Chapter 23
HOURS LATER, THE SCENT of blood flared strong in the communal kitchen. But this was no longer deer blood, easily washed away.
Instead, Dr. Colter sliced through living flesh, clamping blood vessels and peeling back layers of Ruth’s body. Unlike in a hospital setting, there was no barrier blocking our view of the operating arena. Justice and Luke watched in statue-like silence. Ruth nodded along as the doctor worked.
I mostly cringed and focused my attention on evidence of the pack gathering outside. At first, my knowledge of the assemblage was just a vague notion of dozens of gazes pressing into the exterior of the building. Then murmurs of voices invaded the walls.
“They want to see the pups,” Luke answered my unspoken question. “A skinless tradition at the birth of a new a
