Page 33 of Wulf’s Pack

Samuel puffs up his chest and steps in front of the birds’ cage.

“I was skeptical at first, but one of my competitors acquired one and suggested we see what a fight between them would be like. They’re surprisingly vicious.

” He points at the pair that are now flying at the bars, trying to attack him.

“Especially these two. They were mates, and hawks mate for life. Even feral, they work as a team.”

“Mates?” Skylar gasps, trying and failing to mask her horror. Her eyes fill with tears. “Samuel, these are people. How can you do this? Don’t you have any heart at all?”

So much for keeping our cool and trying to remain gracious. Skylar can calm my temper, but who can soothe her broken heart? I pull her into my arms, and she buries a sob in my chest. I run my hand over her hair. “Shh, honey. It’s okay. You have a chance to help them.”

Samuel frowns as if he either doesn’t like seeing Skylar cry, or he doesn’t understand why she’s so upset. “There’s no need to torture yourself,” he says. “They’re not people anymore. They don’t have feelings. Not a single rational thought. They’re just mindless creatures.”

Even if that were true, they were people once. I know he didn’t wait until they were feral before he took them from their lives.

I’m lucky Skylar’s here. If she weren’t, I wouldn’t be able to resist trying to kill the bastard.

Skylar pulls her face out of my chest, but doesn’t leave the comfort of my arms. “They are people,” she says. “And they do feel. They feel pain. It’s the pain that turns them feral. They’re suffering.”

He sighs, knowing he’s not going to win this argument.

He steps close to us and ducks his head to Skylar’s level in order to give her a soft smile.

He lifts his hand as if he’s going to wipe away her tears, but I manage a growl, and he pulls back.

His disappointment is clear, and I don’t understand it.

He thinks so little of shifters, but he’s genuinely fond of Skylar.

“If there are really still people in there, you’ll be able to bring them back,” he tells Skylar softly. The warmth in his voice is sickening. He really does think he’s giving Skylar this magnanimous gift. “Save them, and they’re free. I made you a promise.”

Skylar sniffs and pulls out of my arms, swiping at her wet cheeks. She blinks her big, watery eyes at Samuel, and her chin quivers. “You swear?”

Samuel loses the battle with his restraint and brushes his thumb across her cheek. “You know I always keep my word.”

I snatch her out of his reach with another warning growl. He lifts his hands in surrender.

Skylar takes a moment to regain her composure and looks at the cages. I lean down to whisper in her ear. “Start with the hawks. If they still fight as a team, they most likely still feel the mate bond. It could be enough, like with Preston.”

Skylar hiccups and nods. She takes my hand, dragging me with her to stand in front of the hawks. She sits down cross-legged and tugs me down with her. “I’m going to have to use my full strength.” She looks up at Bree. “You may want to sit down. This will hit you even harder than it did upstairs.”

I don’t like that this is going to leave us vulnerable in front of Samuel, but there’s no other choice. We have to try. I scoot beside her and clasp our hands together. “Do whatever it takes.”

Skylar squeezes my hand, takes a deep breath, and then the scent of honeysuckle drowns my senses. My body relaxes, and my mind slows. I slump against Skylar’s shoulder, barely aware of what’s happening. “Skylar…”

“I’m sorry, Wulf. It will pass.”

One by one, the feral shifters start to droop. They stop attacking their cages and stop snarling. Quiet settles over all of us, and the shifters all lie down as if to take a nap. They must be exhausted. This is likely the first time any of them has felt any sort of relief in a long time.

“Will you open the cage?” Skylar asks.

“Absolutely not.” There’s no leniency in Samuel’s voice.

“They won’t attack.”

“I’m not risking you.”

Well. We agree on one thing at least.

“I need to touch them.”

“I am not opening those cages unless they shift into their human forms and can prove they have rational thoughts.”

Skylar sighs. “That will make this harder.”

I squeeze her hand and nuzzle my face in the crook of her neck. “You can do it.”

Skylar sticks her fingers through the bars. Their cage is smaller than the others, and the bars are too close together to fit her whole hand through.

“If those birds take bites out of your fingers, it’s not my fault,” Samuel says.

I roll my eyes and blow a raspberry. “They won’t hurt her. Skylar’s the best.”

Skylar chuckles, and it causes Bree to giggle as well.

“Are they high?” Samuel asks. I snicker at the incredulity in his voice.

“It’s a side effect of my power when I use this much of it. It hits hard at first, but they’ll even out a little bit in a minute.”

