Winter shrank closer to Scarlet, but Scarlet pulled away, stepping forward to meet them. Scarlet was the brave one, the resilient one, proving it as she tilted back her head in mock defiance.
“Which one of you is in charge?” said Scarlet, fisting her hands on her hips. “We want to speak with your alpha.”
A dull cackle spread through them.
“Which one?” said the first mutant. “Eleven packs, eleven alphas.”
“The strongest one,” said Scarlet, piercing him with a glower as fierce as any Winter had ever seen. “If you’re not sure which one that is, we’ll wait while you fight it out.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to take your pick, pretty lady?” one asked as he prowled behind them, cutting off their exit—not that Winter had any hope of running. She could tell they were trying to intimidate her and Scarlet, and she could feel to her bones how well it was working. “I’m sure any of us would be happy to satisfy whatever needs you might have.”
Scarlet glared at him from the corner of her eye. “I already have an alpha mate to satisfy my needs, and he could slaughter any one of you.”
The man barked and a rough chuckle rumbled through the rest of them.
The first soldier stepped closer to Scarlet and his expression was intrigued again. “She’s telling the truth,” he said, silencing the laughter. “His scent is all over her. One of us.” His eyes narrowed. “Or … a special operative?”
“Alpha Ze’ev Kesley,” said Scarlet. “Heard of him?”
A beat. A smirk. “No.”
Scarlet clicked her tongue. “Too bad. I can already tell he’s both twice the man and twice the wolf of any of you. He could teach you a thing or two.”
The man laughed again, amused. “I didn’t realize they were letting our pack brothers take mates on Earth. More reason to anticipate our deployments.”
Winter pressed her sweating palms against her sides, grateful that Scarlet held their attention. If she’d been forced to speak, her mouth would have spouted incoherent mutterings and they would have laughed at her one moment and sunk their teeth into her the next. Jaws clamping around her limbs. Teeth tearing her muscles from the bones.
“We’re not here to discuss my love life, or yours,” said Scarlet. “You seem to be the most chatty. Do you nominate yourself as the leader here?”
He tilted his head in a manner that reminded Winter of Ryu, how he would sometimes cock his ears when he heard the gamekeeper arriving with a meal. “Alpha Strom, at your service.” He dipped into a mocking bow. Though he wasn’t larger than the others, he moved with an unnatural grace. Like Wolf. Like Ryu. “And at the service of the pretty thing, back there. I suggest you speak fast, pretty lady. I can hear my pack’s stomachs growling.”
One of the soldiers ran his tongue over his bottom lip.
Scarlet turned and gave Winter a look.
Shivering from head to toe, Winter reached for Scarlet, using her shoulder for balance.
The soldiers laughed.
“Winter,” Scarlet hissed.
“I’m frightened, Scarlet.”
Scarlet’s expression turned to stone. “Perhaps you’d like to go outside and compose yourself and we can come back later,” she said, speaking through clenched teeth.
Winter shuddered at Scarlet’s anger, though she knew Scarlet had a right to it. Coming here had been her idea. If they both died here, it would be her fault.
But she wouldn’t allow it. These were men, she reminded herself. Men who deserved life and happiness as much as anyone.
Holding firm to that thought, she forced herself away from Scarlet and was grateful when the dizziness receded.
“I am Winter Hayle-Blackburn, Princess of Luna,” she said, and could tell even in her own ears how faintly her voice carried. Not at all like Scarlet’s. “I need your help.”
Eyes flashed, delighted.
“In return, I wish to help you.”
Amusement. Hunger. Less curiosity than she would have hoped.
She gulped.
“Queen Levana, my stepmother, has treated you with cruelty and unfairness. She has taken you from your families and acted as though you are nothing to her but scientific experiments. She has locked you away in these caves, for no other purpose than to be sent to Earth and fight in her war. And what will you be given for your service?” They all waited with their hard and sparkling eyes, watching Winter like she was their afternoon snack, still cooking on a spit. It was not unlike the looks she’d received from countless men in Levana’s court.
“Nothing,” she said, shoving her fear into the bottom of her stomach. “If you survive your battles, you’ll come back here and be enslaved in these caverns until she needs you again. You will not be allowed to return to your families. You will not rejoin our society and live what lives you may once have dreamed of living, back before you were … you were…”
“Monsters?” suggested one of the men, grinning around the word.
“I do not believe you are monsters. I believe you have been given very few choices, and you are dealing with the consequences as well as you can.”
A snort came from Alpha Strom. “Who knew we would be receiving such counsel from the princess herself today? Tell me, pretty highness … does this therapy session come with refreshments?”
“Your friend, perhaps?” said another. “She smells delicious.”
Scarlet crossed her arms, fingers digging into her elbows.
Winter squared her shoulders. “We came here to give you another choice. The people of Luna are planning a rebellion. In two days we will be marching into the central dome of Artemisia. We plan to overwhelm the queen and her court, to overthrow her and put an end to her tyranny. I ask that you join us. Fight on our behalf and help us end the rule that took you from your lives and turned you into soldiers. Ensure that you will never become prisoners, or experiments, or … animals created for Levana’s amusement, ever again.”
A silence settled over them, as if they were waiting to make sure she was finished. Winter searched for some indication they were even listening.
She felt like a lamb in their den.
“She has pretty words.”
Winter turned toward the voice. It was one of the men who had been involved in the fight. Fresh blood had dried at the corner of his lip.
He tipped his head when he saw that he had her attention, his eyelids dipping suggestively. “Not quite as pretty as her face.”
“Except for these scars.”
She jumped and spun around. She hadn’t heard this soldier step so close and now he was hovering over her. He dragged a sharp-tipped nail down her cheek. “Where’d these come from, pretty lady?”
She didn’t—couldn’t—answer.
An arm wrapped around Winter’s shoulders, pulling her back. “Stop it,” said Scarlet, tucking Winter behind her, though it was useless. They were surrounded. “Were you listening to her? You can call yourselves soldiers or wolf packs or whatever you want, but the truth is, you’re nothing but slaves. Winter is offering you freedom. She’s giving you a choice, which is more than Levana has ever offered. Will you help us or not?”
“You’ll be slaughtered,” someone whispered against Winter’s ear.