Wolfsfoot (Kingdom of Wolves #1)

“Oh, that’s cool. I don’t understand why you don’t havefriends, because you seem to be a nice person.”

“On the Alpha’s orders, no one was to speak to me, help me,or be nice to me.” I don’t tell him that because I’m feeling sorry for myself,but because I’ve left that life behind me and I’m never going back.

“Fuck, that’s terrible. What pack were you with?”

“Blackshadow Pack.”

“Ah, that says it all. Alpha Torrance is a total asshole.Oh, I get it now. He didn’t want you to take your place at the head of thepack. What a nasty piece of work. I’m sure he’ll get what’s coming. Just waitfor it to happen.”

“I’ll never go back. I’m not interested in the pack, eventhough it was my heritage. I’m not sure what my future holds, but I haveeighteen months to work it out.” I give him a grin, then start my warm-uproutine.

Once warmed up I move on to somersaults, handstands, weavingin and out of the fencing on one side, then notice Lyle is following everythingI’m doing. Grinning, I take off for the forest further away from the packhouse,and find a decent tree. Climbing up fast, I sit on a thick branch and look downat a shocked Lyle.

“Well, come on then,” I shout, while laughing down at him.

Hearing him curse about she-wolves not getting the better ofhim, he scrambles up the tree and sits next to me. “Why are you climbingtrees?”

“My trainer told me everything around me is a weapon, andeven trees can be used to get out of danger or set me up to take my opponent bysurprise. I have to climb a tree at least a dozen times in one session, as fastas I can and if I slow from the first time, I have to repeat it after ahalf-hour break until I can do all twelve times as fast as the first.” I gigglesome because it was really hard to do when I first started.

“That’s brutal. But I can see he’s building your stamina andmental ability. I’ll add that to my workout routine, too.”

Leaning against the tree trunk, we hear someone talking, andas we both look down; we see Lavender and another woman walk past. But hearingmy name, I look at Lyle, who has his top lip curled in disgust.

“That’s Jade. She’s one of our warriors. Good friends withLavender, for some reason. We all know Lavender uses Jade to get out of troublewhen she gets a pack member riled. I’m sure eventually they’ll both get intoserious trouble with my father.” Shaking his head before grinning andscrambling down the tree as fast as he can.

I follow him down and we start the run. I stay slightlybehind him as he takes us through forest trails, eventually leading back to thetraining ground, where we run the perimeter for half an hour before headinginto the packhouse to get ready for breakfast.

Showered, and breakfast over, I’m following Luna Cinderaround the pack. Speaking to pack members and having areas pointed out. Walkinginto a building, the smell of bleach and chemicals assaults my nose, and Iscrunch up my face, much to Luna Cinder’s amusement.

“This is the pack hospital. We, thankfully, don’t have touse it often for injuries. Mostly the female members use it for checks on theirpregnancies. Of course, they all love to see their pups on the ultrasound.” Shehas a warm smile on her face whilst telling me this, and when a heavily pregnantpack member walks out of a room and gives the Luna a huge smile, I know thatthe Luna truly is a good female to this pack.

“Luna Cinder.” The lady says and tips her head slightlytowards the Luna, showing her respect.

“How is everything? The pup good?” Luna Cinder asks.

“Yes, everything is fine. The pup is growing well, nearlyready to be born. A male and my mate is delighted.” The female is gushing withexcitement and it’s pretty contagious as I feel myself smiling broadly at her.

“A female and now a male, you are so lucky and I’m delightedfor you.” Luna Cinder hugs the female, and turning to me, she grins. “Come on,Tati, let’s go see what else is happening.”

We wave as the female waddles away and I follow the Lunainto a room with three beds on one side. It looks similar to a small hospitalward. The male in the room walks over smiling, tips his head in respect to theLuna, and smiles at me also. “Good to see you, Luna. What can I do for youtoday?”

The one thing I’m noticing is that everyone welcomes LunaCinder with respect and warmth. It’s amazing to see and something every packshould have.

“I’ve brought Tati to visit. She’s here to see how our packis organized, and what our good and bad points are. I wanted her to see how yourun things and why you run them as you do. Can I leave Tati with you for anhour so she can see, hear and ask questions? I’ll be back in an hour to takeher to our next port of call.”

The man nods and smiles, “Of course, Luna, it’ll be apleasure.”

Luna Cinder gives me a quick hug. “I’ll see you in an hour.Ask and find out everything.” She lifts an eyebrow, wanting my response.

“Yes, I will, and thank you.”

“I’m Doctor Devlin. I run the hospital, which is more likea maternity hospital most of the time. I love it when one of the warriors getsan injury in training.” Chuckling at my shocked look. “Oh, I heal them andtheir wolves, of course, but it’s nice to see a set of broken bones for achange.”

Giggling because you’d never believe anyone would say thatto you, it’s shocking, really. The hour quickly passes and I’m now aware DoctorDevlin is a bit of an eccentric. He is, however, good at what he does and has apassion for the medical profession in general.

I can see how the hospital is a good idea for the pack, andit’s something I’ll make notes about when I’m back home. If I ever become anAlpha or Luna of a pack, I’d like to make sure a hospital is something we have.

Luna Cinder returns and takes me to the kitchens, where Isee everyone rushing around getting lunch ready. It’ll not be long as I noticethe time when I see the clock above the back door we enter through.