Sold to a Wolf Pack

SBAWP | Chapter 21

Hi!!! 

Thank you all so much for your amazing comments in the last chapter. I haven't replied yet (I figured you'd like me better if I spent time on the update first, and replied later :p). I'm posting super early in my time zone, btw! It's not even 9am!

♥ Okay, so here's something I'm curious about: where's the weirdest place you've read STAWP? ♥

I'm totally not judging, btw, because I have read in some really odd places! Like under the dinner table (okay, I wasn't under the dinner table, but the book was, and I kept sneaking peaks when no one was looking). Or... oooh, here's one that takes the cake (I've read while eating cake too, btw, but then who hasn't?). But this one time, my friends and I went to a club. The music was blasting, the lights were flashing, and I really wasn't feeling it (the music sucked)... so I found a spot off to the side, took out my phone, and started reading. 

Wow, I'm totally getting off topic here, so let's get back to it. Presenting, the one, the only... the next part installment of Sold to a Wolf Pack.

Dedicated to mimi_loves_u_2! ♥ ♥ ♥ Thanks for your awesome comment and for reading STAWP! ♥ ♥ ♥

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Saffron

Every time I get up, Dad slams into me, attacking me over and over again. I know he's going to win—he always does—so I force myself not to think about it. I stand up to him for as long as I can. I just fight, like I have dozens of times before.

The moment I've reached my limit, Dad always stops, but today he keeps pushing. I want to tell him it's too much, to beg him to stop, but all I can do is whimper.

I'll tell you when you're done, Sofie, Dad shouts, and you're nowhere near done.

Dad's voice pushes me to get back up, even though I feel like I'm about to pass out from the pain. A part of me knows I've lost too much blood, and I have a vague feeling of unease, but I somehow manage to stay upright.

You can win this, Sophie, Dad shouts. A part of me knows something about him isn't right. That this time he's wrong.

When I look up, I don't see Dad anymore. I'm facing the black wolf and Dad's not even here—his voice just a memory—and I don't have it in me to keep going. I barely even flinch as the black wolf gets in one final bite. More blood seeps out, blood I can't afford to lose. I know that this time, this is it. This time, I won't survive.

In the handful of seconds before everything goes black, I look around the clearing. The gray and white wolf are circling Jess, who's still completely unharmed. Our eyes meet, and I can see the panic there. The desperation. She tries to break their ranks—to run toward me—but they cut her off. Jess lets out a cry of frustration and tries again, but it's no use.

Why aren't they hurting her? They had no problem hurting me and Zara, and even the little kids! I feel a pang in my chest at the thought of my roommate, and of little Joshie and Nisha. How could anyone do that to them? And why haven't they touched Jess?

For a second, I think maybe they mixed her and Zara up—that they assumed Jess was Jasper's mate—but no. When Beta was spying on us from his car, he saw Zara and Jasper together. There's no way he'd have mixed the two girls up, not when Jess is blonde and Zara has jet black hair. So what then? Did they hurt me because they saw me with Logan, the Alpha, and Zara because she was with Jasper, the Beta? But that makes no sense either. They had no qualms about hurting the kids, so why not hurt Jess?

Before I can think about it too much, the black wolf looms over me. I wait for the pain—for death. Somewhere, a wolf howls, and the black wolf looks around. Momentarily distracted, he tilts his head, lifts his muzzle, and breathes in the scents in the wind.

The gray and white wolves do the same and suddenly abandon Jess and head for the trees. The moment they turn tail, she breaks into a run, heading straight for me. Her gaze meets the black wolf's, and she momentarily stumbles. Her eyes widen and then she lets out a piercing howl filled with pain and rage.

The black wolf howls back and runs straight for her. I don't know what to expect, but it's definitely not what happens next. He tears out a chunk of her throat, and Jess falls limp, unconscious. I wait for him to go in for the kill, but he shifts into human form instead. Then he scoops her up and starts running into the trees, in the same direction the gray and white wolf took. I watch his built frame from behind—dark hair, pale skin, muscles everywhere—but I don't recognize him. He's some random guy, a stranger who destroyed us.

The field around me is a scene of a massacre. There's a pile of shredded clothes where we all shifted, then more piles where our attackers ditched theirs. The Rogue Kid is lying unconscious where I left him, and his older brother is still passed out by the tree. Beta is lying next to him, half hidden in the grass. I know all three will survive—there is no way I'd make that kind of mistake—and I'm glad for it. POW will be able to question them—make them talk, make them tell him why they did this to us. At least, assuming Nicki made it to POW in one piece.

I glance at Zara one more time, my eyes filling with tears. They blur my vision, and for a second it looks like Zara's fingers twitch, her hand reaching toward me. I close my eyes a few times to clear them, and when I look again, Zara lies unmoving. I wait, praying for another finger twitch—or that her chest will rise, proof that she's still breathing—but she stays completely still. I must have imagined it. The gray wolf wouldn't have turned away from her body if he thought she was still alive.

I tear my gaze away and search for Nisha. She's so far across the field I don't even see her. Is she dead too, or just unconscious? And what about Joshie? He's lying on his back nearby, his leg bent at an odd angle. I can't even tell if he's breathing.

My vision grows hazy and my eyelids start to droop. I don't know how much times passes before wolves start streaming into the clearing. I don't know if they're pack, or if they're the enemy. I'm not sure how much I care.

A group breaks off and races through the clearing, toward the trees on the other side. It's the direction the wolves took with Jess, so they must be going in pursuit. Others run toward Zara and the kids, and a large grayish-white wolf runs toward me. He looks like Logan, but doesn't. POW—the name rings in my head. It's POW. He's finally here. Too late to save us, but not too late to avenge our deaths.

Then, on the other side of the clearing, I see him. Logan. He races toward me in wolf form as I feel more blood seep out of me. So much blood. My eyes start to close and right before I let go, I try to link. I hope that Logan can hear me, because I have one last thing to say. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry my plan didn't work. I'm sorry I couldn't save Zara. I'm sorry they took Jess. I'm sorry they hurt the kids. I'm sorry we won't have more time together. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! 

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First thing first: Next update is on Monday! 

♥ And now.... ♥Saf!!!!♥Zara!!!♥Joshie!!♥Nisha!♥

♥ AND OMG WHAT HAPPENED TO JESS? ♥

♥ I've been reading some of your theories in the comments (what's going on, why is it happening, what do you think will happen next) and I love them! There are brilliant guesses, and hilarious guesses, and some guesses that I can so picture happening in an alternate universe! I would love to hear some more, if you have any you'd like to share! I'm going to start a list of my favorites, so that one day when I publish STAWP as a physical book, I can send you guys free autographed copies for being awesome! ♥

♥ I'm still not sure if I deserve votes, but the fight is finally over! Next week, it's time for the aftermath... ♥