He frowns when I walk past him to the front door and open it, stepping out onto the porch. Zaki and Kojo fall into step behind me immediately.
“You want to walk?” Kojo asks as we come down the porch steps.
I take in the air, and shrug. “Well, I don’t have a car to get around in, and I want to get out of this cabin.”
Zaki looks around. “We have a wagon.”
“You aren’t pulling me on a wagon.” I look right at her when I say it.
She hisses at that, but I look to Kojo and run my hand over his arm. “I’m fine to walk, Kojo.”
He bows his head to me and stands down. Zaki opens her mouth to argue but both their ridges spike at the same time, the blades rising along their backs, and they step in front of me before I can blink.
“What the hell,” I mutter, trying to see around them. They aren’t letting me. I wedge between them and push until I can see through the gap.
Then I stiffen because I hear it, a cackle, low and distant, vibrating through the ground beneath my boots and up into my teeth. It sounds nothing like Zaki’s or Kojo’s.
“Another Bouda?” I whisper.
Kojo and Zaki’s ridges flatten. They step aside and I get a clear view.
It’s massive, bigger than Kojo, with jet black fur. A ridge runs its full length, the spikes rising then falling, and its paws melt the snow where they land. Its eyes are gold.
It walks slowly toward us, and then the shift begins. The black fur dissolves like smoke being pulled back into the body, the frame condensing and reshaping without a sound. The Bouda folds inward and a man unfolds from it.
Deep chocolate skin, the same burning gold eyes. Black locs fall past his shoulders, adorned with beads that clink when he moves. His ears are pointed at the tips, visible through the locs, and when he smiles I see fangs. He’s naked for about a second before he snaps his fingers and a black tunic with matching slacks appears over his body. He clasps his hands behind his back and walks toward us, bare feet on the wet ground, and I notice he doesn’t leave footprints.
I look between Zaki and Kojo. “What kind of Bouda is that?”
“It is not a Bouda,” Kojo says, and Zaki finishes for him.
“This is King Amir. The father of all shifters.”
“Like a god?”
“Like a father. We worship the Goddess Mother Fate. He was born of our Goddess.” She tells me.
He reaches us and I just stare with my mouth hanging open.
“Hello,” I manage, and Kojo bows his head immediately. When I look to Zaki, she doesn’t bow. Amir bows his head to her first and she returns it with a quiet “Majesty”.
I start to tip my head and Zaki’s palm slams into my forehead, pushing it back. “What the hell are you doing?” I snap, slapping her arm away.
“You do not bow to men. You are a queen.”
Amir smiles at me and bows his head. “You have a new matriarch,” he says, then looks to Kojo. “She is lovely.” Kojo bows his head. Amir looks back to me. “I am known by this landas King Amir, but I prefer Amir.” He turns those gold eyes on Kojo. “Is it Alemayehu, or is it Kojo now?”
“Kojo.” He answers, and Amir studies him for a moment too long, his head tilting slightly. “Kade tells me Aiden found you scavenging through a dumpster in East Africa, spent years smuggling you across a continent, and now here you are mated and standing on Wintermoon soil.” He says this while examining the torn fabric of Kojo’s shirt where the ridge has come through, running a finger along the edge of the rip like he’s assessing the damage. “Your matriarch would’ve been proud of you, Kojo.”
Kojo stiffens but he bows his head. I want to tell Amir that’s a hell of a thing to say to someone who just lost everything, but something about how he said it keeps me quiet.
“What are you doing here? Where’s Kade?” I ask instead.
“Kade and Leah are covering for Andrew while he settles into his mate bond. They will return soon.” He steps back from Kojo and clasps his hands behind his back again, his gold eyes moving between the three of us. “It has been a very long time since I have spent time with the Bouda.”
Zaki goes rigid and the words come out like she’s been holding them for weeks. “You let my people die.”
“No, I did not, Zaki.” His voice is firm but not unkind. He doesn’t step back from her when she squares up to him, just holds his ground with his hands still clasped behind him. “Kade, Damon, Leah, and Selene approached your matriarch many times. She refused to migrate despite our warnings. Radical activity was escalating and your matriarch chose to stay.”
