by Rose, Aubrey
“What does birthright mean, exactly?” Mom asked. “Is it a rule of the pack, or something else?”
“Shifter tradition,” Dad said.
“Hnmph, tradition,” I mumbled, but nobody heard me.
“It’s tradition for the alpha to hand down control to his son once he’s of age,” Dad continued. “If anybody wants to challenge the new alpha, they can.”
“Challenge?” Mom asked. “This is the first I’ve heard of that. What does that mean?”
“Nobody’s going to challenge me,” Blaise said confidently. “But I’ve been practicing just in case.”
“We’re a peaceful pack,” Dad said. “There’s no reason to challenge the alpha. If someone is unhappy here, they can always bring up their concerns in the pack meetings.”
“Alright,” Mom said, exhaling a sigh of relief. “As long as you think he’ll be safe.”
Of course she would be worried about what would happen to Blaise. He was their favorite. I slouched in my seat, picking at my pancakes.
“And once I’m alpha, I can pick my own security guards,” Blaise said. “I think I’ll pick Erroll and Francis.”
I rolled my eyes. The two dumbest jock boys in the pack. Of course he would pick them.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Mom said. “But maybe you can ask your father for advice.”
“What about the girls?” I interrupted.
“Girls?”
“I’m not having girls as my security guards,” Blaise scoffed.
“No, that’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking about girls like me. Why don’t we have a birthright?”
“Because you’re not made out to be rulers,” Blaise said. He was so nonchalant that it made me want to puke.
“Is that so?” I asked sarcastically.
“That’s so.”
“Dee says that long ago, women ruled the packs and the alphas were just leaders of hunting groups.”
“Yeah, but nobody really knows what happened back then, do they?” Blaise said. “She could be making all that up.”
“Shut up.” I hated it when he questioned Granny Dee.
“Children…” Mom said.
“Why are you scolding me and not him?” I asked. I was exasperated. “He’s the one who started it.”
“I’m not scolding anyone,” Mom said. “I’m asking you to stop arguing.”
“Well, ask him!”
“You want to be the alpha?” Blaise snorted through his orange juice.
“Shut up,” I said.
“Who would follow you into war?” he asked.
“We’re not in a war.”
“We could be. Anytime we could be. That’s why it’s important to have a strong alpha.”
“It’s more important for an alpha to be fair-minded,” I said. My dad was just sitting there, listening to us argue. He had a calm expression on his face. I knew he’d said a million times that it was better to fight smart than to fight strong. I looked over at him, even though I knew he couldn’t see my look.
“Sure, yeah, but if we had to fight,” Blaise said. “I’d be great in a war.”
“You talk about it like you want to fight.”
“It would be fun!”
“No.”
We both looked over at Dad. He had his hands clasped in his lap, and he didn’t look mad. But he didn’t look happy, either.
“War is never fun,” he said.
“Sorry, dad,” Blaise said. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Sure you didn’t,” I muttered.
“I gotta go,” Blaise said, tossing his fork down onto his plate. He had already finished the pancakes off. “We’re practicing sparring. In case anybody tries to challenge me.” He waggled his eyebrows in my direction.
“I’ll challenge you,” I muttered under my breath.
When he closed the door behind him, I sighed.
“How can someone so stupid lead the pack?”
“Don’t call your brother stupid,” Mom said. “Anyway, he’ll have lots of guidance for the first few years. It’s not like we’re going to let him go off and start a war. Don’t worry about it.”
My dad turned to me. Sometimes when he faced me, I thought that he could see me. Even with his blind eyes.
“You’ll be a fine leader someday, Kinaya,” he said.
“Yeah, right,” I mumbled. I shoved more pancake into my mouth.
“It may not be in the way you think. You may not be an alpha like Blaise. But I know you’ll do great things. Maybe you’ll have a wonderful career after your studies.”
“I don’t even know what I want to study,” I groused.
