Page 32 of Kin of the Wolf

“Given his fighting prowess, I wouldn’t trust him to protect a goldfish bowl,” Duncan murmured.

Mom waved a hand. “Bella coddled and over-praised her children when they were growing up. Against my wishes, she even fed them substandard fare.” She curled her lip. “She keptFruit Hoopsin her cupboard.”

“Froot Loops, you mean?”

“Breakfast candies for children.Humanchildren. Werewolves consume meat, bone, and organs for breakfast. Forallmeals.”

“I’ve seen you eat dark chocolate, Mom. I know you’re not completely carnivorous.”

“A tiny amount of sweet indulgence is permissible after a nutritionally satisfying meal has been consumed. Not afterFruit Hoops.” Never had someone mispronounced the popular breakfast cereal so scathingly.

I didn’t mention that I had, on numerous occasions, given in to my sons’ whining at the store and purchased those as well as Cocoa Pebbles for them. That would only lead Mom to think them even more inferior.

Duncan scratched his jaw. “So, we can blame malnourishment as a child for your cousin’s brutish behavior as an adult?” he asked me.

“It sounds like it was a collection of things.”

“He also grew up without a father,” Mom said. “As you did, Luna. This is not atypical in werewolf society though. Often, it’s only the alphas who stick around, leading the pack as well as their household. Your father would have been an excellent alpha if he’d stayed.” She looked wistfully toward the window.

I cleared my throat, more interested in the present than the past. “I want to stop Augustus, Mom. I don’t visit downtown Seattle and that bar often, but nobody deserves to be strong-armed by werewolves. And Shoreline is… my territory.”

I didn’t necessarily consider more than the apartment complexmy territory, but she would understand the notion.

“You will challenge him?” she asked.

“Do I need to? He’s dragging the pack’s name through the mud. I thought you and Lorenzo and maybe the other elders might… kick him out. Maybe kickallof them out.” I waved toward the forest to imply the rest of Augustus’s bully siblings.

Mom didn’t answer right away, only gazing steadily at me. Why did I have the feeling she’d wanted me to answer her question withyes, I would challenge him? Had Augustus been the only one making trouble, I would have been willing, but he hadn’t thus far allowed me to face him one-on-one. The word honor didn’t seem to be in his vocabulary.

“The other elders might be swayed by Lorenzo or the arbiter to take such action,” Mom said, “but your cousins are young and strong, so there might be deaths if the issue were forced. If that is to be, it’s to be, but I believe the arbiter would require evidence of their wrongdoing before choosing that route. In addition to the possibility of deaths, to ask so many to leave would diminish the power of the pack.”

“Theycan’tbe adding that much value.”

“They hunt and patrol our territory.”

“Morethan our territory,” I muttered before catching myself, worried Mom would point out that I’d been away from the pack for too long to include myself in thatour. “What kind of evidence would I need to present?”

I didn’t have any idea who the arbiter was these days. Had there even been one in the pack when I’d been young? I couldn’t remember.

“Something convincing.” Mom got out of bed, clasped her hands behind her back, and walked to the window. “I have heard that Augustus is separated from his wife at this time. He has acquired a large home on the lake in Sammamish, and it is reputedly quite lavish for a werewolf. Foranyone.”

“He’s probably using the money he collects intaxesto pay for it.”

“That may be a possibility. Several of your cousins also spend time there, but they, I believe, have only part-time employment in the human world, so they may not be contributing to the rent.”

“Then Augustus is going to have a hard time making the payments if someone stops him from extorting people.” I touched my chest.

“Likely so, but I will not shed a tear. A werewolf does not need a luxury human home.” Mom sniffed disdainfully. “Until recently, our kind usually lived in caves.” She curled a lip as she considered the log walls of her cabin. “We have grown soft, I fear. I blame the waning of magic in the world, but perhaps we’ve at least partially done it to ourselves.”

“It’s probably the effect of the Fruit Hoops,” Duncan said.

Mom shook her head and returned to her bed, leaning against the pillows again. “Do what you must, my daughter. Just know that it is unlikely the pack will turn against those boys without evidence of their wrongdoing.”

“I understand.”

“And be careful. Augustus is a brute but also a schemer. There’s one in every family.”

“Every werewolf family, maybe.”

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