Free Wild Game (Wilding Pack Wolves 1) - New Adult Paranormal Romance by Alisa Woods

out the window. “My cousin Terra puts the wild in Wilding.” She gave him a sideways look. “You might think I’m crazy for not wanting to stay at the safehouse, but I’m frankly stunned that someone talked Terra into it.”
    Owen shrugged one shoulder. “From what I hear, her little sister was kidnapped by the same assholes who experimented on me. That’s the sort of thing that puts the fear of God into most normal people.”
    He gave her a meaningful look, implying that perhaps a little fear would be a good thing for her, but her dark eyes just burned with unspoken words. He was sure she was cursing him in her head again.
    Time to change subjects, before he yanked her clear off the chain. “What’s the story with the Wilding family structure, anyhow? Seems like ya’ll are spread out all over. How’d that come to be?”
    Nova sucked in a breath, but when she looked at him again, some of that burning anger was gone. “Our family spread out for a reason, but that reason goes back two generations. It’s only now, in my generation of cousins, that we’re starting to get over it. Somewhat.”
    “Some kind of blood feud, then?” That he knew something about. Small-town Texas feuds could get intense. That was part of why he got the hell out. He was never much for that kind of drama.
    Nova nodded, solemnly. “Back in my grandfather’s generation, the Wildings were one large, sprawling family pack. There were two brothers at the head of it‌—‌one was alpha, and one was beta. Together, they had a pack that was probably a hundred wolves strong, many of them cousins and brothers and relatives. But Gary and Bobby ruled them all. Gary was alpha, but everything went sideways and bloody when he found out Bobby was, well, spending a little too much time with Gary’s mate.”
    “Holy shit.” Owen was aghast. “You are kidding me.”
    Nova pinked up a little in the cheeks. “Nope. It’s pretty much the secret family shame. You probably think even worse of us Wildings now.”
    “Hey, now.” He peered at her. “I don’t judge folks by their relatives.” He certainly couldn’t claim to have a fine pedigree back home, that was for sure. “But a beta cheating with the alpha’s mate? How does that even happen?” He couldn’t picture it. Betas were sworn to their alphas‌—‌it was virtually impossible to go against their alpha’s command. The magic of the bond was just too strong. And to sin against a brother as well…
    Nova shook her head “I don’t know. There are all kinds of rumors about it. That Bobby wasn’t really a wolf‌—‌that he was some kind of male witch instead. Or that he was a white wolf.”
    “White wolf?” Owen frowned. “The only white wolf I’ve ever seen was Grace Krepky.” She was Jared River’s mate and currently campaigning to be the first openly-shifter member of Congress.
    “Me, too,” Nova said. “And I don’t know what her story is, but before a month ago, I’d have told you white wolves were just legend, in spite of the Wilding pack rumors. Now I’m not so sure. Regardless, the thing that really tore the pack apart was the possibility that some of Gary’s pups were actually Bobby’s. No one really knows, because when Gary found out that Bobby had been sleeping with his mate, all hell broke loose. A lot of wolves died that day, including Gary and his mate.”
    “Wait… you mean the beta survived?” Owen couldn’t even imagine it. “How did Gary’s pack not tear that guy apart? He violated every pack rule that ever existed, not to mention committing acts of indecency against his fellow wolves and brothers.”
    “Which is why they thought he was a witch.” Nova shook her head. “I have no idea how, but Bobby escaped. As you can imagine, none of the pups were too eager to be identified as possibly half witch, so they weren’t too excited to run after him. Not to mention they were all kids at the time. In the end, everyone who could hold the pack