The Lannister Wolf Series

Chapter 1

It was one of those mornings when the frost was fresh on the ground and the cold wasn't just cold but a harsh bitterness. Today was the kind of day where Evelyn Stark preferred to either stay inside reading to Rickon or warm herself up with Robb, Theon and Jon. However, the three boys had gone out with their father and Bran to deal with a deserter, so Evelyn had taken to finding a quiet perch to read.

Evelyn Stark was not the usual kind of girl who would find a chair or even her bed to read. On the contrary, she was the girl who did not care for quiet, dignified things unless they excited her at the same time. Sansa always said she was cut from the same cloth as Arya, but Evelyn had more control over her energy and wild side. While Arya would out front tackle Theon to the ground if he teased her, Evelyn would take a sneaky, roundabout way and either trip him subtly or later when he wasn't prepared, she would pounce on him silently. Ned had once said that Arya was the lion and Evelyn was the cheetah. Arya was the brute strength while Evelyn was the swift, accurate and quiet attacker.

At present, Evelyn was seated on the roof of the stables, all wrapped up and occasionally rubbing her hands together as she read her book. Lucky for her it was enticing enough to distract her from the cold. But it wasn't enough to distract her from the return of her brothers and father.

The seventeen-year-old girl closed her book hastily and tucking it into the brown leather back she always carried with her, she slid down the roof and hopped down. Jon and Robb were the first to emerge from the stables and Evelyn noticed right away that both boys were carrying two fluffy bundles.

"What is that?" the girl inquired.

Robb's blue eyes lit up at the sight of his twin sister and he rushed over to her before holding out the small bundle. Evelyn's amber eyes widened at the sight of the dire wolf pup in her brother's arms.

"We found them! They're mother was dead," Robb explained, "Father said we could keep them! Even Jon got one!"
"EVELYN!" Brans little voice cried as he rushed from the stables, his arms full.

The boy crashed into his older sister and held up one of the bundles in his arms. Evelyn saw right away that it was a pure black dire wolf pup and looked smaller than Robb and Bran's.

"It's a girl," Bran explained, "I kept that one for you!"
Evelyn smiled at Bran as she took the pup into her arms. The pup looked up into Evelyn's golden eyes and began to lick her face gently with a warm tongue.

"What are you going to name her?" Robb asked, "I'm naming my Greywind."
Evelyn smiled and glanced down at the pup in her arms, "Zinzi."

Jon chuckled as he fondled the white pup in his arms, "Typical Evelyn. A tough name but also girly and swift."
The girl smiled and playfully punched her half-brother's arm, "Come on! Mother is gonna be angry with you boys if you don't go in for dinner. Don't forget, the Lannister's are coming tomorrow."
The three boys nodded and rolled their eyes heavily. None of them were looking forward to the company or to the prospect of having several dinners and a banquet.

When the boys were gone, Evelyn looked down at the pup in her arms and carefully held her up in front of her. She scanned over the pup, checking for any injuries. She found none other than a cut on the pup's left ear.

"We'll take care of that easily," Evelyn assured the pup, cuddling her in her arms.

The girl hurried through the snowy streets of Winterfell clutching Zinzi to her chest. When she finally arrived at the small little empty stable at the edge of town, she pushed the door open with her shoulder and closed it with her foot. The single stable had been abandoned for years because it wasn't large enough for horses. It had been used for pigs but pigs don't do well in the North so there was no use for it. Evelyn had gotten Robb and Jon to help her nail boards over the windows so that there were only two windows and they made the stable gate into a French door style.

There were several old tables and chairs inside as well as a rocking chair. In the large wooden trough that had been cleaned out and gifted a lid were plenty of blankets, bandages and a box containing emergency bandages in bags that Evelyn could take with her quickly.

The left and back walls of the stall had shelves line with jars full of different plants and substances. Everything was tidy and well-kept and as for the snow flower plant that grew in the small box on the windowsill, that was for decoration and was probably better cared for than any plant.

However the same couldn't be said about the ivy plant in the other sill which was constantly used as the area where Evelyn poured concoctions to test if they were fatal... let's just say that ivy plant had died and had been resurrected a few too many times.

Evelyn placed the puppy on the counter and carefully located the salve for small cuts and applied some to the cut. Zinzi whimpered but Evelyn stroked her belly while she did it to distract her. When she finished, she blew on the salve till it dried and created a crust over the wound to keep it from bleeding out.

"There you go," Evelyn cooked, stroking the puppy under the chin, "All better!"