Kei Valancia
We entered the house, the air changing from hot and dry to cool and refreshing.
“Kei, guess what?” Maria jumped out of Draven’s arms and gripped my shirt, tugging so that I would lean down to her level.
“What?” I heard her giggle quietly beside my ear, the smell of lilacs filling my nose.
“I met a boy,” she said, still giggling, and my brows shot to my hairline.
“Oh? And what’s this boy like?”
“I can’t tell you in front of Rav, silly. He gets jealous.”
I heard Draven let out an annoyed groan. “I do not get jealous. Stop saying that, sis.”
Maria and I both giggled, and I smiled brightly.
“Well, then, we’ll just have to go somewhere more private, won’t we?” I picked her up suddenly, and she let out a squeal. “Thankfully, I know just the right place.” I turned and began heading out the door until Draven called, “Be careful you two.” I waved a hand for a signal that I understood, and I went through the door that we had just come through. Setting her down, I gave her a stern look.
“Now, I’m going to shift, and you’re going to ride on my back. But make sure that you have a firm grip, okay?”
“I will! I promise.”
I chuckled and ruffled her soft hair, turning while rolling my shoulders. “Step back.”
She did as she was told, and I closed my eyes, feeling Rei become excited.
Let’s get this show on the road, she yipped.
Please be careful, I said humorously, not really meaning it. We both loved Maria as if she were our own little sister and would die for her.
You know I will.
I didn’t say anything back as I felt my body reshape into an animal that was the other side of me. I heard Maria let out a breath in awe.
“You’re so pretty, Kei.”
I let out a wolfy chuckle and tucked in my legs underneath me to lower myself to her height. I tilted my head in encouragement for her to get on. She clapped her hands in delight before I heard her walk over, her small hands gripping a fistful of my fur and jumping a little to get on. She struggled a bit, as I was still quite tall even as I was in this position, but she managed to get on my back snugly. When I was sure she wasn’t going to fall off, I stood up on all fours. She laughed brightly before kicking her heels into my sides.
“Let’s ride.”
I shook my huge head before going into a lazy jog.
“Faster!”
I rolled my eyes but obeyed, going only slightly faster. I felt the cool shade as we entered the woods, my paws hitting the ground with muffled thuds against the bushy forest floor.
“Come on, Kei,” Maria whined. “You’re slower than Grandma Dhalia.”
Now, that was offensive. Everybody knows that Dhalia is the slowest werewolf, a.k.a. her grandma. And yet she’s comparing me to her? Talk about rude. Fine, if she wanted to go fast then that’s what I will do. I stopped and turned my head to look at her.
Maria, wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight. Whatever you do, don’t let go, I said through mind link. Her arms wrapped around my neck in a tight grip while burrowing her face into my fur.
When I was sure she wouldn’t fall, I faced forward and relaxed my muscles, adrenaline buzzing through my blood. Throwing my head back, I let out piercing howl before launching full speed between trees. Maria let out a screech of surprise that soon turned into loud laughter.
“Faster!”
I rolled my eyes. If I did that, you wouldn’t be able to keep your grip.
“Aww, please?” I imagined she was pouting on my back.
Nope, princess, you’re just going to have to deal with this speed. Which was already a fast pace anyway.
I was darting between trees about seventy miles an hour, and if Maria were anything other than the alpha’s daughter, she wouldn’t have been able to hold on. I leaped over a fallen tree. The surprised squeal was lost in the wind breezing past.
Maria clutched tightly to me, pressing her small body to mine as I ran past a small herd of deer, their peaceful moods suddenly splattering with the coppery brown of fright. I ignored them and darted past, feeling that our destination was close.
Hold on tight, I warned her before I burst out into a clearing. The trees disappeared, and I knew from memory that a large lake would be spread across ahead of me.
“Kei, don’t you dare!” She managed to scream before I sprinted and jumped high, the warm sun blazing on my face and the weightless air beneath my feet. This feeling only lasted a second, however, when I was pulled back to earth and into the warm water. If Maria’s grip was tight before, it was in a death grip now.
Her words were muffled as she spoke words underwater, bubbles floating up to the surface. I noticed the occasional flashes from the aquatic inhabitants before I started paddling up with Maria still on my back. Once we broke the surface, I felt a slap on the top of my head.
“Kei, that was not funny!”
I chortled, the sound strange out of my wolf mouth. Princess, it was hilarious. I felt another slap on my head. Her words were an incoherent grumble as I began swimming back to the shore. Once we were on dry land, she jumped off and landed onto the ground with a muffled thump.
“You can shift now.”
I shook my head in response. “All right, I’m going to need you to get on my back,” I told her while bending down on one knee.
