Page 16 of Wolf's Gambit

“What in darnation is going on?” I wondered out loud.

“So, you’ve heard then,” Kris said, sighing as he turned and headed to the cottage. “Keep up, Kez, you’re not a directionless pup.”

Which would be embarrassing if this pup wasn’t sticking her tongue out at her brother’s back.

“Real mature, Kezia,” Kris grumbled when he looked over his shoulder.

Snapping my mouth closed, I feigned nonchalance as we entered the cottage. Our cozy home was feeling more and more like a jail cell. Kris insisted I stay inside until either the ball or my heat passed, whichever came first.

“Why am I back in here again?” I complained as I flung myself on the couch. “And Landon is telling people I wolfed out on him? Seriously?”

“Quiet!” Kris hissed as he closed the kitchen window. “Do you want to broadcast it to everyone who hasn’t heard?”

“Is he really saying that I shifted?” I asked Kris with more seriousness as I sat up straighter. “I didn’t!” My brother’s hard stare made me cringe internally. “Kris, I didn’t. I know what it feels like to be part-shifted, but I wasn’t. I did at the very beginning, but we waited until I was in control.”

He scratched his jaw as he turned his head away from me. “Are you sure, Kez?”

He didn’t believe me. My brother was a pain in the backside, but he usually was on my side when it came to things like this.

“Kris? I wouldn’t lie, not about this.” I walked toward him, and he finally stopped looking at the opposite wall to watch me as I approached.

“I know.”

Frowning, I saw the hesitation as he drew himself up. “There’s more?” Wrapping my arms around my middle, I held onto the soft cotton of my top as if the material could comfort me.

“Bale has asked for the shaman to test you,” he told me gruffly.

“They don’t believe me?” I said with disappointment, and I saw the ridge in the frown on my brother’s forehead tighten, and I suddenly understood. “Ah, they don’t believe you.” Closing the distance between us, I reached out to touch his arm. “I’m sorry.”

And I meant it.

Kris had worked tirelessly in this pack to prove that we belonged, that he belonged. Bale accepted him, which is why Kris was head of security, but I felt the simmering anger in my brother as he covered my hand with his own.

“It’s just another test,” he said as he squeezed my fingers and dropped my hand. “Another fucking test,” he added angrily as he glared out the window toward the rest of the village.

“Hey.” I grabbed his hand again. “You trust me, don’t you, big brother?” I asked him and was gratified when I saw him fight a smile.

“No.” Kris danced out of reach of my playful swipe. He opened the refrigerator and offered me a bottle of Coke. When I shook my head, he twisted off the cap and sighed before he took a long drink. “I don’t trust you not to cause me headaches, and I don’t trust you to stay out of trouble,” he added before he took another drink. “But I do trust you when it comes to this.”

“So, when it matters, you mean?” I asked as I snatched the bottle out of his hand and finished the fizzy drink in one go.

“Kezia!”

“I know. I said I didn’t want one, but then I saw yours, and I wanted one.” I tossed the empty bottle back to him. “Come on, best get this over with.” When I realized my brother wasn’t beside me, I looked back and saw that he remained in the same spot. “Kris?”

“You can say no,” he murmured. “You can tell them all to go get bit by snakes.”

“Is that who you raised me to be?” I challenged him. “A coward?”

“If there’s the slightest chance your wolf came through, even with you not realizing it, they…they can cast you out.”

“She didn’t.” My tone was firm. “We lived in the wilds for over five years, and I know me being in my wolf form for that long worries people, but we have done everything they asked of us. I withheld my wolf for eight years at their request, at your request. Trust me, I know when she’s present. I pushed her back, I swear.”

Kris dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment as he reached out and tugged at my braid. “Okay.”

Squinting, I stared at him. “Okay?”

With a low chuckle, he nudged me aside, opened the door, and went outside. “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”

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