Chapter 41

The pair stared each other down, their battle of wills undercut only by the sound of the rain and the distant rumble of thunder.

“How?” Khelt said at last.

Adel turned back to her patient. “Bring me a sharp knife and an axe. I will remove his leg.”

“He will die!” Netya exclaimed, cradling Erech’s head closer.

“Your people may, ours will not. If I can get to the wound and close it he may heal before his blood runs out, but I can do nothing for him like this.”

“You may as well send him to his death,” Khelt snarled. “If you cared to grow close with your pack you would know Erech as we do. A life as a cripple is no life for a man like him.”

Netya thought she saw tears in Khelt’s eyes, but once again the rain cast a veil over the truth.

“All he dreams of is his future,” the alpha continued. “The days when he will lead the hunters. Grow stronger, run faster, become a man among all men. What will he have left if all he longs for is taken away?”