10. Kezia

"Everything?"I asked Hannah. "I don't understand?"

She smiled at me with encouragement, both of us turning to look at the door when we heard a grunt from outside.

Hannah waited a moment, listening until she heard a louder thump and rolled her eyes. "I wish they would act like alpha and beta more," she muttered. "All joking aside, what example do they set to the pack if their leaders are punching lumps out of each other?" Scowling at the wall behind me, she made a carry-on motion to me. "Everything means tell me it all. You're not originally Anterrio Pack, Royce tells me. What pack do you come from?"

"I…" Licking my lips, I shifted nervously. "I don't remember." My time with Kris had been so short I hadn't had a chance to find out if he had been looking into the Blackridge Peak Pack for the murder of my parents. The whole mess with Landon claiming to be my mate, with Cannon actually being my mate, and finding out that my brother was an alpha…I hadn't had time to learn anything else.

Hannah squinted at me, most likely sensing the lie, but her slight nod let me know she was letting me keep the lie. "Nikan said that the pack didn't let you shift?"

Clearing my throat, I changed my focus to my hands. "When my brother approached Pack Leader Bale, it's because he couldn't get me to shift."

"You were a child; children don't shift until they are of age."

"I shifted as a babe," I told her quietly. "When my parents were gone, there was no one to…" I coughed to clear the dryness of my throat. "There was no one to force the shift to human."

Glancing up, I saw her looking at me with wide eyes. "How long?"

"A couple of years. We were young, so we don't know how long exactly."

Hannah watched me carefully. "And in Anterrio?"

"The shaman believed I needed to know the girl as much as the wolf," I told her, smiling slightly as I thought of the old shaman.

"How long before you shifted?"

"Eight years."

Hannah's mouth dropped open. "But…" She took a deep breath. "The pain? The pain must have been so hard," she said sadly.

Shrugging, I looked away once more. I didn't want to see the sympathy in her eyes. I didn't want to acknowledge that any shifter would have known how much pain it caused me to stay human and keep my wolf closed off. The fact my pack knew what agony they had forced me to endure through my younger years reminded me how little they cared for me.

"I'm sorry," Hannah said. Reaching over, she held out her hand, offering it to me in sympathy. Automatically I took it, feeling a warmth in my chest when she squeezed my fingers. "No wolf should be denied that long," she murmured with a final squeeze of her hand.

"It's in the past." I shrugged it off. It was a long time ago, and I had moved on.

"It's why your brother was sure you could fight your heat," Cannon spoke from behind me.

I hadn't heard them come back into the house. Turning, I watched them both watching me. "A trick?" I asked Hannah, turning to look at her.

"I don't play games," she told me firmly. "I genuinely want to know about you. You are my alpha's mate after all." She looked at Cannon as he and Royce resumed their seats. "And I care very much for my alpha."

"The thing with the blood," Royce asked me. "The shaman tests you, all the time?"

Straightening my back, I flicked my gaze between the three of them, avoiding looking at Cannon directly. "Is it any different than the vials that Doc takes?"

"Yes!" Cannon answered with a snort from beside me. "Doc is trying to track your heat so we can finally move past this…this…deadlock we're at."

"Deadlock?" I demanded, feeling my irritation rise. "You're so focused on my heat you're blind to everything else!" I snapped at him.

"Blind? To what? The fact you're an untrained, reckless fool?"

I was on my feet, heading to the door. "Royce, I'm ready to go back to my cell. I'm done here." Looking over my shoulder, I looked at Hannah. "Thank you for the hospitality and the hot water."

On the path, I noted the flattened grass and an overturned plant pot. It looked like things had gotten rougher than I thought out here.

Hannah came out of the house and tsked when she saw her lawn. "They've been doing this since they were kids," she muttered, stepping lightly over the grass and fixing her plant pot. "You'd think they would grow out of it."

"They are male."

She grinned at me as she straightened up. "You're not going back there." When she saw my confusion, she pointed up towards the bunker. "I won't have it. You are no threat to me or my girls. You'll stay with us."

"Sweetheart?" Royce asked from the doorway.

"Abso-fucking-lutely not," Cannon said at the same time. "She stays in the cells."

A passing pack member, who'd been in the process of offering up a greeting, stopped short at Cannon's words and looked between all four of us with wide eyes.

"Vic," Cannon greeted gruffly. "How are you today?"

"Good, Alpha." His attention flicked to me. "Hello?"

"Hi." I took a step back, feeling the warmth of Cannon at my back. "Nice day." I heard the huff of laughter of the alpha behind me as I attempted small talk.

