Pregnant for The Hollow Alpha

ollow

went

ing white of a man whose worst fear just walked

t again,

moving parallel, keeping exact pace." I watched his face. "It

ooked a

nodde

and pressed both hands over his face

have thr

er

eard

n ta

eyes were the eyes of a ma

ide the compound," he said slowl

," I

not po

d y

push through. It's not something you build resistance to. It's a chemical sup

l said quietly,

looked

. Old and complicated and sli

ng," Me

st two years, routes, rotations, weaknesses, it's been too precise. Too current." He

en was ve

tween the t

ove. Free enough to feed information out." I felt t

of them

ivate, she must have. She was in the forest this morning." My voice stayed le

oked at

ked at t

. Not a quest

k ex

r compound is administered daily, if she found a way to purge it gradually, they might believe it's still working then she has an advant

with

e comes home

. Free now or free enough and choosin

the better ta

st cracked open and

rying to esc

softly. "I don'

nning an

es

m in

es

and still and completely ordinary-looking for somethin

hy she came that close." I pressed my fingers to the glas

ly," Ka

iming so

said. "I

ned a

hen she does it's going to be fast and we need to already be at the level she ne

rrent pace?

it s

ia.

erek. "And you're going to tell me everything today. The pack structure, the compound layout

pened h

hing,"

lose

said. "Sta

d for tw

ened and I built the map of it in my head, the compound, the pack, the sixty t

Conditioned deep, years of

pack itself, not to the man. Ne

dissatisfied.

made an example of and had spent the years since buildin

nty three wo

k pa

about them

ht." I tapped my wrist. "T

through his expression, fear, I thought

g. He's been collecting them for a decade every girl with Ho

racticing

linked.

able between us rough, from memory, but detailed enough. "She was the prototype. The twenty t

en was ve

.." Mere

ate?"

n't de

ed at

en who'd woken up one day with a mark on their wrist and no on

almos

Kael hadn't lied to hi

ed up

through it. He'd barely spoken in two hours. He'd just stayed. Pre

I said. "Has any

," Kael said. "

the map toward me. "All twenty thr

ossed to the table. I looked

escue," he said

," I

uiet for

at down b

you're think

ed unti

ilver compound's chemistry, Merek had notes on it, of course he did

. Over months. Building her tolerance back up in increments sma

said, without meani

said. Simply

at him

ire her,

inside a maximum security wolf compound for twelve years whi

complicated moved

back at

. "In the patrol rotatio

corridor. Four minutes where the rotation overlaps

minu

minu

n now and twenty-three women walking o

ten days," I said. "Seve

e outside. We need a contact inside who isn't your mother, someone w

u get t

y," h

"Come back tonight

I gathered the

ri

ked a

ciding whether to say so

ed. "You held the Howl at range for thirty seconds to reach her. You d

red a

aid. "I thought I cou

his expression. "Apparently when yo

ed up t

d to th

hout turning around. "I th

l

e specific, enormous feeling of a life that had just become completely unreco

d at my

l pulsed once.

thought

er's fourth journal

ted two years in

in, not the isolation. The quiet. The Howl sits at the bottom of me

out what Caelan said when

ppresses the Howl. Not

nking about t

ped re

t last l

nking about t

und and isolated, had found the single word in

es. Not

ten more years w

d the j

ba

man in a stone room finding the gap in the word suppresses and I thought ab

I hea

At the

Not a howl. Som

hitting another sto

back door in

aring w

t where the forest began a folded

ed the

ked i

lded

idn't recognize. Small and p

awake. The tim

en days. N

es early this year

it thre

at the t

ng. N

it had been warm this morning. In the way th

the handwr

ding her handwriting all morning, I

erent. Tighte

lse was o

else was

were on

ed the

flat agai

da

walked back t

rize and a Howl to learn to control and a

n't a

s fu

turned out,