Rise Of She-Wolf

KateOne thing is for certain: I will never be able to outrun Reona.My legs fly over a fallen tree as I push through the woods. I could transform, but I worry that Reona will take it as a challenge. After all, it’s been proven that my breathing alone is a challenge to Reona’s authority, or the authority that she thinks she has.Air rips through my lungs as I pump my legs through the clearing. I probably should have had a plan. I probably should have thought of a way to get her off my back before I took off running.I could turn around and apologize. As to what I’m apologizing for this time, I’m unsure.Reona’s sharp-tongued voice calls out to me. “You’d better stop running, you’re only going to make it worse!”A soundtrack of her lackeys’ cackles echo through my ears. I ball my hands into fists and run forward.“Shit!”I come to a stop in the middle a clearing that overlooks a waterfall. Damn it, this is one of the only open water sources in this area, and of course, I run right int

I blink. I open my mouth and say, “I-you, what?”I narrow my eyes as I peer into Riven’s. I obviously didn’t hear him right. He wants to look out for me? Does he not know who I am? I know that he’s new to the pack, but no one, in my entire twenty-two years, has offered to look out for me in this pack.Kili is my best friend, and she’s never even offered to look out for me because she knows her limits. She doesn’t want to leave herself open to punches behind the cabins, dirt in her food, and rocks being pelted at her back when she goes to the bonfire.I turn my head to one side and inhale. I hold my hands out in front of me and say, “You want to look out for me?”Riven’s smile is earnest as he nods and says, “Yeah. I want to look out for you. I’m new here, really new actually, but I want to look out for you. It seems like you’re having a hard time.”I almost laugh at the massive understatement that is. I’ve had a hard time in this pack since I was born, and not a single soul has though

- KateI never thought that I’d be friends with someone other than Killi.Riven, Killi, and I are looking towards the sky as we lay on our backs in the clearing. It’s a short way from camp, and someone could easily find us and tell us to find something to do. It’s not like anyone here wants to see me happy.I turn to my right, where Riven is lying underneath the sun. His eyes are closed but I know from our most recent training session, that he’s aware of every breath we take, every animal in the area, and the scent that the wind carries. The sunlight caresses the sharp bones that make up his angular, amazing bone structure and I want to reach out to him and trail my fingers along the hardened edge of his face. I might even want to run my tongue along it.The thought of touching Riven has occurred to me more than a few times over the last week. I’ve considered leaning against him a second too long, just to see if he would stop me. I’ve never kissed anyone before. As I gaze at him, I wo

KateAn operation? The gears in my mind turn as I try to rationalize why werewolves would be luring other werewolves away from their packs. More importantly, why would they involve humans in this?I want to believe Riven, and I want to join him on this, but I don’t know how much further we can go without letting the pack leaders in on this.Killi wears a pensive look as she says, “If it’s an operation, we need to find out who’s in charge, and we need to take him down.”It chills me down to my bones to think of coming face to face with a wolf that would sacrifice their own. What are they looking for? Who do they want? A big part of me wonders if I’m even strong enough to face someone like that. Killi and Riven are stronger, their wolves are bigger, and they’re much braver than me.After all, I hadn’t even kissed someone until yesterday. Bravery has never been my talent.Riven says, “I’ll talk to the pack leaders more about it.”Killi says, “That’s a good idea. Do you think that you’re

KateI guess it wasn’t enough that I’ve lost Riven. Or did I really lose him? It doesn’t matter, it was only a matter of time before he kicked me to the curb to follow after the pack leaders. He’s too strong, too witty, and too brave to be weighed down by an outcast.However, anger pulses through me. Why can’t I have anything? Why am I less deserving of a mate, no matter what his status is in the pack?That’s why I promptly lose my shit when Reona falls into a squat beside me. I keep my eyes trained on the flames of the bonfire as they lick the wood. No, not today.I don’t know if she’s smiling or not, but I can hear it in her voice.“I knew he’d get sick of you.”My stomach turns because I know that I’m inviting an ass kicking, or maybe something worse, into my life because I hop to my feet. My heart pulses underneath my skin, and the heat that spreads throughout my body is something that I’ve never felt before.It’s righteousness. It’s a righteous anger because whatever happens now