Twenty-six

I was in the middle of holding Rollo and rocking him to sleep when Loki appeared with my brother. Roan waited patiently as I laid the tiny pup next to Jimmy, who was now the babysitter, and kissed Rollo before walking over to my brother and hugging him tightly. "Thank you for coming!" I breathed in his ear.

His arms were tight about me as he hugged back. "I just am glad you're alright!"

"Let's go to your room, Zahra," Loki suggested and I nodded. Pulling away, I grabbed my brother's hand and pulled him after me. Loki led the way and ushered us inside. Once we were all inside and settled around the room, Loki said, "As you might have guess, Zahra. I told him what had happened."

I nod. "Thank you, Loki."

He smiles gently. "It's alright. I'm just happy you're feeling better."

I look at my brother. "What do you think?"

Roan shrugs. "From what Loki said, it sounds like you're helping everyone out. It sounded like you saved a few lives. I think you were strong and just watching out for Loki's family. And even though you hadn't known at the time, you saved the man's life."

"He was dying right there though," I say. "I couldn't stop the bleeding. I couldn't do anything and I thought Graham was going to just kill him even though he did very little harm."

"The only thing I don't want you doing is running away like that again," he says and gives me a knowing look. "You're lucky they are wolves and found you before someone else did."

"I know," I sigh. "I mostly ran away though because I had just hurt Sawyer, who was just trying to explain what was going on."

"But," Loki says. "Like my father says, he knew what he was doing and knew you had the power."

"It doesn't make me feel any better about the situation."

Roan took a hand and squeezed it. "It sounds like you need more time with June if your powers are coming out when your emotions are high."

"I know. I guess I forgot how to control it after everything," I say quietly.

"Look on the bright side," Loki said. I look at him with raised brows. "My father considers you part of the pack!"

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? You protected the pack by using your own life."

"But, I am not a wolf and not part of your family and I only did it because Cinder would have protected me if she could."

"Who cares if you're not wolf!" Loki says, waving a hand. "You're strong and courageous. You protected pack. You protect your own pack too, whether or not you see it. Plus, you're good with the pups."

"That is true," Roan agreed.

I shrug, "First Sawyer and Jimmy, now you two?"

Loki chuckled. "I bet if I asked the whole pack if they wanted you part of the pack, they'd howl in joy. One day, you'll see what we see." He grins. "You did howl!"

"Your mother couldn't do it! I had to get attention somehow!"

"Screaming works well..."

I leap over and shove him down, making him laugh as I play-fight with him. Behind me, I hear Roan laughing and I'm finally feeling like myself again. Sitting up, I back away for him to do the same and smile shyly. "Thank you."

Loki shrugs. "I can't have my packmate looking so sad, now can I?" I shake my head and he leans forward to make me look at him in the eyes. "Wolves stick together. We never let a packmate behind. You are pack now, Zahra. We won't leave you behind."

"Does this mean I am going to be dealing with all of you now?" I ask, smiling a little.

"You are definitely going to have all of us watching you, now."

I roll my eyes and look at my brother. "Can you stay a little longer?"

He smiles. "I have time."

Turning back to Loki I say, "I need a few more minutes with my brother. Then, I'll come out. You are going to take me hunting, right?"

"As promised!" he said, standing up. "Finish up with your brother and I will see you outside." With that, he left.

Roan chuckles. "You're definitely liking it here better than the village."

I shrug. "I still want to go home."

"Give me two more days," he says and grins. "My shelter is almost finished and then you can come back."

Smiling, I hug him. "Thank you for coming."

"You needed me," he said. "Of course I was going to come for you."

"I know I need to hang out with June when I return, but I need a few days with you too. Just you and me. Brother and sister time."

Pulling away, Roan thinks for a moment. Then he says, "How about you get your powers under control once again, then as soon as you're finished, we will spend a few days at the cave?"

I tilt my head. "The one we spent time in before I finally met everyone?" He nods. "We can go back?"

He grins. "Well, unless some storm has made it impossible to get into, I think we should have a cave to hang out in."

Excited at the idea of spending time with my brother at the cave, I stood and pulled him up with me. "I can't wait!"

He chuckles. "And there is my sister!"

I stick my tongue out and lead him to the den entrance. Loki is waiting outside in wolf form, laying with Jimmy and Kenyon while he waits. I hold up a finger and turn to my brother once more. "As much as I love it here, I miss you all the time."

"I know. Just two more days," he says and kisses my head. "I will be back tomorrow night and then again the morning you're to come back."

I nod and hug him, then let him walk away and disappear into the forest. Turning to Loki I say, "Ready?"

He jumps up and runs to the edge, looking back at me with bright, excited eyes. I run over and climb onto his back, then he takes off.

