Page 28 of Untamed

I ignore the rest of their argument. I've decided I won't bite Mactiir. If I do, then sour-puss will be right about me. And I am not a rabbit.

I look back out at the females and other wolves in The Pack. Some of them are busy, walking around doing things that I don't understand.

There are three females, in particular, who stare at me through thick lashes as if I am a fox stealing eggs from their nests. My wolf constantly throws snippy little growls at them. I've already picked out their leader. She is almost as tall as me, but much softer, and not covered in so many white scars as I am. I wonder if Mactiir likes to stroke her skin, too?

A mean snarl rips from my gut, exploding from my tongue as my she-wolf voices her complaints.

The males fall silent, and the female I am staring at looks at me like a deer with its leg caught in a snare.

Like the sky, her eyes are blue, and her hair is light brown. She is skinnier than I am, or at least slimmer than Iwas. I've lost weight since I left home. Not too much time or opportunity to eat.

Food.

I really should have eaten that sandwich Mactiir offered. I wanted to, my stomach feels like it's eating my backbone, but Mama's words keep running through my head;Males only provide food from their hand if they want something in return, sweetpea.

I don't know what Mactiir wants from me, exactly, but it's not looking good.

"You ever seen any wolf able to hold still like that?" the Buck male asks another in a soft voice.

"She's not fat like you, Ted."

Buck just grins. "I'm well-proportioned, that's all." He rubs his belly, "Tabby is a good cook. Don't be jealous."

"He tied her to the fucking Post?!" a voice bellows out. My she-wolf curls her lips up. Who is this new male?

Most of the males scatter like squirrels when the fisher cats are hunting. I look out to see a dark giant striding toward the post. Now, this male puts away meals. I don't think I would have been able to feed this male even with my fish trap and lines.

Mactiir intercepts him, coming fromnowhereand standing nose-to-nose with the huge male. I narrow my eyes at him. So, he's incredibly fast. That's how he caught me. I ignore my she-wolf's need to press closer to him, to nip at his ankles and race. She wants to see if he's faster than she is.

"She is the future luna," Mactiir says calmly. "And she is proving it."

Where did Mactiir come from anyway? I frown at him. He hasn't changed his clothes, like some of the other males who came with us did. He does have a bag that he didn't have before. A wonderful smell is wafting from that bag.

The dark male's face is infused with a deep red color. "You were taught better than this, In."

Mactiir's back stiffens. "She's a wild. She's run from me. She'd run now if given half a fucking chance. She's my mate, Thjis."

"You are a dumbass. That female ain'twild. Look at her watching you, In." This male meets my eyes. He's not afraid to look at me. "Where's Rhet?" The dark male takes his eyes off of me to glance at Blue-star. He smirks, "you don't approve of this shit, either, do you?" Blue-star snorts.

The wind catches the big male's scent and blows it up to me. Hmm... he scents of the moon-friends, like the other male. My she-wolf and I are curious.

"She hasn't spoken a single word. She is partially shifted all the time. I had to hunt her down over three days to capture her. She's wild, Thjis. And I won't lose her."

"Inuit," the dark male claps Mactiir on the back. "She is going to hate you for this. And, Lyri is going to beat you within an inch of your life. Take the pup down from there. We'll bring her back to the ranch-"

"No. She comes home to the cottage with me. And I will take her down when the moon rises. It's tradition."

The male looks at Mactiir steadily. "This isn't your birth pack, In. We don't follow old, outdated traditions. Forget Lyri. When Alpha Jax comes home, you'redead."

I watch curiously as Mactiir's face hardens and his eyes grow mean and cold. "This tradition is nothing like a Shaming. No male will touch her but me. No one will harm her."

"Speaking of harm, has she eaten? She looks like she could drop from that damn thing at any second."

I am growing weaker. This big male is good. There is something about him that reminds me of Mama. They couldn't look more different, but there's something... gentle about him? I may like him a little, even if he's Pack.

I see Mactiir falter, for the first time since... well... in the whole three, nearly four, days that I've known he exists.

"Sheishungry," he admits. "She wouldn't eat from-"

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