I wandered around the room, quickly finding a spacious closet filled with women’s clothing and shoes, as well as a luxurious bathroom. Big fluffy towels, a bathtub so big I could swim in it, a marble-topped double sink.
There was a third door. I walked over to pull it open, wondering where it might lead.
It was another bedroom.
And Killian was standing there with a mischievous gleam in his eye. “This is my bedroom. I’ll keep the door unlocked, so you are free to come and visit me tonight if you wish.”
The audacity!
“You are a… You’re a… a…”
“A stud muffin? Love god? Or perhaps you’d rather just stick with Viking?”
He closed the door on me before I could give him the proper rejoinder. I was leaning toward bastard, but I guess I’d have to save that for later.
I closed the door to his bedroom and locked it up tight. I wouldn’t be using that door, I assured myself. Sure, the locks probably wouldn’t stop him, but it was a moral victory for me.
I sighed and paced around the room. It was really quite a nice room. The bed was made and the sheets and blanket looked soft and silky. The carpet was plush beneath my feet, and there was a huge window with beautiful blinds to draw to cover it.
And of course the window wouldn’t open.
Annoyed, I walked over to the bookshelf. It was stocked with a whole slew of best sellers of literature and nonfiction, a treasure trove of stuff to read from cover to cover. The books were from the human world. I had to admit that I was impressed.
Curious, I walked to the door to the hallway. I turned the knob and pulled on it, but it wouldn’t budge.
I needed to get out of there. I needed to go home. As nice as this gilded cage was, I couldn’t ignore the fact that it was still a cage.
Eight
Killian
I stripped my clothes off near the front of the compound, shifted, and hit the ground running. I had a bit of a journey ahead of me, but Grandpa wanted his solitude away from the rest of the pack.
It’s common for shifters near the end of their lives to give leadership to their heir and disappear into the wilderness. I’d pled with him to stay closer to the pack, told him we needed him near.
He wouldn’t listen, and I had to respect his choices. I had to give him the illusion that he still had some power.
I approached the cabin, stopping by a chest outside his door. It was a common courtesy of shifter culture. Shifters traditionally kept a chest full of clothes and footwear nearby for those who had been traveling to dress themselves with. A bunch of different sizes, usually unisex, like T-shirts and shorts. I slid on a sweater and some sweatpants, along with some flip-flops.
I knocked firmly on the door. I heard coughing and finally a “Come on in.”
I entered the cabin. It was a large, one-room cabin with a functional hearth. It had been built with some haste as one of Grandpa’s last requests of the pack. It proved cozy. A lot of my grandfather’s favorite furniture moved along with him.
“Killian, my boy.” His face was grim, and the lines were so much deeper.
Ryan sat on a stool by my grandfather’s side. He must have come up here right after he was done helping me with Daphne. But even his magic couldn’t cure my grandfather’s condition.
My grandfather was the son of a witch, and his power was the ability to channel his strength to other pack members. He could also pull strength from some and give it to others.
But over time, using his power to help us win all our battles had drained his life force. He was dying of cancer now, something that was nearly unheard of among shifters. Ryan, one of the most talented healers in the entire realm, couldn’t cure Grandpa’s condition. Ryan still visited regularly to ease my grandfather’s pain and buy him some more time.
“Just fine. I’m in no pain at all. I could be out and running with the pack right now.”
My grandmother, sitting in a corner and knitting a scarf, made a scoffing noise. “Liam, you’re turning down the help that you need.”
“Quiet, Jen,” my grandfather growled and then coughed and wheezed.
It was enough to tell me he needed some more potent relief. I approached Ryan. “Take my power.”
