Page 10 of The Wolf's Secret Baby

We walked up to a strong gate. Kull called out to the watchmen and the gate was opened.

“What do you have there?” a man with a cruel face asked as he was revealed by the open gates.

“A gift for Vance,” Typhon began and motioned to walk past this man, but he raised his hand, stopping Typhon and Kull in their tracks.

“What kind of gift? You can’t just go up to the Alpha.”

Typhon rolled his eyes. “Don’t be like this. She’s a human. We found her in our territory. This could be the first strike against the enemy! I’m sure Vance will want to see her.”

The other wolf eyed me up and down. “She doesn’t look dangerous.”

“We never said she was,” Kull replied. The wolf walked up to me and circled me, appraising me from every angle. Then, he roughly grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. He had an angular nose along which he stared. Kull started towards him.

“Don’t touch her like that!” he cried out. The other wolf gave him a disparaging look.

“Do not forget your station,” he spat. The comment took me by surprise. I had assumed that Typhon and Kull were important members of the pack, but perhaps I had been mistaken. This wolf didn’t treat them with any respect at all. “Very well, I shall relieve you of her and take her to the Alpha.”

“But she’s our prize. We are the ones who should present her. It’s only fair. Vance has to know that we are the ones who brought her to him!” Typhon cried out. The other man smiled.

“I shall tell him, I can assure you. There’s no need to get upset. Now, why don’t you run along and attend to your regular duties. I shall take her to Vance,” he grabbed my arm and began to pull me away. Typhon and Kull weren’t going to stand for it, however. They stepped in front of him.

“You’re not taking her,” Kull growled.

“She’s our prize to give. We found her. We captured her. We have claimed her,” Typhon said. They had claimed me in more ways than one, I thought. I tried to wrest my arm away from this other wolf, but his grip was strong.

“Would you dare challenge me over her?” he bared his teeth and stuck out his chin towards Typhon and Kull.

“Yes, and we would love the opportunity to display our prowess for Vance. I’m sure he would like to see how well we can fight for the upcoming war,” Typhon spoke. He and Kull squared their shoulders, making it clear that they were willing to resort to violence. The other man considered this for a couple of moments. I watched as his gaze moved carefully between the other two wolves and then his grip loosened upon my arms. It was clear that he wasn’t quite ready to give himself to violence when he was outnumbered.

“I don’t have time for this anyway,” he muttered. I rubbed my arm as he walked away with a sour look on his face. The pain throbbed but at least I knew it was going to fade. Typhon andKull stood either side of me, as if to prevent anyone else from attempting to steal me from them.

I almost felt safe with them but I knew they would prove dangerous to me as well.

“Let’s go and see Vance,” Typhon said. I swallowed my fear as I tried to drink in as much of this place as possible but the only thing, I could see were people staring at me with curiosity. I was stranded among enemies. The heavy gate swung closed behind me and there was an emphatic sound as it slammed shut, separating me from the outside world and my previous life.

Chapter Seven

Kull

All eyes were upon us. Ambrosia had almost been taken away from us and it was only in that moment when I realized how much I wanted to keep her close. It seemed wrong to give her over to Vance. Why should he have all of the prizes when he would never be able to appreciate them properly? He was greedy and it didn’t seem fair. I knew Typhon would just have told me that this was the way the pack worked, and we should attempt to ascend to the same heights as Vance and enjoy the plunder rather than resent him, but this did not sit well with me. Sometimes it felt as though we were striving to be something that went against our nature. The older we grew, the more I got the impression that Typhon was ashamed of our origins. I suppose I couldn’t blame him considering the way people treated us, but we never had a choice in the matter. I believed we should hold our heads up high and prove to them that we could be better than they ever believed. I wanted us to be the best version of ourselves, not to mimic the rest of the pack.

But Typhon was set on becoming accepted and so I followed him as was my nature. We kept Ambrosia close, not wanting to risk any other wolf coming to take her from us. They snarled and rasped as we passed, their disparaging looks the same as ever. When they looked at us, they did not see wolves at all. To them we were only one degree better than humans.

We strode to Vance’s house, where he sat in the main chamber, a hall where he received the members of his pack should they ever wish to see him. A cloak flowed from his broad shoulders. His eyes crinkled at the edges, but he wore his age well. Women were draped on pillows around him. For a momentmy gaze drifted towards Hana. A wry smile drifted across her face, taunting me. Dark hair fell across her expression like a veil. She made a show of moving towards Vance and kissing the back of his hand. My lip curled and frustration rolled through the middle of my body. How she mocked me.

“Alpha,” Typhon began. We marched into the middle of the room and bowed before him. Vance slowly moved his gaze towards us. He pursed his lips and did not seem that interested, although I noticed how his gaze lingered on Ambrosia. “We are here to make you an offering. We found this human on the outskirts of our territory. Given that we are about to go to war we thought it would be worthwhile to capture her. She can be our first prisoner of war,” Typhon beamed with pride, clearly hoping that this would win Vance’s favor. I knew he was about to be disappointed, but I did not take any joy.

“You thought? You don’t get to think. You simply obey. Why on earth would you think that some human would interest me? For a moment I hoped that this might be an envoy from another pack, but you would waste my time by bringing a human to my attention?” he spoke with derision and grimaced, as though having Ambrosia in his presence was enough to make him sick.

“We thought we would show you initiative in the hope that you would allow us to fight alongside you. We seek to prove ourselves, Alpha. We only ask for a chance.”

“A chance…” he trailed away in a faint voice. His head dropped and he sighed. “I thought you two were aware of your place. Why are your heads filled with these strange ambitions? You know what you were bred for, and you know that there is a limit to what you can accomplish. Oh, you do amuse me though, walking around and pretending that you are true wolves. It makes me glad that I kept you around,” he chuckled.

I wilted and clenched my jaw. Anger flowed through my body, boiling my blood. Every instinct urged me to attack him, but I knew that it would seal my death; and I wasn’t ready to sacrifice this wretched life yet.

“And now you get it in your head that I want a human prisoner?” he barked a laugh again and looked at his harem. Hana laughed as well and sneered at me, as though my mere presence offended her. “Just when I think you might go ahead and prove me wrong you show again why you were failed experiments. You don’t know how to think. You don’t know what I want,” his words became sharper. He formed a ring by placing the tip of his index finger against the tip of his thumb and gestured towards us, making us feel about three inches tall. “What on earth do you think I would want with a human? I can’t do anything with her yet. The war has not been declared. We are still waiting for the final preparations.”

“I apologize Alpha,” Typhon said. I hated the way he groveled. “I must have misunderstood but please, she could be of use.”

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