Page 13 of A Wolf's Heart

Kage looked both annoyed and intrigued. “Lone wolves don’t have territory.”

“I do, in case you missed my markings.” Perhaps I had been doing the whole marking of the territory thing wrong. Honestly, I was going off fan fiction and smutty novels with the whole shifter customs thing.

“As amusing as it was, it’s child’s play. You have no mentor, do you? What is your bloodline?”

“Do you always bluntly ask about another person's ancestry on the first meeting?” I turned to face Weylin, ready to shove him if I had to. “Move, I’m going home.” I didn’t want to isolate myself, but the way they freely talked about the shifter world while humans were in earshot had me second-guessing if they would shift in the bar or not. If I couldn’t keep myself safe, the least I could do was keep this town safe.

Weylin didn’t move. “Come on, little wolf, it will be easier if you just play nice.”

“Lila?” Rodney walked up to the table, but Tats intercepted him, getting to his feet.

“Lila is fine. Go have another beer.” There was an enticing melody to his voice.

Rodney nodded. “Lila is fine,” he repeated robotically. “I think I’ll have another beer.” He turned from the table and walked back to the bar.

“What did you do?” I gasped, watching Rodney walk away as if under a trance.

Tats sat back down. “It’s not her.” He spoke to Kage as if I wasn’t even here. “No way she got the jump on those alphas. She acts like a human that has never seen a shifter in her life.”

Maybe because I haven't.

“We’ll handle her and report back. This area will be claimed before Marcus can move in here.”

To say I was confused was putting it mildly, but I held back from saying anything. I needed to figure out what was going on here.

Weylin groaned. “Just a little fun first?”

“No. We’ll finish up here and head back to the office,” Kage ordered. Everyone got up, except for me. “Out,” Kage growled, waving his hand to the back entrance of the bar.

I frowned. “No.” Why the fuck would I do that?

His eyes lit up, a smirk teasing his lips but not quite. He enjoyed the challenge. “Get out, or else this town will be on the morning news, headlining a massacre.”

Damn it. I slid out of the booth, walking as slowly as I could with Kage directly behind me. I’d say he was breathing down my neck, but he likely had a bird's eye view of the top of my head.

I racked my brain, sifting through all the books and stories I had read about shifters, trying to figure out how I could possibly get out of this.

There was only one exit out of the alley, I would likely be cornered. I had confidence in my abilities as a wolf but I never shifted in town before. It was something I had always avoided.

Stepping outside into the evening air, I quickly spun around, putting my back to the wall. The three of them stared at me like I was prey, their eyes glowing.

I held up my hand. “Parley.”

Tats raised his eyebrow. “Parley?”

I cleared my throat, trying to fake my confidence when, inside, I was falling apart. I hoped someone would take care of Max. “Yes, shifter code. Like a code of honor. Parley, where we come together and settle a dispute.” Despite my bravado, I didn’t know if it was a thing. I doubted it. I had watched it in a movie about pirates but I didn’t see why it couldn’t be applied to this situation.

Kage stepped forward, forcing me to back up. “Are you challenging me?”

“No, yes, but no.”Wait.“Aren’t you challenging me?”

“For what? You have no pack, and you have no means to defend yourself. You have no land. You have nothing. What could I possibly gain in a challenge with somethingas weak as you? Your blood is dry.”

What did that even mean? “So, now what?” I asked. “You have me cornered, you won’t accept my request, you don’t see me as a worthy challenge.”

Kage crossed his arms, and Tats stepped up. “You have two choices. The first option is you leave, find another empty territory, and carry on being an unregistered lone wolf until the council finds you.”

Unregistered? Did that mean other wolves were registered? I could feel my hands shake at the fear of danger, but I held them tight, my claws slowly elongating out of defense. My wolf wanted to run, but I had a feeling these three would enjoy the chase.

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