17. Kezia

I felthim before I was fully awake. Cannon's hand smoothed over my hair, and when I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see he was smiling. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey." Wetting my bottom lip, I wanted to ask him what happened, but when he leaned forward and kissed me lightly, I forgot my questions. Cannon drew back and I looked at him, my eyes searching his. "What was that for?"

"For trusting me," he spoke softly. "To bring you back."

Immediately I looked for her presence, but she was absent. "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have I been asleep?" Pushing myself into a sitting position, I reached for the glass of water he handed me. Taking deep gulps, I quenched my thirst. "One? Two days?"

"Five."

"Oh. Wow." Putting the glass down, I pushed my hair back. "Sorry."

Cannon moved forward in his seat. "Why?"

"You'll have had so many questions to answer from your pack." Breaking away from the intensity of his stare, I looked out of the open window, the sky a cloudless blue. It looked like a beautiful day.

"You want to go run?"

My head snapped back to face him. "Really?"

Cannon stood, extending his hand towards me. "Yes. We can run together."

I put my hand in his, and he pulled me to my feet. Standing so close to him, I remembered how selflessly he had pleasured me in the cell. "You're being really nice to me."

"I know." Cannon smirked. "It won't last, so relish it while you can."

"There he is," I teased, stretching a little. "Can I go to the bathroom first?"

Cannon shook his head in pretend exasperation. "Of course you can go to the bathroom, Kezia. You don't need to ask that."

He shoved me playfully when he saw my grin, and with a carefree laugh, I headed to the bathroom.

After I took care of my bladder and washed my hands, I splashed my face with cool water. Looking in the mirror, I examined my face. I looked the same. I felt the same. Why was he being so nice? Or was I just a suspicious cynic?

When I opened the bathroom door, he was waiting. "Ready?"

"Um, yes." I followed Cannon down the stairs, and he led me to the back door located in the laundry room. "If we're quick, we can miss most of them."

"Them?"

"I'll tell you if we make it without being seen." Cannon pulled his shirt off. "Get undressed."

I turned my back when he started to unbuckle his belt. My heat had passed but that didn't mean the attraction was gone. Cool hands ran over my shoulders.

"You okay?"

"I'll, um…take these off," my voice came out in a whisper.

"You need help?"

My knees felt weak at his touch. I needed to get a grip on myself. "Or you can turn around?"

I heard his low laughter. "I'll turn around," he said with amusement, and I knew I was being silly. The man's mouth had been on most of my body. My naked body. The modesty train had left the station a long time ago. My cheeks flamed as I remembered us together in the cell.

I'd never taken my clothes off so quickly before, calling my wolf forward, alert for any sign of her being difficult. When I turned, the black wolf was waiting.

Let's run.

Cannon had already opened the door slightly before his shift, and once more, I followed his lead as the alpha of the Blackridge Peak Pack effectively sneaked out of town.

The black wolf set a fast pace, and my wolf rushed to catch up with him. We ran far from the town, stopping to drink from a small stream and share a rabbit. High up the mountain, the alpha slowed until we were trotting side by side. He'd told me on the run here that I had a group of people waiting for me to wake, all worried about me. It caught me by surprise how much it meant that the shifters of his pack cared about me.

Me.

Apart from my brother, the shaman, and perhaps Cass and Landon, I'd never had that before.

A familiar scent caught my nose on the breeze, and I would have stopped had the alpha not nudged me to keep moving. In a carved-out alcove on the face of the mountain sat two bundles of clothes and two backpacks. A small clearing was in front of it, and my head lifted in the summer breeze, sniffing out the scent I knew as well as my own.

Shift.

I followed his command, hastily reaching for clothes familiar to me. Pulling down the T-shirt over my bra, I let out a squeal of happiness when my brother rounded the alcove, throwing myself into his arms. "Kris!"

My brother squeezed me tight, and when we separated, my jaw dropped when the shaman stepped forward. "Holy shit," I exclaimed.

"I have missed you too, pup," he greeted me with a warm hug.

"You shifted?" I asked incredulously.

"You think I cannot run, pup?" he said as Kris guided him down to the ground.

