Page 36 of Carnage Island

I set her bowl on the table. Then add her mug to the edge. It’s still a little tall for her, so I end up setting it on the ground.

She huffs a little, but lays down to eat.

Or she tries to, anyway.

She keeps snorting, her nose hitting the lip of the plate as she attempts to daintily take a bite.

“No need to be polite or elegant here,” I tell her. “Just dig in and use your tongue.”

“Or let your wolf guide you,” Tieran suggests. “It’s all about finding balance between you and your wolf. Once you start truly working together, you’ll feel better.”

She glances up at him, then dips her snout in the water mug and sneezes.

“Tongue, beautiful,” I say again. “Use your tongue.”

“And your wolf,” Tieran echos, taking a bite of his salmon steak.

She continues to try to eat, her agitation palpable. These are the sorts of skills that should come naturally to a wolf but she’s never been taught any of them—a realization that irritates me to no end.

But she doesn’t give up. She tries various ways to eat, including lapping up some of the salmon with her tongue.

And after ten or so minutes, she finally finds a groove that allows her to enjoy her meal.

We could have scattered it on the ground or fed her from our hands, but these are life skills she needs to survive.

This time she laps up the water rather than sticking her snout in the cup.

Volt goes to refill it when she finishes.

And she drinks a whole second cup.

When he starts to stand again, she snorts and shakes her head.

Tieran smiles. “Well done, little one. Do you think you can try shifting now?”

She stares at him for a moment, her gaze hardening. After several minutes she huffs and plops down.

Tieran studies her, humming thoughtfully. Then after a moment he nods. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”

She sighs in response to that, her dejection hurting my heart. Shifting should come naturally to all wolves. But her pack purposely stunted her growth.

It’s one of the many reasons I hate the Nantahala Pack.

And the Santeetlah Pack isn’t much better.

They thrive on masculine superiority.

Yes, Alpha males are superior to others of our species. However, that doesn’t mean we should belittle those born weaker than us. We’re meant to protect them, not harm them. Which requires hierarchy within a pack and devout obedience.

But it also means knowing when to nurture, something we are all trying to do with her now.

“What’s your name?” I ask, deciding a distraction is needed to help pull her away from her failure. As Tieran mentioned earlier, it’s very likely her former mate is the reason she can’t shift.

Which means one of us is going to have to force her back into human form.

But that would be too much for tonight.

Something Tieran clearly already realized when he said she could try again tomorrow.