Page 20 of Fated to the Feral Wolf

It was my turn to sigh at that.

The sounds of another UTV approaching brought us all to the door of the hangar, where Brielle, Kane, and Gael were getting their luggage unloaded.

“Morning,” Kane called, lifting a hand in greeting. A man in a pilot’s uniform appeared from somewhere, coming to shake Kane’s hand and brief him on the flight plan. After a quick exchange of hugs with Bri, we were ready to board.

“Does he have to come oneverytrip?” Leigh muttered as we climbed the short staircase that led into the aircraft, staring death daggers at Gael, who was studiously ignoring us, his back turned and his arms crossed a few feet away.

“I imagine he’s here to support and protect Kane, much like we are Bri,” I answered quietly.

“I know, I know,” she groused, sliding into a plush leather seat at the back. The plane was the smallest I’d ever been in, just single seats on either side of a small middle aisle. It appeared that we were maxing it out, with only one empty seat after everyone was accounted for. Dirge had followed me up the stairs, but there was no good place for a three-hundred-pound wolf except the aisle, so that was where he sat, right between me and Leigh. Bri settled on the row in front of us so she’d have a seat for Kane.

“Can you tell us anything about the man we’re going to meet? He’s Athabascan, correct?” I asked, nerves over visiting an unfamiliar culture hitting me. I didn’t always do well in my own culture. The last thing I wanted to do was flub up in front of people we needed help from or offend someone with my silence.

“Yes, Kane filled me in over breakfast.”

“Breakfast. We definitely should have had some, Shay,” Leigh grumbled, closing her eyes and leaning against the small window next to her seat.

Bri ignored her in favor of answering my question. “He’s a shaman from a long line of healers. He’s nearly thirteen hundred years old and struggles with mobility at this point, which is why he didn’t attend the great pack gathering himself. That, and they didn’t have many singles. But his name is Inuksuk, and the invitation we’ve received is very rare. Their pack is small, about forty members, and keeps out of wider shifter politics. Everyone speaks English, but their traditional language is Dena’ina, and Kane taught me a few phrases.Yaghali duis the traditional greeting. And in response, you say,aa’yaghali.”

“Aa-ya-gha-li,” I tried, without any of the smoothness Brielle had picked up in a morning.

She grinned at my attempt. “Aa’yaghali.”

“Aa’yaghali?”I tried again.

“Much better! We may not be perfect, but it’s always good to try.”

I nodded, casting a nervous look at Dirge. Maybe I should try again to shift and just offend no one as a wolf.

But that would be cowardly. So, I spent the preflight repeating the word in my head over and over again, with hopes of cementing it in my brain correctly.

Leigh kept her eyes stubbornly closed as the men climbed aboard, and I had to try hard not to chuckle at Gael’s pointed efforts to ignore us. He sat in the front row and stared straight ahead, speaking to no one but Reed and Kane. They were a hell of a pair.

Kane made his way down the aisle to drop a kiss on Brielle’s waiting lips before settling into the seat in front of Leigh. He nodded to me and, to my surprise, Dirge as well. Leigh, he just grinned at before turning back around.

The plane started rolling a few moments after the door was shut, and I cast a worried glance at Leigh. Her face went pale—shereallyhated flying—but she stayed quiet and kept her eyes screwed shut.

Just in case she needed it, I ruffled through the seat back pocket and found an airsickness bag. Somehow, I suspected my poor attempts at speaking Dena’ina wouldn’t make up for arriving covered in puke.

Our flight toucheddown less than an hour later and was thankfully sickness-free. As soon as the door opened, though, Leigh was on her feet, stepping around Dirge and bolting for the front. She nearly bowled Gael over, who’d clearly had the same idea of bolting first. They both froze, awkwardly avoiding eye contact, until Leigh dodged him and hurried down the stairs without a word.

The sound of retching hit us thirty seconds later, and I winced.

So much for arriving puke-free.

“Oh no, let me go see if I can do anything for her.” Brielle hurried forward, past the still-hesitating Gael, and out of the plane.

Kane turned to me. “Does she always get airsick?”

“When she’s not drunk, yes.”

He grunted in response. “I’m sure Brielle has a tea or something that can help for the flight back.” He paused. “How are you and your new mate doing?”

There was real concern in his question, and I was as surprised as I was touched. But I didn’t really know what to say.

“We’re okay, I guess. He still hasn’t shifted, so it’s hard to get to know him. He won’t leave my side, though. I hope that doesn’t cause a problem when we meet Inuksuk and his pack.”

Kane didn’t look as worried as I felt. “I’m sure he’ll behave himself. He’s done fine so far, and as long as everyone remains respectful”—at that, he cast a pointed look toward Gael—“I don’t see why there would be a problem.”

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