Free Claimed by the Alphas: Part Five by Viola Rivard

CHAPTER ONE
     
    In the absence of a suitable rope, Sable was forced to improvise in hanging the body. She lifted the disfigured carcass, impaling it on a low-hanging branch. One of the arms, which had been hanging on by bits of stringy tissue, fell off and landed in the red and white snow.
    Caim imagined that it had been a very unpleasant death for the cat. Though it had been less than an hour since he’d ripped its innards out, he had very little recollection of the fight. According to Lotus, he had tried to beg for his life while he still had a throat.
    She stood beside him now, frowning and tapping her foot impatiently. When she caught him staring at her, Lotus’s frown deepened.
    “I am starting to think that you and your human are perfect for one another.”
    “And why is that?” he asked, knowing that she was gearing up for a tirade.
    “ Because you both behave impulsively and without thought as to how your actions will affect others. I shudder to think of what would happen if Asch did not return and the future of our pack rested in the care of two ignorant fools.”
    While he was used to Lotus criticizing him, he found his agitation stirring at her disparaging his mate. He knew that it was more or less justified, but it irritated him nonetheless.
    “My tolerance is thin,” he told her, narrowing his eyes. “Make your point or be silent.”
    She matched his glare. “Killing him was stupid. This,” she hissed, pointing at carcass, “is insane. I recognize his scent. Do you really think it is wise to string up their leader’s brother?”
    “He trespassed in my territory,” Caim said, raising his chin. “Now, he will serve as a warning to others who would think to do the same.”
    “This has nothing to do with trespassing. They have been hunting on the outskirts of the valley for months and we have made no move to retaliate.”
    He cocked his head. “And now we have.”
    “No,” she said, throwing her hands up. “What you have done is dismember one of their males, and for what? Sniffing your mate? Is it so hard to imagine that he was simply curious about the unattended human female wandering around the forest at night, and did not plan to assault her?”
    “She carried my scent,” he said, his expression hardening. “He knew what he was doing.”
    Caim, however, did not. It was unlikely that the werecat had sought to kill his human, as it would serve no purpose except to incite the wolf pack. Perhaps he had thought to ransom her, or more likely he had been beguiled by the lingering aroma of the mating thrall. Either way, it had not mattered. From the moment the cat had approached Caim’s mate, he had been dead.
    “Maybe he did,” Lotus said. “But that does not warrant causing a feud between our pack and their tribe. Not while Asch and four of our most capable fighters are gone. You forget that she is Asch’s mate as well. You had no right to jeopardize her, or the pack, without his consent.”
    “ Asch was just as prepared as I was to hunt him down and kill him.”
    “Before he realized that he was reacting emotionally rather than logically,” she shot back.
    Caim ground his teeth, not confident that he could continue the argument without getting physical.
    It had been year since they had fought. Lotus was six years older than he was, and when they were children she had always been bigger. Like all pups, they had often wrestled with one another. Usually their brawls had begun on the heel of an argument and ended in laughter, with Lotus pinning Caim into submission.
    But when they beca me juveniles, things had changed between them. As an alpha, Caim had grown large, fast. Inevitably the day had come when Lotus could not best him, and he had pinned her. It had been the day he had discovered not only the thrill of being dominant, but also the pleasures of the female body. After that, Caim had relished in their arguments, if only because it gave him an excuse to fight her and to pin her.
    Caim