Page 39 of Planet Wolf

“Who is it?”

Carl kissed my neck, right on his mark. Sensation cascaded from the spot, leaving a warm glow in my belly. “That is above my pay grade,” he said. “Come with me. Jadon can greet whoever it is, and we’ll decide if we’re coming out to meet them.”

I followed him across the house while Alfie laughed. “Where do I fall into this? Do I have to do the greeting, too, or can I come playhide from the guestswith our mate?”

“Suit yourself, ” Carl said with a shrug as he grinned. “You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it before I did.”

“True.” Alfie scooted his seat back. “I’ll help Jadon send whoever it is away, since we know that’s what he’s going to do.”

The room where we waited was what Jadon had called the library, though the shelves were filled with books I wouldn’t be able to read without my word-changing glasses. Still, I loved books. Who didn’t? I ran my hands over the spines. “Some things are the same, aren’t they? World to world? Like books.” Jadon walked into the library.

“Do you love to read?” Carl touched one. “I do. So much.”

“Esther.” Jadon offered his hand. “Come on. I need you to meet these people.”

Carl rushed ahead. He wouldn’t know what was going on any more than I did, but he needed to be there before me. The Enforcer in him needed to protect me. With my feet still bare, I followed him into the kitchen. Three men waited—older, dark-haired, olive-skinned, like me. Gray sprinkled through in their hair and on their beards, and I wondered if my own hair would do that, if I lived so long.

Alfie took a deep breath as I entered the kitchen, and then stared at Jadon, who nodded. What were they smelling?

I hated being blind to whatever they might know about the situation.

“We knew it was you.” The one in the center stepped forward, hope clear on his face. “Yesterday, we saw you on the screens and we knew… youhadto be our daughter.”

Alfie jumped from foot to foot. “It all makes sense now. All of it. I should have seen it.”

What made sense? “Sir, I’m… I’m sorry, but I can’t be your daughter. I’m human.”

The one to his left stepped forward. “You’re half Wolf. I’m not sure what you know about that. Plenty of half breeds never shift. They seem human, but they’re not entirely. We knew it might be an issue, but we loved each other, and your mother didn’t care. She said we’d figure it out.”

I held my hands out in front of me. “Okay. Stop.”This is a lot. “Who do you think my mother is?”

“Amy.” The third one finally spoke. “Our missing mate. We… We are so glad to see you. We never dreamed... We’ve searched for her. You have to understand, it was like a game. Once a week, we’d ask her to tell us her last name, and once a week, she’d make up something fantastical. Amy Unicorn. Amy Rainbow. She promised to tell us the last name when you were born.”

I knew so little of my mother. Was she like that? My family had called her a wanderer, said she needed to see the universe. But, yes, her name was Amy. “Espenson.” I gave them the name they hadn’t known. “That’s the last name.”

I needed to sit down, only I wouldn’t. I didn’t want them to see me fall over or seem weak. “Where have you been?”

The one in the middle’s face fell. “You’re not feeling well.”

“I’m fine.” Just because they could smell it didn’t mean they had the right to mention it aloud. I didn’t know a lot of their culture, but I knew it proved rudeness to point out my scent if I hadn’t verbally told them of my condition. “What are your names?”

Jadon came from behind me and placed his head on my shoulder as he drew me to him. “These are the Schraders. They are often off-world. They are always searching for their missing mate, and they do things for others to fund their mission. They’ve helped me, in the past, to seek out information on other planets, like what is happening with the Cats. They’re good men.” He kissed his spot on my neck, and I calmed a little bit. If he said they were okay, they were. I trusted him.

“Esther,” Alfie rushed over to touch my cheeks. “I can fix some of this now. I know what to do. Now that I know… give me a little bit.” He rushed from the room.

I was glad that he was, at least, very happy about things.

I motioned toward the living room. “Won’t you all come in? I’ve been rude. I’m not used to this being my home, but it is, I guess.”

“Not guess.” Carl caught my attention. “It is, and you’ve barely arrived yourself. If you want them to leave and come back another time, we can do that. Right now.”

I hoped I could express with my eyes how grateful I was to him for offering. “No, I’m okay. Come on inside. Have a seat. Can I get you anything to eat?”

“No,” the one on the left spoke again. “We… We’d like to feed you. We’d like to do anything for you at all.”

Jadon took my hand and tugged me against him as we walked to the living room. “Esther never did without. You don’t have to hold that fear. Amy’s family took good care of her. And she’ll never be without whatever she wants or needs with us, either.”

“I’m sorry, what are your names? I had a last name, but not any of their firsts.” I was getting a little tired of being a step behind in the conversation. I hadfathers—plural—who were Wolf shifters, and that made me a half-breed. What did that even mean for my life?

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