The Red Wolf's Daughter (Book 3 Part 2: The Making of the Siran)

Chapter 4

Fernos's eyes grew wide, and he looked shocked that I was wearing the necklace that symbolizes my position as the Siran before he was able to compose himself and stare at me with a bored look that I knew was fake.

I breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wooden post because I knew that he knew what it meant.

It meant that I was, in fact, the Siran and that he couldn't brush it off like he wanted.

I closed my eyes, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me, the whole fiasco of today hitting me hard like a ton of bricks.

"Ky?" Caroline asked when I slumped against the wooden post I was tied to. She hesitated before she reached out to touch me, her touch gentle and comforting. Her brows were furrowed, and a look of concern was on her face when I looked at her through half closed eyes. "Are you ok?"

I let out a breathless chuckle and rubbed my face before I slowly nodded. "Uh, ya," I said. "Sort of," I replied. I cleared my throat and shifted in my seated position. "I am just tired, is all." I shrugged and grimaced, ignoring the pain in my back. "This whole day has been stressful on me, mentally and emotionally." I let them hear the tiredness in my voice, and they looked at me before they looked at each other.

Caroline opened her mouth to say something but stopped as soon as I raised my hand to silence her. She frowned and stayed silent while I cocked my head to the side and listened to muffled voices that were slowly getting closer to the tent we inhabited.

Fernos leaned forward just a bit and kept his gaze on me. His face was hard as stone while he waited for me to do something or say something about why I didn't allow her to speak.

"K-" Caroline stopped talking again when I raised my hand higher.

"Take her back to her room," I said to Fernos, leaving no room for an argument in my voice.

"Bu-" Caroline said but stopped when I waved my hand to silence her. She frowned and huffed, not saying a word. She narrowed her eyes and scowled but waited for me to speak, even though she wasn't going to like it.

"They're on their way here, I think," I said and stuffed my necklace back under my shirt. I gave Caroline a wolfish grin and winked. "Relax, I'll make sure not to say anything without you present." I looked at the male that shared my grandfather's face and grew serious. "It's time for you to stop hiding in the shadows and in the background while others make decisions about your fate."

Fernos set his jaw and stayed silent. His brown eyes turned darker while he looked at me and then at Caroline.

He knew that I was talking about him too, sitting in the shadows and letting them make the decisions while he stayed back, silent. He didn't say a word that would help his clan, which was something that surprised me because I knew how protective he was of them and did what he could to make sure that they stayed alive.

"Now, go," I said, hearing the voices become much closer than they were, "before you are out of time." I pushed that thought away, deciding that I'd question him later to make sure that his clan was still alive and what he wanted to do about them.

"Bu-" Caroline was about to say but couldn't because Fernos walked over to her, grabbed her arm, and disappeared with her before she could utter another word to me.

What about you..? Her question lingered in the air even after she left. What will happen to you?

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the pack of gum that my grandmother gave me for the pack. Shooting my grandmother a silent thanks, I took one and ate it before I stuffed the pack back into my pocket and tied myself up again before whoever was out there could get in and see that I was untied.

Slumping against the wooden post one last time, I pretended to still be passed out with a soft sigh while I waited.

Don't worry, I silently thought, making sure to keep a small smirk off my face. I'll be fine, Caroline.

I hope...

***

"What do you mean that I should treat her with respect?" I heard someone, my "father," say when they were closer to the tent than they had been. "I do not approve of that suggestion. I do not care that she has the same face as her. She is a traitor, Giselle, and I do not approve that you suggest otherwise."

I held back an eye roll and a scowl, not surprised that I wasn't as hurt by his comments than I was about my grandfather's disrespect and coldness towards me. I am no traitor, I thought silently while the person he was talking to, Giselle, was trying to come up with something to say. I don't know why you think I am.

Giselle sighed, and I could tell that she was frustrated. "Please, Cooper," she said, not hiding the frustration in her voice. "Do not do something that you will hate yourself for later on. Please, think before you speak, especially with her."

"And why should I?" Cooper asked. "What good would that do?" He didn't allow the female to respond and shoved the curtain aside and stepped in.

His heart skipped a beat, and he took a deep, shuddering breath when he caught sight of me, and I had a feeling that his eyes were wide and filled with longing because I knew that he was seeing his mate instead of his daughter. "R-" He cut himself and growled while he shook his head and moved a hand through his hair. "Who are you?" he asked in a sharp tone.

I didn't respond, pretending to be unconscious, even though I was focusing on the people that were gathered there, listening to how their heartbeats picked up at the sight of me and taking in their scents, which were both similar and yet different at the same time.

Cooper growled and walked over to me. He stopped in front of me and lifted his hand as if to backhand me awake but stopped when someone let out a startled gasp, indicating that they knew what he was planning on doing.

Instead, he growled before he grabbed my shoulder and shook it roughly, upsetting my injuries. "Wake up," he growled, ignoring the smell of blood that filtered into the room. "Wake up," he said again. "Who are you, and why the fuck are you here?"