Chapter 159: Whispers Of Her Mother

Maddie Pov

The next day after Kai’s little confession, I saw Kai again. He was standing near the shadow of the big oak tree and his grey coat did not move at all in the night wind.

"You should not be behind the tents," I said and I kept my voice low so the pack by the fire would not hear us.

"I wanted to give you this," Kai said and he stepped forward just enough for the firelight to hit his hands.

He was holding a small piece of carved wood. It was shaped like a small bird with flat wings. The edges were worn down smooth like someone had held it in their pocket for a long time.

"My mother carved that," I said and I reached out my hand before I could stop myself.

"She made it the summer before she died," Kai said and he dropped the wood into my open palm. "She used to sit on the flat rock by the upper creek while you were sleeping in the grass. She told me she wanted you to have it when you were old enough to understand the north."

The wood felt warm against my skin. I looked down at the tiny lines on the bird's wings and my eyes went hot. A single tear came out and rolled down the side of my nose. I wiped it away quick with the back of my sleeve because I did not want him to see me cry.

"She really talked about me?" I asked.

"Every day," Kai said and he leaned his shoulder against the tree trunk. "She was proud of your white light, Maddie. She knew you would grow up to be something special in this valley."

"Maddie," a voice called out from the circle.

I turned my head and saw Calix standing up from the oak log. He looked toward the tents and his shoulders went square. He started walking over the grass with long steps and his boots made a loud crunching sound in the dry leaves.

"I am right here," I said and I put the wooden bird into my pocket.

Calix stopped three feet away from us and his gold eyes were small. He looked at Kai and then he looked down at my hands. His jaw was tight and I could see the muscles in his neck ticking.

"The two days are up tomorrow, Kai," Calix said and he bared his front teeth just a little bit. "You need to take your things and go back to the ridge."

"I am just talking to her, young Alpha," Kai said and his voice stayed completely flat.

"She does not need to talk to you," Calix said and he caught my wrist with a firm grip.

"Calix, stop," I said and I pulled my arm back until he let go. "He was just telling me a story about my mother."

Calix looked at me and the anger in his face changed into something else. He looked hurt for one second but then he cleared his throat and looked back at the silver-haired man.

"You can say goodbye in the morning," Calix said.

"Understood," Kai said.

The next morning was clear and the sun came up hot over the pine trees. I walked down to the lower creek by myself to fetch fresh water for the kitchen tent. The rest of the pack was up by the old house site lifting heavy logs. I could hear the sound of their axes hitting the wood from a mile away.

Kai was sitting on a fallen log near the water trail. He had a small bundle tied with leather strings next to his boots.

"You are leaving now?" I asked and I set my wooden bucket down on the gravel.

"The mountain is waiting," Kai said and he stood up from the log. "But there is one more thing your mother wanted you to know, Maddie. The most important thing."

"What is it?" I asked.

"She did not want you to stay in this valley forever," Kai said and he walked down to the edge of the water where I was standing. "She knew the Crescent Pack would try to keep you small. She wanted you to have a real protector from the high peaks."

"I have Calix," I said and my voice was steadier than I expected. "We have the bond."

"The bond is just a trick of the valley earth," Kai said and he shook his head slowly. "It does not change what was written before you were even born."

"Nothing was written," I said.

Kai reached into his coat and pulled out a small piece of old white cloth. It had dark red marks on the edges that looked like old dried blood. He held it out between his two hands so I could see the pattern. It was the mark of the northern moon.

"The day you were born, your mother called me to the birthing tent," Kai whispered and his silver hair fell across his forehead as he leaned down. "Your father was out hunting with Hawthorne. She took a small bone knife and she cut my palm and then she cut her own."

I stayed completely still and I did not look away from his face.

"She mixed our blood on this cloth," Kai said and his voice got very quiet. "She made a secret blood oath to protect the white fur line, Maddie. You were betrothed to me on the day you took your first breath. That is the real reason I have been watching you from the trees for twenty years."

The bucket slid an inch into the gravel and the water spilled out over my boots.

"That is impossible," I said.

"It is the truth," Kai said and he pressed the bloody cloth into my hand. "The son of Hawthorne cannot protect you from what is coming in the winter. You belong to the North Peaks, Little Moon. I am just waiting for you to realize it."