Saved by Wolves (Shifters Meet Their Mate Book 1) by Elena Hunter Page B

about Cats? You didn’t start something with them, did you? If you broke the treaty...”
    “Of course not,” Marcus said. “They just mistakenly thought Kirra was on their land, but she was really on ours. It ended all peaceful-like.”
    Jackson snorted, and Marcus made a shushing motion at him behind his back. Donovan laughed.
    Kirra wasn’t in a laughing mood. She’d missed the alpha. “Where’s Blue’s Hollow?” she asked.
    “It’s north-east, near the Raptors’ territory,” Jackson said. “Who went with him?” He addressed the last to Serena as he handed her a squirming Donovan.
    “Ash and Daisy. Some of the others are already there.” Serena sent Donovan into the house with a light swat on his behind.
    Jackson nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer.
    “When will he be back?” Kirra pushed.
    “Why do you want to know?” Serena countered, voice hard.
    “I have some information for him.”
    “Well, you can tell me and I’ll tell him when he gets back,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest.
    “When will that be?”
    Serena shrugged unhelpfully. Gone was the teasing sister, replaced with a woman suspicious of outsiders. Or maybe just of humans. Or maybe just of her.
    “If he’s gone to Blue, he’ll be back within a week,” Marcus said. “The meetings never take longer than that.”
    A week was too long. “I have to go there,” she said. “I need to talk to him now.”
    Serena grabbed Marcus by the hand. “Excuse us,” she said with the most insincere smile Kirra had ever seen. “I need to talk to my brother for a minute.” They went to the side of the house, and although she couldn’t make out many words, Kirra guessed the gist of the conversation. Serena was pointing her way and they were arguing.
    “Serena doesn’t like humans,” Jackson said.
    “Yeah, I picked up on that,” she said. “Can you take me to Blue’s Hollow?”
    “No.”
    “Why not?
    “Because I have duties here, and we have already been away from our post for too long.”
    Serena stomped past them, went up the porch steps, and whirled around. “She’s not staying here,” she yelled at Marcus and went in, slamming the door behind her.
    Face flushed and hands in his pockets, Marcus came over to them. “Sorry about that,” he said. “Serena can be a bit... opinionated.”
    “It’s fine. And I understand that you can’t take me. You don’t have to. All I need is a map.” Desperation tinged her voice, and her hands shook. Kirra clenched them into fists.
    “It would be at least a four-day hike for you. You’d never make it. I have a better idea,” Marcus said. “You can stay with my gran while we’re on duty. You’ll get along great with her. Come on.”

Chapter Nine
    J asmine Carver, or “Gran,” as she insisted on being called, was a short version of her grandchildren. Shoulder-length, snow-white hair framed a strong face, and vibrant green eyes took in and catalogued everything about Kirra as they shook hands. If her steady gaze wasn’t friendly, at least it wasn’t condemning. She was reserving judgment.
    “So tell me what all the yelling was about,” she said, settling in a pine chair at her kitchen table. Marcus and Jackson pulled out chairs, so Kirra followed suit, studying the room as she sat. The kitchen, a ten by ten space, was just big enough to fit a wood burning stove, a counter, cupboards, a small hutch filled with rolled up maps and books, and the table. It had a homey feel, and the scent of cinnamon hung in the air.
    “It was just Serena being Serena,” Marcus sighed.
    “There has to be more to it than that,” his gran said.
    “Well, Kirra’s human—”
    “I’ve got a nose, boy. What I don’t have is a lot of time. Cut to the chase.”
    Marcus saluted. “Yes, ma’am. Kirra needs a place to stay while she waits for Jasper to come back from the council meeting. Jackson and I have to go back on patrol in the morning, so we hoped she could stay with you.”