Read Online Bound to the Tribe (Bound to the Pack, #2) by Sonja Morelle - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sonja Morelle
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so I made sure to find a path she could shuffle through.
The scent of roasting pheasants and rabbits reached us long before we arrived at the camp. Even Jen’s limited senses had picked up the aroma and set her stomach growling. She continued onward with a renewed determination.
Stepping into s small clearing we found a single man sitting on the ground by the fire, tending the roasting meat. Logs had been set up for us all to use as seats and a tent stood nearby.
I growled despite my best intentions not to. These were all subtle insults, insinuating that I had lost myself to human comforts.
Kris walked up and took the seats gratefully, but I eschewed them and lowered myself to the ground, opposite from my mentor. “Ian,” I said simply.
“Liam,” his response was just as flat. “Kristen.” He turned and looked at Jen, who shied away from his unsettling gaze. “And the human,” he finished, his tone a mixture of curiosity and disdain as he watched Jen, still standing at the edge of camp. Fear rose within her under his piercing eyes.
“My name is Jen,” she spoke quietly, anger beginning to replace some of her unease, “Not ‘the human.’” She stared back at Ian, both unblinking, then slowly walked to the open seat across from Kristen, brazenly sitting nearer to Ian than to me.
Kristen watched Jen, worried. Ian wasn’t someone to be pushed.
After a time Ian spoke. “Very well then. Jen.” He regarded her with thinly veiled surprise.
I turned my gaze from Jen and watched Ian as Kris relaxed nearby. The scent of Jen’s emotions lingered in my mind and I marveled at what an amazing person she was.
She couldn’t have known that the fear coming from her had angered Ian. Ian was a hunter through and through, and any weakness would be exploited.
The only chance she had to get by safely had been to do as she had done. Take a chance and confront her fear boldly.
A true hunter respects nothing more than something facing its fears and overcoming them. In doing what she had done, she had upended the image Ian had built up of the weak human I had bonded.
“Ian,” I spoke as he continued to watch Jen as she stared into the flames. “Tell me, what is the general feeling of the tribe? What are we likely to encounter when we arrive?”
Jen and Kris both looked up at me before turning to Ian as he answered. “You know I spend little time on the reservation.” He met my gaze and poked the fire, sending sparks dancing up into the air.
“Still, you must have been there if you are here now.” I watched his face for a reaction and was rewarded with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. A quickly suppressed grin.
“Clever, and true.” He grinned fully before continuing. “It’s been quiet. Suspiciously and intentionally so.”
I stared at him, confused, as Kris spoke my own thoughts. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” he looked at us each in turn, “That once word came in of what you had done, the few who knew were sworn to secrecy.” He stared me down and his face grew darker. “We were also forbidden to speak with any of you.”
“Then why are you here? Is that why the rest of our guards are off in the woods around us instead of being close ‘in case?’” Kristen’s words caused Jen to stare off in random directions through the trees, fear spiking slightly but never reaching her face.
What amazing control she had.
It was easy to forget that while Kris, Ian, and I could easily hear and smell the others in our area, Jen was essentially blind by shifter standards. And yet, she still stayed with us, ignoring her fear and human ‘limitations.’
Ian watched her as she calmed back down and looked to him, awaiting his answer. Ian’s opinion of my mate rose another notch in his book and he nodded to her before replying. “Yes, none of the others want to anger an alpha, let alone the entire council.” He snorted. “Bunch of chicken shits.”
“You don’t
The scent of roasting pheasants and rabbits reached us long before we arrived at the camp. Even Jen’s limited senses had picked up the aroma and set her stomach growling. She continued onward with a renewed determination.
Stepping into s small clearing we found a single man sitting on the ground by the fire, tending the roasting meat. Logs had been set up for us all to use as seats and a tent stood nearby.
I growled despite my best intentions not to. These were all subtle insults, insinuating that I had lost myself to human comforts.
Kris walked up and took the seats gratefully, but I eschewed them and lowered myself to the ground, opposite from my mentor. “Ian,” I said simply.
“Liam,” his response was just as flat. “Kristen.” He turned and looked at Jen, who shied away from his unsettling gaze. “And the human,” he finished, his tone a mixture of curiosity and disdain as he watched Jen, still standing at the edge of camp. Fear rose within her under his piercing eyes.
“My name is Jen,” she spoke quietly, anger beginning to replace some of her unease, “Not ‘the human.’” She stared back at Ian, both unblinking, then slowly walked to the open seat across from Kristen, brazenly sitting nearer to Ian than to me.
Kristen watched Jen, worried. Ian wasn’t someone to be pushed.
After a time Ian spoke. “Very well then. Jen.” He regarded her with thinly veiled surprise.
I turned my gaze from Jen and watched Ian as Kris relaxed nearby. The scent of Jen’s emotions lingered in my mind and I marveled at what an amazing person she was.
She couldn’t have known that the fear coming from her had angered Ian. Ian was a hunter through and through, and any weakness would be exploited.
The only chance she had to get by safely had been to do as she had done. Take a chance and confront her fear boldly.
A true hunter respects nothing more than something facing its fears and overcoming them. In doing what she had done, she had upended the image Ian had built up of the weak human I had bonded.
“Ian,” I spoke as he continued to watch Jen as she stared into the flames. “Tell me, what is the general feeling of the tribe? What are we likely to encounter when we arrive?”
Jen and Kris both looked up at me before turning to Ian as he answered. “You know I spend little time on the reservation.” He met my gaze and poked the fire, sending sparks dancing up into the air.
“Still, you must have been there if you are here now.” I watched his face for a reaction and was rewarded with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. A quickly suppressed grin.
“Clever, and true.” He grinned fully before continuing. “It’s been quiet. Suspiciously and intentionally so.”
I stared at him, confused, as Kris spoke my own thoughts. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” he looked at us each in turn, “That once word came in of what you had done, the few who knew were sworn to secrecy.” He stared me down and his face grew darker. “We were also forbidden to speak with any of you.”
“Then why are you here? Is that why the rest of our guards are off in the woods around us instead of being close ‘in case?’” Kristen’s words caused Jen to stare off in random directions through the trees, fear spiking slightly but never reaching her face.
What amazing control she had.
It was easy to forget that while Kris, Ian, and I could easily hear and smell the others in our area, Jen was essentially blind by shifter standards. And yet, she still stayed with us, ignoring her fear and human ‘limitations.’
Ian watched her as she calmed back down and looked to him, awaiting his answer. Ian’s opinion of my mate rose another notch in his book and he nodded to her before replying. “Yes, none of the others want to anger an alpha, let alone the entire council.” He snorted. “Bunch of chicken shits.”
“You don’t
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