chapter eight
Kallie awoke to the echoing clang of the gong ricocheting from the glade through the forest. She rubbed her eyes with her fists then stretched inside her shelter. The night had been long and filled with ceaseless tossing and turning. At one point she’d reached for Wolfrik’s shirt before remembering she’d returned it. She’d only had it for one night, but that night she hadn’t felt so alone.
At least she’d gotten a chance to speak to Tabor about lessons in healing. He couldn’t teach her magic, but he could show her his recipes for salves. All of his knowledge of herbs came from his mother, Lucinda, and he was much more amenable to taking time to teach Kallie these skills since she’d befriended his half sister.
After stretching, she pulled on her dress and crawled out to find Elsie standing with a big smile on her face.
“Good morning,” she chirped as cheerfully as a bird.
“Morning,” Kallie answered with a chuckle. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Not long.” Elsie rubbed her hands together. “What sort of fun should we get into today?”
“This isn’t Balmar Heights,” Francine snapped from the right. “We don’t gallivant around as we please. There’s work to be done.” She swooped over and shot Elsie a glare before turning her attention to Kallie. “The glade needs vegetables for tonight’s stew.”
Guilt washed over Kallie. She lowered her head. Despite her injury, she still longed to serve her pack. Yesterday she’d run off to play as though she were a pup and not a full-grown shifter.
“I’ll see what’s ready to harvest and bring it to the glade,” Kallie said.
Francine nodded. “You can take it to Maureen. She’s head of meals this moon cycle.”
“I’ll help you,” Elsie said, sounding just as excited to dig in the dirt as she had moments before when suggesting a day of fun.
Francine scowled, and Kallie had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Nothing got Elsie down.
The petite shifter looped her arm through Kallie’s and tugged her away from Francine’s prickly glare.
“We’re allowed to eat breakfast in the glade first, right?” Elsie whispered.
“Yeah.” Kallie laughed.
“Good, ’cause I’m starving.”
There were already about twenty shifters milling around the glade with bowls of porridge they ate while sitting on logs or standing in small groups. There were only two shifters in line, which meant Kallie and Elsie didn’t have to wait long for their servings.
Maureen stood at the cauldron with a welcoming smile, dishing everyone up even though that wasn’t one of the required meal duties. Her smooth brunette locks fell to her collarbones, and unlike most female shifters, Maureen took the trouble to cut a thick layer of bangs that made her look extra sweet. She, Lacy, and Jolene were the kindest single females in Wolf Hollow, and they were all friends.
“Here you go,” Maureen said, dropping a heaping scoop of cooked grains into Kallie’s bowl.
“Thanks,” she said. “And I’ll have some fresh vegetables for you this afternoon for tonight’s supper.”
Maureen smiled. “That’s great, Kallie. A full basket should be plenty. Dylan or I can come over and get it from you later.”
“That’s okay. I can bring it.”
Maureen smiled brightly. “Okay, that’s really nice of you. Thanks.”
“There’s Tabor.” Excitement rose in Elsie’s voice. She bumped her shoulder into Kallie’s. “Want to go eat with him?”
What Kallie wanted was to train with him, but she wouldn’t bother Tabor during his meals.
“You go ahead,” she said to Elsie. “We can walk back to the den together after breakfast.”
“See you then.” Elsie hurried to the log where her half brother and Sasha sat.
Kallie took a closer look around the glade, but she didn’t see Wolfrik. He was good at hiding in the shadows, but it was almost as though Kallie could sense he wasn’t there.
Clutching her bowl, Kallie limped over to a log where Camilla, Rosalie, and Olivia sat.
Rosalie whistled. “Nice dress, Kallie.”
“How come you got a new dress?” Camilla looked her over with a pout.
Olivia patted the empty spot beside her. Kallie smiled at her gratefully and bent carefully to take a seat.
Once settled, Kallie looked over Olivia’s and Rosalie’s laps to answer Camilla, who sat on the opposite end.
“Mine ripped.”
Rosalie’s eyes lit up, and she gave a squeal. “Who ripped it off? We want all the dirty details.”
Kallie rolled her eyes. “I ripped it—accidently.”
“Oh, that’s boring,” Rosalie said, leaning back with a huff. “You’re all bumming me out lately.”
