Chapter 21 - Runt

******Leoni's POV*******

Did Adam just say mate?

Can Claire be his mate?

Wow.

I stand there beside Kane, both of us completely stunned as we watch Adam carry Claire towards the house in a panic.

After a few seconds of us just standing there, Kane returns back to his enraged state as he throws me yet ANOTHER glare.

"Inside now!" He barks as he begins to lead me inside and up to our room, Bear following quickly behind us.

This can't be good. He's going to kill me and feed my flesh to Bear. Great.

Once we get to our room I take a comfortable seat on the bed and watch as Kane begins to pace back and forth around the room.

After a good few minutes, he stops walking and stares directly at me with no sign of emotion.

"What part of 'don't you move' do you not understand!" He suddenly yells out at me causing me to flinch.

"You don't even know what they were doing and what type of people they are and you still decided to trot on over to the crime scene like an idiot!" He continues to yell.

Well that hurt. I'm an idiot now.

"Leoni I told you to stay across the street for your own safety! I was handling things on my own!" He barks out, running a rough hand through his hair.

"You weren't helping her like I had asked, she was laying on the ground in pain." I say back, my tone not anywhere near as powerful as his.

"You could have gotten hurt! If you ever disobey me again I'll-" He begins to say mid sentence.

"You'll what?!" I suddenly yell out, startling both him and also myself. I never yell so I don't know where this new courage had come from but now I was scared.

Bear even ran out of our room... probably in search for Adam since he's never heard me shout before... poor puppy, I feel awful now.

His eyes were black. His body was shaking. His hands were clenched. His teeth were grinding together.

I was frozen still. Watching him as the anger flooded throughout his entire system.

Let me guess... you would have to be extremely dumb to shout at the Alpha King... nice one Leoni.

I hear the cracking of bones and I pale instantly. He's shifting. I'm going to die. Mate or not, he is going to kill me.

I'm too scared to run or hide. All I can do is watch him.

After a short second of cracking bones, I look down to see a huge black wolf growling harshly at me.

He was stunning.

I know he's about to kill me and all but his wolf was truly breath taking.

His coat was thick and shiny and he was the biggest wolf that I've ever seen. Now I understand why everyone is so scared of him. He could easily take on 15 wolfs at once with his strength and size.

I'm snapped out of my gaze when I hear a snarl and another shattering growl as he begins to creep closer to me.

If I don't act now then I'll be dead within the next minute.

The only thing I can think to do right now would be to shift. Maybe since his wolf is in control right now, that my wolf could calm him down...

But am I strong enough to shift yet? I remember Leah saying that she was healing...

I need to try.

I think of my wolf. The stunning Snow White fur she's covered in and her dark brown eyes that compliment her colour.

I hear cracking and I scream out in pain as I feel my bones snap into different positions.

Since my wolf is healing this will be extremely painful and the fact that I haven't shifted in a while doesn't help either!

I feel tears stream down my face as the shift continues, never seeming to end.

I yell and scream out for help until after what seems like forever, I flop to the floor seeing little white paws in front of me.

I open my heavy eyes and realise that I don't think I am able to walk since my wolf is badly injured and weak.

If Kane's wolf wants to kill me then I have no chance in defending myself. All I can do is wait.

I look around the room before spotting the large black wolf who has now stopped growling to my surprise. He was just staring over at me.

I let out a long sigh and close my eyes back over, feeling Leah's pain since I caused her to shift too soon.

I wait for a moment or two before I suddenly feel a wet texture against my face.

I open my eyes back up to see Kane's wolf licking me like a lost puppy and I give him a weak grin.

Thank the moon Goddess that he never killed us.

I hear the cracking of bones and before I know it Kane is back in front of me now in all his naked glory.

My wolf blushes as I watch him go off and fetch a shirt and boxers.

He puts the boxers on himself and holds out the top for me. "Shift back angel, I know your in a lot of pain." He says softly whilst running a hand through my soft fur and I do as I'm told.

I think of my human form which is followed by the cracking and breaking of my bones which were still a bit sore but not as bad as the first shift.

Once I'm back to myself, Kane places the shirt over my head and then embraces me into his arms in a death grip.

"I'm so so sorry Leoni! My wolf took over cause I've never had anyone shout at me like that before... I forgot where I was for a second." He mutters into my hair and I can tell he is genuinely worried about what just happened.

"It's okay... I just wish I hadn't made Leah shift so soon..." I trail off, feeling sad for the pain she was still in.

"I know... but your wolf was stunning." He says sincerely causing me to blush.

"Yours was beautiful Kane... giant and scary, but beautiful." I tell him and he gives me a genuine smile.

I can't stay mad at him. Even if I tried.

"So what was that place that Claire was in?" I ask curiously.

"Ohh uh... well you know what a runt is right?" He asks me warily and I shake my head.

I know that a runt is usually a lot smaller and not as strong as average wolves... but other than that I'm not really sure, I've never seen one in person...

"It's basically the weakest member of a pack... the one who can't protect themselves and who isn't very strong..." He trails off carefully and I can't quite understand why he's being so soft spoken about this topic.

"Okay I kinda knew that already... so what was that place?" I ask again, now that he has explained what a runt is.

"Basically it's like a slave trade for the runts... they are abused and sold off to people to be used for different things... they are basically treated like pets to rich folk since people believe they don't have much purpose in a pack." He explains and I gasp in shock.

How cruel! Despite them being the weakest they are still a wolf! Still a person!

"That is so horrible Kane! Why isn't that against the law?!" I question him and he sighs.

"I never really thought about them much before since I didn't care about anyone until I met you..." He explains guiltily.

He is the King and therefore can put a stop to this sort of stuff!

"So... Claire is a runt?" I ask warily and he nods.

So she was abused just for being weak. That is pitiful.

"Are you going to stop this Kane!" I exclaim in horror and he nods slowly.

"I'm putting a stop to it immediately next week cause I know it upsets you... but Leoni... that's not the worst news..." He sighs out again, avoiding eye contact with me.

"What is it Kane?" I ask him worriedly.

"Your a runt too Leoni..."