I'd never thought about it, but as I thought about it now, I realized I'd been ignorant. "I assumed you couldn't," I admitted, my eyes lowered in shame. "I don't know why…"

"I am hindered by poor sight," the shaman spoke easily. "My impairment does not hinder my speed or my sense of smell. My poor vision does not define me."

"You're right, I'm a dick." Kris let out a sharp laugh but quickly smothered it. "There's a wolf at the pack, he's missing his arm, and he can still run," I told them as I sank to the ground.

Kris looked towards Cannon, who had settled close to me but not too close. "He is welcome?" he asked curiously. "To stay in your pack?"

"You think I will cast out a shifter because he doesn't have four legs when he shifts?" Cannon asked, reaching for one of the backpacks and opening it. He handed me a protein bar, passing one to the shaman also. He held out another to Kris. "I assume, like us, you ate on the way, but she gets hungry. I figured you would too." Cannon met Kris's gaze. "I cast no shifter from my pack or their home. Unless they are a threat to my pack or me." He grinned with no mirth. "There is little that is a threat to me." Once more, he held out the snack to my brother.

Kris took it hesitantly. "Thanks." I watched my brother as he turned the simple protein bar over in his hands before he looked up at the alpha. "Seems it's not only Kez that's a dick in the family."

"Kez?" Cannon was watching me, but I resisted the pull to meet his stare. The run had been nice, better than nice, but in this form, I could still feel the lingering effects of his touch on my body. Madness, of course. Five days had passed, but I felt like I could feel everything.

"It's just a nickname," I muttered.

"Mm-hmm, you seem to have many." His gaze swept over me. "Interesting."

Opening my snack, I took a bite, hoping no more questions were coming my way. But my brother was far too familiar with all my diversion tactics and saw right through me.

"You speak with your mouth full all the time," he teased lightly, but he was once more regarding Cannon. "But this time, my questions are for you."

They were? I looked between the three of them. "What did I do?" I asked fearfully, proving Kris right by speaking while chewing. "Have the Pack Council come already?"

Cannon reached over, his large hand rubbing my lower back soothingly. "You did nothing," he murmured. "And no, they haven't."

His touch confused me. He was confusing me, and what was perplexing me the most was the fact I liked it.

Cannon kept his hand near me, his fingers near my hip, but his attention was on my brother. "I know about your history," he started bluntly, causing me to stiffen in surprise. "Your parents were killed, you tried to raise this one alone, but you were too young for such a task."

Kris had stilled, his eyes alert and watchful, while I was more aggrieved at his terminology. "This one?" I muttered. "Really?"

Cannon, in familiar Cannon behavior, ignored my protest. "I know you were young," Cannon continued. "Do you know how young?"

"Are you asking me what age I was when I watched my parents get murdered?" Kris snarled.

"I was being more tactful, but yes."

"Why?" my brother asked, and I could see his anger. "Need an alibi?"

"Kris!" I warned. "Cannon isn't that old." I glanced at the alpha behind me, taking the opportunity to mess with him and hopefully defuse the situation before it began. "I know looks can be deceiving, but he's only thirty…" I paused. "Four?"

Cannon gave me a rueful look before fixing his attention back on my brother. "My father was a bastard," he spoke clearly. "Murdering shifters was a crime of his." His hand moved closer to me, his fingers pressing slightly into my thigh. "Murdering your parents wasn't one of them."

"And how do you know?" Kris scoffed. "You have his buckle."

Cannon looked genuinely baffled for a moment. "I have his what? My father's buckle?" Shifting his weight slightly, he scratched his jaw. "There is nothing left of Rek's in my pack," he told us. "Except me and my brother, if you want to be technical."

"You were wearing my father's, our father's, belt buckle the day we met you." Kris was on his feet, angry accusation burning in his eyes.

Cannon looked thoughtful. "Another piece of a puzzle," he mused. "If you could listen and answer some questions, I will do everything I can to answer yours."

Kris hesitated. I saw the glance at the shaman, and I knew he was communicating with him. "Make it quick."

Cannon nodded briefly. "How many years between you and your sister?"

