Page 51 of The Alpha's Mates

“When you grow up the way we did,” Emma responded, “you tend to hope and pray to any of the Gods or Goddesses who’ll listen. You don’t have the luxury of thinking they’re myths.”

Holden’s jaw flexed as he ground his teeth together at Emma’s sad tone. “No pup should be raised in a place like that. They should be exalting the Gods in happiness and love.”

“All we had was despair,” she replied, then turned and watched as a crow landed on a rock near Reign. She completely missed the determined look that Holden and Griff exchanged.

Bane lifted his head and watched as the bird hopped from side to side, examining his brother. It cawed, the sound echoing off the rock. Reign lifted bored eyes and acknowledged the bird, then looked away.

The crow hopped down to a lower rock and I had to stifle my laughter when it cracked its beak on the top of Reign’s head. The wolf growled low in his throat, causing the bird to flap its way back up to the taller rock, out of the way of the angry animal. As soon as Reign settled and looked away again, the crow was back at it. He was about to peck Reign’s head again when the wolf snapped at the bird, trying to catch it in his powerful jaws.

The bird was too fast. He took flight, peppering Reign’s head as he winged around him. We were all laughing as Reign jumped to his feet and snarled at the bird. Having had his fun, the crow settled back on the rock again and cawed three times in succession.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s laughing,” Calder commented.

We studied the crow, but he just settled in to wait with us. A crashing sound caught our attention and I stepped back as shards of an exploding rock hit the dirt around my feet. Looking into the cave, I saw Jessu walking back while plateware detonated against the cave walls above his head. He had a resigned look on his face as he walked, shoulders back and headhigh, even while being pelted with shards of ceramic, glass, and rock.

“What the hell?” Atlas muttered, giving him a questioning look.

“She’s in a good mood today, she wouldn’t throw her nice plates if she was angry,” he told us with a bemused look on his face. He nodded at the crow in greeting, as though they knew one another. “She wants to see you.” His eyes scanned our group.

I looked into the cave dubiously. “She doesn’t exactly seem friendly.”

“She won’t throw anything at you,” he replied with a chuckle. “Go on, she gets cranky if kept waiting.”

“That was hernotbeing cranky?” Bane asked. He and his brother had shifted and dressed while the commotion was going on.

Jerking as something landed on my shoulder, I smiled over at the crow. He ruffled his feathers, his beady black eyes looking at me. I swore the look in his eyes was telling me to get moving.

I took my place next to my mates and followed Soren into the cave. He and Atlas were at the front, with Calder by my side. Emma and the others entered right behind us. Jessu waited outside while we ventured forth.

“This goes a lot further back than I thought it would,” I said, voice low. It still echoed off the walls. The ceiling was high enough that Atlas and Griff didn’t have to stoop while walking. It was plenty tall for the rest of us.

“Keep alert,” Soren muttered, eyes scanning in front of him for any dangers.

“It’s just some old woman, right?” Reign asked.

“Yeah, what’s she going to do to us?” Bane added.

“The magic is getting thicker,” Holden replied.

I took a quick look over my unoccupied shoulder and saw that he was tense and a grim look covered his face. The manalways seemed to be a little somber, but this was new. He didn’t like being in here. A chill raced over my skin and I shivered. The crow cawed, making me jump. “That was right in my ear, my friend,” I scolded him.

He shook his body, ruffling his feathers again. His talons bit into the leather of my shirt and I felt the pinpricks on my skin. He didn’t seem nervous, just impatient.

“Maybe we should-” Atlas broke off when we rounded a corner and sitting there next to a cheerfully glowing fire was a woman.

She was old. Like,reallyold. I would even say ancient, except it wasn’t possible for shifters to live more than three hundred and twenty years. Her hair was stark white and her skin looked so delicate that it might blow away with a slight breeze.

“Come forward,” she croaked.

“She has a good arm for an old woman,” Calder muttered.

“And good hearing, too,” she snapped, making Calder flush a dull red. “Don’t be rude. Come. Sit by my fire.”

I studied the ceiling. There were no holes in which to vent the smoke, but even my delicate senses couldn’t pick up on any in here. There was a massive wall at the woman’s back. This was the end of her cave. Off to the right, water trickled down from the ceiling and pooled. Where was it coming from? I wanted badly to take the time to examine the place, but she was watching us with piercing golden-filmed eyes.

We shuffled into her space and took a seat on the logs surrounding her fire. She studied me, and the crow, for a few moments before shifting her focus as Emma approached. Her eyes softened and I would have sworn I saw relief in them. That didn’t make any sense though.

“My name is-”

---