Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,69
nice guy.” Something dark crossed her features and she frowned.
Then I remembered that she was banished Curt’s mating year, and I suddenly found myself wondering why. She must have read my mind, because her gaze flicked to my dad, who nodded, and then she looked back at me. “Can we talk privately in your room? I need to tell you something.”
The room pressed in on me, becoming smaller and smaller, and I nodded.
Holy crap. This was it, this was the moment when she was going to tell me why she got kicked out.
Breathe, just breathe.
I always secretly thought my dad murdered someone, or something really dark, to get our entire family banished from Werewolf City. Now I would hear the truth.
She stepped into my room and I shut the door behind me. She sat on the edge of my bed and patted the spot next to her. Seeing her sitting there, her long beautiful blond hair in a thick braid over one shoulder, I couldn’t help but remark at how much we looked alike. But there was stress behind her eyes, something that aged her more than her forty-one years, but damn she was still gorgeous.
We sat there a moment, just being in stillness, until finally my mother took my hand and faced me. “Your grandmother’s land, the land I grew up on in Werewolf City, bordered the Paladin Wild Lands.” My body went rigid, as I had no idea the Paladin’s would factor into this story.
“The Paladins are a rival pack, absolutely hated by the alpha and expressly forbidden to have contact with,” she told me.
I nodded, indicating she go on. She had no idea I already knew who the Paladins were or that I’d met one and he’d saved my life.
“But I was just a kid, I didn’t know that. So at nine years old when my foot got stuck in the barn slats while I was feeding the chickens, I wailed for help but my mom was vacuuming and couldn’t hear me.”
I leaned closer, desperate for this story. “But another boy did. He was eleven, and he burst into the barn wearing some kind of caveman getup and holding a spear.”
She smiled at the memory, and I immediately was reminded of the nice Paladin man who’d saved me and how he’d dressed so barbaric.
“I was frightened of him at first, but when he pried my leg free I gave him some fresh eggs for the trouble. Soon after that, we met at the border flags every day and exchanged gifts and told stories. He became my best friend.”
Holy shit, this was not what I expected. Would they banish my mom for having a Paladin best friend? That’s a bit insane.
I leaned forward. “What happened?”
My mom looked away, and when she turned back to me her cheeks were red. “His name was Running Spirit, but I just called him Run.” She smiled at the memory. “We grew older and his body started to change. He went from a boy to a man.”
Ohhh, so that’s where this story is going. I braced myself.
She blushed, seemingly lost in memories.
“On my fifteenth birthday, he kissed me and I fell in love with him. He was seventeen and said he would be going away for a while. Some kind of Paladin rite. He was the son of the alpha and needed to prove himself on some type of vision quest or something. He asked me if I would wait for him and I said yes.”
My heartbeat thundered in my chest and I nodded. “What happened? How long was he gone?” The story enthralled me completely.
My mom sighed. “Too long. I waited every day by the back fence for three years until I got my letter that Curt Hudson wanted me to attend Sterling Hill because it was his mate selection year.”
Three years? Holy crap, that was too long. Did he die?
Sadness crossed her face. “I had to choose to wait for him or go follow my dream of going to college. As you know, it was free, and this would be my only chance to get this kind of education and make a better life for your grandmother and me. I grew up poor and we had a small farm, but it wasn’t enough, even with the handouts from Wolf City … it was a hard life.”
A tear slipped out from my eye because I’d never heard this story and I couldn’t imagine having to choose between something like that. I’d never