Valeri

or the mocking glint that would betray the act. But there was nothing to find. All

e voice of his own wary wolf. *Sh

s in my stomach was a more powerful motivator than fear. "I'm j

, a muscle in his jaw twitched. "Follow me," he said, his tone flat

of that bedroom, and the Packhouse felt vast and intimidating. The hallways were dimly lit, the walls ad

ad of me, as if I were carrying

with activity, but it was eerily quiet. A few sacks of grain and some

o hard and stale it looked like a rock. He held it out to me. "

't care that it was probably meant for the lowest-ranking pack members. I brought it to my lips and bit into it, th

ould send back a perfectly cooked steak because it was two degrees over her preferred temperature, was gone. In her place

a heavy, locked door to what looked like a cold storage room. I could feel a faint hum of energy from it, a whisper of pow

ad access to

"What are you doing?" he demanded, his hand mo

t wasn't a keyhole, but a smooth, silver plate. Under my

meat-scented air

an Alpha-grade offering, the prime cut from the day's hunt. The origin

e fixed on the meat, a primal hunger flickering in their de

and dragged it onto a large wooden butcher's block. I found a heavy cleaver nearby and, with some effort, ma

half across the

at me, his face a ma

ice soft but clear. "And your br

knew would let food rot before she shared it. She used food as a weapon, a tool of control, bestowing a

t was a shield against the

orking, trying to find the angle, the trick. So I did t

teeth, and began to chew. The taste was coppery and wild, a shock to my mode

ul and looked him straight in

onesty in my eyes. For the first time, I saw a flicker of something other tha

, the pane

Affinity: -380 (De

t refuse it. He just stared at me

you *want