He is Ghost

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Neira woke in her human form, naked and on an unfamiliar couch. She was freezing, her teeth chattering even in her sleep. Mud coated her body. There was a small kitchenette opposite the sofa. A toilet, a small shower, and a sink on the other wall. Stairs stretched up to a loft that she assumed hosted a bed. Neira sat up. There was blood on the couch.

Neira crossed the room. Her hair was coated in mud; her neck had been bleeding with the puncture wounds on the back and front of her throat. They were crusted over now, mostly with mud.

Without thinking, Neira flicked on the tiny shower. Her anger was palpable as she stepped into the barely warm water. Years. She'd spent nearly three years looking for a male that was strong enough. And now that she'd found one, she was fucking pissed.

Her skin was raw in no time with her vigorous scrubbing. He had fucking pinned her alright with a damned cheap shot. Neira hadn't submitted. Part of her thought she could still win if she tried again. This had never happened to her before. She didn't know the protocol. Had he won that challenge, or just delayed it?

Water dripped on the floor, mixing with the blood that dripped with her reopened wounds. The only towel in sight was a tea towel next to the kitchen sink. Once she was dry, Neira stole a pair of too-small shorts and a dusty T-shirt from the box by the window and threw herself out the front door. Her body was no longer shaking from the cold, but also anger.

Neira wouldn't say controlling her emotions was one of her strengths.

A petite female was waiting on the stairs leading up to the door. Her caramel hair whipped in the morning light as she faced Neira.

"Hi!" the woman squeaked. The woman was in a sweater too big for her and smelled like her mate. Some of Neira's anger banked. She blinked, seeing the female's outstretched hand. "I'm Sada."

Neira blinked again. Her human tongue felt like lead in her mouth. When was the last time she was in this form? Let alone speaking with her human tounge?

"Neira," she said coldly, not bothering to shake the woman's hand. She took the steps two at a time and moved around Sada without bothering to meet her gaze.

She made it all of ten feet before Sada shouted from behind her. "You're going the wrong way. The main cabin is this way." Neira looked over her shoulder to see the female pointing south. The exact opposite direction she was heading.

Neira whirled. "And where, do you suppose, I was going?"

The snap in her voice made Sada flinch. "I assume you were heading to have another spat with the Alpha?" She cocked one brow, hands on her hips.

Neira glared in return.

Sada turned, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. "Enjoy the heat then."

Irritation flooded her body, sharp and fast. She had been on her way to beat that hot-headed male into the dirt, but she wasn't going to admit that now. Neira kicked at the stump of a tree. It did nothing to alleviate her anger. What were her options? Leave and start running as far away from all signs of life as she could and wait for another week or two of hell to begin. Maybe wait for her death. She didn't know how much longer she could outrun the inevitable.

Or she could swallow her pride and try not to seriously injure someone when she asked for that insufferable male's help—hell, admitting it might hurt herself.

"Wait!" she shouted after Sada. She jogged a few steps before she reached the dainty wolf's side. Sada stopped but didn't turn to face her. "Why shouldn't I kick that fucking prick's ass?"

Sada began walking again. "You are that female that's been running around challenging every Tom, Dick, and Harry out there. You're looking for a mate to pass the heat with?"