Free The Bureau (A Cage for Men and Wolves Book 1) by Michelle Kay Page B

shocked to hear him giving her what seemed to be genuine advice, but figured he knew better than she did what behavior was acceptable from an indentured wolf.              
    She'd been surprised that morning with his complacency, and was relieved, since she didn't have the option of keeping him bound while they were at the Bureau. She still didn't trust that it was real, but aside from his small outburst regarding his now missing laptop, he'd been very easy to handle.
    Ignoring what Elliot had said, despite recognizing the good advice, she took inventory of the other indentured wolves that were present. The majority were girls, though she caught site of a young boy toward the end of the crowd, his tan blazer barely peeking through the sea of bodies. Elliot had been right. Every one of them had their eyes on the floor, or at least not on the faces of the people around them. Moving from one to another she hoped she wouldn’t see anyone she recognized. By the door, she saw a girl with a deep purple bruise swelling her eye shut, her lip puffy and scabbed where it had split. That was almost as bad as seeing someone she knew.
    Clover swallowed, reminding herself that a swollen face was probably the mere tip of a violent iceberg. Beside the fear she felt, there was another feeling that made her shift uncomfortably in the itchy fabric of her new uniform. Shame. The beginnings of the embarrassment she would have to deal with if she were seen by a pack-mate made her body shake. Her face felt hot and she didn't realize she'd begun to breathe so hard until Elliot grabbed hold of her arm, squeezing tightly, pulling her around to face him again.
    "What are you doing?" he asked in an urgent whisper. "People are staring."
    With a nonchalance that surprised Clover, Elliot looked at a man in a grey business suit to their left and shook his head.
    "She's still new." He sounded believably annoyed.
    The grey-haired man nodded. "I swear, some of these schools aren't breaking them in the way they used to."
    "I'll probably file a complaint." Elliot matched the older man's tone. "This one has caused me nothing but trouble."
    Clover felt the nervous heat inside her flare up into anger, but reminded herself that this was the role she had to play.
    "I've heard that some schools are providing shock collars now to help with behavioral problems," the business man said as he tilted his head up to see over a few heads as the train shuttered to a stop.
    "Thank you, I'll look into that."
    With a nod, the other man moved with the current of people toward the doors. Elliot and Clover remained where they were, along with a smaller group who intended to go further into the city.
    "You're going to get us caught if you keep acting like this," Elliot muttered, his hand finally releasing her arm.
    The train car was dead silent as it rocked its way toward the inner city. The discolored face of the injured girl who had disembarked still dominated Clover's head. She considered thanking Elliot for his flawless bluff, but the cruelty of the conversations made her feel like any gratitude would be a betrayal to that swollen-faced girl.
    "Come on." Elliot's voice broke through her nauseating grocery list of shock collars and generally violent things. "This is our stop."
    The streets were as crowded as the subway, but the cool air on her burn was a relief. Clover had to keep a close eye on Elliot's black-uniform so as not to get separated, and as the buildings rose up around them, more and more of the pedestrians were dressed just the same. Clover had never been so far into the city before. No werewolf was brave enough, or stupid enough, to wander right up to the Bureau’s door.
    Gripping her still-bruised forearm, Clover hoped the dull pain would keep her mind grounded, afraid it would be carried away on the waves of terror that were breaking against her. In just her immediate line of sight, she counted at least ten Bureau agents, two of them marked with the