“I like it,” Bree slurs. She shoves her hand into the bars of the jaguar’s cage to pet his fur. “You’re such a pretty boy.”

“Again, I’m not responsible if that cat takes your hand off,” Samuel says dryly.

“Guys, can you please try to let me focus?”

I grin at my mate. “You’re prettier than the jaguar.”

Samuel snorts.

Skylar nods toward the birds in the cage. “Let’s try to help them, okay?”

I give her another lazy grin, but have just enough wits to quiet down and let her work.

She wiggles her fingers near the bottom of the cage.

“Come,” she says. “It’s all right. I won’t hurt you.

” She whispers a few more gentle words until the hawks start inching over to her.

“That’s right,” she coos. “Come close, touch my fingers.”

The hawks each press their heads against Skylar’s fingers. “Good. Now concentrate on me. Feel the connection. I know you’re in there. I can feel you. You need to grab the connection and let it pull you forward.”

It takes a minute of coaxing, but soon enough there’s a flash of light, and a human fills the small cage. He blinks at Skylar and looks around as if confused by his surroundings. I grin up at Samuel, proud of my mate. He’s staring at the cage, with his mouth hanging open. “See?” I say smugly.

“Hush,” Skylar tells me. She looks at the bewildered vampire. “Can you open his cage, now? If his mate shifts, they won’t fit.”

Samuel shakes his head. “This shouldn’t be possible.”

Asshole. He really thought she couldn’t do it. He was going to let her use her boon, thinking nothing would come of it. Joke’s on him. My mate kicks ass.

“The cage?” she says again.

“Is he dangerous?”

“Just disoriented. A physical connection to one of us will help him.” She gestures between herself and me.

Samuel hesitantly opens the cage, and the man tumbles out. He looks around, still confused as to what’s happening. Skylar nudges me and points at him. “Touch him. Talk to him. Ask him questions. Help him reconnect with his human side while I help his mate.”

I shake my head, trying to focus my thoughts enough to do as she asks.

I pull the man to me, meaning to hug him, but then his dominance hits me, and my wolf takes over.

I shift and bite him on the arm. It’s only after I pull back that I realize I probably shouldn’t have done that.

“What? Huh?” the man asks, pulling his arm back and blinking at me.

Really? I chide my wolf. I want to be angry and freak out, but I can’t fight Skylar’s calming influence.

Strong shifter. Good for pack.

I roll my eyes.

I reach out to the hawk mentally. The bond hangs between us. He doesn’t seem to realize it’s there, waiting for him to accept or reject it. Hello? Are you there?

My pushy wolf scoots closer to the man and stuffs our snout beneath the man’s hand. The man startles, but soon begins to run his hand through my fur. I try again. Hello?

Hello? His mental voice sounds as disoriented as he looks.

Pack? My wolf asks.

Okay?

Good grief. I give up.

In the next moment, a woman stumbles out of the cage. The man turns to her, and something clicks into place for him. He recognizes his mate, and it’s helping him connect with his human. “Isabella.” He drags her into his arms and starts nuzzling her.

My bastard wolf chomps down on the woman’s leg. She’s not even looking at him. She’s probably not even coherent yet.

Beside me, Skylar sighs. “Wulf. Can’t you at least give them a moment first?”

Pack , my wolf says stubbornly . With Skylar’s calm affecting me, I can’t even try to fight him.

Not that the hawks seem to mind. The woman’s bond sparks to life in my head.

I’m still not sure she realizes what’s happening.

They’re going to be pissed when Skylar turns off her juice and we all return to our senses.

“Fine,” Skylar says. She scoots over until she’s in front of the coyote’s cage. “Take care of them while I try to help the others.”

My wolf looks at the mated couple, now crying and holding one another, and turns his attention back to Skylar.

He’s interested in the other shifters. He sidles up beside her and studies the coyote.

Skylar begins to talk to her, but the shifter doesn’t respond.

After a few minutes without success, Skylar sticks her hand through the bars.

The coyote growls and jumps to her feet, snapping at Skylar despite the omega power in the air.

I’m up in an instant and throwing my dominance at the woman.

Her eyes turn to me, and rage is all I see.

No intelligence at all. No awareness. DOWN!

I bark using my alpha command. It has no effect on her. She’s completely feral.

Skylar tries again to speak to the coyote, but nothing she does or says works. The jaguar in the cage next to her, however, has crawled to the corner nearest Skylar and is whining for attention.

Skylar gives the coyote one last pained expression, then turns to the jaguar. Bree is still petting the man like he’s her personal house cat. “Fix him,” she pleads with Skylar.