Page 45 of Crowned A Traitor
"You brought them here?" Klara asked Arthur who scratched his grey stubble. "I found them wandering the Forest trying to escape. I couldn't leave them," Arthur frowned, and Klara rolled her eyes. "Your heart is going to be the death of you," Klara said, and Arthur shrugged, "Too late."
"Can we trust her?" the Lycaon asked, and Klara glared at him. He couldn’t have been much older than her and yet he spoke as if he were her superior.
"Her has a name," Klara said, extending her hand. Knowing that if he took it, she would be able to see within his mind. He looked at her extended hand and instead placed his hands on the little girl's shoulders.
"Lottie, grab your things we are leaving," He said, and Klara dropped her hand.
"You want to risk your chances out there? Feel free but give the girl a chance," Klara said and looked at the child in her ash coated clothes. Klara put her hand on his arm, and she saw a blinding flash.
The Lycaon jumped back as if burnt from her touch. His eyes flashed a deeper amber, glowing like caramel as her strength pulled out his inner wolf. He shook her from his head as the effect wore off. "Stay out of my head, Witch," he spat. Klara almost smiled;he could have called me a lot worse.
"We should leave together," Klara said.
"No, they're after you. The High Queen burnt our reserve in the hunt," the Lycaon's words cut her, and she tried not to show it. "I'm not risking Lottie's life for a Demon half-breed." The Lycaon had a talent for harsh words.
Klara preferred Witch to half-breed. He had insulted her twice, but she needed them to get to Kalos.
"How dare you speak to her this way?" Arthur said, and Klara smiled at Arthur, reassuring him it was all right. She didn't need to defend herself to an ignorant Lycaon.
"Did the Leprechaun not fill you in? We either pass through together or not at all. If you want to protect your sister, then you'd best listen to the smuggler's advice."
Since he was adamant about not trusting a Demon, she figured it was best not to tell him about Lokey's true nature.
"Klara," she said, extending her hand once again, but this time she suppressed her magic in order to gain his trust. The Lycaon examined it before taking it. The Lycaon pulled her forward, sniffing the air around her head before dropping her hand.
"Why can I smell…" His eyes went wide as Klara staggered back, not liking to be sniffed. His large frame hit the side of the bunkbed, and Lottie covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"An Angel," Arthur said.
"Not quite," the Lycaon’s amber eyes narrowed, and Klara backed away not wanting to be sniffed again. She didn't know whether she preferred being referred to as a Demon or Angel, but both felt weird.
"It doesn't matter what I am, I can help you get through undetected, but we need to move."
"How can you be an Angel?" He sounded disgusted, and she snapped, “who stood on your tail?”
"What do you think Lucifer was? I'm no more Demon than you are, Lycaon." Klara grew impatient as Arthur got between them.
"Can we go to the nice place now?" Lottie asked, taking Klara's hand without hesitation.
"She's always been a terrible judge of character." The Lycaon folded his arms exposing the scars on his forearms. Lottie you can't just hold anyone's hand." He lifted Lottie's small frame onto his hip.
Living on the reserve was hard work. The High Queen imposed massive labour quotas on logging to keep the packs from gaining too much strength. Klara had seen their struggle during one of her visits. If the children didn't work hard enough, they were lashed across the forearms.
"We can go to the good place," Klara said and the little blonde girl beamed.
"Does he have a name?" Klara asked Lottie.
"Woofgang," Lottie said through a missing front tooth.
"Wolfgang," He repeated, and Klara resisted the urge to laugh.
"My pack had a weird sense of humour," Wolfgang said, putting down his sister. "That was before your mother slaughtered them," Wolfgang whispered out of earshot of his sister, and she felt an overwhelming urge to apologize. “I have no control over the Queens’ actions. Should they wish to burn down the entire forest, then I’m not exactly in a position to stop them,” Klara said. She regretted raising her voice as Lottie snuggled a unicorn-shaped bag to her chest. Klara knew the Human object would have been smuggled in through the port. It was a risk to let the girl keep it, but Klara couldn’t take another thing from the child.
"The High Queen is not my mother," Klara whispered to Wolfgang as Lottie chatted away to Arthur about the good place.
"Maybe not but did you do anything to stop her?" Before Klara had a chance to respond, Lottie rushed past Klara and took Wolfgang’s hand, pulling him towards the door.
"Ready?" Klara asked Arthur. “As I’ll ever be.”