The next day, I meet the man I saved by stabbing him in the gut. Loki and Graham take me towards where he was resting in a cave not far from mine, but far enough that I wouldn't come across him. He was awake when we walked in and instantly recognized me. Sitting up, he says, "You!"

I stop in the doorway and stare at him. "Hi?"

Graham puts a hand on the man's shoulder. "This is Nikko. Nikko, this is Zahra. Try not to jump up and frighten her."

"Or you can and see what happens," Loki says behind me. I look at him and smile, his humor rubbing off on me. When I turn back to the man, he's staring at me.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Much like myself thanks to you," he says, continuing to stare.

I glance at Graham and he seems to read my mind. "Okay, time to lie back down. You're scaring her."

Nikko blinks then slowly sits. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe a girl saved my life."

I furrow my brows. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, but you're a human...not even a wolf! Even the she-wolf couldn't stop me!"

I step back and find Loki right there, his hand coming to rest comfortingly on my shoulder. He says calmly, though I hear some strain in his voice, "Women, especially human women, are very strong. Don't underestimate them."

NIkko nods slowly, and I feel a chill go up my spine. "I won't ever again."

I wasn't sure if I was the only one who felt as though his words were a threat, but I made sure I wasn't alone for the rest of the day and that Loki slept in my room that night, in wolf form. He didn't ask questions and I didn't explain, but he stayed and when I woke up, he was there, guarding me.

My suspicion of the man was confirmed when I was watching the pups that day so the males could have a break outside. I had noticed that they had slowly been backing away slowly, climbing on top of one another, shaking. They're eyes were what really told me something was wrong: fear like I had never seen in any of their eyes darkened them.

The hair on my neck prickled and I ducked and rolled towards the pups just in time before a large boulder landed in my spot. Keeping my body in front of them, I turned to Nikko whose eyes were red again. I didn't have my knife or anything to use as a physical weapon. I didn't want to scare the pups with my fire, so I was basically defenseless. "Shit!" I hissed.

"You should have stayed away from this territory," Nikko said, stalking over on all fours like he was a wolf, but he was in human form. "You should have never came back after you ran away."

I pressed the pups back even more, feeling their furry bodies huddled up. I glance behind me and see they couldn't go any farther. "Damn it!"

Nikko chuckled. "What's wrong? Little girl scared of the big bad wolf?"

I raised a brow. "What wolf? I see a dinky human trying to be scary!"

He growled furiously. "Don't underestimate me and I won't underestimate you."

I shrug. "You already have. Who's to say you won't do it again?"

He grins and licks his lips. "My prey is in a corner, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I even get desert by eating the pups."

I look at the fur balls then try to act playful. "You guys don't look that good to eat, do you?"

Bless little Ralphie, he shook his head.

Smiling, I picked him up and showed him to Nikko. "He's just a fur ball! There's hardly any meat on him!" Bringing him back to my chest, I cradle him and poke his wet nose. "Just fur and bones, aren't you?"

He barks in agreement.

Nikko is a few feet away now and I pick up another pup, Rollo. "You don't want to eat these little things!" I say in a cheerful voice. "You'll just get a furball and look like a large bird trying to get something out of its throat!"

"You are just making me hungrier, girl."

I raise my brows. "You're just looking stupid crawling like that."

He half shifted, terrifying the pups so much, both Rollo and Ralphie tried to climb on my shoulders as the two behind me tried to climb up my legs. Feeling like I was getting nowhere, I tried to catch the pups before they fell then gasped. Without warning, I threw my hands out in front of me to ward off Nikko and fire flared up. The pups yelped and whined, scratching me with their digging claws. Nikko screamed and fell onto the ground, rolling back and forth.

Graham, Sawyer, Jimmy, Richard, and Loki rushed into the den and glanced from the burning man to me with four pups climbing all over. I stare wide-eyed at Nikko before looking at them. "That was an accident!"

"Pups, get over here!" Graham ordered. The pups listened and I suddenly felt lonely until he said, "You too, Zahra."

Carefully, I followed the pups over and got behind the men. Graham and Sawyer exchanged looks before turning away from Nikko. Loki pulled me into a hug. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I say, but felt myself shaking. "I'm fine."

"Zahra, let me look at your neck," Graham said and I let him see. He produced a wet cloth and wiped away the blood, making me wince. "Next time, don't pick up the pups. They forget about their claws when scared."

"They were fine. I just set your home on fire though," I say and glance at the now quiet man, still burning.

"Hey," Graham made me look at him. "Once he's dust, we'll clean his remains out." He smiled at me. "You're a strong she-wolf."

I smiled and followed him and the others outside where we forgot about the burning man and enjoyed some games and some good talk and dance around the firelight.