Page 18 of Pack Kasen: Part 3
“He thought I was a feral,” I explain, not knowing how much Dad told her. “That’s why I was in the cage.”
Carlie rolls her eyes. “So, he’s an idiot then. Five minutes with you should have been more than enough time to figure out you weren’t.”
A smile twitches my lips.
I have a little sister, and I think I like her. I think I like her a lot.
“What?” she asks, still studying me.
“I never imagined what it would be like having a sister, but…”
“But?” she prompts, curious.
“You’re cool,” I admit.
She blinks at me, briefly surprised, then smiles. “It’s the knife. I can teach you if you want.”
Dad blows a heavy sigh, and Carlie rolls her eyes. “She’s anadult. So am I. It’s not like I’m about to teach a baby knife tricks, Dad.”
“They’re always like this,” Mom says with a fond smile. “In case you ever wondered, these two are like two cats fighting in a bag. They’re too alike.”
“No, we’re not,” they deny, drowning each other out.
I can’t help but smile when they scowl at each other, their expressions nearly identical.
“When are you coming home?” Carlie asks me.
Dad glances at his watch, then out of the window. “It’s too late to travel tonight, but we can leave tomorrow. Early. It’s a few hours to get back to Nebraska, but we can do it in a day if you’re feeling up to it, Kataleya.”
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“Because the Wolf King forbids it?” A growl creeps into my dad's voice.
“Because I have to hunt the person who abducted me, and I have to kill him.” I look at my family one by one. “He killed a lot of people, and he has to pay for that. I want to stay.”
“And after?” Carlie asks.
“She’ll come home with us. Where she belongs,” Dad says firmly, but I can’t help but notice Mom studying me closely.
“Aren is hermate, Patric,” my mom says quietly. “And mates belong together.”
They’re not fated mates. Dad told me that when they first met, they fell so deeply in love with each other that there was no one else for either of them.
“He almost killed her. Aren Kasen deserves no mate.” Dad’s voice is resolute, and his eyes burn with anger.
I see the wolf in his eyes, and I remember he’s not just my dad. He’s the Wolf Lord of Lake Prairie. There are nine Wolf Lords, all alphas who fought for the right.
Aren, the most powerful alpha in the country, is my mate.
And they hate each other.
6
KAT
Smiles spread across the faces of Pack Kasen in the dining room. It’s lunchtime, and it looks like I timed my arrival just right.
Finan stopped by while Mom was trying to persuade Dad not to kill Aren, and he showed them to the guest cabin, tucked behind the bunkhouse, where they’ll stay for the next couple of days.
