The Hunt (By Kiss and Claw #2) - Melissa Haag Page 0,43
their line.” She paused for a moment. “I guess I’m just feeling a little upset with myself for being so focused on my own misery that I haven’t stopped to think there might be someone else who was feeling the same or worse than me. Yet, when you saw I was having trouble with Elbner, you stepped right in and stuck up for me. Thank you.”
Uncomfortable with everything Fenris had shared with her and her gratitude for not allowing Elbner to call her names, I kept my response simple.
“You’re welcome.”
She flashed a relieved smile at me. We drove in silence for several minutes as I navigated the roads toward the pack’s territory.
“I’m not exactly sure where you live,” I said when we got closer.
She started giving me directions that led to a gravel parking lot edged by trees. Through them, I caught a glimpse of an open field and a cluster of houses that looked like a mini town.
“I’ve never been this far into pack territory. If this is where everyone parks, how did Aubrey keep her convertible snow-free, out in the open like this?”
Jenna pointed to several canvas-topped carports hidden in the trees along the parking area.
“She managed to get one of those. And it’s not her car. We’re supposed to share it. Do you want to see a little more?”
“Am I allowed?”
She grinned.
“Given who your guardians are, yes, it’s allowed. For anyone else, I’d probably have to get permission first.”
I glanced at the houses again and let my curiosity, plus Fenris’s repeated reminders to do what I wanted, influence me.
“I’d love to see more.”
We left the car and followed the footpath through the trees. What I’d glimpsed from the parking lot was nothing compared to what I saw when we emerged into the clearing. Smoke curled in lazy plumes from the chimneys of the rustic homes that dotted the open space. We passed a few of the buildings on the outskirts, and I noticed stumps in the tall grass around them.
“We cut down the trees for lumber to build new homes when needed,” Jenna said, noticing the direction of my gaze. “There are a lot of us around mating age, so they built a few extra for whoever’s next.”
“What if you don’t want to live here?”
She grinned.
“We’re a pack. We like sticking together. Although when a pairing happens between a pack here and a wolf from another pack, the pair usually decides together where they want to go. A few leave. A few stay.” She shrugs. “It helps the bloodlines stay strong.”
As we continued along the footpath, I noticed other trails branching off.
“How many houses are there?”
“In this clearing? About thirty. There are others farther away.”
“Do the clearings have names like towns?” I asked.
“Unofficial ones. We call this one Blueleaf due to the trees. Same with Larch and Hornbeam.”
“And you live in Blueleaf?”
“Yep. Almost there.”
A small wolf cub ran in front of us with three more following close to its tail.
“Faster, Tarlen!” Jenna yelled with a laugh.
“Uh, is he going to be okay?”
“Oh yeah, chasing is a game we love from the moment we’re born. I think that’s why we all get so crazy about the mate runs.”
She veered off the path toward a cabin with planter boxes in front of its windows.
“This is me.”
The cabin’s inside was nothing like its outside. I’d expected something like Fenris’s cabin in the woods but, instead, walked into the inside of a house like we’d find in town. I paused, trying to get my bearings.
“Is it just me, or is the inside bigger than the outside?”
Jenna grinned.
“Druid spellwork. It was tweaked a few generations ago to fit the family. My parents updated the inside to make it more comfortable. My room’s back here.”
She led me to a room that looked similar to the one I had when I lived with my dad. A single bed dominated the space with a dresser and vanity off to the side. There was a skylight but no other window. Her space wasn’t littered with clothes and makeup but was neatly compact and tidy.
“You’re the first friend I’ve had over,” she said. “What do you think?”
“It reminds me of the room I grew up in. I like it.” I sat on the edge of the bed with her. “Why am I the first friend? Don’t the other girls you hang out with ever come over?”
A sharp laugh escaped her.
“No. We’re not close like that. Fenris keeps us apart.”