She didn’t spare another second as she hopped onto my back, and I grabbed hold of her legs wrapped around my midriff before I started walking closer to the water. I let my powers flow around me as I pieced the picture of our surroundings in my mind. Large boulders lay just a few feet to our right, the lake large, while the air began to cool as the sun set. From the corner of my eye, I saw the flicker of something in the woods but instantly recognized it as one of Draven’s men before taking a running start and jumping up high, all the while Maria’s small arms wrapped around my neck in a tight chokehold. Landing gently on the boulder, I pulled Maria’s fingers off me and sucked in a breath.
“Maria, keep choking me like that, and you’ll end up killing me,” I joked, poking her lightly in the ribs.
She squirmed in my arms before pulling away from me. “That wasn’t funny.” She began pouting once again, and I laughed.
“Princess, I have to find some entertainment somewhere,” I teased. She huffed, and I heard her plump down. I chuckled and sat down beside her, stretching my legs out and resting on my palms with my arms behind me. We were both silent for a few moments, just enjoying the silence and the sound of the water as small waves crested onto the shore. The late afternoon sun shone brightly still, and I welcomed the warmth with a smile.
“Do you like my brother?”
I tilted my head towards her questioningly.
“Sure, I do,” was my reply.
“Do you like ‘like’ him or just like?”
Now, I turned fully to her. “What’s with all these all of the sudden? Weren’t we going to discuss your little boyfriend?”
I noticed her black form shrug, her emotions flashing quickly around her. “I like you, so if you married my brother, I would be really happy!” She faced me, and I had to imagine that she was smiling brightly or she could have been giving me the dirtiest glare, but the happy dark lavender suggested otherwise.
I smiled gently at her. I opened my mouth to reply but was interrupted by a ground-shaking roar. The funny thing was, it sounded familiar. Turning to the source of the noise, I froze at the black, glittery cloud spreading across the sky.
“Uh-oh,” I muttered and stood up. I watched silently as the black form stalked its way towards us.
“Kei, who is that scary man?” Maria whimpered quietly and hid behind me. I guarded her with my body and clenched my jaw.
Why is he here? Anger radiated from the man. The taste of sour lemon filled my mouth with this feeling.
“Kei, you have some explaining to do.” Ryker stopped about ten yards away from the rock that we were standing on, the red intensifying with each second. I crossed my arms defiantly.
“I don’t have to explain anything,” I spat, my own annoyance rebelling against him. Of course, that may have been the worst thing that I could have said given his feelings at the moment, but I was still a little bit miffed from earlier.
His loud growl was full of anger and menace, a loud promise meaning that I would regret it later. “I am your alpha. You either obey me or you will be punished.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Oh, so now, you’re going to play the alpha card, aren’t you? Fine, Alpha,” I spat out the word as if it was the most disgusting thing on earth. “I don’t really care that you’re my mate. If you continue to be ill-mannered and insufferable, then I wouldn’t take the time to deal with you until you want to actually have a real conversation with me. So why don’t you go back and chill a bit so that we can have a calm conversation?” His power surrounded us, trying to make me submit but I stood my ground and glared at him icily. Emotions flashed, ranging from awe to glowing rage.
“You infuriate me so much sometimes, you know that?” He reined the glittery blackness back in until it was now a tame flicker. “Fine, when we get back, I want a full explanation of this, and I will not back down on this, either.” His words held a finality to it that I knew if I objected, he would get angry again. But that’s really not surprising anymore, though.
Sighing, I nodded. “All right, King, I guess you deserve this much at least.” Turning my back on him, I bent down so that I was level with Maria. “I’m sorry. We’re going to have to cut this trip short.”
“It’s fine.” She leaned closer. “That man is mean.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Aww, sweetie, he’s just mean because he doesn’t get his daily dosage of sass. Now, let’s go back,” I told her gently. She agreed happily. I picked her up, and we dropped back down to the ground. I ignored the looming figure behind us and noticed other figures in the woods. Shaking my head, I set her down.
“King, wait for me back at the pack house. I need to drop off Maria.” I was suddenly gripped by my shoulders and turned around, now facing his looming form.
“Every time you order me around like this, I get fed up beyond belief. Do you know how much I hate being ordered around?” He whispered the last part in my ear, causing goosebumps to appear on my skin.
I raised my hand and cupped his cheek. “But do you know how much I love getting you all worked up?” I smirked and turned away, taking a few steps away from him before shifting. I bent down to allow Maria to jump on. Once she was settled, I walked to the edge of the tree line before stopping and turning to give a long stare at Ryker. My emotions were mixed about this matter, but I knew I would have to explain it all if I wanted him to trust me.
Because the dark green of his mistrust said it all.