Fire Wolf: CINAED (New Scotia Pack Book 3) (3 page)

“Calm down,” Cloud said. “You’d think you were an addict.”

“I AM AN ADDICT! I want to go home.”

“Win, you’re being ridiculous,” Cloud said. “Eat your pie like a man.”

“I’m not being ridiculous,” he snarled at his wife, but shoved a forkful of pie in his mouth. “This isn’t awful.”

“We’re glad you think it isn’t awful.” Grey winked at Luna.

“We just need to figure out how to cultivate berries.”

“Okay,” the king said. “You work on that.”

“I might. I brought agriculture books for Ken.”

“Good for you.”

“Ken, can I…?”

“No. You can no’ have the agriculture books until I’ve had a chance to look at them.”

“You really interested in horticulture, Win?” Grey asked.

“I might be. It just so happens I’m a newly out of work alpha in need of a new direction.”

“Well, nobody on Lunark would object to more pie,” Grey said and everybody laughed.

When the children went down, the adults sat in front of the fire in the den. Ken asked Win why his people had changed their minds, then Win and Cloud had tag teamed giving reasons why life as a shifter was becoming increasingly intolerable.

Ken worked hard at ignoring Starfire. There was something about her that called his attention, but he steadfastly resisted the impulse to bury his nose in her neck and sniff. Hard.

He’d decided within seconds of introduction that starting something with his cousin’s ward would be truly stupid. And Ken prided himself on not being stupid. Still, he’d found himself only half listening to the conversation at his end of the dining table while straining to hear her contribution to the dueling discussion the women were having at the other end of the table. Once, when he’d heard her laugh, it had taken all his willpower to keep from turning to look.

When everyone else retired for the night, he gathered up the stack of books Win had brought before he went to bed and got so wrapped up in the treasure trove that he didn’t sleep until it was almost light.

After hurriedly dressing, he carefully placed the books in a leather bag and headed downstairs. He heard voices coming from Grey’s office so he veered off to the kitchen to see if there was anything left from breakfast.

“Good morning,” said Landa with a bright smile. It seemed that she was not only in charge of kitchen duty, but also of the new grandson, Grey. The child looked up at him in that intensely curious way of his.

“Mornin’, Grey. What occupies that fine mind on this glorious day?”

The baby said nothing in return, which was what Ken expected.

“Sit here.” Landa pointed to the small table against the wall. “I have some venison and a couple of eggs.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Ken was about to sit when his uncle appeared in the doorway.

“Come join me in the dining room. Landa will bring your food. Won’t you, Landa?”

“Of course,” she said.

“And can I have some of that stuff that’s not coffee or tea?”

Landa smiled. “Praco.”

“Yeah. That.”

“Yes.”

The king looked at Ken and chuckled. “It’s like Mark Twain said when he visited England. If this is coffee, bring me tea. If this is tea, bring me coffee.”

Ken smiled and sat in the same place where he’d dined the night before. “You knew Mark Twain?”

Grey looked at him like he was daft. “No, Ken. But like you, I can read. And I’m hoping you have good news for me.” Just noticing the circles under Ken’s eyes, he said, “Did you not sleep well?”

“Oh aye. Well, no, I mean I did no’ sleep well, but no’ because of anythin’ other than fascination with the books Win brought. I may have nodded off just as ‘twas gettin’ light.”

“Those must be some damn good books.”

“There are so many things we could be doin’ to make life better.”

“Like what?”

“More efficient ways of growin’ things so that people have more time with their families for instance.”

“What else?”

“Improvin’ irrigation so we’re no’ so dependent on rain.”

“You can do that?”

“Aye, uncle. And so much more.”

“Hmmm. If you’re trying to convince me that we can’t afford to lose you, you’re wasting your time. I already know that. I also know that if I put you forward as head of the expedition and something happens to you, your brothers will flay me publicly, relation and status be damned.

“So you’d better make sure nothing happens.” He made a scoffing sound. “But that’s a big part of why you need to go and be in charge. You’re smart enough to be cautious. A lot of wolves who might volunteer would get the whole team into trouble with
overactive
curiosity or otherwise rash behaviors.”

Ken smirked at his uncle. “So we’re back to flattery, are we?”

Grey shrugged and smiled. “Whatever it takes.”

“Is it truly so important?”

The king pursed his lips. “Depends on your point of view. Like I said. If there’s anything on the other side of the range that should concern us, this would be the first stop. The other colonies would have warning, at
our
expense.”

“Aye. Definitely puts you in the precarious chair. I see that.” Grey waited patiently for him to continue. “If you convince the Council, I’ll go. On one condition.”

“That would be?”

“Get some other poor fool to drive the cart back to New Scotia. I’d like to shift and cover some ground.”

Grey gave Ken a brilliant grin, the sort he didn’t see on the king often unless he was interacting with his wife. “Done. So far as the Council goes, consider them convinced. And I thank you for accepting my proposal.”

Ken rose to leave and shook his uncle’s hand. “Be sure to tell your driver that there’ll be hell to pay if my books do no’ arrive safely.”

“You worry too much. Be ready to step forward and accept an appointment at the Council meeting next Gathering.”

“I’ll be there.”

