everything from up here. There are somanywolves!

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