Bab 6: Chapter Six: Trust Me
Kinsley’s POV
Terron’s pack is strong, not only in physical terms but also in numbers. He has countless warriors shifted into wolven form as we stalk through the woods. I let my bare feet brush through the grassy fields, wondering when the seasons will change and snow will lick the surface of this field.
I hated the snow when I was with Ace.
The chains would feel heavier, my body stiffer and everything would ache. Terron has made it clear that with him, I don’t sleep outside anymore.
I’ve got clothes now, several different kinds, and warm food whenever I want it. The luxury has been amazing but as we trek through the woods toward Alpha Jonathan’s pack, I have a resounding feeling of fear in my stomach.
I tiptoe through the creek, the cool water running past my ankles. I stop for a moment to take in the feeling, watching Terron’s warriors skip over the water in bounding leaps. I can’t picture myself as a wolf, with that amount of power.
Maybe I am doomed to this body forever.
“Come on, little wolf,” Terron hums, pressing his hand into my lower back.
He hasn’t said much since the rogue told him what pack I come from. I don’t think he trusts his word, or maybe he isn’t happy with finding out about my family after all.
Something resembling frustration crosses his features when we exit the trickling creek. At his command, his wolves all stop short of a village, the homes much larger and more detailed than the huts in Terron’s pack.
He rolls his eyes, Lucas joining us up front while the Beta and Alpha look at one another. They hold a conversion in the link, or maybe through their look alone, and I spot a few wolves charging from the paths in the village to come greet us.
Or kill us.
My life being a rogue prisoner has taught me to be very skeptical of wolves being friendly when you cross near their camp. The wolves stop, though, and one of them shifts into a towering olive-shaded man. His eyes are dark, darker than Ace’s, and I threaten to break at the sight of them.
“We’re here to see Alpha Jonathan Linc,” Terron breathes, settling his warriors to kneel as though to appear peaceful. I will admit, with the number of wolves he brought and the size of them, it’s hard to imagine us looking like anything but a raiding party. “I am Alpha Terron Matthews.”
The glistening man who shifted so easily from his wolven stance looks through us all, his eyes finding mine where they stop. “Why have you brought her here?”
Terron cocks his head in mere curiosity. “I was hoping someone could tell me about this she-wolf. She is my mate. She doesn’t know her name or if she has a family. I rescued her from The Rogue Prince.”
Something travels between the wolves opposite of us, something cold. “Of course, Alpha Terron. Bring the girl and your Beta if you’d like, but the others have to stay behind.”
Terron’s arm around my hip tenses. “Let’s go find out who you are, little wolf.”
It’s a short stroll through their village before we get to the largest house in the clearing. Even though these homes are made of cobblestone and the paths are paved with gravel, I prefer the sight of Terron’s pack.
His pack village has bushy overgrowth on the tin roofs and the trees hang heavy over the grounds. It’s beautiful and earthy and as I stand outside this large house, I miss it.
The door flies open after a soft knock and the Alpha in the doorway stares at me without needing to greet or even glance at anyone else. His lips roll over his teeth, the sheer size of this man easily identifiable as an Alpha. He looks like Terron but older, much older, his hair a salt and pepper shade with dark, unkind eyes.
I step behind Terron’s shoulder, something uneasy flowing through my veins.
“Kinsley,” he hums, the name striking me into a stumble. “My daughter.”
I should be happy to learn my name, to see the man who claims to be my father, but the silence surrounding us signals something else.
“An Alpha’s daughter? That’s impossible,” Lucas hums, his voice breaking the silence.
I hold the back of Terron’s arm. He briefly looks over his shoulder with a calm look in his stormy blue eyes. I’ve dreamed of those eyes even while being wide awake.
Terron leans back, speaking low for me, “Alpha daughters are unheard of. The bloodlines in an Alpha household come out as males because of the strength they possess to carry on an Alpha gene. Alpha’s always produce other Alpha offspring, not–” he stops, and I am thankful for it.
Even being born as a daughter makes me an automatic disappointment.
Terron looks at Alpha Jonathan with a hint of skepticism, as Lucas does as well. But I know this man. He’s in my mind somewhere, tucked far away in the storage I’ve built up and blocked off throughout the years. I can’t recall any memories of him but I know those eyes.
I’m scared of those eyes.
“How did you find my daughter?” Jonathan groans, stepping out onto the porch instead of inviting us inside. I cower behind Terron, the safest wolf I recognize here. “She was taken by the rogues when she was little.”
“And you never found her?” Terron asks, accusatory in tone. “I raided Ace’s rogue camp and found her chained up outside. She didn’t know her name or if she had any family. Couldn’t remember anything.”
Jonathan relaxes at those words. “I looked for years but those rogues moved around a lot. I never could get close enough to getting her back before I would lose their trail again.”
My stomach churns. We never moved camp. It may have been nothing more than some tents near a stream for fresh water and lining a clearing for easy hunting, but it was my idea of home for years.
I take a cautious step back, eyeing the warriors Terron left outside of the village.
“Are you okay, Kinsley?” Lucas breathes, stepping back to be next to me while Terron and the Alpha, my father, speak in pittering conversations. I stare at the Beta, watching his lips carefully when he says my name again. “Kinsley, what’s wrong? You look scared.”
“She is just confused, I bet she doesn't remember a thing. She’s in shock,” Alpha Jonathan cuts in.
He waves me forward with his massive, strong arms and sucks me into a tight embrace. I can’t relax, no matter how hard he presses his arms into my shoulders and back.
“My daughter. I’ve missed you.”
Terron scratches his neck, flittering a look around the group. “Should I let you two catch up? I can wait out here if you would prefer.”
Jonathan keeps me pinned to his side as he faces Terron. “Why would you? You’ve returned her to her rightful pack. She can live life with me again.”
“She is my mate,” Terron says, pride drooling from his words.
“Ah, I see,” Jonathan says, his glare concerned. “Well, how about she stays for the weekend? I can catch up with my daughter and she can return to your pack by next week.”
Terron mulls over the idea, his brows knit in concern. Lucas steps forward though and presses a hand to his Alpha’s shoulder, sporting a kind grin.
“She should reconnect with her father, Terron. We can come back in a few days when they are done reminiscing.”
Terron obviously isn’t happy with this idea by the furrow on his face, his eyes stuck on mine as if trying to read my mute expression.
“I guess that’s okay, but I’ll be back tomorrow. She is my mate and she belongs under my supervision, just in case Ace comes around.”
“I’ll take good care of my daughter,” Jonathan says, ushering my mate and his Beta to leave.
Terron and I break apart, wordless and stiff. I watch him go until I can no longer see him or his wolves in the field nearby. Alpha Jonathan crosses his arms over my shoulder and shoves me haphazardly into his house, barking at his warriors to leave.
Something about the way he growls pulls my focus from seeing the inside of his house and turns to how he stands over me, brooding and disappointed; just like Ace.
“You should've never come back here,” he snarls.
I cower away but it’s too late, his closed fist cuts through the air and connects with the edge of my temple. My body hits the floor but it’s all I have left before my vision goes dark and my limbs go weak.
Now this, above all else, is familiar.
Hadiah
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