Chapter Seven

Although I’m bone tired, I don’t rest when I get home. I can’t afford to let my guard down while the Rockwell Pack is still near. I warm up leftover stew for myself and Leisel, since neither of us ate breakfast, and go over a math lesson with her while we eat.

I won’t allow shifters to upend our day-to-day lives—both of us will go about business as usual.

For an unusual change of pace, Chip spends the meal on my shoulder. He’s always been as comfortable with me as he is with Leisel and never seems to mind when I hold or pet him. I think he recognizes me as her provider and protector, and that formed an accord between us, even though he’s relatively antisocial with most others. That is, unless they’re offering him food. Maybe, similarly to how he curled up against Leisel’s neck last night, perceiving her need for comfort, he’s now perceiving my need for comfort, and responding accordingly.

I feed him bites of the bread I bought from Mariketa yesterday, as well as a few pieces of lettuce I harvested from the farm earlier in the week. He accepts all the offerings contentedly, grooming himself in between stuffing his little cheeks.

Leisel watches me with a penetrating gaze throughout our meal. She’s always been intuitive—alarmingly so—and easily senses how wound-up I am.

As I’m washing our dishes, Chip having departed to his normal perch on Leisel’s shoulder, she says, “You’re my hero, Sierra.”

That stops me short, and the bowl I’m washing clatters into the sink. I turn to face her, feeling my heart swell in my chest. “What do you mean, sweet girl?”

She lifts one shoulder. “We’ve been going over archetypes in English. A hero always overcomes impossible odds and comes out on top. A hero protects everyone around them at all costs. A hero is noble, caring, and courageous. You’re all of those things.

“I saw how much you were hurt in the fight, but you kept pushing through, and ended up beating a shifter. A shifter who’s way stronger and faster than you.” Her voice quiets. “And I know you didn’t beat her for yourself. You beat her for me.”

Gods, for a nine-year-old, Leisel has a remarkably advanced mind and vocabulary. She’s mature far beyond her years. It probably comes from the rigorous studies I put her through as well as her love for reading classics.

I say the only thing I can think of, meeting her honesty with some of my own. “You have no idea what that means to me, Leisel. No idea how much you mean to me. If not for you—” My voice cuts off with a crack, and I inhale a deep breath to steady myself before continuing. “If not for you, I’d be a different person. I’d never have learned to be a hero. You came to me in the darkest time in my life and brought beautiful sunlight to overshadow the endless haze I lived in.”

Her eyes well with tears again as she runs up to me and hugs me tightly. “I love you,” she says, her voice wobbly.

I kneel to hug her back, resting my chin on her shoulder. “I love you too, sweet girl. I’ll always protect you. Always.” After a moment, I say, “Thank you for healing me earlier. I doubt I’d be awake if you hadn’t.”

“I’ll always protect you too,” she murmurs.

I let go of her and walk over to the window in front of the kitchen sink—the view outside concealed by the drawn curtain. All the curtains around my cabin have been drawn since the Rockwell Pack came banging on my door last night; I don’t want them to have any peeks into my life. Not even through the windows.

I lift the edge of the curtain a touch, just enough to glimpse the fields that lay beyond the cabin. I don’t spot any wolves, but I know the pack wouldn’t leave me unguarded despite my freedom from them, so I suspect their presence nonetheless. I let the curtain drop, inhale a deep breath, and turn back towards the cabin.

Even though I try to stay optimistic, I can’t help but suspect that my business with the Rockwell Pack has not yet concluded. Not after what’s been revealed.