Wolf’s Glory by Maddy Barone Page A

bag hanging from a tree that dripped a thin trickle of ice water from a spout. The best thing that could be said of it was it woke her up completely. She was shivering when she bundled herself into a blanket that Jill helped her drape like a toga. Rose looked at her goose bumps and seemed to have second thoughts before steeling herself and stepping into the cube. Glory and Jill washed the clothes Glory and Rose had been wearing for several days straight.
    “That outfit is ruined,” Glory groused. “I just spent over a hundred and fifty bucks on it, too. And now that"s all I have to wear. Except for this lovely ensemble. And only one pair of undies! Where am I gonna get more clothes?”
    “When we get to Kearney we"ll get you more.”
    Glory felt relief. “Great. When are we going?”
    Jill shook her head as she wrung out Rose"s T-shirt. “It"s going to be a couple more days.
    We can"t leave with the injured coming to camp any time. But it shouldn"t be too long. The clan can"t support so many outsiders. We don"t have enough food or clothes or blankets, even with what Taye will be sending us. The council will meet tonight or tomorrow and discuss what to do with the women. I think we"ll have to send them to Kearney.”
    Glory squeezed water out of her jacket with more force than necessary. “Heather, too?”
    “Everyone who isn"t chosen as a mate. And maybe them too.” Jill slid a look at Glory"s scowl and added casually, “I"m sure there"s some abandoned building in Kearney the women could fix up for themselves. If you wanted to visit them there Taye could arrange an escort for you.”
    Glory was relieved to know that Heather wouldn"t be staying with the Pack. “Why do I need an escort?” grumbled Glory. “Do I look like I"m five years old?”
    Jill put Rose"s jeans aside with care, and looked right at Glory. “No,” she said quietly.
    “But sometimes you act like it.”
    “What?” Glory crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her old friend.
    Jill opened her mouth to speak, but as Rose came back, teeth chattering loudly, she shrugged. “I shouldn"t have said that. I forget how young you are. Here, Rose, take a blanket.
    Pin it at the shoulder like this, then tie this rope around your waist.”
    A five-year-old? Glory fumed. She would have liked to make Jill talk, but not with Rose there. Was it because she"d cried? Well, who wouldn"t cry when she found herself in a nightmare with her parents dead and her whole life gone? Her eye caught on Jill"s thin white hair. She was old. Sometimes, if Glory didn"t look at her, she could imagine that Jill was still her BFF from before. But actually, Jill was in her late seventies. No wonder Jill thought she was young.
    “You"ll need to go back and hang your clothes by the fire until they dry,” Jill ordered.
    Rose picked up the sodden wad of her clothes. “Thanks for washing them,” she said politely.
    That kid was so polite it restored Glory"s faith in the young. She glanced again at Jill and shook her head at her own flippant thoughts. Young didn"t mean exactly the same thing it had back in 2064. Glory picked up her own bundle of blue and pink without enthusiasm. Navy blue had never been one of her favorite colors. Why had she bought something that was so not-her? Black and red was more her style, but that would have clashed with her pink hair.
    Well, it didn"t matter now anyway. The job was gone just like everything else. She walked beside the teenager, who seemed way too perky considering her blue-tinged lips. They looked ridiculous in their wool-blanket togas. But nobody seemed to want to stare at them except one guy who seemed to appraise Rose with hot eyes. Glory thought it might be the same guy as this morning. Perv.
    Tara was at the fire in the main cooking area with Emma and Stands Tall. She helped them drape their clothes over a rack by the fire, then gave them cups of hot tea to drink. Tea was not Glory"s thing, but she was cold enough to at least