Camilla glared at her. “Excuse me for having a broken heart.”
“You’re only making it worse by swearing off all males,” Rosalie said. “One good hump will put you back in the spirit. Aden’s got a big cock. I’d give him a ride if he weren’t so reserved. Where is he, anyway?”
“With Wolfrik. Jager paired them up,” Camilla said in a bored voice.
Kallie dropped her spoon back in her bowl. “Wolfrik agreed to patrol?” she asked a little too eagerly.
Rosalie’s lips curved in delight as she gave Kallie an assessing look. With half-glazed eyes, Camilla stared into the glade dully.
“Jager thinks it’s a positive step forward, but my father has his doubts.”
Rosalie wet her lips and grinned wickedly. “Speaking of big cocks, Wolfrik’s hung like a wild stallion. Now that Sasha’s mated, it’s only a matter of time before he looks for someone new to stick it in.”
“Oh my god, Rosalie, are dicks the only thing you ever think about?” Camilla huffed and rolled her eyes upward.
“Oh my god, Camilla, they used to be the only thing you thought about,” Rosalie replied in a mocking tone.
While Camilla and Rosalie bickered, Kallie returned to eating her porridge, considering what it meant that Wolfrik had agreed to patrol. Her heart fluttered with hope that the wild wolf would reintegrate himself into the pack in other ways.
Beside her, Olivia remained uncharacteristically quiet, a soft frown over her lips, and a vacant stare, looking as though her thoughts had flown far away. The four of them used to spend most of their time laughing and talking about males, exchanging details whenever they hooked up with anyone. Now only Rosalie sounded like her old self. Kallie didn’t want to go back to the way she’d been—overly flirty to fit in with her friends.
But she would have liked her foot back to the way it was.
“What’s with your sister and Gina? Are they in love or something?” Rosalie asked, abruptly changing topics.
Kallie followed Rosalie’s stare to a log where Emerson and Gina sat holding hands, heads bent talking as though no one else existed in the world besides each other.
Camilla scowled at them. “Emerson’s not capable of love. As usual, she’s just trying to get attention, and as usual it’s working. She’s got half the males gaping at her, probably fantasizing about a threesome.”
Taking a closer look at Emerson and Gina, Kallie wasn’t convinced it was an act. They made a gorgeous pair with Emerson’s long, sunny blond locks and Gina’s fiery red hair, but the real light and heat lay in the way they stared at one another.
Rosalie snorted. “Clever minx. Not a bad idea. Put your arm around me, Camilla.”
“No.”
Undeterred, Rosalie turned to Olivia, who pulled her frowning gaze away from the blond and redheaded females.
“Come on, Olivia. Give me a smooch.” Rosalie puckered her lips.
Olivia glared at her. “Stop joking around.”
Rosalie’s pucker turned into a pout. “Seriously, what’s wrong with all of you? We used to have fun.”
“That was before my heart was broken,” Camilla ground out, stressing each word.
Olivia nodded, still staring at Emerson and Gina.
Rosalie pursed her lips. “Fine, sit here wallowing in your misery, but don’t expect me to stick around.”
As she got up, Camilla scoffed. “Catch you later, fair-weather friend.”
“See you later, sore loser,” Rosalie answered with a gleaming smile.
“Moon above, she can be a real bitch,” Camilla muttered after Rosalie walked away.
Kallie finished the last of her porridge then got up, her foot groaning as she did.
“See ya,” she said to Camilla and Olivia.
As Kallie limped her way to the basket of dirty bowls, Maureen intercepted her and held out a hand.
“I can take that, Kallie.”
“Thanks,” Kallie said, handing over her bowl and spoon.
What a relief that Francine had stopped overseeing meals in the glade after giving birth to Franny. Hopefully she stayed in the den from here forward.
Glancing around, Kallie saw Elsie was still eating with Tabor and Sasha. Not wishing to interrupt or leave without Elsie, she moved steadily to the nearest tree and leaned against it. Sometimes sitting and standing felt like too much work. It’s funny the little things she’d taken for granted before her injury.
“There you are!” Rosalie poked her head from around the trunk, sending Kallie’s heart crashing against her rib cage.
“Roz! You startled me,” she said breathlessly.
