New Bonds

Amara Eldwood

“Amara Eldwood, I’m from up north—” I stammered carefully, forced to tilt my head back when the suspicion in the big wolf’s eyes grew.

“A fucking shadow.” he sneered, and my face colored when his rough hands brushed against my neck, tearing away the collar of my dress to reveal the tornado tattoo inked into my skin.

Was he always so commanding?

“Not anymore.” 

My words made his thick brows tighten before the third wolf stepped up behind him to squeeze his impossibly broad shoulders.

“Stand down. Caius is right. We can't go around killing shadows for the fun of it.” his eyes were a striking shade of bronze that made my body feel like it had caught on fire when he raked them over my figure.

I draped my shaky hands carelessly over my exposed body, cursing at the blood that had soaked into the cotton.

Where was I? A pit formed in my belly when I glanced around the tall pack buildings and towers wedged on the four sides of the wall.

Anyone on it could see miles into the darkness if they tried. If it didn't make them rip their eyes out and feast on it.

I could see other wolves gathering to watch us in the corner of my vision and prayed for the moon goddess to strike me dead.

“Please…I don't mean any harm, I just need shelter for a few nights and then I'm out,” My jaw trembled before I bit down on my teeth, blinking through the pain tearing my skull open.

Wolf scratches were lethal to maidens who hadn't shifted yet.

Had Kieran cut me knowing full well that it could kill me?

Bile rose in my throat and my hands formed fists at my side.

It was very clear that shadows were unwelcome in their pack, but I would make the Shadow elders and my old mate pay for putting me through this.

“Get up.” The last wolf behind me sighed, but my body flinched instinctively when I felt him grip my arm.

The scent of wet earth and thunderstorms washed over my body in waves, making desire drench my sex.

“Careful, Ronan-” Dante snapped, before his eyes swung back to me.

“We don't know what the reject is capable of yet.”

“Fuck!” The last wolf gasped, snatching his arm away like it had caught on fire as his sharp hazel eyes flashed coldly.

I could see it in the faces of the four elite that they had felt every spark of electricity that had gone through my body.

“You’ve got to be fucking shitting me.” Dante cursed angrily, throwing down his sword with a metallic clang and running his gold-ringed fingers through his hair.

“She’s mate.” Caius hissed, but the easy-going smirk had dropped from his face too, unsettling me further.

Were we all connected somehow?

No…I shook my head, refusing to believe the four elites could be bonded to me by fate.

“Do you have any idea where you are?” The hazel-eyed wolf who was the quietest of them whispered.

I’d heard stories of the four Alphas of one of the powerful pack in all of Shadow ville.

Dante, the King Alpha, poor in attitude and rich in power.

Caius was the kind of wolf who held up your hair for you at the gallows so the executioner could give a clean cut.

Laziel was the snake. The silent killer who welcomed The Darkness and took out enemies without being seen.

And Ronan, the sleeping tiger. Reckless and level-headed depending on how much drink was in his system.

“Infinite pack, Your Highnesses,” I wheezed, looking up to Caius before exhaling when he nodded slightly.

Any other sensible woman would have thrown herself back at the gates, facing The Darkness instead of daring to stay.

I was too tired to care, only grateful that I would be out of the cold, maddening darkness now.

A smart-looking servant stepped forward to hold my hand after the leader nodded to her.

“Take her to the guest wing. Have three of our royal guards watch her on all exits. The day I trust a shadow is the day I fucking die.” Dante spat icily, and I flinched like he had just slapped me across the face.

How could he hate me so completely without even knowing me at all?

“Come on. I’ll take you.” Caius hummed, startling gray eyes twinkling lightly as he held out his hand to me, nodding when I started forward, ignoring it.

I was well aware how elites treated bottom-rank wolves like us, but my knees felt too weak to carry my weight.

“Shit. Get some nurses up to the bay! She’s going down!” Caius’ frantic rasp as I crashed back into his chest reverberated in my ears.

The colors swirled above me and my head felt lighter than it had ever been.

I was floating…lost to the shadows.

#

Only the steady beeping lf a machine filled my ears when I managed to stir.

I was half asleep still, fighting the grip of the nightmare that played behind my eyes only seconds ago.

How long had I been out? Hours? Days?

A door creaked somewhere around me, breaking the spell and making me shoot up from the bed with a loud gasp.

The small room was bigger than the attic in my old cottage house had been, and my fingers curled in the thick white sheets.

“Excuse me? Where am I?” I muttered, motioning to the servant dressed in a short black dress with a black apron firmly cinching her waist.

My jaw tightened when she didn't bother to glance back at me, only silently mixing mint-scented herbs over the marble counter.

The room’s rustic design felt luxurious. With its wooden walls and floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a clean view of the wolves milling around the large fortress square.

The sky outside was dark and gloomy, save for the halo of searchlights that panned high over the windows periodically.

The beam made the room seem brighter for a few moments, before it returned to the dull orange hue the crackling fireplace gave off.

“Excuse me? I'm speaking to you,” I hissed, trying to inject all the warmth I didn't feel into my voice before rearing back when the tall, bone-thin woman whipped around to face me.

“And who the fuck do you think you are hustling me over like you own me?” She snapped icily, making my brows rise in concern.

The last thing I wanted to do was create more problems when the four Alpha’s had only just decided to let me live.

I waved my hands in surrender, but the woman’s face turned an ill shade of red as she marched toward the metallic bunk bed.

Her narrow, oblong face was twisted in hate as she jabbed her fingers in my face.

“I don't know how shit is done in whatever hole you crawled out from, but around these here parts, Rejects are beneath servants like us who take care of Infinite pack.” She sneered, and I backed into the wall of pillows behind me.

My heart rapped wildly in my chest when I saw the sharp fangs peeking from the corners of her lips.

No one spoke to me like that, not even in the Shadow pack. 

How could she do this to her Alpha’s guests?

“Mabel, right? That’s what you’re called? Look, I don't mean any trouble—” I started after reading the small gold plaque taped to her chest.

“No. You listen! I saw the way you stared after our Alphas, whore. I can smell gold digger cunts like you from a mile away. Get out of Infinite if you know what's good for you. There’s only misery for you here.” She cursed, and my blood ran cold at the malice in her pitch-black eyes.

The door creaked open then, and the crushing weight in my chest shifted when Caius’ gray eyes caught on mine.

“What’s going on here?” Caius’ deep voice made the woman jerk back and I watched her with a slack jaw as she plastered a smile on her face.

I blinked back the tears in my own eyes, gritting my teeth when the servant tied off the last of the gauge bandages and bowed to the Alpha.

“Just dressing her wounds, Highness. I’ll take your leave now, if you would excuse me,” she muttered, disappearing through the door and leaving only a tense silence behind.