My gasp is swallowed by a cry of surprise.
All three wolves turn and look at me. I stumble forward, then catch myself before I plow into them, and wrap my arms around myself instead.
"Wh-what... how are you both here?"
"Came in late last night." Aspen flashes me a grin. "Once the wolves left, we were able to sneak past the few stragglers and Raven let us in."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask, looking from them to Raven.
"We'll hold up here until the rest of them leave." Raven stands. "I'll see if we can scrounge up anything to take with us for the road."
He leaves us alone in the kitchen and I lean against the counter, feeling like I might fall down if I don't.
"How did you both get away?"
"Easy." Dex shrugs then winces from the movement. He's got nasty scratches down his shoulder and back. "When you and Raven took off like lightning, the wolves chased after you both. We killed a few around us. By the time we finished, there was no sign of you or the remaining wolves."
"We followed your scent until
l we spotted the cabin. There were so many wolves, we knew we'd never get past them." Aspen cupped his hands under the spouting water and then rubbed his face, cleaning away the dirt and blood. "Figured we could gather supplies while we waited and brought that back."
He nodded to a backpack on the other side of Dex.
"Is there food and water in that?" I lick my lips, my stomach letting out a growl.
They laugh.
"Yeah." Aspen turns off the faucet and walks over to the bag. "Give me twenty minutes and I'll have breakfast ready. Plus I need to boil some water to wash our injuries." He frowns, looking at me with an odd look on his face. "You have any wounds that need tending?"
"No. I got lucky," I lie and take the chair that Raven left vacant. My scratches are already healed and I'd rather not have to answer a bunch of questions on how I can heal faster than most wolves.
Aspen works on the food while Dex takes out some water bottles and
hands me one before leaving us alone in the kitchen.
Raven peeks in with a frown before moving past the kitchen to the hallway.
He's different from the others. He's intense and brooding with a quiet air of authority and confidence. And his eyes. Every time he looks at me, he's like a fierce, dark wolf staring at me, fierce and possessive. My chest tightens almost painfully, and a fluttery feeling floats up from my stomach to my chest.
I tell myself that the sensation is my irritation with him. If I had to be attracted to a wolf, it would be Aspen or Dex. Not a grumbling Alpha.
But I'm going to have to get along with him and his men if I want to find my mom. I can do this. I've been cooped up in my father's house with my crazed stepmother for years and a day or two here won't kill me.
A couple of hours ago I was so tired I could barely walk, but now I'm starving. Aspen lights the gas stove with a lighter from his pocket. Soon, the food sizzling in a bent pan with no handle smells divine.
Minutes later, a plate of bacon,
eggs, and sausages lays in front of me.
"Where did you get all of this?" I poke a sausage.
"Inside an old motel." Aspen watches me with a gleam in his gray eyes. "They had the meat in a freezer with a solar generator. Eggs don't have to be refrigerated and they left
those out when all the electricity ran
out."
My stomach knots up thinking about what happened to whoever lived in the motel and what killed them. Cause having the power to keep food cold is more priceless than gold. Our pack had turned to salt and keeping foods cool by burying them. Winter was the best time as the food didn't spoil as quickly.
"You should try it." Dex pops a bite of bacon into his mouth and waggles his eyebrows at me. "It's heavenly."
I pick up a piece of bacon and put it in my mouth. Last time I had bacon or sausage was five winters ago when a neighboring pack was passing through years before dad died.
The salty, meaty flavor spreads across my tongue and I moan.
The succulent taste of the eggs and the salty flavor of the meat makes me moan in delight. With each bite, I feel like I'm closer to heaven.
"Damn, that is good," Dex says as he stares at my mouth.
I feel the weight of his stare all the way down to my sex.
Aspen reaches out to wipe a stray bit of food off of my face and when our eyes meet, I feel the heat in his gaze too like a caress.
Both men are staring at me like they are hungry for more than just breakfast and my heart beats a little faster in my chest.
My body feels like it's on fire as Aspen's hand on my cheek moves slowly away like he's reluctant not to be touching me. Something in my chest tightens at the loss of him.
Dex grins like he's got a secret and shovels the food into his mouth before standing up and putting the chipped bowl into the sink. "I'm going to talk to Raven about our route and which way the wolves went so we can avoid them."
"Are they all gone?" I ask and finish the last of my food.
One thing I've learned from being in the pack is never to turn away a meal cause the next one might not come quickly during the famine months. The months we all almost starved.
"No." He shakes his head. "There's about eight lingering around the cabin. I don't trust them not to sound the alarm and have more in the area come running. The best thing to do is hold up for now and maybe they'll leave by dawn."
Dex takes my empty dish and adds it to the sink before disappearing out of the kitchen, whistling a tune I don't recognize. I pull my knees to my chest and
rest my chin on them, thinking about how we barely escaped the rabid wolves yesterday. How they swarmed me and Raven and I thought we were all going to die... all become one group of the lost ones.
"You're chewing on your lip," Aspen says. "What are you thinking?"
I quickly stop and uncross my legs. How does it feel like these three wolves know me better than anyone back at the pack already?
"I'm just trying to figure out how we can get past the wolves if they don't leave."
He tilts his head. "Any ideas?"
I clear my throat, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "I'm not good at explaining things. I-"
"Never?" He eyes me, his smile making a dimple in his cheek pronounced. "I see the intelligence behind your eyes. Surely others see it too. What about your pack?"
"I was an outsider before they kicked me out at the ceremony." I stare at my hands, unable to meet his sapphire gaze and see the pity I know has to be there.
"Why?" He sits straighter in the
chair