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

Chapter 13

"I don't think this is what Cooper means by getting settled in," Caroline said softly while I inspected her room with an additional cot in it. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

I paused in inspecting a corner and looked at her through narrowed eyes. My cheeks turned red while I studied her. "I thought you were fine with me sleeping in the tent as well," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, "or was that a lie?"

Caroline's eyes grew wide, and her cheeks grew red too. She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Oh, no, no," she said. "Like I said, I don't mind you staying in the tent with me. However, Cooper might..." She shrugged and grimaced. "I don't want you to get hurt because you decided to stay here."

I bit back a snort and shook my head. "If Cooper tries to hurt me, then I'll kick his ass," I said. "I... don't like the idea of you being "alone," especially since it seems to me that the border is breachable, which is something that we need to fix. There should have been no way in hell for them to get in and attack this group like this."

Caroline furrowed her brows and cocked her head. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused. "Do you think that there are Warlocks with them?"

I gave her a weird look. "I wouldn't be surprised," I replied. "There are Wolves and Vampires with them. There are Dark Warlocks too, but there are some that are actually quite nice."

Caroline gave me a weird look. "Who?" she asked. "I thought Dark Warlocks are evil," she said.

"Are all Demons evil?" I shot back and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you have one protecting you at all times." I gestured to the ground where there was a sliver of dark shadow that was a signal for Fernos.

Caroline furrowed her brows and cocked her head. "But that's different," she said softly. "Fernos is... Fernos. The others..."

"Are themselves," I replied. "Would you think that a different Demon was evil if they weren't Fernos?" I asked and raised an eyebrow.

Caroline looked away from me and shrugged, and her cheeks turned red. "I have only met Fernos," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper, "so I don't know."

"Well, I can tell you that they aren't," I said. I walked over to the cot and sat down, and Caroline sat down on her bed. "My mom let us, me and my twin, Keagen, and sometimes my other siblings stay at his kingdom before, and it was fun. We got to bug the shit out of Grandpa Fernos, and he hated it."

Caroline raised an eyebrow and cocked her head, and I had a feeling that she didn't believe me.

I bit back a snort. "Ok, he didn't hate it, but he does wish that they would send me alone and not with another sibling."

"Have you been sent there by yourself then?"

"Yes," I replied and nodded. "And then I get to annoy the shit out of him with his son, and Cason is a lot worse than me and my siblings put together."

Caroline bit back a small snort, and she moved a hand through her hair and shook her head. "It's still weird to know that Fernos had a son," she said softly. "I mean, I've never seen... him as a father figure type before..."

I gave her a weird look. "But you look up to him, right?" I asked, and she hesitated and nodded. "He looks after you, right?"

"He does," she said. "However, that doesn't mean anything." She shrugged. "Again, I don't think that he would be a good father..."

"He's actually a very good father," I said, defending him. "Cason loves his father and respects him a lot."

Caroline pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. "I guess that makes sense..." she said hesitantly, and I had a feeling that she didn't truly believe.

"He also treats me like his own child sometimes, more than my other siblings, but that's besides the point."

Caroline hesitated before she nodded again. "What does Cason look like?" she asked.

"A softer version of Fernos," I replied, "and a lot more boyish." I cocked my head and pressed my lips into a thin line while I thought about something. "I haven't seen Fernos when he was younger, but I've heard from a few older Demons that Cason does look like Fernos when he was younger."

Caroline furrowed her brows and cocked her head. "Why haven't you seen Fernos when he was younger?" she asked. "Aren't there pictures of him when he was younger?"

I shook my head no. "There aren't," I said. I furrowed my brows and looked at my hands. "I think that he didn't start entering into pictures until after meeting my family and then more in them when Keagen and I were born." I furrowed my brows further while I thought about it. "I don't think he had anything to do with his late wife and son before Cason was about six or seven, and if he did, then I haven't seen them."

"Why not?" Caroline asked.

I shrugged and grimaced. "Don't know," I replied honestly. "When I asked him about his baby pictures, he grumbled something in Demon tongue and just left, leaving me speechless. I learned quickly not to ask him about his past."

"Does he not like talking about it?"

I shook my head no. "He doesn't," I confirmed. "I don't think this one will answer any questions about his past either, and he'll be more closed off than mine too, which is fine."

"Even though you don't like it," Caroline said, and I nodded while I chuckled softly.

"Even though I don't like it," I confirmed. I cleared my throat and moved a hand through my hair before I shook my head. "Then again, I don't like a lot of things, but it's not going to change, not here."

There was a knock at the tent, and we both looked at it and then at each other.

Caroline's eyes were wide with fear, and she looked as if she didn't know if it was safe or not.

I looked at the shadow sliver and saw that it didn't get darker before I looked at the tent flap. "Who is it?" I asked.

"It's me," the person at the tent flap, Giselle, said instantly. "May I come in?"

"Yes," I said and stood. I furrowed my brows and frowned. My heart started to pound faster, and worry filled my body while I thought about something. "What happened?" I asked when she opened the tent flap and walked into the tent. "Is everything alright? Did something happen? Are we being attacked again?"

Giselle chuckled and shook her head no, amused. "We aren't," she said, and I relaxed slightly. "I wanted to check up on you, however, and see if you are ready to see the prisoners." She looked at me.

I shrugged and grimaced. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I knew that sleep would have to come later. "I am," I said before I looked at Caroline. "Are you?"

Caroline and Giselle looked at each other before they looked at me, stunned. She pointed at herself. "Me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, and I nodded. "Why me?"

"Because," I said while I stretched and bit back a groan, "you are to be their leader," I replied. "And you need to learn how to be a leader before you can be one, and it's high time you learn how to be one, no matter what Cooper says and wishes."