Chapter Thirteen

There were nine of them, all from the same family line of wolves. They looked rather pleased with themselves, though their clothes were ragged and hair in knots. They had come a long way while being chased by humans. They had lost two of their females, the leader's mate and a mother of three. The first thing I did upon seeing them was count the females. There were only three who had yet to be mated. The knowledge made my stomach turn. Out of seven other boys there would be some competition.

Rihards had stood behind me, making sure I actually went down the stairs to talk with them. Laima ushered a group of three young people to us as soon as she saw we had come down the stairs. "Is that a new lipstick, Hun?" she asked with slight annoyance. I wiped my mouth quickly, remembering the blood there.

"Sorry," Rihards said before I could. He smiled widely to Laima, and to my complete disbelief she grinned back at him eagerly. "We were just messing around. I didn't know they'd be here so soon." He held out a large hand to a boy Laima had led to us. He was tall and slender, awkward on long legs and big feet. He had a handsome smile, though, and his face looked attractive when he grinned. "Sup?" Rihards offered him as a greeting, of sorts.

"Sup," the new boy answered as though it was an answer. Rihards didn't seem to be expecting anymore than that and smiled. It seemed too brittle, but no one seemed to notice but for me.

Laima guided a slight girl to me. She was young and shy, hiding behind a bushel of copper curls. There was a leaf in her hair, sticking straight out. Reaching over I pulled it out and flipped it around my fingers nervously as the girl looked up, her eyes a little nervous. She spared a glance at Rihards before looking back at me, apparently believing it would be a safer place to focus. My mother was smiling brightly as she squeezed the girl's shoulders gently. "This is Pinja," Laima introduced her. She let the poor girl go and pointed to a shorter boy who looked too young to be part of any pack. "That would be her baby brother Boldev and the taller one is her brother Mikk."

"The taller one," Mikk grunted, but he was still smiling. He seemed like a naturally happy person and I smiled in response to that.

Laima continued with introductions. "This is my daughter Velna, or Vel I guess, and he," she directed to Rihards, "is a pup that was brought into our pack by my brother Mihails. Rihards is one of our eldest boys. He and the twins are the same age."

Rihards touched Laima's shoulder and muttered in a voice that was supposed to be a whisper, "I'm going to keep and eye on Vilis." My mother stiffened, but nodded. "Are there others with Gabriels?"

Laima nodded and Rihards smiled to the others. "Excuse me," he muttered, walking into the main lounge. Laima didn't waste any time and waved over another person for me to meet. The new wolves didn't even get a change to ask her what Rihards had meant.

"Paavo, I'd like you to meet my daughter Vel. Paavo's their father," Laima explained with a nod to the younger trio.

I was presented with a large hand. "Hullo," Paavo's voice was gruff, sharp on my ears. I took his hand, trying to return the force of his clasp. My fingers ached painfully when he pulled back.

Paavo didn't waste any time before moving on to another group of people to be introduced to, but it mattered little. I was ushered away from the siblings to a mated couple and their two kids. They were both females, slender with rumpled brown hair. Like all of our kind their eyes were yellow, giving away our abilities to those who knew of us. Their names were Hele and Anu, and for the most part they seemed like well enough people. I wouldn't mind if Bendiks did mate with one of them.

I spoke with Jaan and Kadri for a while. They were Hele and Anu's parents. Kadri was the daughter of Koit, the leader of their pack, and Jaan was a third or fourth cousin to her family. The thought made me a little shy around them. I couldn't imagine actually being in love with a member of my family. I was just lucky, really. The only person who was actually in my family and around my age was Bendiks, and in no way would we ever consider being one another's mates. Thank Meža vīrs for that.

"There's so many of our people," a voice came from my side just after I thought I had wiggled away from the comotion. I looked down to see Pinja standing nervously next to me, her hands fisted in front of her. Her untamed copper hair was brighter than any metal I had ever seen before and looked like a poodle's fur. She didn't look at me, but stared at the others who drifted around to talk with the new comers. "How many are there?"

"Twenty-two in our pack," I answered blankly. "Plus your pack would be thirty one. We're the biggest in Latvia at the moment."

Pinja nodded her head and turned to actually look at me. "Where's the kitchen?" she asked, her voice a little hesitant. "Could I get a drink?"

I could suddenly tell why Pinja was so nervous. All the boys were watching her, even my brother. They kept an eye on the other two as well, but their attention was plainly bothering Pinja. I took her arm, leading her away from the main lounge. There was shifting coming from behind us, someone moving up from their seat, but we were out of the room before anyone could speak against it.