Kris huffed, ready to say something smart, and I flicked my leg out and kicked him. "Just answer, it's easier, trust me." I turned to look at Cannon. "Five years."

"And Kezia was a baby when your parents were attacked?"

Kris shrugged. "Yes." He thought about it. "She was one, maybe younger," he added hesitantly.

"You went to Anterrio when she was what age?"

"Five or six," Kris said irritably. "Why?"

"So, you were ten? Eleven?"

"If you add five years on, that's the answer," Kris mocked.

"Kezia is nineteen now, making you twenty-four."

"If you dragged us out here to wow me with simple math, then I wished you'd called instead. It took a lot of bullshitting to get the shaman outside of the pack with just me as his companion."

"Kristoff," the shaman chided. "The alpha has a point."

I'd been following Kris's train of thought, so when the shaman implied there was more to the questioning, I turned to face Cannon more. "I'm also missing the point of the questions," I told him honestly.

Cannon looked between the two of us, and then straight at the shaman. "You've never told him?"

"Told me what?" Kris was really pissed off now.

Cannon met his furious gaze calmly. "An alpha is born," he said, holding his hand up to stop Kris from interrupting. "But we come into our alpha power when we are mature." He didn't blink as he spoke, holding my brother's gaze. "An alpha is mature when he is in his mid-twenties. It's why I couldn't challenge my father until I came back to the pack. I needed years to learn to master my power."

"Maybe you're a late developer," Kris spat out.

"I am one of the youngest alphas in North America," Cannon corrected him. "I came into my alpha power when I was twenty-four."

"Kris is twenty-three," I reminded him. "Almost twenty-four."

"He is, and he has been getting taught by the shaman for three, maybe four, years?"

"Three," the shaman confirmed. He didn't seem surprised by any of Cannon's vague questions or thinking.

"The point?" Kris griped.

"You're older than you think you are," Cannon spoke clearly. "As is my mate. It's why it's so impossible to stay away from her. We've been apart for too long, and the bond is keen to make up the time."

"What?" I moved slightly away from him. "I'm nineteen."

"It's why her heat began as soon as I was near," Cannon continued, unbothered by my protest and Kris's slack jaw. Cannon looked at me. "Your human bleed started when?"

"Fuck off, I'm not answering that."

"She was eight."

I looked at my brother in disbelief. "Dude!"

"I remember it well. It caused a lot of talk between the females." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Caused a lot of confusion for me too. Didn't know what the hell I was supposed to do with a kid who was suffering PMS."

The shaman spoke to Cannon. "How many years do you think they lost?"

"Four."

"Lost?" Kris and I demanded at the same time. It was the term I used when I succumbed to the control of my wolf. It bothered me that they were using it now.

Cannon nodded, his eyes on the shaman. "They both have scars at the base of their necks." He reached out, taking my hand, entwining our fingers. "They were both shot with silver. I think it's probable that it was at the same time their parents were killed." His fingers tightened on mine. "Whoever it was thought they had killed you all."

"You think we were shot in the back of the head with silver?" I asked him, trying to pull my hand free.

"I spoke to her, like you wanted," Cannon told me, tugging my hand back towards him. "She told me the burn happened first," he told us quietly. "She wasn't clear, but she said three or four winters passed before you were both healed."

"You're full of shit," Kris said angrily.

"I think it is four years, like we thought," Cannon continued to speak. "It puts Kezia at ten and Kris at fifteen when they went to Anterrio. It is common for a child of twelve to enter puberty." His attention flicked to Kris. "It is uncommon for an alpha to come into his power at twenty-four, but not unheard of," he added with a slight grin.

"You think we'll believe this shit?" Kris scoffed.

"It makes more sense," the shaman said thoughtfully. "I knew they were older than they said they were, but blood does not narrow it down so precisely." He unwrapped his protein bar. "The heat came from nowhere," he added after taking a bite. "I wasn't expecting it. When I tested Kezia's blood that day, the scent was so strong, when there had been nothing only the day before. But you would have been getting closer to the pack." He looked right at Cannon. "How many days did you stay on the edge of the packlands, watching us first?"

