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out.
    Amalija made her way to the edge of the village without spotting a soul. If she had to guess, she’d say everyone was in the village center getting information, formulating a plan. No one had expected an attack so close to the village. The Omegas would need reassurance that they were safe, and the Betas would expect direction from the Alpha. Only those patrolling wouldn’t be present.
    She didn’t let her guard down, not for one second, the whole way to the drop-off spot. Even then, she hid in the shadows until she was certain no one had followed and no one lay in wait. Nothing stirred as she climbed the tree and deposited her bundle in the hollow, then blocked it with the piece of wood wedged tight to keep other animals from getting to it before James or one of his men could retrieve it.
    She avoided the village center again. Although she’d been gone for over two hours and the meeting would have ended long ago, she wasn’t taking chances. She picked up her pace as she rounded the corner of her street and slammed straight into a hard chest. Arms, thick and strong, reached out, steadying her when she would have fallen back.
    “Where were you? I didn’t see you at the meeting this evening,” Wesken asked.
    “I went for a walk. Alone.” She didn’t owe him an explanation, and he didn’t deserve one, but she gave it anyway.
    “Outside of the village?”
    “I’m back. And nothing happened,” she snapped. If he wanted to deny her, then at least he could have the decency of not pretending to care more than he did. She didn’t need the macho bullshit.
    He grunted and released a frustrated sigh. “I’m responsible for the safety of each and every pack mate. That includes you. If you’re going to leave the village, I expect to be notified,” he said through clenched teeth.
    “I expected a lot of things, but we don’t always get what we want, now do we?” she said with more bite than she’d intended. Okay, so maybe she was a little bitter about his rejection, but she’d had a rough day. Her leg ached more than ever after her fast hike through the woods. She tried to get past him, but he moved to intercept her.
    “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Amalija,” he said in a voice so low she barely heard.
    Honesty—and a little pain—rang with every word, but she wasn’t ready to hear it. Tomorrow she’d figure out what was going on in that head of his. She might even come up with a plan to make him see what she saw so clearly. But tonight, all she wanted was to run herself a hot bath and maybe do a bit of reading before she went to sleep. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going home.”
     
     
     

TEN
    For two days, Wesken accompanied Amalija and some of the other women to the gardens as they worked to restore the damage the Mahehkans had done. He helped when he could and stood guard when he couldn’t. Yet in all that time, Amalija had yet to speak a single word to him. She hardly spoke at all, much less smiled or laughed. Okay, so he hadn’t handled the situation well. If he could take it back, he would. Not because it was any less true, but his wolf was right—he could have been kinder.
    So when she came to him on the third day, offering to share her lunch with him, he agreed. Maybe if he apologized again, she would stop frowning and smile again—if not in his direction, then at someone else.
    “The work in the garden is done for now. I was hoping to take my lunch by the lake today,” she said as Beth, Jinnie, and a few others filed out of the garden with Blade, his pack brother and the one assigned to keep the women safe, following.
    Being alone with her wasn’t a good idea. Having her standing next to him with her scent teasing his senses had his wolf rousing and at attention. It was on the tip of his tongue that he’d get one of the other men to accompany her, but the words wouldn’t come. The thought of one of them being alone with her was enough to have the fine hairs on the back of his neck