Moon Child (The Year of the Wolf #2) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,88
I don’t really know what we did. She touched me, and it was like we synced up.” I shrugged. “It was like a burden was taken off my shoulders, and she looked at Seth through my eyes. I guess I registered how she did it, and when Daniel needed us, it felt only natural to do the reverse. To call on her like she called on me.”
“And that’s how you shifted?”
I nodded. “Pretty much.”
His nostrils flared, and he inhaled deeply, looking at me all the while, which was kind of weird as he muttered, “And she, of two creeds, will reign through instinct and knowledge.”
“Huh?”
“You have to understand something, Lara, what you see in me, it’s true. I’m not a wolf shifter.”
“I know,” I told him uneasily. Was this the kind of stuff someone could get killed over? I mean, I’d watched enough crime dramas on Netflix to know that motives didn’t always have to make sense.
“I can project myself as a wolf though. Eli, Ethan, and Austin, did you notice how wary they are around me?”
I frowned. “Not really.”
“Well, it’s because they can’t get a read on me. I project as a wolf, and they know something is strange, but they can’t tell what because it’s outside of the scope of their understanding.”
“Makes sense.” Sort of.
He nodded. “It’s what everyone thinks. But in the Rainford pack, people are just grateful that I present as an alpha without the nasty side effects that come as part and parcel of the role.”
“I can understand that, especially if they’re used to horrible men leading them.”
“Yes. They are.” He reached for my hand and twisted his fingers about mine. When I didn’t protest, he squeezed them and said, “I’m kumiho.”
My brows arched. “Really?”
He sighed. “Yes. It’s like a Korean kitsune.”
“Dude, I’ve watched Nae Yeojachinguneun Gumiho,” I retorted. “I know what a kumiho is.”
A laugh escaped him. “Not a bad accent there, Lara.”
I shrugged. “K-Dramas are my thing. When you live in a forest by yourself, you get real friendly with Netflix.” Then, my nose crinkled. “I thought they were bad. Like evil spirits and stuff.”
He shook his head. “No. We’re a fountain of wisdom. We offer guidance in times of trouble. But we’re powerful. There are only two alive at any given time.”
A nasty thought filtered through me. “Your grandfather is still alive, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” His smile was sad. “I only ascended to the position when my father died.”
“That’s how you killed the other alpha, isn’t it?”
He nodded, then reached for my other hand, squeezing on my fingers some more like he was imploring me to listen, to hear him. “I only shifted for the first time that night my father passed over. Until then, my family had to hide that I couldn’t shift.”
“Why didn’t he defend himself?” I rasped, hurting for him. “Surely he could have stopped the Rainford alpha?”
“He could, but he chose not to. We’re pacifists. It’s not good what I did, but I couldn’t stop it from happening. Not after the way Kingsley Rainford treated my family.”
“I understand,” I told him softly. “Vengeance is the only thing that can give you closure sometimes.”
“It didn’t work,” he muttered, lowering his head. “I spent all my life learning from my grandfather and father, listening to their stories, and in every single one, change starts when a female wolf shifter mothers two children—a boy and a girl child.”
My nose crinkled. “That makes no sense. There have to be plenty of moms who have two kids.”
“No. You don’t understand. Since the birth of time, two wolf shifters have only been able to beget one child. On rare occasions, there’ll be a twin birth, and those twins are reviled.”
“Austin and Ethan are twins,” I pointed out. “They’re high up in the pack.”
“Because of Eli. Because of Sabina. They were loathed. Everyone knows about them in the state. Twins are few and far between, and whenever they crop up, they’re universally hated. There’s a reason for it, but still, it sucks for them.”
“What’s the reason?”
He sighed. “You’re getting a condensed lesson, Lara. There are several lifetimes of stories I’m compressing for you. Let me pick and choose what you need to know for the moment, until I can share everything with you?”
My heart sped up at those seven words—until I can share everything with you.
Why did that sound so delicious?
His nostrils flared again, and he shook his head. “Now isn’t the time to get turned on, Lara. This is important. Do you have another sister?”