Rosalie circled around the tree and placed a hand on her curvaceous hip. Dimples formed at the corners of her lips, and her cheeks puffed out. “Hey, was I just imagining things, or did you perk up when you heard Wolfrik’s name?”
Kallie gaped at Rosalie and groaned silently. Her friend was mostly clueless, except when it came to observing budding romantic interests between shifters. She could spot a sexual attraction the way an owl locked onto a mouse in the dark.
“I don’t understand why you’re being so secretive,” Rosalie said. “He’s a sexy beast and a pureblood, no less.” She slapped Kallie on the back, nearly pitching her forward. “Nice choice.” Rosalie winked then looped her arm around Kallie and pulled her close. “Okay, so here’s what we’re going to do—”
“I’m not making out with you,” Kallie interrupted, pulling her arm away.
Rosalie laughed and kept her grip on Kallie’s arm. “That’s not where I was going. Jeez, let me finish. I want Aden, and you want Wolfrik, and they both happen to be patrol partners. How perfect, right?” She lowered her voice, growing serious. “This might be the greatest challenge either of us has ever faced. It’s not like those guys have ever gone out of their way for a good time, but we’ll teach them.” She glanced in Camilla and Olivia’s direction. “And we won’t let those two spoilsports ruin our fun.”
Kallie wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know, Roz.”
Rosalie removed her arms from Kallie’s and stepped in front of her.
“Come on, Kallie. You could use a good hump, and so could I.”
“You’re always ready for a good hump.”
Rosalie burst into laughter. “That’s true.” She backed away and lifted her arm in farewell. “See you at supper. Be ready.”
Kallie cringed. She didn’t want to team up with Rosalie. Her friend would never understand that much more was at stake than a good time. If she didn’t catch Wolfrik’s interest, Palmer would never leave her alone.
Elsie got up as Kallie headed for her log and bounded over all smiles.
“Ready to dig up carrots and potatoes?”
“You don’t have to help me in the garden.”
“I want to!” Elsie cried as though Kallie might try to prevent her. “Doing things in pairs is safer and more fun. Isn’t that why Jager assigns partners?”
Kallie smiled warmly. “To patrol, yeah, but garden work isn’t exactly dangerous.”
“Oh, but it is.” Elsie’s eyes expanded. “Someone needs to protect you from Francine and Palmer.”
Kallie forced a smile to her lips. She appreciated Elsie’s friendship and positivity, but only a single male shifter could protect her from Palmer’s advances.
Sweat dampened Kallie’s hairline hours before the midday sun shot into position. It hadn’t taken her and Elsie long to fill a basket with root vegetables, runner beans, and herbs. Kallie had the bounty tucked away in the shade of a tree. With nothing better to do, they’d switched to pulling weeds, but not before Kallie convinced Elsie to borrow a different dress from Heidi. She doubted even a witch could keep her cotton white while rooting around in the dirt.
One of Heidi’s short multicolored dresses sagged on Elsie’s petite frame. She had secured her hair back with a ribbon and done the same for Kallie.
“I saw you got your fortune told at the claiming ceremony.” Kallie pinched a tiny green sprout of a weed between her fingers and plucked it from the earth.
She’d kept the garden up so well that the only weeds left to pull were small, though it didn’t take them long to grow.
Elsie, usually so talkative, swiped her arm over her forehead and looked over a row of cabbages at Kallie with a questioning stare.
Kallie cleared her throat. “Do you believe in seers?” As a witch, Elsie probably had better insight into mystical probabilities. Maybe she had just wanted to be kind by humoring the old woman. But as Kallie held her breath waiting for Elsie to answer, she found herself hoping for something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“It’s certainly not a gift any of the wizards at Balmar Heights possess, but Flora knew things about me that she could have only known with the sight.”
Kallie took a steadying breath. “Are you sure she’s not just really good at guessing what you want to hear?”
Elsie shook her head. “It wasn’t guesswork. She knew what she was talking about.”
Hope fluttered inside Kallie’s chest. If what the old woman told her was true about having a son, it also meant she’d have a mate. Kallie would never stand for being one of Palmer’s mates, which meant a true mate of her own.
“She told me I’d have a son,” Kallie found herself sharing out loud.