"I'm sorry," Pinja muttered when the kitchen door was shut. She leaned against the marble counter, looking as though she was winded from the short walk to the kitchen. Her friendly, heart shaped face was flushed, the red almost covering a dusting of freckles that sprinkled across her nose.

"It's alright," I assured her and grabbed two water bottles from the double-door refrigerator that held the meals we served the residents. I passed her one after kicking the door shut with my foot. "You look overwhelmed."

"I am," she sighed. I watched her as she pressed the bottle to her pink face and opened my own. With a grumble, Pinja followed suit. "There're too many people. I never liked having a big group. It's just trouble. That was why we had to move from out old location."

"Really?" I set down my bottle, letting it make a ring on the counter. My mother would nag me later for it, but I really didn't care. "What happened?"

"The same thing that happens to us all," Pinja flicked the cap to her bottle and it flew across the room. Neither of us moved to get it. "Humans found out. They hunted us. We were part of the upper class in our pack, so we had more protection. We had a plan if the humans set fire to our homes, but the others didn't. When we were on the run Koit's mate was shot right in the back of the head. I saw her fall, but didn't turn back. My mother did and they got her too."

It must have been horrible hearing her family screams while they tried to escape from a burning building, but even worse to see her mother killed before her. Seeing any member of your family was terrifying when you know they have no air left to breathe. Mama Reggie and Paw Paw didn't loose their lives to humans, but I still would never forget the feeling of complete dread seeing their pale faces.

I took a slow sip from my bottle, thinking something over. "What if I told you there were people we could trust?" I asked, going out on a limb. "What if I told you there were others in the same situation as we are?"

Pinja sucked on her lip, her thin, pale brows pulling together. "I'd believe you," she admitted. "There has to be other beings out there other than the vilkacis and the humans."

I tried not to grin too widely, thinking she may become frightened if she saw too much of my teeth. I leaned in closer to her, just incase there were others listening at the door, and whispered directly to her, "There are and they're closer than you would think."

Pinja's eyes widened, sock obvious on her face. "You're just being mean," she accused. "You want me to believe you just so you and your stupid cousins can laugh at me behind my back."

I shook my head at her accusations. "That's not it at all. The others would kill me if they knew I told you this. My brother and Rihards really don't like the wemptis. They think they're, like, evil or something. Rihards offered to kill them, but I like them." I smiled, admitting that I did like the two wemptis. "One's named Reet. She has a brother named Andrés who paints our pack sometimes. They actually like the wolves. Andrés thinks the change is cool or something and Reet just likes wolves."

There was a sly smile on Pinja's face. "Is Andrés why Rihards wants to kill them?" she asked.

I shrugged, "Maybe, but I think he just wants us to take their territory. They live out by Lïgatne and roam in the town. They actually converse with humans."

Apparently my amazement showed through my face and voice. Pinja snorted. "Being with the humans isn't all that great," she chided. "They're smelly and vulgar. I rather like it out here in the woods alone with the others."

My brow wrinkled. "What do you mean by vulgar?"

"Like handsy, you know?" she cupped her breast to explain being groped. "Sometimes you can't even walk down a street without being grabbed. And if not, then they'll pull your hair or at your clothes. They're rude."

I remembered Niko pulling at my dress, Rihards at the souvenir shop and just upstairs, and Ludis and Gab who always tugged at my hair. "Well, I don't think you're going to find—"

"You're keeping one from us," the door opened and Bendiks stood in the frame. He glared at me before flashing a smile at Pinja. "You're Mikk's sister, aren't you? You don't look a thing alike."

Pinja seemed to shrink back a little; back into the shy little girl she had been earlier. Her distress scented the air and I glowered at Bendiks. He ignored me and just continued to stare at Pinja, waiting for an answer.

"Y—yeah," Pinja stuttered, choking her water bottle in her hands. It suddenly caved in on itself and water splattered on the floor. "Oh gosh! I'm sorry, I'll clean it up."

"That's alright," Bendiks stepped forward and Pinja froze, no longer moving to fuss over the water. Bendiks grinned at her. "I'll get it. No fowl."

"And while Bendiks cleans why don't we go talk to my mother about where you'll be sleeping," I offered. Now it was my turn to ignore Bendiks' scowl. Pinja nodded and we left him to clean up the puddle left on the floor.