Page 79 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

“Well, I’ll take that as I compliment then,” I say, with a smug grin.

Shepherd scrunches his nose to let me know it wasn’t really meant as a compliment, but he’ll let it slide this time.“I should get going. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.” He stands and walks toward the door.

“Will we make it to Kelderon by tomorrow night?” I ask, knowing we must be getting close.

He shakes his head no.“Day after next.”

“Okay,” I say, glad to have made up with him, knowing these next two days of travel won’t be too awkward now.

Shepherd stands in the doorway, looking like he wants to say something else but decides against it.“Goodnight, Auri.”

“Night, Shep,” I tell him, and he closes the door.

I crawl into bed even though it’s not that late, emotionally exhausted from the drama of the last couple of days. The closer we get to the capital, the more restless I become. I’m nervous to meet my aunt and uncle, nervous to share my plan with them about confronting Selena, unsure if they’ll even be excited to meet me, let alone provide me with whatever I would need to stand a chance against the Autumn Queen.

I can’t seem to settle, my blood thrumming loudly in my ears as I think about everything that could go wrong. I take my book out of my pack and read, not really absorbing the words on the page, until my eyelids grow heavy and sleep finally comes.

Chapter Thirty-five

The following morning, things are pretty much back to normal. No one brings up Finn or the fight that Shepherd and I got into yesterday on the road.

We walk along the main road, now only one town between us and Kelderon. Luckily, we don’t encounter anything out of the ordinary during our long day of travel, and we arrive in Avalon, the town just a day's journey from the capital, by dusk.

The towns we’ve stayed in have gotten bigger as we get closer to the royal city, and tonight we have several inns to choose from, but we’re at the one I imagine the pack frequents most often. We check into the Weary Ox, an inn on the outskirts of town, and the consistency of the routine I’ve established with the pack is a comfort among the chaos of my life.

Knowing what to expect from your day is part of what makes somewhere feel like home, and even though I don’t plan to stay in the Southlands, I hope it can be a temporary home of sorts.

In the tavern room, we eat together and chat amiably. Tonight I learned that Ekko is the youngest of the pack, which I had suspected based on his innocent disposition, and that Lyker is an orphan; the pack is the only real family he’s ever known.

“Are there any female wolf-shifters?” I ask, never having met one.

“There are,” Shepherd tells me.“But none in our pack.”

“Is there a particular reason for that?” I wonder, hoping he doesn’t say something like ‘females aren’t as strong as males’ or some other sexist bullshit.

Shepherd shrugs.“It’s the way my father did things, and I want to honor his legacy by keeping the pack all male.”

I make a face of disapproval but can understand wanting to keep things the way that they were for his father’s sake, even if he’s not here anymore.

“Some packs have both male and female shifters, and others are all female,” Rowan says with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“Are they members of the Royal Guard too?” I ask, not recalling any female guards in any of the other kingdoms I’ve visited.

“Some,” Rowan answers with a shrug.“But a lot of the co-ed packs tend to live outside the cities and towns, live off the land and run wild.”

“Why is that?” I’m curious to know more.

“Packs have their own politics,” Shepherd answers.“Some alphas don’t agree with our using our gift to serve the kingdoms, but rather think we should return to our roots, answer to none but our own kind.”

“But you all obviously don’t think that?” I look around the table at each of the four shifters surrounding me, getting a feel for their opinions on the subject.

“I can see the appeal,” Lyker says, surprising me.“Living apart from everyone else, only having to worry about your own pack, it would be much simpler.”

“Butsoboring.” Ekko sticks his thumb down in the air and his tongue out, blowing air.

I laugh at that, wondering how old he is, as his hunger for excitement is much more apparent than the other three members of his pack. Although knowing how long they can live, he’s probably still a good deal older than I am.“Are you four the only members of your pack?”

“Gods, no.” Rowan chokes on a laugh, earning a look of disapproval from Shepherd. Rowan clears his throat and starts again.“There’s four more of us. This trip was only supposed to be a routine walkabout through some of the towns on the border.”

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