Free Terr4tory by Susan Bliler

be the first thing they’ll suspect.”  She turned alluring green eyes to frown up at him. “There’ll have to be a mark.  Any mating I made would have to be true.  Faking it would never work.”
    “You can bear a mark without a true mating.  Lots of wolves would gladly assist, I’m sure.”
    “Would you ?” she meant it as a challenge, but it came out sounding like a plea.  She cleared her throat and rushed on. “Knowing that every Alpha for several states will come and test the mating, challenge my false mate, potentially challenge me.  Any mark on me would be a death sentence for the male unless he truly was willing to fight for me and my pack.  Do you think any man or wolf wants that problem?  Wants to pretend to be my mate and fight for me without getting anything out of the deal?  No.” She shook her head sadly.  “If an Alpha went through all that, he’d expect to actually be rewarded with my pack…with me .  Plus, there’s the real fear he might lose.  What then?  I’ve gotten someone killed, and we’re stuck with whoever defeats him.  No one wants that problem.  No male in his right mind would fight for us.”
    Hearing her speak about herself like that was infuriating.  “You are not a problem,” he growled.
    “Wrong.”  She slowly got up and dusted the palms of her hands on the back of her shorts as she turned to smile sadly down at him. “I am a problem.  I’m just not your problem.”
    She took a step to leave then stopped, staring straight out at the woods.  It gave him the opportunity to run his eyes over her frame.  He’d been wanting to admire her uninterrupted since he arrived.  She was the smallest Alpha he’d ever seen.  She was short, but not too thin, and she had phenomenal legs.  Her calves were toned and she had thick thighs.  He despised a scrawny female, and this one was perfectly proportioned.  A swell to her hips and full breasts made her look healthy, perfect for bearing many cubs.  Too bad she might never get the opportunity to be a mother.  Even given her slight stature, it appeared to him that she held the weight of the world on her shoulders. And she did.  Her pack’s existence depended on what course of action she took, and the females in her pack could suffer greatly if Willa chose wrong.  She too would suffer.  Funny how she’d made no mention of her own fate.  So preoccupied with securing the members of her pack, it appeared she’d given little or no thought to where she’d end up.  He had to know.
    “And what about you?  Where do you end up when the dust finally settles?”  His gut tightened at the pain and fear he read in her haunted eyes as she turned to look at him.
    “My only concern is getting my pack placed.  After that,” she shook her head.  “I can only pray that I fall in battle.”
    “You pray to die ?” His fury was instant.  He remembered her reference to going down with the ship, but he hadn’t thought she’d meant it literally.  “If your pack is settled, then there’ll be no need for it.  Walk away!  Or better yet, submit!”
    “This territory has belonged to the Garner’s family for hundreds of year.”  She shook her head dejectedly. “I can’t give it up without a fight, and I am no Alpha if I willingly submit.”
    When Barron continued to scowl at her, she continued.  “Besides, do you really think he’ll let me walk?”
    “Who?”  Barron sprang to his feet, itching to find this unknown adversary and pound him into the fucking dirt.
    “Any of them.  All of them.  Do you think Alphas will drag their packs hundreds of miles to watch me walk away?”  She balled her hands into tiny fists. “They’ll want to prove to their packs that this land was taken.  Earned.  Especially if they’re battle born.  You of all people should understand.  That means my submission, and my submission is something they’ll only get while standing over my dead body. There’s only one way out for