Page 14 of Witchblood
He was offering himself up over me? I shook my head. This was so stupid. All this wolf politics shit. I tried to get up but Liam put a firm hand on my knee, fingers close to my stitches, adding just enough pressure to hurt without damaging anything.
None of the wolves would meet Liam’s eyes, and no one stepped up to challenge him. “As I was saying.” He turned back to me, his hand loosening, but not leaving my leg. “There is no need for you to stay in the pack house, though you are welcome to, if you wish. The Volkov knows you’re here and does not demand that you be removed from my territory. He was clear in stating that thewitchchildis free to travel wherever he wishes un-accosted.”
That shocked me. Since when hadApamade such a decree? And why? It was the equivalent of giving me diplomatic immunity no matter where I went. It sounded too good to be true.
“Our rules are much like other packs, respect is earned, but we support everyone within the pack,” Liam said. “I take care of all my wolves.”
I wanted to remind him again that I wasn’t a wolf, but Korissa jumped in, “You’ll have to take turns cooking too. The whole pack takes turns. Can you cook?”
“I’m more of a baker,” I said, too distracted by all my thoughts to really realize what I was saying. “Made world famous scones, coffee cakes, and brownies.” Then there was the tea. I’d run out of my own blend ages ago, and had been unable to find the right ingredients to make more.
The wolf vanished from Liam’s eyes. He smiled and it was like someone had turned the sun on, his dimples in full force. “Excellent. I need a full time pastry chef.”
“I’m not certified. No degrees or anything.”
“Let me worry about that. If you’re well enough I’ll take you to the bakery tomorrow.”
A job meant I’d be staying. I didn’t want to stay. But I sort of did. I needed money. So maybe I’d stay a few days if Liam could keep Felix at bay. Just a few days. Any more would put the whole pack in danger. Already someone tried to kill me. It was unlikely that the incident had just been an accident. They’d come looking for me. How they’d tracked me this far, I wasn’t sure. But running today wasn’t going to get me far.
“Finish eating,” Liam instructed everyone, then to me he said, “Korissa will show you up to your new room. There’s no need for you to be in the safe room anymore.” He looked over at his wolves. “The pack and I will be having a meeting.” And that sounded ominous enough that once again I was glad I wasn’t a wolf. He gave me a small smile. “We meet every Sunday afternoon.”
“Right, so you won’t be giving them all sorts of instructions about me?” Somehow I doubted that.
“You will be a large part of the discussion. The other part of the discussion will be manners.” His pretty blue eyes trailed over the group. No one tried to meet his gaze. “A refresher might be called for, though I really plan on discussing the wolves who attacked you. Perhaps someone will recognize something about them. There was nothing about them that was familiar to you?”
I shrugged. “A wolf looks like a wolf to me.” In reality I’d been too busy running for my life to notice much other than the teeth and razor sharp claws. My flight instinct worked really well.
Liam’s hand slid off my leg in an almost noticeable caress. “I’ll leave you to Korissa then. She’ll show you around the house.” He got up from his chair and so did everyone but Korissa and I. Once they’d all left the room I could feel the tension ease out of my shoulders.
Korissa gathered up her plate, mood still light and bright. “They’re a handful, but you get used to the intensity after a while.”
Intensity. Wow. Understatement of the year.
Chapter 6
Korissa let me gather up my stuff and take it upstairs. Just as I’d suspected, the house was huge with at least six bedrooms upstairs, each with their own baths. It was far beyond the remodeled tiny camper in which I had lived for years. ThoughApa’shome was almost twice the size as Liam’s.
“There’s a bunk house outside about a five minute walk away. Sleeps twenty. Mostly the guys only ever stay and sometimes they get rowdy so that’s why it’s not right outside. None of them actually live there right now, but sometimes if a new wolf joins the pack they live out there until they are stable enough to find a place of their own. Usually it’s just a revolving door of members of dad’s guards.”
“How many wolves does your father have?” I asked her as she opened the door to a bright room decorated in green. This room had two huge windows, one on each of the outer walls, which looked out to trees and the giant backyard. There were no other houses to be seen anywhere from the room. Likely Liam owned several acres with which his wolves could run. The view was pretty, trees and in the distance, mountains, and lots of light.
“Almost fifty, I think,” Korissa said. “I know most of them, though some only by first name. The ones at the table tonight were his most dominant wolves.”
That surprised me. “The women?” Werewolves treated women about the same as they treated omegas, like they were helpless, worthless, and existed only to be protected.
“Leigh and Stacey? Yeah. They are dominant wolves. Dad doesn’t put up with the whole girls aren’t as good as boys.” Korissa entered the room and went to the windows, sliding open the glass to let fresh air rush in through the screen. “Dad wanted you in this room because it’s a long drop to the ground and there’s nothing to climb down or up. I told him you wouldn’t just leave without telling him. ‘Cause that’s rude.”
Damn alphas and their manipulative children.
“But I like this room a lot. It’s away from the noise of the rest of the house, close to the stairs so if you need some air the back door is right there. Dad is down the hall. He wanted you closer to him.” She turned to look at me, something in her gaze that made her look older than her young years.
“It’s just instinct,” I comforted her. She probably didn’t like the idea of her dad fawning on some guy. “Alphas have an inherent need to protect omegas, though it’s rare they ever even meet one. Apparently the world kills us fairly quickly.” Most omegas died in childhood from illnesses or unusual accidents. It was like the universe didn’t want there to be enough omegas to allow wolves the strength to grow their packs large enough to rival human reproduction.
“I don’t mind,” Korissa said. “Mom never treated him nice. You’ve been very nice to my dad even when he’s growly. I haven’t seen him smile this much in ages. Not since he took over the pack. When you arrived it was like Christmas. He was excited and relaxed all at once.” She shook her head as if thinking back. “It’s kind of weird how happy he is. Like he’s been waiting for this.”
“I’m not interested in your father.” I was lying even to myself at that moment. In reality, a man like Liam could never be interested in me. Not legitimately. He was power, wisdom, wealth, and culture. I was just a piece of trash that blew around in the wind.
“You could do worse.”