Captivated by the She-Wolf by Kristal Hollis

Author:Kristal Hollis [Hollis, Kristal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-11-15T16:05:11+00:00

Chapter 18

“Dad!”

“Hmm?” Bodie finished chopping the onion on the small kitchen counter and glanced over his shoulder at Willow sitting at the table, doing her homework.

“You’re humming.” She grinned. “I’ve never heard you hum.”

All Tlanuhwa had melodic voices and could hum a tune but few could actually sing.

“Sure you have.” Finished with the onions, he began dicing the peppers. “I used to hum you to sleep.”

“I don’t remember.” Willow propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand.

“You were a baby. After you turned three, you preferred a story at bedtime.” Now he was lucky to get a good-night kiss on the cheek.

“Enisi said Tlanuhwa hum when they find their mates.”

Maybe in ancient times, but with the Tribunal orchestrating mateships, the actual instinct had died out. Now a traditional humming song was used during the Pairing Ceremony.

“Did you hum when you met my mother?”

“No.” Bodie could have lied but that would only build up a fantasy in his daughter’s mind. “I didn’t hum until I held you for the first time.”

It had been the happiest moment in his life.

Hours later, he became a twenty-two-year-old widower with a newborn to raise.

“And you’re my daughter.” He shook a wooden spoon at her. “Not my mate. Your grandmother should stick to the facts instead of filling your head with silly notions.”

Pushing aside the meat already in the hot skillet, Bodie dumped in the vegetables and stirred.

The door to the camper opened. His mother stood at the bottom of the metal steps, holding a laundry basket. “Something smells delicious.”

“Dad is making stir-fry.” It had been Willow’s favorite meal since learning the dish had been Layla’s specialty. Bodie had left out the part that it was all her mother had known how to cook.

“Willow, help Enisi with the laundry basket.” Bodie’s attention returned to the stir-fry.

A moment later, there was a commotion at the door.

“Enisi! Are you all right?” Clothes bin hiked on her hip, Willow stood halfway between her grandmother and Bodie.

Mary clung to the metal doorframe, trying to pull herself up.

“Mom?” Abandoning the stove, he bumped Willow aside.

“I’m okay,” Mary said.

“Did you fall?” Bodie helped her to the couch.

“No, I tripped,” she told him. “Sometimes my foot doesn’t clear the threshold when I come in or go out. I’m all right, though.”

Willow carted the laundry into the bedroom and Bodie returned to the kitchenette.

“You’re here earlier than usual.” Mary no longer sounded shaken.

“I’m working a few hours tonight.” Lifting the skillet from the stove, Bodie gave the ingredients a toss, then returned the pan to the burner and dialed down the heat.

“Between work and that woman—” Mary huffed “—you’re never around. Why did you bring us here?”

“For Willow.” He didn’t want her restricted to slipping out of an apartment window and sitting in a nearby tree for a few minutes each night when she was born to soar. “The Walker’s Run Cooperative’s wolf sanctuary is the perfect place for her Transformation Ceremony and to learn how to fly.

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