Chapter 11.-1
Rhyson
Char
“Humans,” I repeated as I stared at Juniper. “In the middle of a rogue werewolf mountain.”
“Yes,” Nyx snapped from next to her. “And since I was the one who smelled them, you should be directing your questions at me. I realize it’s absurd, but they are not wolves. They smelled…a little
strange, but I don’t spend a whole lot of time around humans.”
Growling, I fixed her with a gaze, but she didn’t shrink away. “And you thought it was a good idea to
follow that smell?”
“Yes, Rhyson, I thought it might be prudent to see why I was smelling something strange since
we’re in an unknown environment searching for…what are we searching for again?” she asked
sweetly. Next to me, Duke growled, but we’d discussed not calling me Your Majesty while we were
here, so there wasn’t a whole lot that he could do.
With a glare, I tried to settle my wolf. He was irrationally unhappy, although not for the same reason I was. He was pissed that I’d let her go off alone and she’d almost gotten into trouble again.
My wolf wanted his cub, assuming it was his.
“In any case, if it’s a trap, I certainly think we can handle it. If it’s not, it’s our first chance to get some information about the area,” Juniper cut in. “The sooner we get information, the sooner we
can leave, and if there are humans on this mountain, you of all people need to know.”
For hundreds of years, shifters and humans have shared the same world without humans knowing.
Most shifter communities were in rural areas where they could control who interacted with them,
but there were shifters in the cities too.
But humans here? Juniper was right. That was something that I needed to see.
“You will eat something before we go,” I muttered to Nyx. I’d overheard her conversation with
Tessa, although when I’d cornered our healer about it this morning, she’d given me one of her rare frosty looks. Tessa was adamant that patient-healer privileges were important to her, and not even
a king could make her talk.
All night long I’d watched as Nyx shivered in her human form. I almost demanded that she shift, but what did I care if she tortured herself all night long?
We packed up our camp while Juniper and Nyx ate, trying to leave as little trace of our footprints as possible. Afterward, Nyx walked over to Tessa and spoke to her, but her voice was too low for me to overhear. I couldn’t help the anxiety that gripped me. Was she feeling unwell? Was
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Chapter 11-1
something wrong with the baby?
Chum
They separated before she glanced at me and immediately turned her head. I stifled a growl and
let Juniper lead the way.
There was a man-made bridge across the river, and I realized that it was mechanical and could be raised and lowered from the other side. Smart. The river made for an excellent barrier. The man lowered the bridge and gave us a friendly wave, which immediately put me on edge. They’d taken great pains to protect themselves, but they were just going to let us through even though they
didn’t know us?
Something didn’t add up.
I let my wolf to the surface and inhaled deeply. Nyx was right. They smelled more human than not, but something was just a little off.
“I’m so glad you returned,” the man said with a smile as he held out his hand. “My name is Charles.”
“Ro,” I greeted, avoiding giving him my full name. “Your invitation for breakfast was a surprising
one.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is. Most wolves are surprised when we invite them in,” he said with a chuckle. “But I promise we mean you no harm. Consider us your welcoming committee to Shadowed Moon
Mountain.”
stepped aside to let my wolves pass, and when Nyx walked by Charles, he reached out and touched her arm. She immediately jerked away, and I stiffened. “Apologies,” he said with a dip of his head. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I wanted to tell you that there’s a physician on site who
might be able to ease your discomfort.”
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