AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We’ve only just made our deal when two people come out of the kitchen, chatting animatedly. Or, at leastoneof them is animated; the other seems a little burned out. I have to assume the burned-looking one is Reyes’ brother Mateo, while the redhead with him is the ‘newcomer’ to the pack.
“Mornin’, Father!” the redhead says with a broad smile. “I see you brought your ladyfr—”
“Her name is Tilda,” Reyes interrupts, and I give him a quizzical glance. “Actually, we were just discussing our rations issue…with the fresh fruit and veggies?”
The redhead’s eyebrows shoot all the way up into her curly hair, which is bound in a haphazard knot on top of her head. “Is that so?” she says. “I keep telling these folks that we had itmuchbetter in Atlanta—been dyin’ to get a garden going, but I wasn’t blessed with a green thumb…”
“I thought you might be willing to chat with Tilda here about getting this all set up,” he says, looking from me to her. “She’s got experience farming—and didn’t you find some seeds down in storage?”
The girl nods animatedly. I can’t quite place how old she is; she gives the impression of someone very young, but I have the feeling she’s seen a lot more than she lets on. “You gonna let her get a bath first?” the redhead says.
The quiet man with her, Mateo, snorts. Reyes’ shoulders slump. “Yeah,” he says. He looks at me next, though, his expression earnest. “Tilda…I’m not sure if I can trust you yet. Do you understand?”
“So I assume you’re putting the blindfold right back on, huh?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, yes,” he says. “If you wouldn’t mind turning around?”
I do as he says once again, turning my back on him. I’m getting more and more comfortable here—and now that I have something to offer these people, I have to assume they’re not going to do anything to hurt me.
I remind myself there are families here.
And I still might get my shot to kill him and get the insulin that way…because I’ll do anything to help my sister.
He wraps the blindfold around my eyes, covering up the world again, and I feel someone else’s hands take mine. I almost miss Reyes’ touch—which doesn’t exactly make me feelgreatabout the whole situation—but the person holding my arm now is gentle, and much smaller than me.
“Hey, darlin’,” she says. “You can call me Peaches. I’m gonna get you fixed up.”
She starts to lead me away, but I hear a low, rumbling growl from behind me that makes us both stand stock still. It’s like I’m holding my breath as I wait for Reyes to speak.
“Tilda,” he says. “Don’t try anything. If you hurt anyone here…”
“Let me guess,” I say. “You’ll kill me?”
Silence hangs between us, then he lets out a low breath.
“Yes,” he says. “And I won’t hesitate next time.”
?
Peaches is very interested in making it clear to me that Reyes is, in fact, just a big softie.
She talks my ear off as she leads me wherever it is we’re going, her arm looped through my elbow. I could just take the blindfold off, but I can hear other wolves all around me—and at one point, I even hear children laughing. I don’t know what they do here all day, but it sounds like mostly everyone is just relaxing.
Not eating raw meat. Not hunting. Not rutting like animals.
Just…spending time with their loved ones.
And I’m not quite sure how that makes me feel. Because deep down, I still trust the Heavenly Host. They’ve kept Homestead safe all these years, they’ve always delivered insulin on time. I fought for them because I trusted that they were invested in doing the right thing, and now…
Now, I’m not so sure.
“Everyone here is really friendly,” Peaches says from beside me, her hand firm on my arm. “They can be a little standoffish at first, but I think it’s just a lycan thing.”
“Reyes keeps mentioning ‘wolf things’, and I can’t say I really get what that means,” I mumble. “I mean, I get it. I’m a trespasser in your home. I’m not mad that your people are angry about my presence here.”
“Well, they’re not exactlymypeople,” Peaches says. “I’m not local.”
I try to place her accent, furrowing my brow under the blindfold. “Alabama?”