“Maybe you’ll start a family—”
“Seriously? Are you and mom conspiring to get me married off in two seconds?” My fork clanged against my plate.
“What’s wrong with that?” my mom asked.
“I don’t want to get married.”
“Ever?” Mom asked.
“Ever. You talk about it like it’s the only thing a girl can do. Why does Blaise get to be the alpha, and I get jack shit?”
“Don’t use those words.”
I stood up from the table.
“I’m sick of sitting around while he gets handed everything on a silver platter.”
“Kinaya—”
“I’ll see you at the feast tonight. Thanks for the breakfast.” I threw my napkin down on my plate and stormed out angrily.
Chapter Five
I moped around the woods, avoiding Blaise and the rest of the older guys. It was afternoon by the time all my mopes had moped, as Granny Dee would say. Little Ana even gave me a birthday present, a painting she’d done herself. She handed it to me shyly.
“I hope you like it.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said, trying to make out the painting.
“It’s you as a princess,” Ana said helpfully. “See? You have a crown.”
“Oh, of course.” I smiled and gave her a hug. “It’s the best. And the dress even looks like the one I’m going to wear tonight.”
“I wish I could stay up late so I could go to the feast.” Ana pouted.
“Maybe next year,” I said.
“But it’s the ceremony this year!” Ana sighed. I hugged her tightly, but I couldn’t help think that everyone, no matter who, cared more about Blaise and the stupid alpha ceremony than me. I left Ana with a promise that I would steal her some of the candies from the dessert table for tomorrow.
Back at the house, Dee helped me get ready for the feast. My gown lay on the bed. It was made out of the softest green silk I’d ever touched, and Dee had sewn in gold lace to edge the hem. I really did look like a princess in it. But before I dressed, I had to tame my frizzed-up hair.
“They always talk about becoming a woman, whatever the heck that means,” I said. “Blaise doesn’t ever get pressured about becoming a man and starting a family.”
“They’re just worried about you,” Dee said. She pulled my hair back, braiding it on the side with her deft fingers. A strand caught in the braid and yanked at my scalp. I winced but didn’t say anything. Hopefully my hair wouldn’t look like a giant cheese puff like it sometimes did.
“Well, they can cut it out. I’m fine.”
“I’m sure you are. But you are growing up. It’s time to start being responsible,” Dee said.
“Responsible for what?”
“Your family,” she said, moving around to the other side and starting the second braid. “Your relationships. Part of getting older is deciding what you should be responsible for, and stepping up.”
“Blaise is the one with responsibilities. He’s going to be a terrible alpha.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’ll be around to help out.” Dee said.
“I don’t want to help out. If I’m going to do everything for him, I might as well just be alpha. It’s not fair.”
“Nothing is very fair, Kinaya.” She paused, and I smelled a hint of disappointment. “But we
have it better than most.”
I felt ashamed of myself. My fingers clenched together in my lap.
“Yes, Dee,” I said.
She smiled at me in the mirror, and I smiled back weakly. Dee had tamed my hair into something that didn’t look like I had stuck my finger into a light socket. It was sleek, two braids running across the crown of my head. The rest of my hair was pulled back with a clip that Dee lent me. It was made out of mahogany, a shade darker red than my hair, and it was carved with an ornate design.
“It’s alright. You know that you need to be responsible. You’re already way ahead of Blaise in that regard,” she whispered, winking.
Yes, that was true. I was a thousand times more responsible than Blaise was. So what if he was alpha in name? I could be better than him. I had an inkling of hope that I’d be able to keep myself from dwelling too much on Blaise tonight. I didn’t need to focus on him. I would focus on myself.
By the time I pulled on my dress, I was feeling much better. Better, and nervous.
“Are you ready to go?”
“You bet,” I said. My stomach flip-flopped with anxiety as I finished touching up my makeup. I looked older. Maybe not old enough to lead the pack, but much older than I felt. Inside, I was nervous as hell.
