101: I always wanted to be a grandfather.
**Aife pov**
When I opened my eyes again, my head was pounding, but at least my body didn’t shake.
Slowly, I blinked fully awake and took in my surroundings. I was laying down, seemingly on the ground, but it wasn’t cold so I was sure there was something underneath me.
It seemed that I had been taken to a tent of sorts. It smelled comforting, like herbs and warm fire; I could even catch a distant scent of a meal being cooked, so my belly instantly rumbled.
Slowly, I sat up and carefully took in everything around me. As I rubbed my eyes, I tried to recall how I had gotten here. Memories came back to me in rapid flashes - the escape, the cave, the stranger who had been sitting by the makeshift nest I slept on when I woke up.
Alexander had mentioned something about being a shifter too, but I couldn’t remember what kind of shifter. I pressed my fingers against my temples and massaged them gently, willing the memories to slow and come back in more detail.
As if on cue, someone pulled the cover from the tent entry to the side and a man, larger than life, stepped inside. Okay, stepping inside was a weak way to describe his movements because he barely fit in the entrance.
“Ah, you’re awake,” he said in a voice that was too gentle to match his appearance.
I looked up at him and took in the ragged features - he didn’t look dirty, but somehow worn by time. There were three large scars all across his face, as if he had barely escaped the claws of something terrifying.
The man took a couple of steps closer, but stopped at a safe distance before he spoke again. “Alexander already warned me you’re not much of a talker,” he mused and cleared his throat, making his voice drop deeper. “My name is Khan and I am the leader of this humble pack. Let me be the first one to welcome you here, I assure you, we are no threat.”
I swallowed and instantly regretted it - felt like I was trying to force razor blades down my throat.
Khan, noticing my struggle, tip-toed towards the side of the tent, grabbed a glass and filled it with water, then brought it to me. “Here, drink this, you’ve been sleeping for a while, your throat must be dry.”.
How was someone this big and scary-looking acting like the fairy godmother, again?
My hands shook as I accepted the glass and slowly brought it to my lips. Khan didn’t let go, as if he was ready to catch it if I happened to drop it.
“Better?” He whispered as I swallowed the last gulp and took the glass from me.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and nodded. “Much better, thank you.”
Khan looked down at me with the widest grin. Seriously, nothing he did so far matched the rough appearance he had.
The next moment, Khan dropped down to the ground, stirring cross legged, still at distance. “Tell me, what is your name, tiny wolf shifter?”
“Aife,” I answered without thinking and instantly frowned.
I didn’t know if I could trust them. Sure, Alexander had taken me from a cave in which I could’ve frozen to death and took me here, but I didn’t know them - at all.
“Aife,” Khan repeated, as if he was savoring the taste of my name. “So, Aife, Alexander tells me you’re with a cub, is that correct?”
I nodded slowly, not sure where this was going.
“That’s so amazing, I always wanted to be a grandfather,” he beamed at me.
And me? Well, I stared at him wide-eyed and choked on my own spit as he said it.
Khan waved me off and made a weird sound, “stop, we don’t have to be the same species for me to adopt you. You’re lost in the mountains, my enforcer took you home and from now on, you are my child. Just wait until you meet my mate, he will suffocate you with so much love, you’ll want to escape us in no time.”
Khan smiled at me so widely, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that somewhere out there, I kind of still had a family.
And a mate, who I believed was on his way to kill me.
“Ah, but I must warn you,” Khan suddenly perked up and lifted one finger. “There’s no escaping. Once my wonderful, beautiful, best booty in the town lovely mate Enzo decides he has something, he never lets go. And between the two of us, personally I prefer to go along with whatever that sexy thing wants,” Khan pointed a finger at his scars that I already saw earlier, “see this? This from our first fight, nasty thing, but I still love that spitfire.”
Just as the last words escaped his mouth, my belly rumbled again, making Khan laugh.
“Darn it, I’m already failing as a father, talking my cubs ears off while she’s supposed to be stuffing her face now. You eat for two, yes?” He chuckled and handed me a small pile of nearly folded clothes, then stood up.
“What’s this?” I asked as I accepted them.
“New clothes, warmer and better. Goddess knows Enzo would chew my head off like those nasty bugs do if I let you run around unclothed.” He pointed a finger back at the tent entrance and smiled, almost lovingly, as if this delusional yet oddly endearing man truly thought I was his daughter. “I’ll wait outside while you change. Scream if you need my help, I won’t look, I’ll just help.”
I kept staring at him, mouth slightly agape. Before Khan stepped out, he took the chance to ruffle my hair and purr, “good cub, pretty cup, dad’s proud of the cub.”
And just like that, the next moment, he was out.
I glanced down at the clothes, still shocked to my core and whispered, “what the fuck?”
“No foul mouths over here, young lady, dad’s hearing still works!” Khan called out, startling me.
I shook my head, took a deep breath and changed into the new clothes, deciding it was better to listen to Clove and play along with the delusional pack leader.
When I emerged from the tent, Khan scooped me in his arms and carried me towards a bigger one, grinning at everyone in his way while showing me off as his new cub.
Just to prove that everyone was equally as crazy as he was, the pack members actually bowed to me. Great.
No longer than two minutes later, I already sat at a table with a plate of steaming food in front of me.
Khan sat down across from me and grinned, “so, tell me cub, why were you in that cave?”
I looked from the food to him and threw the caution out the window. I wanted to see how truly crazy he was, so I hit him with the truth. “My mate is possessed by some demonic creature and he wants to kill me so I ran.”
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