“I apologize.” Tilly sighed. “I was excited and a little over zealous when you spoke of the Hunger, Sheba. I never thought I’d see it for myself after only hearing about it third-hand and even then I wasn’t sure it wasn’t just tall tales.”
Sheba merely inclined her head, wishing the woman would just get the hell on with it.
Tilly snuck a glance at Ray before she carried on. “I know it won’t feel like it, not with everything you’ve been feeling, but this is actually a gift from the Goddess. Yes, I know, before you argue with me, please hear me out.”
Sheba had indeed been about to argue but she clamped her lips shut and allowed the woman to go on.
“When the Hunger strikes it means your soul-mate, your one true mate is nearby, but it also means they are probably in danger. So, Sheba, you need to go and find your mate and you need to go as soon as possible.”
At first, Sheba didn’t react. The words taking some time to sink in. A mate. No. That was crazy. Not only did she not want one, but right now was so not the right time. Hell’s fire. They had rogues on their land and she would be out hunting them in the damn morning. She couldn’t go off looking for a man! How the hell would that look to the Pack? No. Not happening. She couldn’t do it. No matter what Tilly said. She’d just have to suck it up and wait until all this shit was dealt with and then, maybe, possibly, she could look for this guy. If there was any truth to all this Hunger shit.
Ray cursed, loudly. “Fuck!”
Tilly shrugged. “That’s the truth. I can find the tomes and show you in black and white if you don’t believe me. It might take me a while, but they’re here somewhere.”
She got up and started to walk away but Ray stopped her with a bark. “No, I believe you, Tilly. There’s no whiff of deceit around you and you have no reason to lie to us about something so important.”
“There’s one thing I didn’t mention,” Tilly returned, sitting down and staring hard at Sheba. “The most important thing, Alpha.”
Sheba flung her hands into the air, sighing. “What? Like what you’ve already said isn’t enough? We’ve got renegade Wolves threatening our Pack, running amok on our land, and hey, I’ve got a bit of an appetite but I’ve got to forget everything else and just go gallivanting off to find some guy? Forget my people need me?”
Tilly leaned forward, her face serious and her eyes locking with Sheba’s. “This isn’t a game, Alpha. It’s vitally important. You don’t have a choice in this. If you ignore the Hunger it will get worse and your very sanity is at stake. You will lose control of your mind and, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but you’ll end up mad as a hatter and the Council will send Enforcers to come cart you off to their premises because you will be completely out of control. A wild Alpha isn’t something they can ignore, and you’d be just as serious a threat to your people as any rogue Wolf.”
Ray cursed, again as he got up, pacing back and forth like a caged beast. His hands running over his shaved head as he shook it over and over. “Oh fuck!”
Sheba couldn’t believe her ears. At the same time, another pain lanced through her belly causing her to wince. She wasn’t about to lose her mind . . . was she? Certainly, she’d felt close to it over the last few days, but to actually lose control . . . hell no. “If you’re being overly dramatic, Tilly, I’ll flay the hide off you before the damn Pack,” she said instead, her lips drawn back in a vicious snarl.
Ray slammed his hands on the table, but this time his words were aimed at her and not Tilly. “Enough, Sheba. This ends now. You heed what the Healer tells you and you do what you have to do. I am your Beta as well as your friend and I won’t stand by and watch as you lose your damn mind because you’re too stubborn to listen to the Healer.”
Sheba had never seen him so worked up before. She could feel his worry for her, his barely restrained anger at the whole situation, and his concern for the Pack. Damn it, that last one was the worst of all. It tore at her heart and broke through everything inside her like nothing else could . . . not even the Hunger eating away inside her.
Her beast was howling inside her head, pawing and making enough noise to wake the dead, acting out like it never had before just as Tilly dropped the biggest bombshell.
“Sheba, you have to allow your Wolf to take you to your mate. You need to listen to her, truly listen to her with your heart and soul, and let her lead the way. When you do, she’ll know what to do, but you must be ready to give up your control. Can you do that?”
Hell to the no! Was the first thought that ran through her head and her beast howled so loud her hands sprang to her ears as pain like none she’d encountered before encompassed her brain. She slid from the chair, falling to the floor as her Wolf roared over and over inside her. Ray’s strong arms lifted her up, cradling her against him. She knew he was talking to her
