Hers (#1)

23| fools come

everyone read the lady and the wolf that was a fantastic story

hers trivia: Marcus's estranged father is from Cuba. So he's half Cuban, half white-American.

Flame was many things. She was an orphan, a past prostitute, a former Galdoni, a wolf, an avid lover of tiny postal stamps, a Gamma. Most importantly, she was a survivor. She'd survived attempted rapes, fraud, racism, learning English, co-existing with humans. She'd survived the Trail of Bones and she'd survived the transition back. She survived the PTSD, the hallucinations of her dead parents, anxiety attacks, the scarring. She'd even survived  the urge to shift which she had to admit was a daily challenge for her.

She wasn't sure she was going to survive this.

This. This situation. Her mate right in front of her--only to find out that she was a Kraken agent. The black tattoo on her shoulder was the only thing that Flame could see, its angry mark glaring. The curved lines of the ink seemed to take shape in her mind and taunt her: Pity.The sable etchings mocked. You thought that you'd find happiness if you'd found your mate?

Should she attack her? Arrest her? The logical side of her, the Gamma side , screamed yes. There was an ambush on the pack happening right now and it's most likely this girl was part of the ambushers. She should have her in chains by now. She should be facing the wall of punishment with an iron brandish pressed deep into her stomach. Or bones slowly cracked as she's forced to shift.

But Flame can't.

Flame can't even imagine taking her near the Wall of Punishment--but she can imagine ripping the heart out of anyone who tries. She can't hurt the girl. The skinny, pale skinned girl with a deer in the headlights expression on her face and a horrible fucking mark branded on her shoulders.

So to diffuse the situation, she speaks.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice is gruff, commanding. It doesn't betray how vulnerable or disbelieving she is at that moment. "Are you Kraken?"

The girl's doe eyes widen further and she doesn't respond. Her hallowed eyeballs dart across the room, looking for an escape. Flame wasn't stupid. The only escape was the one she was blocking now.

"You can't leave," she barked at the girl. "Not without getting through me." The doubled edged meaning of her words struck the tense air.

"You need to help me," The girl speaks. Her voice is soft, light and makes Flame's stomach flutter. The bond was strong. "I heard that you're the Gamma so you can help me."

"Why do you need my help?" Flame asks guarded, trying not to reveal how concerned she was. "And why shouldn't I rip you into pieces right now?" Her own words make her growl internally.

"Please," the girl pleads. "This was the only chance I had to escape that, that hellhole. I know what Stamos is doing to us. I know we're being drugged."

Flame stared pointedly, unconvinced. "Please, I swear if you help me I will tell you everything I know about that organization. I even worked personally with the Kraken--I mean, General Stamos for a while. So I know a lot. Please."

A giant sigh escapes the lips of the stressed Gamma wolf. She made a convincing argument, Flame mused. Plus the bond's beginning to really affect me. Clearing her throat, she began. "What do you want me to do?"

A relieved look overtakes the girl's face and Flame smiles slightly. Before she can answer, a knock on her door snaps them both out of the moment. Glancing at Flame, the girl whispers in a panic: "Who is that?" Flames faces the door knowing that the  person behind couldn't open it without her permission. Unless they were the Great Alpha, of course. And considering Lana had gone to chase what Flame personally thought was Marcus's charred remains, they wouldn't be caught.