Cannon grinned. "Five."

My head was reeling. I couldn't take it all in. "What is going on?" I demanded. "He's the reason I went into heat?" I demanded.

"Are you believing this?" Kris asked the shaman.

"You are too young to be holding your alpha power," the shaman said bluntly. "Which is why I urged you to keep it quiet. I have never spoken directly to the other." He took another bite of his bar. "I am envious she spoke to you, Alpha Cannon. But a mate bond is more powerful than an old shaman."

"I'm not nineteen?" Somehow this was the detail my brain was stuck on.

"Twenty-three, I think, if I'm right," Cannon said. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" I huffed out a laugh. "Unless you were shooting me with silver when you were, what? Eleven? You weren't…were you?"

He looked pained at the reminder that he had shot me with silver. "Only twice, pup. Never again."

"Twice too many," I grumbled.

"Agreed," Kris snapped. "So…let me get this right. Kezia and I were both shot, to be killed, but we both survived a bullet to the brain, no, not a bullet, a silver bullet. We stayed, what was it? Lost? For four years. And we went to the Anterrio Pack, who didn't know by looking at us, that we were older than we claimed?" He pointed at the shaman. "And a shaman who didn't suspect?" He was practically vibrating with rage. "But you, a rival pack alpha, you spoke to my sister's wolf, and she told you all the secrets?"

Cannon looked so calm, so casual, and I was sure my jaw dropped when he coolly nodded. "She told me what she wanted me to know."

"Why?" Kris barked.

"Because he's my mate." I felt sick. Pushing myself to my feet, I turned away from them, taking a few steps to put distance between us, taking more than I probably should have, but no one stopped me, and I kept walking until I was alone. "Oh Luna, he's really my mate."

I felt him behind me. "Disappointed?"

Sneaky, stealthy alpha. "I don't know."

I heard his huff and his warmth as he moved closer. "Do I need to ask again?"

I felt him lower his head, his breath moving my hair. "No. Maybe?"

"Are you disappointed?" he asked again, and I could hear his smile despite the seriousness of the question.

Was I disappointed? I realized that I wasn't. Not about Cannon. It took me by surprise that I was now so sure, but him being my mate, I no longer had any doubts that it was true. "No, I'm not." I don't think I had doubted it for a long time and that realization was just as shocking.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and Cannon pulled me into his body. "It's a lot to take in, I know."

"She told you all this?" I asked, not masking the hurt that I felt that my wolf, my wolf, would talk to Cannon about things she never mentioned to me.

"This isn't the first time I have spoken to her, remember." His breath stirred my hair. "You need to hear more," he told me, his arms tightening around me. "Can you handle it today?"

Tilting my head up, I met his gaze. "I don't know."

Cannon dropped his head to mine, his lips brushing mine. "You're strong, and I'm right here."

"You did a lot in the five days I was out. Getting Kris and the shaman here…what else did you do? More tests?" The accusation was clear.

"No," he assured me. "But I do need your shaman."

Moving closer, I pressed my forehead into his chest. "I'm scared what else you have to say."

"I'm right here, with you," Cannon said again, arms holding me securely.

"I'm twenty-three?" I asked, looking up at him.

Cannon grimaced. "I'm sorry." A sly smile played about his lips. "Royce will be happy I'm no longer corrupting a teenager."

Smacking him in the chest, I pulled back with a sigh. "I'm a twenty-three-year-old virgin?" I wailed. "Luna, I am never living this down with Cass."

I saw Kris come around the side of the alcove with a scowl. "You dragged us out here, Cannon. Finish this."

Cannon turned to go back to the others, but I tugged at his hand, causing him to look back over his shoulder. Closing the distance, I reached up on tiptoes and kissed him lightly.

"Thank you," I whispered against his lips.

He drew back slightly, green eyes searching mine. "What for?"

"For making sure I had my family with me when you told me."

Cannon brushed my cheek with his thumb. He looked like he was going to speak, but instead, he gave a small nod and turned to return to the others. With a deep breath, I followed him back with my stomach in knots at what else he had to tell us.

I only hoped it wasn't worse than what he'd already shared.