"It is," Vic said, taking a step forward. "Are you visiting long?"

I waited for someone to answer, and when it was clear the older shifter had thrown them off their game, I smiled widely. "I haven't decided yet," I told him pleasantly. "I like to travel around."

"Ah, wanderlust," Vic said with a wistful look, leaning casually on the fence. "Had the travel bug myself when I was younger, cured myself of that real quick."

"Really? How?"

Vic held his arm up, which had been hidden from me with the way he was angled. "When you start leaving body parts behind, it's time to come home."

I took in the arm that ended at the elbow and back to the shifter. "War?"

"Two tours," he said with a nod. "Saw a lot, lost a lot, found a lot more."

I'd never seen a shifter with a permanent injury before. I was fascinated. I moved closer to the older male. "You can still run?"

He bellowed out a laugh. "I can run just fine, girl," he said with a wide smile. "Never seen an injured wolf before?"

I was already shaking my head. "No, I haven't." I stared at the smooth skin.

"You want to touch it, don't you?" he said with a grin.

"He means the arm," Cannon added gruffly right behind me. "He better mean the arm."

"Ew, don't be crass." I dug my elbow into the alpha's ribs, ignoring the laughter around me, moving forward to the older shifter. He held his arm out, and I touched the skin gently. "Pain?"

Vic shook his head. "Still get an itch in my palm now and then, but the pain has gone."

"Fascinating." Bolder, I gripped his limb. "I know this is rude of me," I told him as I continued to explore. "And I know I am probably causing your alpha a coronary at my lack of manners," I continued, "but I've just never seen this on a shifter before. I've seen it in humans, but I thought it would feel different."

Cannon's large hand covered mine as he pulled it away from Vic. "You're right, your lack of manners is, as usual, astonishing. Vic allowed you a courtesy, don't overdo it."

Vic didn't seem perturbed by my curiosity, but he didn't contradict his alpha. "So, are you staying here?" he asked me, nodding towards the house.

"Yes—"

"No," Cannon spoke over me. "Kezia is my guest."

Guest? Ha.

Vic's eyes widened in surprise, but I saw a mischievousness in his look as he flicked his attention between us. "In your house, Alpha?"

"Yes," Cannon said firmly, drowning out my response.

I stiffened in surprise, careful not to draw attention to myself, feeling very conscious of all the attention on me.

Vic whistled low. "Well, Alpha, you're a braver man than me, that's for sure."

Startled at the implication that Cannon wasn't safe with me, I reassessed my opinion of Vic. "He has nothing to worry about with me," I said, sharper than I intended.

Vic laughed and I looked over to the doorway where Hannah and Royce still stood. Hannah was grinning and Royce was trying to keep a straight face.

"You?" Vic wheezed. "Oh, I ain't worried about you, girl, you seem lovely." I ignored the huff behind me. "I just hope you're ready for Koda."

I realized Vic was talking to Cannon, causing me to half turn to look up at the alpha curiously. Cannon was watching Vic, and I recognized the look all too well.

"Kezia is my guest." I didn't miss the emphasis on the word guest, but he continued. "I can have visitors."

Royce coughed out a laugh, and when I looked, Hannah had her head turned away completely, her shoulders shaking.

Vic pushed off the fence, grinning openly. "Let me know how that goes." He winked at me. "Lovely to meet you, Kezia. I'll see you again."

I watched him walk off, whistling to himself, and when I was sure he couldn't hear me, I turned to look up at the bane of my existence.

"With you?" I demanded. "Are you insane?"

Cannon was looking around his town, noticing more people paying attention. "Shut up." Taking my arm, he started to lead me back into the house.

We were halfway to the front door when two high-pitched yells sounded, and I spun in surprise as two little girls ran up to the gate, Nikan hurrying after them. I jumped back out of the way as they hurried past me and threw themselves at Royce.

"Daddy!"

I watched him scoop them both up, his laughter at their excitement at seeing him causing me to smile.

"Kezia," Nikan greeted me as he approached. Running his hand through his hair, he nodded towards the two girls. "I swear they get faster every day," he told me.

"Why aren't they with their class?" Cannon asked him.

"I met them on the way here and told their teacher I'd take them home. Wasn't expecting to see Royce." Nikan gestured to the front of the house. "Neither were they."

"He hasn't been gone?" Royce had been in my cell room every day, so I assumed he'd been home.

"He's been working long days," Cannon told me gruffly. "He's missed a few bedtimes."

I felt immediately guilty. "Oh. Me?"

Nikan reached out and rubbed my arm soothingly. "Not your fault," he told me sympathetically.

