Page 133

“They’re waiting, May,” Cole murmurs. “For you to put your teeth on my neck. It’s…symbolic.”

“Oh!” I say, grimacing a little and feeling…very awkward about this.

But then I just shrug, and lean forward, and open my mouth, feeling…a bit silly as I press the edge of my teeth into his bare, warm skin. I pause for a moment, wondering if that’s enough, but when another collective intake of breath passes between the girls, I relax, my lips caressing softly over Cole’s skin as I pull away.

A shudder passes through Cole’s whole body as he sits back up, turning a tired expression back to the girls.

“We good?” he asks, dry, raising an eyebrow at their little leader.

“Yes!” she says, her eyes shining and trained on me. “We will follow you, Alpha Tamer! We will follow youeverywhere.”

The girls surge forward, full of joy, all reaching out their hands and trying to touch me at once.

Chapter 55 – Alpha Tamer

Nadia

We herd the girls carefully out of the cavern and then out of the cave, Cole shifting back into his wolf and nipping gently at heels when any of our charges get distracted or fall behind. I walk in front with the light, glancing behind me often to ensure that they’re okay – trying to get a head count –

But they move somuch. I can’t be sure, getting a conflicting count of fourteen or fifteen girls. I sigh and give up on it eventually, figuring that I can count when we’re out and safe. Relief fills me when we’re out in the night air, but when Cole shifts back into his usual body, his face is still stern, worried.

“I want to get out of here,” he murmurs. “Even if they’re convinced we’re not a trap, I’m not convincedthey’renot.”

“Cole,” I say, my hand passively reaching to pass over a little girl’s hair as she presses herself close to my body, hugging my leg. “How could you assume –“

“Not thatthey’resetting the trap,” Cole murmurs, looking around, scanning horizons. “That they’re the bait.”

My stomach sinks as I realize he might be right.

Cole lets out a sharp growl, drawing all eyes to him. Even I stand straight.

“I need straight lines,” he says, all bossy, pointing at the ground in front of him. But to my shock, they all turn to me.

“As he says,” I say, gesturing to the ground, fighting a smile. “Two lines, please.”

The girls quickly form up, apparently used to this kind of order. They even arrange themselves by height. My eyes move quickly over the two lines, seeing that it’s clearly fourteen of them, all between the ages of about four and twelve. My heart swells already with love for them – these little girls who have been through so much –

But still, I wonder where the younger ones are. And the older ones. Where are the rest? Surely, this cannot be it.

“All right,” Cole says, crossing his arms and looking over them. “We’re going to move fast, and I don’t want any playing around.”

As one, they nod.

“This will go faster if you can shift,” he says. “How many of you can shift?”

As one nearly all raise their hands, except for one little one, whose chin drops.

“That’s Janine,” the one in charge says – Diana, she told me, when I asked her name. Diana looks over at the little girl who hangs her head, standing in the middle of her line. “She hasn’t been well lately. She’s too sick to shift right now.”

I clench my teeth, moving quickly to Janine’s side and dropping to one knee in front of her as I hear her sniff. “Hey, that’s okay,” I say, opening my arms to her. The pretty, dark-haired little girl steps forward, letting me fold her up into a hug. “We’ll get you feeling better soon, Janine. We’ve got you now.”

She nods, pressing her face to my shoulder as I stand, lifting her up in my arms. “Can we carry her?” I ask, hoping desperately that Cole says yes.

“Yeah, sure,” Cole says, looking us over. Then he turns back to the rest of the girls. “All right, noweveryoneis going to shift and we’re going to run together – one pack. Two barks mean you need to stop, and then weallstop right away. No funny business, no side trips. Am I understood?”

“Yes!” they all cry out, nodding, smiles breaking out on their faces.

“And me and you get the luxury of just going along for the ride,” I whisper to Janine. She lifts her head and gives me a little smile.