We walked on the trail through the forest to the longhouse. The sun was beginning to set and I hadn’t brought a jacket. Dee wrapped her arm around my shoulder and squeezed.
“Almost there,” she said. The trail had never taken so long to walk before.
“It’s my birthday,” I whispered. Up ahead, I could see the longhouse glowing from the inside. The candles flickered through the windowpanes. And the scent…
Everybody inside was happy. A warm feeling of joy and contentment spread from the longhouse. It was so vivid that it seemed more than just a smell to me. It was like an aura. And I belonged in there.
At the doorway, I took a deep breath. Dee was looking back toward the trail.
“Are you worried about Blaise?” I asked. “He’ll come.”
“No, it’s not that,” Dee said. Her eyes were troubled. I didn’t know why. The only smells around were good smells.
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” she said, turning back with a broad smile on her face. “A silly feeling, that’s all. You go have fun! I’m going back to the house and make sure your brother comes along.”
“Okay,” I said.
When I entered the longhouse, heads turned to look at me, like a wave of people recognizing me for the first time. I could hear gasps of astonishment. I couldn’t help the grin sliding over my face. This was my birthday feast, and I would enjoy it.
I made my way across the dance floor to the head table. My mom and dad were already sitting at the chairs on the raised stage, and I stepped up to sit beside them.
“You look absolutely radiant,” Mom said.
“Even I can tell that,” Damien said. “The scents of some of these boys when you walked in! I might have to fight them off for you, Kinaya.”
I reached over and squeezed his arm, and he patted me on the hand. My heart swelled. This was a wonderful feast. A perfect birthday. At least…
“Happy birthday!”
Cheers rose from the front of the longhouse. I could feel my grin disappearing as Blaise came tumbling in through the door with Erroll, his hair all mussed up from sparring. He hadn’t even bothered to comb it! I frowned as he strode boldly across the floor and plunked himself down next to me. He reached across my plate for the dinner rolls.
“Manners, Blaise,” I said coldly.
“Aw, come on, sis. Happy birthday!” He hugged me roughly as he leaned even farther over to get the butter. “When I’m alpha, I won’t care about silly rules like that.”
“Right,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Hey, where’s the cider? I’m allowed to drink that now, right, Dad?”
“I’m sure it’ll be the first time you taste it,” my dad said sarcastically. “Don’t get too soused, Blaise. Three cups at most. Your mother and I aren’t going to drag your body home at the end of the night.”
“Want any, sis? Oh wait, I forgot. You don’t ever want to get drunk. That’s fine. Just fine.”
“You know what?” I said. “It is fine. And I’ll remind you of that fact when you’re retching up your pancakes tomorrow morning because you’re hung over.”
“Children,” my mom said warningly.
“I didn’t do it!” Blaise got up from his chair. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the night. Hey, your boyfriend is coming,” he said, nudging me.
I looked up sharply. Will was strolling over to the head table, a nervous look on his face.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I hissed at Blaise. But Blaise was already jumping down from the raised stage, leaving me at the head table with no excuse and nowhere to go.
Will was dressed in an overly large suit. Probably his dad’s. The sleeves hung down to the knuckles of his fingers, and he seemed lost in the huge jacket. I sighed as he dropped in front of me with an exaggerated bow.
“Happy birthday, Kinaya. Care to dance?” Will asked.
I pinched a smile and held out my hand. If I was anything, I wasn’t rude.
Chapter Six
As Will led me to the dance floor, I started feeling a bit better. The music was a fun, upbeat song, and I didn’t have to slow dance with him at all. He had practiced his steps a lot, and I was actually the one who stepped on his toes once or twice. I apologized, but he only beamed at me. He was so focused on the dance that he didn’t even talk to me, so it wasn’t as awkward as I imagined. Heck, by the time the musicians stopped, I was actually beginning to enjoy myself.
