Free Burning Ice: 6 (Werewolf Sentinels) by Marisa Chenery

planned to tell Riya everything after I woke up.”
    His mate shook her head as if she didn’t want to accept what was going on around her. “Capac? You’re really a werewolf?”
    He brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. “Yes, I am. There is a lot I have to tell you.”
    Riya silently nodded, then peered down his body. Her mouth rounded into an “O”. “You’re naked.” She stepped closer and pressed her front to his as if to hide his nudity. “In front of everyone.”
    Capac shook his head and chuckled. “You just learned about werewolves, that I’m one, and all you care about is the fact that I have no clothes on?”
    “Your ass is hanging out for all of us to see, including another part of you. Go put something on.”
    He smiled and gave her a kiss. It pleased him that she didn’t pull away. “All right, if it will make you happy I’ll get dressed.”
    Capac released Riya and walked inside the house. On the way he heard Wren say, “That is one fine ass he’s got there, but I bet Ryder’s is even better.”
    He looked over his shoulder and saw Ryder edging away from Wren. Capac put on a burst of werewolf speed and ran up the stairs to his bedroom. It only took a matter of seconds for him to pull on some fresh clothes.
    He stopped in the bathroom to brush his teeth. While he did so, he thought it probably had worked out better for him that Riya had seen Wren shift. His mate didn’t appear to fear him, at least not yet. There could be a chance she would once she learned the whole truth about him.
    Capac returned to the main floor and walked into the living room where everyone had gathered. He set his gaze on Riya, who sat in one of the armchairs. She appeared to have calmed down a lot now that Wren was no longer in her wolf form. He walked over to where Riya sat, picked her up, then sat down where she had been with her on his lap. She settled comfortably against him and seemed to have no problem with what he’d done.
    Edensaw cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Capac, do you want me to do the explanations since I’m the alpha of our pack, or would you like to do it?”
    Before Capac could answer, Wren asked, “Alpha? I thought all packs had pack leaders? And isn’t there supposed to be only one pack per territory?”
    He turned his gaze onto Riya’s roommate. “I guess some of my explanations will be for your benefit as well. We’re not like you. And from the sound of it, you don’t know much about werewolf pack life.”
    Wren shrugged. “I’ve never been part of one. My mother was mortal. My father is a lone wolf, who chose to leave his pack and wasn’t kicked out of it for bad behavior. He likes being on his own, so much so he wasn’t around half the time when I was growing up. Before you can ask, my mom wasn’t his mate. And as I told you in the car, she was psychic and passed her gift on to me. She knew what my father was before he told her, and she also knew she’d have his child. They seemed to get along just fine when they were together.”
    “What happened to your mom? You talk about her as if she is no longer around.”
    “She isn’t. She died about five years ago from breast cancer. So if you guys aren’t like me, then what kind of werewolves are you? I only thought there was one kind.”
    Capac put his arm around Riya as she took a deep, shaky breath, the only outward sign that she wasn’t quite over her fear.
    “We’re sentinels,” he answered. “Edensaw, Wachei, Ketah, Kajakti, Durlach and myself are the very first werewolves. We were all born during the last ice age as Tlingit hunters. Our first shaman, Ryder’s ancestor, saw in a vision that an evil would grow that would need a new race of man that was stronger and faster to fight them. So he selected six of the best hunters in our village and offered us to become the very first werewolves. We all agreed. All modern-day ones are descended from one of us.”
    Riya swallowed audibly. “All of you