Elsie’s smile spread like sunshine over her face. “Congratulations. You’ll make a wonderful mother. Did Flora give any indication who the father will be?”
Kallie poked at the dirt, making tiny holes with her finger then filling them back up.
“She didn’t mention him. She only said my son would be strong—a future leader.”
“Then I imagine your mate will be strong. Someone like Wolfrik.”
Kallie’s cheeks flamed. “I doubt he’ll be ready for a mate anytime soon. Maybe never.”
Elsie flashed her a warm smile. “I never allow assumptions to stop me.”
Kallie regarded her with increased curiosity. “Do you find our males attractive, or do you miss wizards?”
Unlike Kallie, Elsie didn’t blush. She bit down on her lower lip a moment and stared into the sky thoughtfully. When her gaze drifted back down, she grinned in pure delight.
“Shifters are way sexier—more muscles.” She gave a gleeful laugh that made Kallie do a double take.
Elsie was so petite it was strange to picture her lusting after a male twice her weight. Was that what she saw in Zackary? His size? Kallie couldn’t imagine what else it could be. He was a bully who could barely string two sentences together.
But she was more curious about what the old woman had said to Elsie. They’d both looked grave, as though a meteor were hurtling straight to the hollow.
“Now that I’ve shared, do you want to tell me what Flora told you?”
Elsie’s smile vanished, and a cool, unnatural wind rustled through Kallie’s hair. The slight chill should have refreshed her sweat-soaked skin, but it made her shiver and glance over her shoulder, half expecting to find an angry spirit standing behind her.
Elsie blinked several times, and the chill dissipated. Had the witch caused it without opening her mouth? Kallie wanted to ask, but it seemed she’d already pried too deeply for one day.
“I’m cursed,” Elsie said softly, staring at the cabbage leaves.
It took a moment for her words to register.
“Cursed?”
“It’s a long story.” Elsie sighed.
Kallie turned to face Elsie, crossed her legs, and folded her hands in her lap, the weeds entirely forgotten.
Elsie nodded. She reached behind her head and tightened the ribbon holding her hair back.
“Nearly thirty years ago, my father and his coven left behind the fallen world. He and his kind were immune to sickness, just like shifters, and like the shifters, they took to the forest to flee the violence of humanity’s remaining survivors. Life in the wild was a hard one. My father’s coven, with their combined powers, had many advantages, but they’d lived for generations with the same modern comforts as humans. Living off the land was what my father calls ‘a rude awakening.’” Elsie smiled wryly. “He was twenty-four at the time of the collapse. His mother was a powerful witch and the leader of their coven. Together, they led their people across mountains and forests until coming across Balmar Heights—a small gated community that had been abandoned far from human cities. It was an oasis in the woods. With their combined powers, they were able to maintain the community and make a home of it, which still thrives today. But there was only one problem.”
Kallie leaned forward. She’d gotten so caught up in Elsie’s tale, she’d momentarily forgotten the part about Elsie being cursed.
The witch-shifter tugged on the hem of Heidi’s dress several times before continuing.
“Bear shifters,” Elsie murmured. “Although they didn’t live in Balmar Heights, they claimed the community as part of their territory. They waged war on my father and his coven, causing problems wherever they could. But my father refused to leave the first true home he and his people had found since leaving behind the last traces of civilization. When the conflict intensified, my father made a bargain with the leader of the Bear Mountain shifters. He promised his firstborn daughter to one of their leaders’ sons.”
Kallie gasped. “How could he?”
Elsie surprised her by smiling. “My father’s forever at the time was a witch who was barren—forever is how wizards refer to their mates. Anyway, they could never conceive, so it was an easy bargain for him to make on his coven’s behalf. At the time, he never imagined he’d lose his beloved or take other lovers—certainly not shapeshifters. Lazarus could have used a seer back then.” Elsie gave a soft chuckle.
Kallie gaped at her. “And did the leader of the bear shifters have a son?”
Elsie nodded, her expression sobering. “He fathered many male cubs—three of which are still alive. The two oldest had no interest in their father’s bargain, but the youngest—Brutus—lives to torment my father and wants me for no other reason. He is as brutish as his name sounds, and I am promised to him.”
“To a bear shifter?” Kallie still couldn’t wrap her head around it. “What happens if you refuse?” Surely Elsie wouldn’t be forced to marry a bear.
