Page 13 of Beneath His Alpha's Wings
“There's a railing here, but thanks,” I said. Nevertheless, it was a very steep, winding staircase and I took my time navigating it.
It opened into another room, this one a kitchen and dining room that could have been in a magazine. The cabinets and a custom granite counter followed the gentle curve of the wall. A large counter-peninsula jutted out, separating the kitchen from the dining room. Tagger was rummaging through the fridge.
“Kitchen and dining room,” Kessel said. “Shall we keep going up?”
I nodded. I expected the stairs to just keep going and going, but to my surprise they had stopped. I could see them pick up again across the dining room. That was a relief. If I did fall, at least I wouldn’t go all the way down the entire lighthouse.
We went up another narrow staircase, but this time we ended on a small landing by a door, and the stairs kept going. Kessel opened it and led me into a small, cozy living room. There was a small couch, a TV, and what looked like a little mini kitchen. I could see two more doors.
“This is you,” Kessel said. He pointed to the doors. “Bedroom is through there and the bathroom is there. Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you,” I said, surprised by the nice accommodations. “It’s really nice here.”
“Thanks.”
I could hear the note of pride in is voice and suddenly realized he had called thishisplace. I wasn’t sure why it hadn’t occurred to me before. Baby brain maybe. I just assumed all of the wardens would have lived together. Although Tagger obviously knew his way around.
“Do you live here all the time?” I asked.
“Where else would I live?”
“Where we were this morning.”
“The warden station?”
“Yeah,” I said assuming he was referring to the same building.
“No,” he snorted. “Although it sure feels like it sometimes after working a double shift.”, He rolled his eyes. “And forget those triples I had to pull for a while after Tagger had his kid. That was awful.”
I frowned at the words ‘working a double shift.’ What did that have to do with the conversation?
“What do you do?” I asked. Kessel looked at me likeIwas the one who wasn't making any sense. “For work,” I clarified. “What do you do?”
His expression only deepened and he arched an eyebrow at me. “I'm a warden,” he said, as if that explained everything.
I hesitated. The only thing I had to go on for what a warden was, was Knash's description of them as an enemy pack. And yet Kessel made it sound like he considered being a warden some sort of a job. I tried to come up with a way to ask what being a warden meant to him, without giving away that I thought they were some sort of pack.
“What exactly…” I hesitated “Do you do?”
“Hmm,” Kessel said thoughtfully. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned up against the doorframe. “I guess the exciting part is what a human might compare to the police. We catch feral shifters or hunters. I actually spent a few months on Half Moon last year, camping out with a family to protect them from a werewolf hunter. Pretty boring most of the time, but good company.”
“So… wardens are like shifterpolice?” I asked.
He shrugged. “On occasion. Usually we just do the boring stuff, like making sure there aren't any humans getting suspicious. Or altering paperwork for shifters, that kind of thing.”
I frowned. That didn't sound at all like an evil pack.
It seemed like Kessel had some sort of idea of where I was going with this. He fixed me with a piercing gaze, which now that I knew he was an owl was positively bird-like.
“I gather the feral shifter wasn't very complimentary of us,” he said.
“No.” I couldn't resist and blurted, “He says you killed his entire family; mates and cubs.”
Kessel’s eyes grew impossibly wide and, to his credit, he looked stunned by the accusation, if not insulted. “First of all…” He actually took a moment to gather himself, but somehow I got the impression that he was trying to figure out how to say things, rather than coming up with a lie. “First of all,” he repeated. “Ifany wardens killed anyone close to him, it wasn't anyone from around here. This guy only appeared on our radar a couple of months ago. And as far as I know, I'm the only one who's even seen him. And that was only a passing glance. Last night was the closest we've actually come to catching him. And, thanks to you and Teddy, we know more about him today than we did before. Second, we donothurt innocent people,” he said firmly. “I noticed you saidmates…” He tilted his head at me thoughtfully. “An alpha is only allowed to turnonehuman into an omega.Ever.” The word came out almost broken and, for just a moment, I got the distinct impression it was something that bothered him. He cleared his throat and continued. “Assuming any of those mates he claims were killed were omegas that he turned, no warden would have killed them. Especially if they were turned against their will, like you were. We sure as hell wouldn't have killed any cubs. Now…”
Kessel hesitated, then continued. “If he had any mates who were, you know, with him breaking other laws, maybe fighting against wardens and we didn't have a choice... There's a possibility there could have been some casualties. But not if we could avoid it. I don't know what his past was before he showed up here. Butwehad nothing to do with it.”
I wanted to believe him. I very nearly did. Although, unless he was talking about full moons, I wasn't exactly sure what sort of a fight a bunch of omegas could put up against an alpha without being able to shift. Maybe it was human to human during the day?
