Page 17 of Wolf's Gambit

We walked the short distance to the shaman’s house when Kris broke the silence. “For the love of the Goddess, Kez, remember why we’re here,” he cautioned me as we approached the front door.

“I promise you have nothing to worry about.” When I saw him frown again, I rolled my eyes with exasperation. “This time.”

Pushing open the door, I entered the shaman’s home, ignoring my brother’s hiss of disapproval. My boldness fell flat when I saw that the pack leader was already there, along with Landon and the shaman. But it was the dark-haired stranger who sat on a wooden chair, long legs thrust out in front of him, his hands resting on his stomach as he lounged in front of Bale, that snagged and held my attention.

“Who the heck are you?” I asked him, resisting the urge to straighten when he looked me up and down and then looked away with disinterest.

“Kezia, Kris,” Bale greeted, his glare reprimanding me silently for my rudeness. “This is Cannon. He’s the new alpha of the Blackridge Peak Pack,” Bale spoke to us both, but his attention was on Kris.

“Alpha Cannon,” Kris greeted him coolly.

“New alpha?” I asked at the same time.

The new alpha ignored my brother and looked at me. “New alpha. I killed the old one.”

“Wow, should you be boasting about being a murderer?”

“Kezia,” Kris hissed angrily.

Cannon’s dark green eyes looked me over, slower this time. “Yes, I should boast. Change was needed, and I am that change.”

I felt my brother step closer to me, but the challenge in the alpha’s eyes was not one I wanted to back down from, even though I knew I should.

“Kezia,” Kris warned softly beside me. “Show the Alpha your respect.”

With a sharp jerk of my head, I forced myself to look away from the man in front of me. “Shaman,” I greeted the old shifter as I scrambled to calm the uneasiness inside me.

“Cannon, we have some business to attend to,” Bale spoke with authority, but unlike the other members of this pack, when the pack leader spoke, Cannon looked unconcerned. “Perhaps we can finish this later?”

“What did you do?” Cannon asked me, ignoring Bale. He was still relaxed, still sitting as if he owned the room and was not the visitor that he was.

“Why do you think I did something?” I snapped at him. “There are four other people in this room.”

“But only you smell frustrated.” His dark green eyes glittered with amusement and something else as his head cocked slightly to the side as his eyes narrowed. “And you just look unruly…like trouble.”

Unruly? Trouble?

I made to step forward, but the firm grip on my elbow stilled my movements. Glancing up at my brother automatically, I hesitated to voice my protest when I saw the warning in his eyes. Warning and fear? Looking back at Cannon, I puzzled over him as he watched me with a sly smile.

“So much testosterone,” the shaman suddenly spoke.

“And that’s just my sister,” Kris joked lightly, but neither I nor the visiting alpha missed the slight emphasis on the word sister.

Landon chuckled at Kris’s attempt to ease the tension, and as I forced a smile at my expense, I saw Bale’s shoulders slightly relax. Cannon merely kept that half smile on his face, and I realized I really needed to smack it off.

Literally, smack…it…off.

“So, pup, what did you do?” Cannon asked as he shifted in his seat slightly.

“Nothing,” Landon said as he stood gracefully. “I overstepped my rank,” he carried on, ignoring my astonishment as he flung the word rank into the conversation so casually. “We were sparring, and I got carried away.”

“You bedded her?” Cannon asked as he once again studied me. “Willing or by force?”

“Neither, asshole!” I snapped. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Kezia.” Bale’s sharp admonishment made me bite my tongue.

“I harmed her,” Landon carried on as if no one had spoken. “I am male and superior to her when it comes to sparring. I used my strength to my advantage.”

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