Page 12 of Beneath His Alpha's Wings
“You look like you could use a little help,” he said.
There was a chilly breeze coming in off the water and even though I was wearing a sweatshirt – also borrowed from the drawer – his hand felt warm as he grasped my upper arm. My gut instinct was to shake him off and say no, I didn't need help. Instead, I accepted his other hand, which was outstretched and let him help me up a particularly high step. Not that you could call what was carved into the path “steps,” but it was better than nothing.
Seemingly content to go at my pace, Kessel helped me the rest of the way up to the lighthouse. I had to admit, it was quite kind of him. Even though Knash had expressed plenty of concern about my about my pregnancy, he had never done anything to outrighthelpme the way Kessel was.
We reached the lighthouse and he opened up the door and led me inside. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't a welcoming, cozy looking living room.
“Wow,” I said in surprise. The only thing that made it seem different from your average living room was the fact that the walls were round. The dark brick base of the lighthouse was painted a light, cheery blue on the inside. And while I could tell there was a distinct nautical theme to Kessel’s decorating, I could see a lot of foresty things too, particularly owls. There were several paintings of them, and a couple of owl throw pillows on the very large, comfortable looking couch. “You like owls, I take it?” I joked.
Kessel looked at me a moment, as if he was surprised by the comment. “Yes?” he offered.
I wasn't sure which one of us was more confused. I gestured around the room. “You just have a lot of… owl stuff.”
“Don’t mind him,” Tagger said to me. “He’s self-centered.”
“What?”
Kessel arched an eyebrow at me. “Because I'm an owl?”
“What?” I demanded. “What do you mean you're an owl?”
“You do realize I’m a shifter too, right?” he said.
It was at that moment I realized that I was operating under the assumption that everyone was a bear like me. I was pretty sure my jaw dropped. “You turn into anowl?!”
“Yes.” Kessel tilted his head at me. “Did you think it was only bears?”
“Yeah.” Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. Even then, when I thought about other kinds of shifters, the only thing that came to mind was a wolf. “I mean…” I said awkwardly. “I guess werewolves?”
Kessel snorted in amusement. “Don't tell any wolves you think of them as werewolves.”
“There really are wolves too?”
“Of course,” he laughed. “In fact, the only other bear you hung around with today with Larkin.”
“What is… everyone else?” I asked, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the new information.
“Oh, let's see.” He tilted his chin up and studied his ceiling. “Dev and Mesha are tigers. Larkin, as I said, is a bear.”
“I’m an arctic fox,” Tagger chimed in. I looked at him in surprise.
“I think that's everyone you met today,” Kessel said.
“Avery?” I asked, thinking of the doctor.
“Ah, yes. He’s a lion.
“Wow. Does that make you the only bird?” I asked curiously.
A flicker of something, maybe annoyance, quickly crossed his face before he schooled it back into a grin. “I’m the only bird.” I had a feeling I probably shouldn't pry into his obvious feelings on that. So, instead I just looked around the room. “Well, that explains the owl decor.”
Kessel chuckled again. “Yes, it does. So obviously, this is the living room.” He turned to his companion. “I assume you don’t need a tour?”
Tagger grinned. “I’d say I know my way around well enough.”
I thought he was going to go back out the door, but instead he went up a stairway I hadn’t noticed.
“Onward and upward?” Kessel asked me. He started up the same stairs, then turned and held down a hand. “Do you need help?”
