Not my father, I remind myself.
But he was still her mate.
How could he be so cruel?
Why didn’t she tell him the truth? a small part of me whispers. She should have told him about the Carnage Wolf and what he did to her.
But then she would have lost me.
My father would have made her abort the child.
I wouldn’t exist.
That’s why she didn’t tell him.
Because of her love for me.
And now she paid the ultimate price with her life.
A tear longs to sneak from my eye but my wolf refuses it. She’s still very much in charge and presenting a confident air that has me cringing inside.
It’s a bravado I don’t feel.
She’s in survival mode, not allowing me to run the show. If I could speak during my trial, I may have been able to negotiate where the Elders sent me.
But no.
My wolf cemented our fate by snarling at the intake judge instead.
I try to close my eyes, to just relax in the open ocean air. Alas, the guard moves to the right, keeping my wolf on high alert.
At least I can’t feel the wintry air. My fur keeps me warm as we zip along the water to the islands off the coast of Canada.
Only Wolfe Island can be reached by a bridge to the mainland. All the Reject Islands beyond it are accessible by ferry or helicopter only.
Or, in my case, via speed boat.
Probably because these guards want to drop me at the water’s edge and escape before the Carnage Wolves can sense their presence.
I’ve never actually seen one up close, the Black Mountain Pack having never crossed into our village back home. The pack enforcers guaranteed our safety there.
But no one is guaranteeing mine here.
I’m in a damn cage.
One I suspect these assholes are not going to let me out of.
I shiver at the thought. If my wolf allows me to shift, then I can use my fingers to free us.
Assuming I can even shift with a muzzle attached to my head.
I frown inside, uncertain. These are the types of things I’ve never been taught.
The boat begins to slow, the guard up ahead yelling, “Get her ready!”
Mister Muzzle stands, his lips curling in a way that makes my skin crawl. “My fucking pleasure.”
My wolf sits down in the crate, staring at him. The complete opposite of what I want to be doing right now. She’s acting like a damn obedient dog, her ears perked, tail slightly wagging.
“I knew you would come around,” he says, crouching down. “Why don’t you shift so I can see you better?”
My wolf cocks her head like she can’t understand him.
It’s disorienting to feel so detached from her and out of control. I imagine it’s how she’s felt all these years while I suppressed her—something I’m realizing now isn’t natural.
Because I saw a few pups running around on Wolfe Island.
Female pups.
“I’m not letting you out until you shift,” he says.
Well, that’s not happening, I want to tell him.
Instead my wolf lays down with a sad little huff.
I have no idea what she’s doing and I’ve given up trying to understand. Instead, I roll with it. She wants to mope, then we’ll mope.
The guard frowns. “I can’t let you out in wolf form, little one.”
Which means he plans to dump my crate on the island. Awesome.
The boat slows to a stop, the guard’s lips twisting.
“Yo! Push her off and let’s go!” the guard from the front calls back to us.
Mister Muzzle sighs and shakes his head. “All right.” He reaches forward, his fingers on the latch. “Try to attack me, and I’m going to toss you in the water to drown in this cage. Be a good wolf, and I’ll let you swim to shore.”
Wow, those are amazing options, I think, rolling my eyes.
But my wolf doesn’t move, just continues to watch him.
He opens the door and she sits up, tail wagging happily.
“Well, go on then,” he says, pointing to the shore that I can now see is about a hundred feet away. He wasn’t kidding about swimming.
My wolf whines a little and paws at her muzzle.
He narrows his eyes. “I’m not falling for that.”
She sighs, laying down again.
“What the hell, Jack? Push her overboard already!” the impatient guard demands.
Jack doesn’t move, his eyes on me. “All right. Come here and I’ll remove it. But if you bite me, you’ll regret it.”
My wolf sits up again, wagging her tail like an obedient pet.
I wonder if he realizes that I’m not in control at all, that she’s running the show entirely.