Cannon looked at his beta with his family and then at his brother before finally resting his attention on me. "Why'd you have to come out of the house?" he muttered. He was focused on Royce before I had a chance to reply. "Royce?"

The big man turned, his smile fading a little as he seemed to remember we were here. "Two minutes!" he shouted to us, getting ready to put his girls down.

But Cannon was shaking his head. "Come to the house later," he said, waving the small family inside. "We have things to finish."

Royce hesitated, looking between us and Nikan. "Alpha?"

"Just go," Cannon said with a weary sigh. "I doubt even Kezia can cause any more trouble today."

When the cottage door was closed, I looked up at Cannon. "I resent that."

"I don't give a fuck," he muttered. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Nikan asked me as we followed him.

"Kezia is my guest," Cannon bit out, and I could see the tight clench of his jaw.

Nikan leaned in toward me. "He let you out?" he whispered.

"Royce did," I whispered back. "It was only for a shower."

"But now that people have seen her," Cannon interrupted our whispered conversation, "she has to stay out. Or we'll have too many questions to deal with."

Nikan grinned at me behind his brother's back, and I returned his smile. "Cool."

"No. Not cool," Cannon corrected. He turned to face us. "You fuck up, you go back."

"What am I going to do?" I asked him in exasperation, my hands on my hips.

"With you?" Cannon looked me over. "It could be anything." He turned and walked away from us, and I almost turned and walked in the other direction, but Nikan grabbed my arm and pulled me after his brother.

Cannon's house was in the middle of their town, it seemed. It was a two-story house with a nice wraparound porch and looked well-maintained. He said nothing as he opened the door and led us inside. I looked around but couldn't see any guards. His door hadn't been locked—could anyone just walk in here? How strange.

He opened a double door, and I looked around as we entered a study. It was full of books and had several comfy-looking chairs and couches. There was no desk, and I wondered if it was a library instead.

"Close the doors," Cannon instructed Nikan.

I felt the difference in the room when he did. "Soundproof?" I asked.

"Yes, take a seat." Cannon pointed at one of the chairs as he dropped onto a sofa. "Why'd you go outside?"

"Why are you a dick?"

We held each other's stare. "Did you want my pack to see you? Force my hand?"

Dropping my head into my hands, I groaned. "I wanted away from you." My hands muffled my voice, but I knew he could still hear me. "I wanted away from your arrogance and your attitude." Looking up at him wearily, I shook my head. "You're a lot. I can't…" I took a deep breath. "You're a lot. Okay?" Looking at the shelves, I tried to read the spines of the books, realizing some of the books were modern thrillers.

"What did you do to her?" Nikan asked, and I could hear the protectiveness in his tone, and if I could, that meant his brother could too.

"Didn't we discuss this?" Cannon sounded as weary as I felt.

"Yes. You said Kezia is your mate." Nikan held his brother's stare. "You also said you would be nicer to her."

"I also said," Cannon said, standing up, "I would kick your ass if you gave me any shit about this."

"So?" Nikan had an outright challenge in his eye. "You also said you were trying to break the bond. Is this how you do it? By moving her in?"

Cannon said nothing but turned his attention back to me. "There's a guest bedroom upstairs. It's beside mine. I'll know if you try to leave."

"Beside yours?" I felt a surge of uncertainty as he held my stare, and it didn't get any better when he nodded once in confirmation. The weird fluttering in my tummy didn't ease my reservations about this whole plan either.

We both ignored Nikan's snort of derision.

Standing slowly, I looked around the room. "I need clothes. Toiletries. Can I get my backpack?"

"Sure." Cannon's fingers drummed off the back of a seat. "I'll get them from the bunker."

Nikan, who had been watching us closely, muttered something about getting it instead and left us. The heavy thud of the door swinging shut behind him was the only sound in the room as we both watched each other warily.

"Is this the best plan?" I asked Cannon quietly. "Me and you? Here? Together?"

I saw the uncertainty within him as Cannon flicked his gaze away before looking back at me. "Yes."

"And my heat?"

"We'll deal with it."

"Right."

This had disaster written all over it, but the alternative was a return to the cell, and I would do anything other than that, even if it meant staying here…with him. I could do it. How bad could it be? I took a step towards the study doors, remembering something the older shifter had said. "One more thing?"

"What?" he asked with controlled patience, and I knew he was barely holding onto his temper.

I smiled sweetly, or what I hoped was sweetly, and Cannon's gaze narrowed in response. "Who's Koda? And why did Vic think me being here would be a problem for her?"