CHAPTER ONE
The morning was cool and crisp when Sienna Blackstone stepped out onto the porch of her small and simple cabin with a steaming cup of tea in hand. She blew over the liquid to cool it before sipping and savoring the fortifying and uplifting mint, oatstraw, and nettle leaf blend. It was a brew that had a tendency to be a touch on the bitter side, and on a day like today, a generous dollop of honey went a long way towards fighting off the chill that signaled the coming end of summer.
Pulling her woolen shawl a little closer around her, she observed her small community as day broke and people began to stir. She was usually the first awake, and although her cabin was semi-isolated and removed from the rest of her pack’s dwellings, she still felt protective of those she lived with. Whatever her position in the pack, and despite how invisible she was to most of the males unless they needed something from her, they were still her family.
A commotion on one side of the village got her attention, and she craned her neck over the edge of her porch railing, trying to get a better look at what was going on. She contemplated going into the center of the village to get a better look, but it soon became clear that the noise was one of celebration, and it seemed to be heading in her direction.
The cause of the interruption to Sienna’s otherwise calm morning routine quickly became clear. Kane and one of his lackeys had returned from a hunt. They’d left in the afternoon the day before and not returned in the night as they usually did. Assuming they hadn’t been ambushed, that meant only one thing; they’d been on to big game.
Sure enough, the crowd made its way to her edge of the clearing in the middle of the cluster of cabins that formed their village, and she saw the massive antlers of a once-powerful stag. It was quite an impressive feat for Kane to bring in an animal like that after going out with just one other hunter, and when she saw her alpha strutting towards her, blood dripping from a gash on his side, she realized he’d come closer to losing his fight than most of the others would ever know.
“Why don’t you make yourself useful and prepare something for this scratch,” said Kane as he approached. He waved off a few of his trailing admirers and stepped up to the porch, followed closely behind by a younger wolf with several cuts and blossoming bruises of his own.
“ Come inside and take your shirt off,” said Sienna.
She pushed open her cabin and set about preparing herbs and dressings while water boiled in a kettle hung over the fire. Bloody wounds like this were common enough in a wolf pack where rough play often resulted in bruised egos and vicious fights that had to be broken up by a more superior wolf, so it was a job that she was more than used to performing. Sienna scooped a handful of pre-mixed herbs into a shallow wooden bowl, poured a little of the boiled water over them, and ground them into a paste.
Kane grinned down at her while she used a damp cloth to wipe away the blood and dirt that had accumulated in his wound on the journey home. Having a cut like this cleaned was immensely painful, but she’d learned the hard way not to offer him anything to dull that pain in the presence of another wolf. The first time she’d done so had won her a smack in the face and a black eye that ensured it would be the last time she insinuated her alpha wasn’t tough enough to handle a little pain.
“ You like getting a chance to touch me, don’t you?” he growled while she wiped away the last of the blood and viscera. She’d placed one hand on his abs to keep him from twitching in response to the stinging pain. “Maybe I should give you a romp after this for services rendered.”
The young hunter who’d come in with Kane, snickered at his alpha’s crude joke. Kane would never deign to lie with someone like Sienna, and he loved pointing this out at every opportunity.
“You sure
The morning was cool and crisp when Sienna Blackstone stepped out onto the porch of her small and simple cabin with a steaming cup of tea in hand. She blew over the liquid to cool it before sipping and savoring the fortifying and uplifting mint, oatstraw, and nettle leaf blend. It was a brew that had a tendency to be a touch on the bitter side, and on a day like today, a generous dollop of honey went a long way towards fighting off the chill that signaled the coming end of summer.
Pulling her woolen shawl a little closer around her, she observed her small community as day broke and people began to stir. She was usually the first awake, and although her cabin was semi-isolated and removed from the rest of her pack’s dwellings, she still felt protective of those she lived with. Whatever her position in the pack, and despite how invisible she was to most of the males unless they needed something from her, they were still her family.
A commotion on one side of the village got her attention, and she craned her neck over the edge of her porch railing, trying to get a better look at what was going on. She contemplated going into the center of the village to get a better look, but it soon became clear that the noise was one of celebration, and it seemed to be heading in her direction.
The cause of the interruption to Sienna’s otherwise calm morning routine quickly became clear. Kane and one of his lackeys had returned from a hunt. They’d left in the afternoon the day before and not returned in the night as they usually did. Assuming they hadn’t been ambushed, that meant only one thing; they’d been on to big game.
Sure enough, the crowd made its way to her edge of the clearing in the middle of the cluster of cabins that formed their village, and she saw the massive antlers of a once-powerful stag. It was quite an impressive feat for Kane to bring in an animal like that after going out with just one other hunter, and when she saw her alpha strutting towards her, blood dripping from a gash on his side, she realized he’d come closer to losing his fight than most of the others would ever know.
“Why don’t you make yourself useful and prepare something for this scratch,” said Kane as he approached. He waved off a few of his trailing admirers and stepped up to the porch, followed closely behind by a younger wolf with several cuts and blossoming bruises of his own.
“ Come inside and take your shirt off,” said Sienna.
She pushed open her cabin and set about preparing herbs and dressings while water boiled in a kettle hung over the fire. Bloody wounds like this were common enough in a wolf pack where rough play often resulted in bruised egos and vicious fights that had to be broken up by a more superior wolf, so it was a job that she was more than used to performing. Sienna scooped a handful of pre-mixed herbs into a shallow wooden bowl, poured a little of the boiled water over them, and ground them into a paste.
Kane grinned down at her while she used a damp cloth to wipe away the blood and dirt that had accumulated in his wound on the journey home. Having a cut like this cleaned was immensely painful, but she’d learned the hard way not to offer him anything to dull that pain in the presence of another wolf. The first time she’d done so had won her a smack in the face and a black eye that ensured it would be the last time she insinuated her alpha wasn’t tough enough to handle a little pain.
“ You like getting a chance to touch me, don’t you?” he growled while she wiped away the last of the blood and viscera. She’d placed one hand on his abs to keep him from twitching in response to the stinging pain. “Maybe I should give you a romp after this for services rendered.”
The young hunter who’d come in with Kane, snickered at his alpha’s crude joke. Kane would never deign to lie with someone like Sienna, and he loved pointing this out at every opportunity.
“You sure
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