Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Gift

Emma sighed as she came downstairs and with a curt glare to the two men sitting in the living room, said, "I gave her something to help her sleep. It's best everyone—" she eyed everyone in the room warningly, "—keep their voices down."

Richard cut through the silence as he coughed lightly. "I thank you for looking after her, but as per our agreement, I'll be taking her from this point on."

Drake almost choked on the water he had been sipping when the old men said this and exclaimed, "You'll be doing what, exactly?" Van instantly knew Richard would be lucky getting two steps out that door with Drake's "pup."

Drake looked at his brother for backup but was greeted by a man who seemed to be looking into space and ignoring everything that was going on around him.

Richard looked as if he had expected this reaction. "She needs guidance and to be with people who are biologically related to her. She can't be around Lycans, Mr. Volkov. As I've explained twice already, she displays temperaments of a L'ight—"

"Yes, we heard you, Croft, loud and fucking clear," Van growled, finally tuning in on the conversation. "Excuse my brother for his brash reaction to the thought of the girl being taken away. He has raised her from the time she was six years old if you recall."

"What exactly is a-a Light-what?" Emma asked, visibly confused.

Drake sighed as he answered, "L'ightats were created when the first Lycanthropes left that world," he explained, not even bothering naming the world his ancestors originated from before continuing, "They were originally created as gifts by the Wiccan covens who seemed to be infatuated with us. They would seek out human women and curse them to do any Lycan's bidding — including fighting for them. Over time, they became more powerful depending on the wolf they chose to serve. They were used as a meat shield."

Emma's eyes widened as she looked from Drake to Van. "A meat shield?"

Drake's lips formed a straight line as he too looked at Van. "We always made excuses for her devotion to Van. Maybe Croft's right; maybe she did choose him."

If Aira was a L'ightat, then this was wrong on so many levels. She would gladly die for Van, and Van would die without her if ever they did bond. It made Van's stomach churn in disgust just thinking about it. Even with these thoughts roaming around in his head, he refused to believe it. It was silly to even think that that was possible, but it was, and that made him burn up as the only emotion he'd ever known boiled inside of him.

Pure anger.

Van threw Drake a dark glare as his brother spoke about him as if he weren't even there. "Whether the human chose me or not, that doesn't draw away from the situation. She'll be staying with Mr. Croft."

Drake's head snapped around to stare at Van. "I didn't realize that that was your choice, Alpha..."

Emma fidgeted in her place in the corner. The way Van and Drake snapped at each other was making her nervous. They rarely fought or argued, but when they did, it was hard to break it up. She would often go out the next day and replace the furniture they broke...

Richard could sense the uneasy situation and stomped his walking cane down onto the floor to get both Lycan's attention. "I would never hurt my granddaughter if that is what you think... but don't think me as stupid for one moment. You two..." He pointed to Van and Drake. "Stop bickering and think reasonably about the situation. I know that stupid rogue Ronan is after her, and the last place he would ever dare to tread is on or near my compound. Think about it."