Free Destiny Unchained by Leia Shaw Page B

proved she was older than most
werewolves.
    “A miracle, at best,” he muttered and strolled
ahead.
    “I heard that.”
    The camp was as primitive as the rocky road that led
to it. The floodlight above the painted wooden Forest Ranger sign
on the building was the only working electricity she could see. Of
course with the almost full moon it was bright without the exterior
lights. And the closer it got to the new moon, the closer the
werewolves would get to true wolves – their eyesight keener,
reflexes faster, hearing more acute. They’d feel the urge to shift
and run, expelling magical energy as they went. It was a beautiful
thing to see. Well, it had been at one time.
    Natalia followed Cristian as he strode past the line
of cabins. He walked with purpose, assessing everything as he went,
appraising the men he passed with both judging intimidation and
respect. Typical alpha, though he lacked the smothering ego of
most. Behind the cabins an empty fire pit sat lonely in the chilly
air. Harsh faces turned to her, one-by-one in expressions of
disgust. Cristian ignored them, even when a few spit in her
direction. How cliché.
    “Charming pack you’ve got here,” she whispered to
Cristian’s back. But she sidled closer to his body. His answering
smile made her scowl and fall back.
    They stopped outside the largest cabin as a
dark-haired werewolf strolled out the door, looking her over
hungrily when he stopped a few feet away.
    “A prisoner?” he asked, his gaze fixed on her.
    “Like hell, bast –”
    Cristian pinched her ass, effectively shocking her to
silence. Ear nibbling, ass pinching, she didn’t even want to think
about what they’d almost done just an hour ago. What had she gotten
herself into?
    “She’s under my protection. No one touches her.”
Cristian caught his gaze and used a low voice packed with
authority. “She is not to be harmed, understood?”
    The werewolf nodded to his alpha.
    The cabin door flew open with a bang and an
adolescent boy bounded down the stairs. “Alpha, I –”
    He stopped short when he saw Natalia and his eyes
widened. “Holy shit! That’s the Huntress! Do you know how high her
bount –”
    Cristian was inches from the boy’s face in less than
a second. “Hold your tongue, pup,” he commanded quietly. The boy’s
mouth shut with an audible snap. “I am well aware of who she is.
You will not speak a word of the bounty to anyone. That is a direct
order. Do you understand me?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Cristian stared until the boy dropped his gaze in a
sign of respect. Natalia may not be pack but she understood their
dynamics. Breaking eye contact first was a sign of submission. If
the boy hadn’t, it would’ve been considered a dominance challenge.
And Cristian would’ve torn the boy apart. Brutal, but the only way
to govern werewolves – who were sometimes more animal than man.
    Cristian gave the boy a small, proud smile then
nodded and stepped away. “Good man.” He clapped him on the shoulder
and the boy beamed.
    Natalia watched the exchange with a mixture of
bewilderment and admiration. And when she studied Cristian’s
expression as he chastised the boy, she saw genuine affection. A
pack alpha who cared about his pack more than himself? Suddenly,
Cristian became very interesting.
    He climbed the steps and opened the cabin door.
“Ladies first,” he said, gesturing inside.
    She looked at the two werewolves expectantly watching
her, then back to Cristian holding open the door. Not that she
planned to, but questioning or defying an alpha in front of his men
was just asking for trouble. She sighed and walked up the
steps.
    The cabin was empty save for a plain bed and an old
wooden dresser. With a high rafted ceiling and bare walls, the room
looked all the emptier. No personal objects or mementoes of any
kind. Not a cabin for an alpha.
    The door slammed shut. “It’s a sort of…guest cabin,”
he explained.
    She spun around and eyed him. “Am I a