MAY'S MOTHER

Being out of Bullhorn unlocked something in Anna that she just couldn’t pinpoint or explain. At night she wondered if it was the dormant wolf spirit hidden deep inside her finally wanting to make a debut as she’s come to realize that the constant crippling feat she has carried with her for the past four years was slowly fading away.

Standing in front of the man that seemed to be over seven feet tall with that stoic expression of his that made one wonder if she actually felt any emotions, Anna felt no fear under his scrutinizing gaze, the same way she was able to speak her mind to that guard without a tremble in her knees.

Now if only she could say the same about being in Kane’s presence. Now that was a different ball game entirely.

“Yurk, right?”

Yurk nodded and brought up a cigarette to his lips, then a lighter from his other pocket.

“Good morning Yurk!” Diane smiled, “It's good to see you after so long,”

Did he go somewhere?

Whatever, it wasn’t her business.

Yurk nodded in reply to Diane’s words as well as he took a drag from the now lit-up cigarette between his fingers.

Didn’t he speak?

His suit was perfectly tailored to fit his large build, and his dark brown skin reminded her of chocolate and maybe even the mud she’s been thrown into countless times, his skin glowed, and it made Anna slightly jealous.

Diane was oddly quiet, and for the first time since they started their tour, she looked like she was at loss for words and wasn’t sure how to communicate with the man in front of them.

The same girl to who conversation came easy.

It was odd.

“I…we…” Diane cleared her throat and looked away, a pink tint on her cheeks as she tried to speak.

“Are you here for protection as my brother promised?”

Yurk nodded yet again, blowing out a puff of smoke away from their faces and then turning back to look at them.

He cocked up a brow in question and though Diane looked like she didn’t understand what he meant, Anna did.

Shall we?

He wanted to ask if they could start their tour now.

“Well…we should get going then, we wouldn’t want it to be nightfall before we’re some,” Diane let out an awkward chuckle as she reached up to scratch the back of her head.

Anna followed beside the girl, conscious of the man who walked only a few steps behind them.

“He’s so hard to communicate with,” Diane’s lips twitched at the corner, “He’s sort of like you but less good-looking,” She teased.

Anna rolled her eyes and fought the smile Diane’s words managed to elicit.

Yurk was quite good looking, he had a certain sophisticated attractiveness about him, cold as well, and made Anna wonder if he really couldn’t speak.

After spending the past few days seeing Kane’s and Tony’s faces, it’s safe to say that she is now immune to good-looking men. Including the sinful-looking ones...except for Kane.

No!

Don’t think about him!

Anna shook her head, her attempt to shake the thoughts out not that it worked for her.

She pinched the spot between her brows and mentally berated herself.

After two minutes of walking the beautiful path lined with trees that flowered and were in season, Anna finally caught a glimpse of the main town.

GreyThorn pack was huge. So big that they had a castle for a pack house and still had a town where pack members lived.

Anna was in awe at how such a large pack was built and grown, a newfound respect for Kane.

An Alpha who could handle such a large pack and still manage to keep the place this organized and not on fire was one to be commended for his skills.

Yaakov could hardly keep track of the people in his pack, he was a competent alpha but not enough to keep everyone in his pack properly fed and comfortable.

They had nobles in Bullhorn, the ones that had something reasonable to offer their alpha would be treated with favoritism and the rest would have to suffer in silence.

Anna used to feel sorry for them…until she realized they all still wanted to treat her like crap and blame her for all of their problems.

Kane was different.

He had to be.

“We have over three hundred and fifty pack members, different generations…everyone loyal to our Alpha and all connected by our marks, as you soon will be!” Diane said, her eyes glimmered with excitement and there was a skip in her steps and her lips stretched into a grin.

“You’re going to love it here!”

As they got into the town, Anna noticed a few coming outside of their shops or houses just to stare

Diane waved at a few of them, they waved back with bright smiles and some with enthusiastic hugs.

Anna had taken a few steps back, getting closer to Yurk as Diane greeted, kissed, hugged, and conversed with people that came over.

Some were familiar to Anna as she would never forget the faces she had seen on her way back from the shrine and the weird and hostile stares she got from each of them.

“Anna, come!” Diane gestured her forward, “I have someone to introduce you to,”

The onlookers and greeters slowly dispersed as they continued their walk, going back into their various homes or workplaces but not before they made it clear that they were all staring.

Anna felt self-conscious underneath those scrutinizing gazes, it felt like they were waiting for her to slip up, to make a mistake.

Then they’d point their fingers at her just like everyone else did.

They’d blame her for everything.

Anna was wary, she subconsciously rubbed her arms up and down with her sweaty palms and looked away from everyone’s gaze.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Diane walked to a shop that was designed with countless flowers on the outside. It was a small building designed with red brick, it looked old but beautiful nonetheless.

The walls were adorned with fresh and colorful flowers in pots, the windows lined with blue and red ribbons, and at the front door a sign that read OPEN.

Diane pushed open the door and despite the strange reluctance Anna felt to meet anyone else, she walked in with Diane.

The sweet smell of flowers and pastries assailed her senses. A new scent that she never thought or imagined that it would be associated with one another.

The shop was small but the interior was beautiful and cozy.

In front of her was a glass counter that displayed cakes and bread that still had steam coming off it.

Damn, how did they achieve that?

Anna inhaled deeply as she looked around. Small chairs set around four tables in the corners, the place meant for customers no doubt.

Behind the counter stood a middle-aged woman with red hair, she looked almost identical to May...It creeped Anna out a bit.

It didn’t take her long to figure out who the woman was.

She was May’s mother.