Blackshadow (Kingdom of Wolves #2)

“Can you show me where that is?”

“Yeah, come on.” Gamzin leads me around the packhouse with Swift talking at a hyper speed about what she’s seen so far, what she has heard, and the splendor of the room she has with Noah.

I give Gamzin a secretive look and he winks before looking away, both of us doing our best not to laugh at Swift, and her description of the room she is living in with her mate. Speaking of mates, Noah appears, throws Swift over his shoulder and jogs away. Watching with my mouth dropped open as I see Swift manhandling Noah’s butt.

“I don’t want to know, and I don’t want to see,” I say to Gamzin as his chuckle turns to a loud laugh, which you’d only describe as a guffaw.

“Are we all going to be okay, Gamzin?” I ask seriously and stop walking to look directly into his eyes.

“I think you are going to be fine. You’ll make a damn good Luna, and your mate is lucky to have you.” Throwing his arm around my shoulders, he pulls me forward and we continue walking to where I now see Chester waving. “I’ve spoken to some of the males and they’d like to be warriors here, well some of them would. A few others have said they’d like to build the cabins that your mate spoke about yesterday.”

“That’s good. I’m thrilled that we all will stay here together. We’ve all struggled and suffered. As you know I said I’d never take a mate, because of what happened to my mother. But, you know, that was her story and Briar has told me we walk a different path, and we need to face it head on, be proud of who we are.”

Gamzin squeezes my shoulder before he steps away from me. “That’s true. Proud of you, Hope. Now, let’s get our lives moving forward, and with that, I need to go speak with your mate about becoming a warrior.”

I watch as Gamzin walks away, and I can feel the hope and excitement rolling from him. It would be good for him and the others to find a purpose, that means more than finding food for us all to survive, and fighting bad rogues that want to take what we have. Which wasn’t much when you consider we only had enough to survive.

Chester waves me over to where he is standing alongside another male. “Hope, this is Silas. He is the chief or head gardener, depending on what you want to call it. We’ve put all the seeds in the potting shed for you, and the equipment in the shed next to it. Oh, and the other we’ve watered and left in the greenhouse until you tell us where you want us to plant the herb garden.”

“Hey, hey, slow down Chester,” Silas states, patting Chester’s chest while rolling his eyes at me, and I have to admit I can’t stop a laugh from erupting.

“Now, it’s an honor to meet you, Luna.” Silas gives me a sweet smile and a tip of his head, showing submission to my pack position. It feels strange, but I know I’ve to get used to it, and quickly.

“Oh, I’m sorry Hope, I’ll have to get used to calling you Luna.” Chester’s eyes look like saucers as he realizes calling me Hope could be classed as disrespectful.

“You call her Luna or Luna Hope, not Hope, and if I hear you calling her wrong, I’ll smack you around the back of your head until you get it right,” Silas tells Chester and they are nearly nose-to-nose at this point.

“It’s okay Silas, I’ve known Chester a long time, and it’ll take time to get used to me being Luna, for him and myself.”

“Maybe so, Luna, but you are the Luna of the Blackshadow Pack and we’ll all respect you.”

“Thank you, Silas.” I squeeze his forearm and allow my excitement to shine through. “Show me where we can create a kitchen herb garden and another one for medicinal purposes.”

Walking around the garden, we dig out an area for the kitchen herb garden, and leaving Silas and Chester to plant some of the herbs I’d brought with me. I walk around looking for an ideal place for my medicinal herb garden.

Stepping into what can only be described as an orchard, I find a corner that is perfect for what I’m looking for. Quiet, out of the way, will get the sun in the morning and shade in the afternoons. I can put a small fence around to stop anyone walking over it, too. Yes, this is where I want my medicinal garden to be, and it’s near to the greenhouse, potting and equipment sheds as well.

I spend most of the day digging and planting with Chester and Silas. A lovely young lady brings us drinks and introduces herself as Nessie, who, it turns out, is in charge of the kitchen. I spend quite a while speaking with Nessie about what herbs she uses in the kitchen, and what she would like to try and use. It’s nice to speak with someone who has an interest and can understand the benefits of what I do, especially with the lotions.

Connell finds me on my hands and knees in the newly turned earth, covered in dirt but with a huge smile on my face. Standing me up in front of him, he wipes dirt from my cheek and kisses my nose.

“It’s time for you to come in now. You need to get washed up and ready for the evening meal in an hour.” Connell gives a nod and smile to Chester and Silas. “Did you get done with the chores the Luna gave you?”

“We did, and Luna Hope is welcome here anytime. In fact, I want to learn about this lotion and potion making,” Silas says and anyone can see how serious he is just by the look on his face.

“I’ll teach you.”

“Well, I want to learn, too. I am second-in-command gardener, you know,” Chester states proudly. I give Connell a look out the corner of my eye and I can see he’s struggling to hold back the laughter.

“Of course, you can learn, too. I’ll be happy for you both to help me.”

Walking away, the rumble that I hear building in Connell has me grinning, too. But when he stops walking, places his hands on his knees and laughs loudly, I can’t help the giggles that burst out. Rubbing the tears of laughter out of his eyes, he tries to speak, but nothing is happening except squeaky noises, which sets us off once more.

When he gets himself under control, he speaks. “Oh dear, Chester is going to be amusing. Silas will run rings around him, I’m sure. What did he do in the Northern Parklands?”

“Chester wasn’t an expert hunter, but he can skin and gut an animal faster than anyone you know. He is a good person, cares about people, and often helped me find herbs, wild onions and other things we could forage.

“Gamzin, and his merry band, as we called them, hunted, fought and kept us as safe as they could. He can be gruff, but he cares about us all. He will tell you his story when he is ready, I’m sure. But he wants to be a warrior here. Did he speak with you?”