As Ken was leaving, Starfire was coming in. She’d just finished stomping mud off her boots. When she looked up she was eye to eye with Ken’s Adam’s apple. Her gaze skated up to an expression she didn’t know how to read.

“Hi,” she said. “I was just…”

“I’m just goin’. ‘Twas nice to meet you.”

Ken stepped around her, carrying the precious bag of books, and strode toward an empty wagon hitched to an ox and waiting.

He didn’t look back, but Starfire watched, admiring the way his wide shoulders tapered to a trim waist. He pulled himself up to the wagon seat with muscular grace and clucked to get the ox moving.

“What are you doing?” Cloud was climbing the side porch steps with an amused look on her face.

“Nothing.” Starfire flushed.

“Uh-huh,” said Cloud sarcastically. “The rear view of that young wolf is nice, isn’t it?”

Starfire opened the front door. “I was looking at the ox!”

Cloud combined a chuckle with a scoff and made it clear she wasn’t buying Star’s attempt to cover. “Oh, look. He’s taking off his clothes.”

The speed at which Star turned her head made Cloud laugh even harder. Ken had already removed his belt and boots and thrown them into the wagon. Within seconds his shirt and pants were in a pile on the wagon bed as well.

Shifters were not the least bit modest. Nudity was common and didn’t usually draw notice, unless there was a particular reason to be interested. And Star had a particular reason.

Ken’s bare form was muscular, rock hard, and covered with smooth peaches-and-cream skin. Star couldn’t have looked away even if she knew it would mean years of being teased by her aunt.

It took only seconds for his human form to reshape itself as lupine. Ken’s wolf was as pretty as any she’d ever seen. Werewolf coloring was predominantly in the black and white spectrum with countless variations on gray, but Ken’s wolf was a deep russet with black on his muzzle, ears and at the tips of his fur.

“Would you look at that?” she mused.

“He is a pretty one,” said Cloud. “No doubt about it.” He looked back for a second as if he’d heard that. They watched as he trotted away. “Well, come along. Work doesn’t get itself done.”

Ken was relieved to be freed of responsibility for the cart because the trip would be so much easier on four legs. Shifters didn’t lose intellectual capacity in wolf form. They did lose use of opposable thumbs, of course, but sensory perception was more acute, particularly smell.

As he meandered along creek beds, through dense patches of woods, and over ridges of grassy hills his mind wandered back to Starfire again and again.

He chided himself for dwelling on Starfire. Ken was thinking that maybe he should have asked for a book or two on women. He’d be the first to acknowledge that he didn’t know a lot about females. He was the farthest thing from his brother, Conn, who‘d been a notorious player. Somehow Conn had managed to be a bad bad wolf and still be popular. Go figure. It was as if all females were masochists.

Not that females hadn’t been attracted to Liulf, who had power and preeminence oozing from his pores. He could have had his pick even before he became alpha.

Ken knew that he was attractive to females. He just didn’t feel comfortable around them. He did his share of rutting, especially when he’d had more than his share of ale, but that wasn’t the same thing as conversation. He’d never felt a connection with a female beyond red-blooded itch scratching.

Maybe that was for the best. After all, females just seemed to complicate things. He thought he’d seen a spark of interest in her eyes, but didn’t know enough about reading such things to say for sure. He chided himself that it made no difference either way since he couldn’t pursue her, and recommitted to putting her out of his mind.

CHAPTER THREE

The next full moon gathering took place three weeks after Ken had delivered corn to New Elk Mountain. Not all the new immigrants wanted to go, but certainly all the young people did. After confirming that two of her apprentices would be attending, Luna chose to stay home with Grey and the twins.

They wouldn’t be alone. In spite of reassurances from those who were part of the first migration and had attended many Gatherings, newcomers balked at the idea of partying with other tribes. Roughly half felt like moving to a new world was enough adventure for a while.

Cloud drove a wagon with supplies including extra clothes and bedding. That left Win, Starfire, and the king free to travel in wolf form. They meandered here and there, but never lost sight of the wagon.

Windwalker and NightCloud were almost as excited as Starfire, but their maturity made them more reluctant to show it. They’d never been to a gathering of multiple shifter tribes. So their excitement was as much curiosity as anything.

Though Starfire wouldn’t admit it, her excitement took on an image that strongly resembled Cinaed. She couldn’t wait to see him again and had made up her mind that, when she did, she wasn’t going to be shy.

They left two days before the full moon in a caravan of ox-drawn wagons and an enormous pack of wolves. Several of Starfire’s unmated friends were going. They ran and played and nipped at each other along the way.

Every Gathering meant three days away from home, which was one of the reasons why everyone didn’t attend. The first day, Esbat Eve, the day before the full moon, was for traveling and getting settled at the encampment. The intertribal Council met on the full moon during the day. Those not involved socialized and performed chores necessary to feeding hundreds of shifters. The night was open for celebrating the full moon according to individual taste, which meant wolf fur or human skin, dancing or drinking, and so on.

Starfire rejoined her family before they reached the Gathering grounds. Even though only half the wolves expected had arrived, she was overwhelmed by the numbers. She’d never seen so many shifters and hadn’t even suspected that so many existed. Anywhere.