Little Prick Read Free

step, she headed down the stairs.
    It was a Sunday, so there was no activity at the shop, but the house was empty as all the men in the house were out doing something else.
    Keelie was sitting in the family room, flipping through the family albums. “She was lovely and she had so much life in her that she could have lived.”
    “If I hadn’t taken it.”
    Keelie jerked. “Oh, Pansy, it wasn’t you. She found out she had cancer two days after she found out she was pregnant with the daughter she had always wanted.”
    Pansy swallowed the lump of emotion. “She could have lasted longer if she wasn’t carrying me.”
    Keelie came to her and lifted her chin with her hand. “Never doubt for a moment that she fought the entire time. That is why your father doesn’t want me here. I was part of that fight, and we lost. He can’t forgive me for the loss.”
    Pansy took her aunt’s hand. “Can you tell me the whole story?”
    “Of course. It is quite the tale, so I need to pace. Sit down and I will explain it. All of it.”
    Pansy took a seat in one of the heavy leather chairs that easily held her brothers but made her feel like she was a small child.
    Keelie started to pace, and as she paced, she started to speak.
    “Bethanne always wanted a little girl. With every pregnancy, she hoped and prayed for a girl, but she had boy after boy. I visited as often as I could, but it wasn’t as much as I should have or I might have noticed the illness earlier. Then, she got the news. She was pregnant with a girl. I came to visit that weekend, but the joy had been marred by finding out that she also had breast cancer.
    “Karl was devastated and told her to abort the pregnancy, but Bethanne put her alpha female foot down and refused. She asked me for help, and I did research as fast as I could. She could get treatment and have the baby at the same time if I helped protect the baby.
    “I found the spell and asked her if she was ready. Bethanne held my hand, and I called the wild magic to protect you. There was a small matter of my having to be named your godparent that was an easy decision for Bethanne.” Keelie smiled.
    “You used wild magic to protect me?”
    “I used it to change you into something that could withstand the chemo. The magic chose what it turned you into. Your father never forgave me for that one as well.” Keelie sighed and returned to pacing.
    “You were normal when you were born. Your mother named you after my suggestion and Karl was so delighted that she and her baby had survived the treatment, he was happy to see me. Then, we found out that the medical centre had given her a placebo because of the pregnancy. They refused to damage the child, and we had done all of that preparation for nothing. The cancer had advanced to a stage where all options had been taken from her. She had fought for you, and it amounted to shadow boxing.”
    Pansy inhaled sharply.
    “The medical centre settled out of court. There is a huge settlement waiting for you today, as well as the one that bought this house and the surrounding territory for the pack. It increased the territory by several hundred acres.”
    “I didn’t know.”
    “Your father didn’t want you to know. It would have been hard as you grew up and depressing when you became a woman. Now, do you know how your mother’s mother passed?”
    “No.”
    “Breast cancer, as did your great grandmother and many of your great aunts. The change that you underwent altered you. You are the first woman in your family who isn’t in immediate danger of death via your own body. It is hard for your father to deal with. He thought he was getting a wolf cub.”
    “When did I first show the change?”
    “Ah, that was a good day. Your mother was holding you to her breast and your snuffling turned to snorting. She peeled back the blanket and there you were, spikes and all. She laughed so hard, I think she peed a little.” Keelie paused and stood by the window. She looked over