Chapter Five
Docking the ship took more time than Pemma had anticipated. How hard could it be to bring a boat alongside the pier and moor it? Apparently, it took more skill than she could fathom. The smells of the city blinded her newfound senses and she covered her nose with a scented handkerchief. How had she ignored the stench in Europa? She’d heard city shifters were nose blind, but she hadn’t realized how much until they’d been at sea. What other skills had she and her pack lost after so many generations of living behind vampire walls?
She frowned. Would her sense of smell fade once more? She didn’t want it to.
Maxim stood in the center of the deck, giving the last of his orders to the crew before they disembarked. Ewald brought lots of goods to trade. Their first weeks here would be spent selling these things so they’d have money to prepare for the next leg of their adventure. She would leave the details of preparation to Ewald and the cat. Her input would be ignored anyway, even if it was valid.
Vampire society was male-centric. They guarded their females like precious treasure but only took them out of their gilded cages to show off at important events. Female opinions or thoughts were not sought after. This attitude trickled down to any female they encountered. Especially pretty little omega lapdogs.
Instead, she leaned against the ship rails, chin in hand, and watched the people on the dock. Many paced the area with the rolling stride of wolf shifters. Big, strong males carried and stacked wooden crates from the ship. She sighed, a little disappointed. None of them wore their feral forms as she had imagined wild shifters would.
Ewald joined her at the rail. His silence weighed heavy upon the air.
She tossed him an uneasy glance.
He watched the shifters unload. “What do you think of New Berg?”
She stood straighter. He wanted her thoughts? How honest should she be? If he suspected she only played dumb for him, he might set her aside. Her alpha would be so disappointed. She assessed the worn wooden buildings that lined the shore and the rough material of the commoners’ clothes. “I think it’s grand.” She grinned at his surprised expression. “The rustic buildings, the raw people, even the stink is different from home. It’s why we left, isn’t it?”
He caressed her dark hair. “You’re always so optimistic. It’s refreshing.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
Optimistic? She wasn’t sure if she would have described herself with that word. Clever would have been better. She pointed to the dock workers. “Do the wild shifters work for money or do they barter their labor?”
Ewald frowned. “They’re not wild, my sweet. These shifters all live in the city. From what I understand, when we meet wild shifters, there will be no doubt what they are.”
She stared at the shirtless males. None of her pack would stride in public view half-naked in civil form. It wasn’t proper, though she secretly didn’t mind. She couldn’t admit this to Ewald.
A wooden carriage pulled up to the ship. “Our transport has finally arrived.” He held out his arm and guided her down the gangplank. “Grand Lord Weis has invited us to stay with him while I make further arrangements so we can travel west.”
“That’s very kind of him.” She stepped into the carriage and arranged her skirt, giving Ewald more room to sit next to her. “What of our luggage?”
“Maxim will send it after us. Your alpha is already in the city with his hunters, looking for prospective shifters who wish to travel west with us.”
The carriage carried them away from the docks and through the market area. Cobblestone covered these streets and gave them a more civilized appearance.
“It seems wise to have shifters who were raised here act as trackers.” She didn’t know what she’d been expecting when they arrived. She’d given it a lot of thought on their journey, but she always pictured familiar buildings of stone like in Europa. This place looked like a good storm could blow it away. The prospect of traveling into the wild didn’t seem so exciting anymore.
Pemma spotted a mobile cage being pulled by horses toward a stage area. Was there a circus? She tugged at Ewald’s shirt and pointed. From this distance, she mistook the guards around the stage for shifters until she spotted the swords hanging from their belts. Shifters didn’t need such weapons, but these vampires appeared as wild as the dock workers in their rough leathers and furs. “What is this place?”
She spotted three young females huddled together inside the cage.
“I suspect this is the slave auction.”
She jerked around to face him. “Slaves?” Then she returned her gaze to those poor females, all of whom appeared no older than she. “No,” she whispered.
Ewald laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from the window. “Pemma, this is an uncivilized world we’ve come to. Just don’t wander off.”
“How can Lord Weis tolerate this in his city?”
“It’s legal to sell the wild shifters in this country. It’s the only way to tame them and teach them to be civil.”
She took a heavy breath. Vampires…she hadn’t been given any reason to ever hate them. Ewald’s family had always been very good to her pack and her personally, but those females… She doubted whoever bought them had a civil thought in his head. She blinked the tears from her eyes. “I want to go home.”
He placed a tender kiss on the back of her neck. “You are home now. Best get used to it.”