Page 17 of Into the Grasslands

“Not rude. Truthful.” She was right. Not that I could say that out loud without offending poor Janella, but still.

“Let’s go, before I lose my nerve.” The women all knew how anxious I was, so there was no point in trying to deceive them. They could scent my nervousness on the air. I nodded to let Janella know it was time to go. We were hidden in a place inside the center of the island, and had traversed maybe twenty feet from the spot, when we were stopped by a voice who called out to us.

“I wondered if you would ever make an appearance.”

Janella took refuge behind a boulder as I stood tall and moved around it into the view of the waiting men.

Nika:Stay calm. Let’s hear them out and if they make any sudden movements, you get your butt back into that cave immediately.

Janella:I’m not leaving you out here alone.

Nika:Please, I can’t look out for the welfare of everyone else if I’m more worried about you.

Jan didn’t bother to respond to me, and it wasn’t necessary. As soon as she knew that her defiance was a distraction, she would listen to whatever I needed her to do.

“What is your business here?” I asked with my chin held high.

The man before me, who must have been the Alpha I sensed, smiled as he took me in. “Are you the one in charge?”

A simple nod of my head was the only answer he received as my eyes roved over his frame. He had to be at least six feet, five inches maybe more. His shoulders were broad and tapered to a narrower waist that sat atop toned legs as thick as small tree trunks. There was no doubt that he was an Alpha, just in size alone, but his bearing gave him away too.

“Is there a reason all the women seem to be in hiding?” He grinned as he asked his question, but I didn’t find any humor in his words. That was a luxury for shifters who didn’t have theconstant worry of rogues coming to do them harm, sell them into slavery, or worse.

“Not all men who come here and take women are honorable. Some take women who don’t wish to go, and what happens to them after they leave here is anyone’s guess. I refuse to allow that to happen any longer.”

“How would you stop us on your own?” He asked, though I didn’t get a sense that there was any menace behind his words. Instead, the man curiously awaited my answer. I didn’t get a chance to speak before the women of the island emerged from their hiding places and stood at my back with the weapons we had worked hard to manufacture in hand.

“We fight,” I answered back. After the last rogue attack, and the way Janella managed to fend off the rogue who came after me, we made weapons a priority. Tin cans were sharpened down into serviceable blades. Some were applied to large sticks, others were wielded as knives. We also had bludgeoning tools formed of rock, twine, and larger branches that had fallen and were carved down into handles.

“There won’t be any need for violence. You have my word that no one will leave this island against their will, nor will anyone be harmed while we are here.”

“What about once you’re gone?” I asked.

“Excuse me?” The man asked incredulously as he puffed his chest out a bit. His close-cropped hair was the same dark brown as the short beard that covered his jaw. Beard might have been a stretch as it was more of a thick, three-days past a shave type of stubble. His dark eyes seemed to soak everything in and reveal nothing all at once. He was just as much of a mystery as my question seemed to be to him.

“Once you’ve taken who you’ve come for, what happens to the women left behind? There won’t be promises that no harm will come to them. Most don’t care about us or what happensto the women who are sent here. If it wasn’t for me being here, these women wouldn’t have had enough supplies to last the year before they starved.”

Gasps were heard among the men.

“You have a benefactor?” The man asked. While he kept his tone even, I didn’t miss the way his fists balled at his side. He was sharp as a tack and the minute he realized I was tracking that movement, he purposely unclenched his hands and held them up to me as if for inspection. “I mean none of you any harm, that anger is purely for the men who were insane enough to leave all of you here without supplies. The fact that you were also left unprotected from the elements or rogue attack is particularly concerning to me.”

“I do have a benefactor, if you could call him that.” I offered a nod of my head.

“Do you owe this benefactor your loyalty?”

I scoffed in answer. “I owe him nothing, since he’s the reason this island is my home.”

“I see. Do you know who I am?”

I shook my head. “You seem familiar, but I’m certain that we have never met.”

“My name is Thorin Greywolf.”

“That explains the familiarity. I met your father, Johann, once.”

Thorin smiled at me. “Then you know where I come from and that we mean no one on this island any harm.”

“I know nothing of the sort.” That seemed to take the Alpha aback.

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