The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 9: Food and Water

Sophie

"What are you talking about? I didn't start anything," I say to Penny.

"You may not have meant to, but you did. Word of you running, of your father standing up to the Alphas and refusing to track you down, spread like wildfire. Our mothers and sisters began to realize that we didn't have to a**e by the laws that we don't agree with, that we have a choice. Granted, it's not a great choice, being on the run, but it's better than being forced into something that you can't live with. She reaches out, taking my hands. "Some of the Alphas are on our side. Some of them agree that we need to stop this process."

"But not all of them," I tell her, remembering the girl in the woods. "Some Alphas are still out hunting, otherwise we wouldn't have to run."

"You're right, and some Alphas have put so many restrictions on their ranked females that they're not even allowed to leave the packhouses. Ranked she-wolves have started taking extreme measures, some of them taking their own lives to get away from this process.

"What? Why? Why would they kill themselves?" I ask shocked. "They would rather die than live with the embarrassment of

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Chapter 9. Food and Water

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having been claimed publicly. For some, it's not worth it."

I scrub my hands over my face. This is why there are so many she-wolves on the run now. When I first ran, there weren't any. It was just me, and it was easy to hide. Now it seems I'm going to have to be much smarter about hiding.

"Where are you going? I ask Penny.

"There are rumors of a place, a pack that is leaving food and water for those of us on the run. I never learned to hunt in my wolf form, and it's been a really long time since I've eaten. So, I'm heading there in the hopes of getting food."

trap, you know," I say

take the food and water that have been offered and they keep going. That's what I intend to do

the ranked she-wolves will hear about it and they'll start staking the place out. If I were an Alpha hunting a ranked she-wolf, that's what I would do," I tell her. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't know, but like I said, I'm hungry and

grabbing some granola bars that I stuffed into it when I left. "Here, eat these," I say, tossing them to

quickly, and I pull out my last two bottles of water, giving her one. "Make it last. I only have two left, one for me and one for

9 Food

so much. I don't remember

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my father stood up to the Alphas.

the Alphas

I ask, terrified that my family had to go to war

me.

with your dad threatening to fight alongside him if a war broke out. Apparently, that was

Anything about her? Is she okay?" I ask. "Alpha Calvin is one of the Alphas that stood beside your father, I believe. I don't know much about your sister, but in cases like this, no news is good news, right? It means she hasn't tried to kill herself and hasn't done

had no idea that I was causing this many problems for my

home," I mumble

are the reason that it's working. You were the reason that there's a possibility that

you have to continue." "What about you? Where are you going? Where

so that some man who calls himself my mate can claim me in front of my pack. How could I even face them every day after that? How could I look them in the eye? How could I be their ranked member after they

means. That's why I ran. As a Ga**a, she has the potential to be a Ga**a, Beta, or a Luna. But for me as an Alpha female, I know that an Alpha will want me. The thought of having to lead a pack who had seen me in such a personal state still makes me sick

This place where they provide free food and

isn't far from where my father's pack is. That makes me wonder if it isn't him and my mother leaving this food and water out. Even if it's not for me, they

check this place out too," I

the wrong way. I'm thrilled to be spending time with you and to have

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together for too long, the possibility of both of us getting captured is higher,

see if it's safe, before we split up. If they only