Enslaved by the Alpha: Part Five

Author:Rivard, Viola [Rivard, Viola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Viola Rivard
Published: 2015-11-11T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

Atka lay in a small cavern adjacent to the main room. Lamplight illuminated his body, highlighting the erratic rise and fall of his chest and the contents of his abdomen. Erik stood motionless, listening to Sten recount how they’d found the beta male only two kilometers out from the den. The cold had slowed the progress of his injuries, but death was inevitable.

Erik had seen death countless times, but this one left him feeling unsettled. Only minutes ago, he had been in his room with his mate, drunk on her heady scent and the taste of her sweet blood. Now he was surrounded by the scents of rot and decay, watching as black blood pooled around Atka’s prone body.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to get anything else from him,” Sten said solemnly. “He’s too far gone now.”

Atka opened his mouth, but only blood and bile came up. He gave a sputtering cough, and then his eyes became unfocused.

“How much were you able to ascertain?” Erik asked.

“A few concrete things,” Sten said. “He and Torok tracked the bears back to their point of origin, but were accosted as they tried to leave.”

“Torok is dead.”

Erik didn’t phrase it as a question, but Sten nodded all the same.

“Aren’t we going to do something for him?” Sylvestre interjected. He was crouched beside Atka, his face drawn.

Atka had been a native to Nunavut and had not been part of Sylvestre’s group. Nor had he and Sylvestre been anything more than passing acquaintances. It was simply in Sylvestre’s nature to care for others, even when it was illogical. It was why, much like Sten, he would have made a poor alpha.

“There is nothing to be done,” Erik told him.

In a kinder tone, Sten said, “Even if we could stitch him up, there’s probably a lot of internal damage. And look at the discoloration on his abdomen. That’s sepsis. He was gone before we even found him.”

Sylvestre stood and folded his thick arms across his chest. “Maybe he wouldn’t be if we had medicine or someone with basic medical training.”

“And waste our resources on the dying?” Erik asked. “We’re not humans.”

“We’re not animals either.”

“If you don’t agree, you’re free to leave and form your own pack,” Erik said flatly. “You can fill it with the old, weak, and infirm. Why don’t you see how well that works out for you?”

Sylvestre didn’t press the issue any further. He had already questioned Erik more in the past few minutes than he had in the almost decade since he joined the pack. Given that he was already on thin ice for leaving Astrid in the snowstorm, he must have taken leave of his senses. He was fortunate that Erik was eager to be done with this grim business and return to his mate as soon as possible.

“Did he say how many of them there were?” Erik asked.

Sten said, “It was hard to tell what he said and we couldn’t get him to repeat it. We thought he said there were at least a hundred, maybe two.

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