Elsie’s shoulders drooped, and her head bowed. “If I do not fulfill my father’s promise, all the men in our coven will become impotent and all the women infertile. Our coven would die out. The bear shifters already threatened the coven’s children once. It’s why my father took such drastic measures. The bears captured two of the coven’s children. They were too young to protect themselves with spells, and so my father had to make the bear shifters a promise in order to have the children returned safely to Balmar Heights.”
Kallie’s heart gave a sickening lurch, and her vocal cords twisted into knots inside her throat on Elsie’s behalf.
The witch-shifter sat up tall, eyes sparkling. “Luckily, my father added a loophole in the agreement—just in case. He said his firstborn daughter would have to marry a shifter, but he didn’t specify that it had to be a bear.” She grinned.
Kallie gave a sigh of relief.
“So all you have to do is choose a mate in Wolf Hollow.” That wasn’t so bad, considering Elsie was part wolf and had a brother in the hollow.
“That’s right,” Elsie said, “and I’ve got seven weeks to find one.”
“Seven weeks!” Kallie’s eyes bulged in their sockets. “Why seven weeks?”
“That’s when I turn twenty, and that’s when Brutus can collect on the bargain . . . unless I’m already mated.”
Kallie pressed her hands against her cheeks. How would Elsie possibly find a mate in seven weeks? She was a newcomer just getting to know the pack. It didn’t help that she was half witch and stayed mostly in the den with the families.
“Does Tabor know about this?”
Elsie shook her head. “No, and what I told you was in confidence. I don’t want him to worry, and I don’t want him getting in my way.”
“What’s your plan? Maybe I can help.” Kallie leaned forward.
“There’s really only one option.”
Elsie carefully untied the ribbon from around her hair, allowing her silky brown tresses to fall loose over her narrow shoulders. Slowly, she wrapped the ribbon around her fingers, binding them together. She stared into her hand as she spoke.
“I need to claim the first wolf shifter who will have me.”
An ache gripped Kallie by the middle, and it had nothing to do with her injury. No shifter should be forced to claim a mate she didn’t love with her whole being.
All of a sudden it made sense to her why Elsie had taken an interest in Zackary. The poor female was desperate, and her time was running out. But she shouldn’t have to settle for any mate just because her father had cursed her. A claim was sacred—something to cherish and celebrate.
The corners of Kallie’s lips dragged down like tree roots in search of water.
“Don’t look so glum, Kallie. If you met Brutus, you’d feel relieved that I have a way out.”
“Seven weeks,” Kallie whispered, her mind racing through the names and faces of single males, none of whom had shown interest in the witch-shifter. The only one who had noticed was Zackary.
Kallie gritted her teeth. There had to be someone else—anyone else.
“We need a list of potentials.”
“I’m all ears,” Elsie said.
Kallie chewed on the bottom of her lip.
“Alec and Heath are nice, but I heard they’re not looking to settle down in the den anytime soon.” Who else was there? Kallie’s mind had drawn a blank. This was even harder than she originally thought. “Has anyone caught your eye?”
Elsie shrugged and picked at the hem of Heidi’s dress.
“Aden and Zackary are the only two single males who’ve made any effort to talk to me.”
Kallie groaned. “And they’re the only two who’ve been forbidden to claim mates.”
Elsie looked up and frowned. “How can the council do that to them?”
“In Zackary’s case, it was punishment for what he did to your brother.”
Elsie lifted her chest. “Then Tabor can reverse the punishment.”
Kallie’s mouth gaped open. “So that the male he despises above all others can claim his sister? He’d never agree to that.”
A flash of light brightened Elsie’s eyes. “Then I suppose we’ll just have to claim one another in secret.”
“Elsie!”
She fisted her hair above each of her shoulder blades and yanked down as though she might pull it out. “If Brutus claims me, there will be nothing anyone can do for me—not wolf nor wizard. I will be lost to all those I love forever. I can’t let that happen. It’s why my father left me here. Only I can save myself from a cursed fate.” She sighed. “Zackary may be my only hope.”
Kallie didn’t like it, but there were worse things to consider.
“How can I help?”
Elsie gave her a considering look before smiling. “Perhaps we can help each other.”