Honesty by Viola Rivard Read Free Book Online Page A

disrespected him, but considered herself to be above participating in chores. As if not eating meat—which he still did not understand—somehow exempted her from pack duties.
    Last night, as she was burning his breakfast, Hale had pried information from her, shedding some light on the circumstances surrounding the murder she’d supposedly committed. Taylor had said she’d acted in self-defense, which he hadn’t doubted. But something about the way she’d told him, for a brief moment, had made her seem vulnerable. He’d had to suppress the urge to comfort her, to tell her that she was safe in his territory and he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
    He wanted to believe that she was manipulating him, but the more he was around her, the more he talked to her, the more Hale was beginning to wonder if he’d been wrong about Taylor.
    Coming to a stop on a rocky hill, Hale surveyed the scene below. The runt was fighting over a turkey with Holly and Fenix. Though fox shifters were much smaller than wolves, Holly and the runt were nearly the same size. They jerked the mangled bird back and forth with such ferocity that Hale was surprised it didn’t tear in two. Above them both, Fenix beat his wings in their faces and grasped at the turkey with his talons.
    “Whoa…” he heard Taylor say. He imagined the sight of a fox, a wolf, and a hawk fighting over a turkey would likely seem odd to her. To Hale, it was just another evening in the valley.
    Hale sat, letting Taylor slide off his back. Several of the hunters hung back to watch the fight, which became even more interesting as the raccoon joined in. In her human form, as she always was, she began throwing rocks at Fenix.
    “Go away, bird brains! That’s our turkey!” she screamed.
    “You didn’t do shit,” one of the hunters called out from the sidelines. “That’s Fenix’s kill.”
    A fox in the crowd was quick to correct him. “That’s Holly’s bird. She’s been fattening him up since springtime!”
    Hale’s attention was drawn back to Taylor, who was making her way down the hill and heading towards the fight. He realized that in their world, the small human was not unlike a pup. There was a great deal she still had to learn and he had half a mind to let her take a few bumps and bruises so that she would learn her lesson. Not willing to let her go in entirely on her own, Hale followed her.
    As they came to the foot of the hill, Taylor had the good sense to stop at the raccoon’s side. Hale hung back, watching as she tried to wrest a rock from the raccoon’s hand.
    “Stop throwing rocks, you’re going to hurt someone,” Taylor chided.
    Hale felt strangely proud of her for not involving herself in the brawl.
    “That’s the point,” Lark said, wrenching her hand free. “Those stupid animals are stealing our kill.”
    The raccoon managed to throw another rock, this one landing squarely on Fenix’s head. It wasn’t thrown hard enough to do anything but momentarily stun him, but once he came back to his senses, he was pissed.
    Fenix let out a lou d shriek, lunging at the females. Hale knew that Fenix wouldn’t actually attack either of them. Razor-sharp talons made Fenix one of the deadliest shifters in Hale’s pack, and while he would often use them to intimidate the others, Fenix knew better than to actually use them against one of their own.
    That logic was drowned in centuries of instinct. Anger burned in Hale’s chest as he saw the hawk descend on Taylor. As she threw her hands over her head, bracing herself for the attack, Hale sprang up, jumping over her to knock Fenix to the ground. A massive wing pinned beneath each paw, Hale lowered his head to the startled hawk, his body emitting a low growl.
    When Fenix shifted his arms came free, but he made no move to escape. Averting his eyes, Fenix turned his chin up to expose his neck. He remained silent, and after a few long seconds, Hale backed off of him, shifting into his human form.
    The