Wolfsfoot (Kingdom of Wolves #1)

“I’m sorry. I needed to rest.I wasn’t hurting or touching anything.” Stuttering with nerves.

“It’s okay, but you don’thave to sleep in here. If you need a bed girl, we’ve got one up at the house.My wife and I will be happy to let you rest.”

I give the man a nervouslook. He’s probably around sixty years of age, has gray hair cut short, abeard, and is rather portly. But he has kind eyes and a warm smile.

“Come on, girl, come with meand meet my wife. I’m Lykos Greyfoot, and my wife is called Akela. You may haveheard of us. We are from the Blackshadow Pack in the past.”

That has me shooting towardsthe ledge, but before I can jump, he continues. “We left because they are eviland we wanted nothing to do with them. So don’t fear us. We will help you ifyou need it. I can see you’re a girl on the verge of her first shift. You alsodon’t have a pack aura, which means you’ve either been a rogue for a while orjust turned rogue by rejecting your pack. Either way, I don’t give a shit. Ifyou’ve rejected a pack, we’ll be more than happy to help you.”

“I just left the Blackshadowpack hours ago. I don’t want you getting into trouble because of me, andthey’ll be looking for me.” Deciding to be honest with this male is easybecause he is showing me no aggression.

He’s a good man, Tati.Trust him, for now at least. I sigh alittle relief when I hear Ebony in my mind and know she’s still with me,building her strength ready for my change.

“Okay, thank you. But I can’tstay long or they’ll find me.”

“Come on, let’s go getsomething to drink and something to eat. Akela will have lunch ready, and I’mstarving.” Climbing down the ladder as he’s talking to me, he huffs a littleand I grin because I’m sure he’s exaggerating that.

Entering the farmhousekitchen, Lykos shouts to the small woman at the kitchen sink. “I found us someoneto have lunch with. She may need to stay awhile too. We have a runner fromBlackshadow and they’ll not find her if I have anything to do with it.”

Turning, the woman smiles.She’s only 5’ which is even smaller than my 5’ 2”. She’s probably in her latefifties, has some streaks of gray in her hair, and is as thin as a stick. Butshe has rosy cheeks and a welcoming smile on her face.

“Take a seat, child. Let meget you something to eat.” Bustling away to a dresser on one side of thekitchen.

“Take a seat and let me washmy hands.” Lykos walks over to the sink and then takes a seat opposite me atthe kitchen bench. It’s one of those with a long seat on each side and madefrom wood, but it’s clean and well-kept.

Akela places a plate ofsandwiches on the table, chips, and a few pastries, then sits next to Lykos,and both turn to give me bright smiles.

“Tuck in.” Akela grins and Inervously take a sandwich and a small bite. I watch them both over the sandwichas I keep nibbling a little more and, seeing nothing threatening, I decide totrust as Ebony asked me to.

“My name’s TatianaWinterstorm and I’ve just rejected Blackshadow Pack a few hours ago. They willlook for me and I don’t want to bring you any trouble, but if I can rest herefor a few hours, I would be very grateful.”

“We don’t give a shit aboutthat pack as we left it a few years ago. I don’t remember you, but you wouldhave only been a pup when we left. Winterstorm rings a bell for some reason.”Lykos is searching my face for a clue as to who or why the name rings a bell,but I do not know what I could tell him which would help.

Akela leans forward andfrowns. “Did your parents die in an accident?”

Nodding, I murmur. “Yes.”

“Winterstorm, that was theAlpha that took over the pack from the original Alpha. That was yourgrandfather. Running her hand over the back of Lykos’ forearm, she looks athim, then back to me. “Was Alpha Torrance your father’s Beta?”

Shrugging, I shake my headthat I do not know.

“You’ll stay with us a fewdays, at least until we know what the hell is going on, because we’re notthrowing you out for those fuckers to get their hands on you.” Lykos growls.

“Do you know if your parents’names were Yukon and Kiki?”

Looking at Akela, I feeltears fill my eyes because it has literally been years since I’ve heard theirnames. They were banned from being mentioned in the pack and Alpha orderedeveryone to never speak their names. “Yes, they were called Yukon and Kiki.”

“That does it Lykos. Tatianais staying with us until we find out what they have done, and then we’ll callin the council if we need to.”

I’m worried that all hell isgoing to happen, and I’m too young to start a war with a pack. I have no one toturn to and I won’t drag these two shifters into a fight with Alpha Torrance.

“Can I ask why you left thepack?”

Lykos looks at Akela, then atme. “The pack is vile. The Alpha is nearly feral and how he’s not gone crazy bynow, I don’t know. I think he had something to do with his mate dying, and yourparents’ accident. I think he orchestrated it all so he could become Alpha as astand-in until your coming of age, but had never intended to hand the packover. It was the only way he could become Alpha, but he’s not true Alpha blood,so he’d need his son and you to have a pup who would then be a rightful andblooded Alpha.”

I shoot to my feet becausewhat Lykos has just said is so near to what could happen that my stomach feelslike it wants to vomit, and projectile vomit at that.

“What? What is it, Tatiana?”Akela asks, standing from the bench.