Moon Child (The Year of the Wolf #2) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,80
interchangeable though.”
“That’s pretty disrespectful, isn’t it?”
I shrugged. “They’re disrespectful people. Especially where women and the kids they beget are concerned. A lot of times, the women they’ve bitten don’t even know they’re carrying hyena spawn.”
Though her eyes flared wide with disgust, she just mused, “Interesting.”
There was that word again.
I figured if she was interested, then the date was going well.
Deciding to keep that up, I informed her, “Hyena males can shift from birth. Their females need to be bitten during sex to trigger the shift—even those who are born. That’s why, during a claiming like with a wolf shifter, there’s no biting.”
“To represent a lack of force?”
“Exactly.” I looked at her then, imbued that look with meaning. “There’ll never be any force.” She took my promise with a stony glare, but I could see she was pensive. Could sense her concern, and because I wanted to help her, I asked, “Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can I help?”
She gulped, but picked up her burger and took a large bite. Deciding she wanted to be left to her thoughts, I gave her the freedom to just eat without expecting a conversation, and by the time she’d finished her fries, I was rewarded with another question.
“What’s the covenant? I heard Ethan and Daniel talking about it earlier.”
Of course, her question couldn’t be a simple one to answer, could it?
“Have you heard anything about a totem?”
“Like a Native American one?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head.
“Makes sense because you’re not pack, I guess. But all packs, clans, tribes…whatever, they all have a totem. It’s where we gather as a unit. A safe space for meeting as a collective. It’s overseen by our…” I shrugged. “Some might say it’s the Mother herself, others might say it’s someone who speaks on her behalf.”
“Okay,” she voiced slowly. “What about it?”
“Well, whoever it is, on the covenant, we’re taken to the totem and we speak with whoever it may be, and we’re informed of our destiny.”
“That’s pretty cool,” she whispered, eyes round.
“It is. In my pack, it’s not been that way for a long time, because the Rainfords stopped letting us meet there. The Mother’s will interfered with their own desires.”
“They sound like jerks.”
“They were. Trust me.” My smile was tight. “So, at the covenant, we’re informed what rank we’ll be, what the Mother sees in our future, and if we’re granted a mate.”
“So, you never had a covenant?”
“No. Never. But even if I had, because you’re human, I’d never have been warned about you by the Mother.” Her cheeks turned pink at my cavalier mention of what she was to me. “Mates who are wolf children, that’s people who are turned into wolves like your sister, aren’t recognized by the Mother.”
“That sucks.”
“It does.”
“Even if it’s basically taking away free will.”
And because I knew how important free will was to her, I just told her, “Where mates are concerned, free will goes out of the window. Not because it’s a way of controlling another person, but because living without a mate, which some people have to do, is a fate worse than death.”
My words resonated, probably more than she’d like.
She dumped her burger on her plate, then reached for her glass. “I’m sorry about all the questions.”
“Don’t be. I’m here for you, Lara. In ways you’re not ready to accept,” I told her, my voice soothing. “But when you are, I’ll still be here, and there’ll still be no force.”
Her eyes turned wary. “Why do I believe you?”
“Because you’re supposed to. You were fated to believe me, fated to believe in me.”
She dipped her chin. “Sabina says we didn’t share a father.”
That she’d unlocked a door between us filled me with relief. She could have started the conversation just to change the subject, but I didn’t think so, and merely said, “If he was cruel, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I suppose.” She bit her lip. “I’ve had all these talents for years, Todd, and everyone always thought I was crazy because of them. Me included. But here I am, everyone listening to me, acting like I’m not nuts, and it’s when everything goes to hell.” Her gulp was nerves, pure and simple. Her gaze caught mine at long last, and she whispered, her voice so quiet I could barely hear it, never mind the people in the diner, “Why, when I look at you, when I look into you, do I see a fox? And not a wolf?”
My lips parted, because whatever I’d expected her to say, it wasn’t