Everything Anew

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lila

There was something different about her. As a cool breeze blew by, I scrunched my nose when I caught her scent. It reminded me of...

"A feline?" Evan said in disbelief. "Your beta is a cat?" 

"Watch it, beta." Kaili said dangerously.

Griffin locked his hands behind his back. "A cat maybe, though she holds more strength than two wolves combined." 

I eyed her, wondering how someone with such a small stature could really hold that much power, though I knew better than to judge someone by looks alone.

"Go ahead, show them." Griffin ordered.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the way he used his words to control her. Rather than treat her like a beta, it seemed he saw her more as a trophy to show off. Despite that, Kaili barely faltered to slide her jacket and boots off, leaving herself in a pink slip dress. With her eyes still on us, she rolled her shoulders and began to shift. 

White fur with black spots began covering her body, her size doubling until she was just a bit larger than our wolves. All of us stepped back when corded muscle shifted beneath her coat, and when she looked up, piercing blue eyes stared back at us.

"Holy shit!" Evan nearly fell backwards, staring at her with wide eyes. 

Kaili prowled before us as a snow leopard. 

I wolf shifters weren't the only species in this area, but I still found myself mystified. It was uncommon to see an animal other than a wolf as someones other half in our region, let alone a snow leopard.

"How?" I asked.

"Kaili's mother is Chinese. It's pretty common in certain areas of China to come across her species. So when I was looking for a new beta, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to recruit her "

Griffin's hand ran over her fur, making me want to tear his hand away. The only thing stopping me from doing anything stupid was the fact that his touch left seconds later. "Come. We'll discuss more inside."

We followed the alpha towards the cottage, our eyes on Kaili as she walked beside us, lumbering towards the doors, leaving large paw prints in her wake. The warm air hit us when we got inside. I turned and admired the wooden interior, noticing a chandelier and spiral staircase leading up to a second floor. A fireplace rested to the right of the room, the smell of it bringing back pleasant memories of my family home.

"Take a seat." Griffin gestured towards the fire. While making our way over to it, we took off our jackets and slung them over the back of the couch. Nathan gestured for me to sit beside him, Evan taking the last spot on the leather couch next to me, leaving Markus, Seojoon and Eric to sit on their own individual chairs nearby.

Griffin joined us a moment later, placing mugs of warm water in front of us while taking a seat in the armchair to the left of the fire. "So, tell me exactly what's going on."

Nathan started from the beginning, not faltering even as Kaili joined us in her human form. She stood behind Griffin's chair, a little to the left of his shoulder as if waiting for a request from the alpha. I couldn't help but to watch her, though her interest was on the speaker beside me, rather than myself.

"So you need a patrol? Soldiers?" Griffin asked.

"No." Nathan said in frustration. "We need protection. It's not if they'll come back, it's when. We've contemplated leaving entirely, but we don't doubt that they're following us. Moving here isn't an option, or else your pack would be a target too."

"I doubt they'd kill any of us. With our numbers, they'd back off before trying."

"Even if it meant getting me back?" Nathan inquired.

Griffin frowned. "Fine. I'll get people to head south by the morning. We'll only do it for so long though. A month max."

Nathan's hands were clenched in his lap but he agreed to the plan regardless. Unfortunately, the conversation then shifted over to me. "So, Lila, what is Nathan to you?" Griffin wondered.

"Excuse me?" My voice sounded small in the large room. "What do you mean?"

"You seem close." He scrutinized us with a smile. "There's something there. Have you not claimed her yet Nathan? I can nearly sense the connection from here. Though I never thought I'd see you with a m-"

"Enough." Nathan growled. "That's none of your business."

"Touchy subject?" Griffin looked amused. "Nothing at all then? Well, that must mean she's available. I have many men here who might be interested. When you're doing better, you should come back up here and we can arrange something."

Nathan went rigid beside me, glancing sidelong to see that his face tightened into a sneer. I decided it was best to speak for myself and end the conversation entirely. "I'm not interested." I was calm, despite the storm raging inside me. "I'd like to stay with the pack I'm in, and if I ever decide to try anything with anybody, it'll be on my own terms."

Griffin looked at me with a flash of amusement. "Well then, I suppose it's their loss."

Despite his clear discomfort, Seojoon managed to delve in. "Is Kaili your..." he didn't even have to finish the sentence, because the female beta eyed him with revulsion, inadvertently answering his question.

Griffin barked out a laugh. "She's over twenty years younger than me, and threatened me the first day I met her that if I tried anything, she'd bite my head off. So no, she's my beta, nothing else."

I noticed Kaili's hand at the back of the armchair whiten from her grip, repressing the need to add to the conversation.

Within the next hour or so, we sat by the fire drinking our water, and listening to Griffin talk about the Frosted Fangs. He managed to house thirty other shifters, along with half a dozen humans. I perked up when he explained how they co-existed, and kept this place a secret from the outside world. Just imagining humans being okay with our existence, and happily living alongside us, gave me a false sense of hope for the future.

That hope rose when he then went on to discuss the relationships between shifters and humans. Some here were married; two of the couples even had children of their own. It made sense, since female werewolves were so rare, they'd have to look outside to seek companionship, but I never heard of such a thing being done up until now.

"Does your pack have an alpha female then?" I asked, but regretted it instantly when the tension in the room heightened. I was about to retract my question, but the alpha answered.

"No, not anymore." Griffin sounded weary while he spoke. "I had one, but she was taken from us fifteen years ago."

Nathan kept his eyes downcast, his hands anxiously trying to find something to fiddle with. He decided on the edge of my shirt, feeling him tug at it to get his mind off something rather than the conversation. I then looked back at Griffin, into the intimidating gaze of his eyes. I wanted to turn away respectfully, but stood my ground and looked a while longer until it all clicked into place.

My head felt light for a moment, the tug at my shirt was gone, and Nathan was eyeing me with apprehension. Could he sense how I felt? I tried to subdue my emotions but failed miserably.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Nate whispered beside me, though most people in the room still would have heard.

His hand then found mine, easing me enough to look back at Griffin. How in the world could he be so hesitant to help Nathan? What happened before, that would make this man question weather or not he should even help to begin with?

Griffin let out a short huff and smiled. "I feel offended that he hadn't told you sooner. Is it so shameful Nathan, to let people know who your father is?"

~

Random Question Time!

If you could shift into any animal, what would it be?

I'm a little bias here since wolves are my favourite animal, so I'd probably stick to that (basic I know)