“Let me get you a drink,” Will said. He came back with a mug of cider. I darted a glance over to my parents. Like she could read my mind, my mom glanced over at me and winked. I smiled. Okay. Blaise wasn’t the only one who could have fun at our birthday feast. I sipped at the cider. It was hot, with mulled spices, and it stung only a little as it went down my throat. After a few sips, I felt a pleasant warm feeling in my stomach. I gazed over the crowd in the longhouse. Plenty of people were dancing now, and I could barely see my parents behind the head table. Everything felt right. More than right. It felt wonderful.
Turning back, I was surprised to see Erroll standing next to me.
“Dance?” he asked, holding out his hand.
At first I narrowed my eyes. Was this one of Erroll and Blaise’s tricks? But I put down my mug on the side table and let him lead me out to the dance floor anyway.
The musicians dropped into a slower rhythm. The sound of the violin stretched out, singing through the bright longhouse. Erroll put his arms around me and swayed slowly.
“If you put a kick me sign on my back,” I whispered, “I’ll kill you and Blaise both.”
“Me?” Erroll looked sincerely shocked. “I would never.”
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.
“Okay, maybe I would. But that was seventh grade.” Erroll grinned. “Don’t judge me forever for one mistake.”
“One mistake? How about the time you put a frog down the front of my shirt? Or the time you and Blaise and Francis convinced me that mud pies were actually delicious if you said magic words while you made them?”
Erroll burst out laughing.
“I remember that,” he said. “Who knew that such a stupid little kid could become a beautiful woman?”
His arms pulled me closer, and I could feel his broad chest radiating warmth. For a moment, my voice caught in my throat.
Me? Beautiful? I clamped my lips shut and let him lead, trying desperately not to step on his toes. I didn’t know if this was another prank he was playing, but it didn’t seem like it.
Erroll was already chatting away about something else, and I lost myself in the conversation about when we were children. I didn’t know if he was flirting with me just because it was my birthday, or because I was the alpha�
�s daughter, or what. I guess it didn’t matter. I was enjoying myself. Once, I looked over and saw Marianne in the corner giving us the stink eye.
Urg. Relationships were so hard. I wanted to tell her that he had asked me to dance, but I don’t know if that would only make things worse. I knew that Granny Dee wanted me to reach out to other people, but it seemed like I always made the wrong move.
Whatever. I decided I didn’t care. I was enjoying myself. Weirdly enough, I was enjoying dancing with Erroll. I thought about the pack. Maybe I could make my own way here, somehow. The scent of Erroll filled my nose, and I leaned against him.
A strange scent came to my nose.
“Do you smell that?”
“Smell what?”
“Did you douse me with some kind of hormone perfume?” I said, frowning as I pushed myself away from him. Erroll stopped dancing.
“Seriously, Kinaya, I don’t smell anything.”
I sniffed again. I couldn’t recognize the scent. No, it wasn’t coming from inside. It was a strange wolf, someone not from our pack. It made my nostrils twitch.
“What’s the matter?”
I twisted my head to see my parents at the great table. My mom had a strange look on her face and she was whispering to my dad. He nodded, a frown creasing his forehead.
“Something’s not right,” I said. Erroll let go of my hand, and I made my way towards the head table. I could smell the strange scent, and also the scent of my parents—something strong. Fear. My mother reached out and took my hand as I slid into the chair next to her.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Kinaya—”
The door burst open. Everybody turned as the wind howled through the doorway. The music stopped.
There was a man standing in the doorway. Filling the doorway. He was cloaked in black robes, a black scarf covering his hair.
“Where is the alpha of this pack?”
I glanced over and saw Blaise at the buffet, his eyes paralyzed with fear. He didn’t step forward. Instead, my dad stood up behind the great table. He raised his hands, palms up, in the pack greeting of welcome.
This man wasn’t welcome. He shouldn’t have been welcome. Nobody at the feast knew him. His strange scent spelled nothing but worry. And yet my father stood, a great honor to a guest, and waited with arms outstretched.
