“Andrew’s as full of secrets as a nest is full of twigs. I’m sure he’ll tell you later. Come on in here and we’ll clean up your knee.”
Mary clung to Andrew’s neck. “No!”
“I’ll tell you now, sunflower, if you’ll go on with Joanna and let her patch up that battle wound,” Andrew told her.
Mary pulled her grubby face from his shoulder, sniffing, tears now rolling down her cheeks. “Truth?”
“It’s simple.” He walked her to the door, where Joanna was coming from the inside to meet them. “All the other pups are looking for the sticks—bunch of twigs on the branch. But you won’t see it that way anymore than a brown rabbit in brown dirt. Look for the shape of the nest. Not color. The curve and bunch. You learn that when you learn to change and colors look different. It’s the shape and the pattern. Rarely the color.”
Mary nodded, wiping across her face with her dirty fist.
“Next time, who’s going to be fastest spotting that nest?” Andrew asked.
“Mary is.” She smiled weakly.
“I bet you are.” Andrew kissed her forehead and handed her off as the door opened. “If you’re real good and quiet for Joanna she’ll give you a string cheese.”
Mary beamed at Joanna as Joanna took her and glared at Andrew.
“Really, Andrew?”
“I’d want a string cheese too if you washed out my wounds, Jo.” Andrew smiled sweetly at her.
“I feel sorry for your future mate, Andrew, when she sees what kind of father you are. Why not teach them to play on the motorway while you’re at it?”
As Joanna shut the door, Mary was already asking her when they could have the string cheese.
Andrew ambled along the side of the next home to me, smiling, head tipped, hands jammed in his jeans pockets with his thumbs out the tops.
“Hear that?” he asked me. “She feels sorry for you.”
“Only if we had pups,” I pointed out. “And that’s not going to happen. Or even a non-shifter child.”
“Once in a generation, they say.” Lifting his eyebrows. “Stranger things and all that.”
“It’s good to see you, Andrew.”
“Rumors brought me over. Speaking of strange things. Turns out those can be true even here. But you’re making a break for fresh air, cunning witch that you are.”
“You’d be surprised at the air quality in there. I’ve had the windows open and cleaned up a bit.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did.”
Andrew glanced over his shoulder to Kage and Jason’s place. Back at me, eyes narrowed. “What is this?”
“I happened to meet Jason last night when I got in and stayed with them. Also, I happen to not be able to relax and clear my mind in a space like that so I tidied up. That’s it. No domestic bliss. Nothing weird—like anything that is currently going through your head.”
“And they let you?”
“Kage did. I asked first. Although I think it was still a shock, for Jason in particular. He tried to be polite. Hopefully they’ll get used to it.”
“You can’t keep staying with them. Come to our parents’—”
“I have an offer already. Thank you. I’m going to stay with Atarah.”
“Come again?”
“Atarah has a beautiful guest room and invited me to stay. My bag should be delivered to your hotel I hope tomorrow. Unless you already had word about it? If you can get that for me, I’ll be myself again and move in with her while I’m here working with you all.”
“You’re serious.”
“Of course I’m serious.”
“Blimey. It’s like going to London on holiday and bumping into the Queen in front of Buckingham Palace and her saying, ‘Oh, darling, don’t stay another night in that wretched hotel. I have plenty of room.’ That’s not just staying with anyone around here.”
“Oh. I suppose. Anyway, she was kind about it and I’m looking forward to it. But, as I said, I might not go over until tomorrow. We need a visit to London tonight. Can you come to meet us at the barn at seven? We’re all getting together to sort out this finding vampires issue.”
“All right.” He was still looking at me funny, but nodded and glanced around again to Kage and Jason’s place.
I laughed. “Go look. Don’t take my word for it. I have to speak to Isaac and ask him to join us. Then I’ll see you later?”
He nodded.
For a minute we just looked at each other.
For too long. While I thought about his amber eyes behind the contacts and his face like Adonis and his nearness and the sunlight in his hair that was thick and beautiful as the face. And about our parting and Andrew walking away, saying he didn’t do goodbyes. And what Zar had said about him taking off, no one able to find him. Plus his past. That he’d once chosen a mate and she’d been murdered many months ago and I knew nothing else about that side of Andrew.
“Care for a trade?” he asked quietly.
“A secret?” I asked. “Something about yourself this time.”
“What do you want to know?”
“You choose. Something personal. Since I told you something personal before.” I’d told him a few days ago when we’d parted that I was scared because I was in love with multiple people at once.
Andrew stepped closer and looked into my eyes for more heartbeats. He pulled his hands from his pockets to brush my arms, stroking my hands, fingertips skating over my skin and making me shiver.
At last, he admitted his secret in a whisper. “I missed you.”
I kissed him, leaning in. Andrew met me, turning his face into mine, holding my mouth with his, his hands still on my arms. The three bears of kisses—not too hard, not too soft, not too long, not too short. Just right. Like we’d been doing this forever. Like we knew what we wanted together. Like we fit.
We stepped back, also instinctive.
“See you soon,” Andrew said. He walked away, heading to see the big clean up.
I also started on toward Isaac’s, but hadn’t gone two steps when I turned. “Andrew? My phone, please.”
Andrew stopped. That sleek smile curved the sides of his mouth to sharp points. The Grinch smile in his elf face.
He tossed my phone and I caught it.
We both went on, myself returning the phone to my pocket where it was supposed to be.
As I approached Isaac’s door, I felt unaccountably nervous. Not of him. One of those first date, prom night, butterfly stomach, breathless, unfathomable nervous states that come on in a flood.
I knocked, guilty that I hadn’t been here first, that I hadn’t told Darius in fur in the rain that I was going to this door. That I hadn’t insisted even to Jason I was going here. Isaac had been with me at the waterfall, in my vision, my symbol of love. And he was the last I was coming to see. True, he’d been away all day. But I could even have called.
When the door opened, I was ready to apologize, worried for what he’d think of me. Unsure if he even knew I was back in the pack.
Then there he was. In his work clothes with a button-down, khakis, nice shoes. The smell of his dinner wafted out and I wondered if I’d come at a bad time. Yet it didn’t really register.
He was so handsome I could hardly believe him there. Even after Andrew, because Isaac was a whole other look. Big and tall and powerful, pale, unlike the others—a dirty blond with a short beard—neat and polished in both dress and manners. Vivid green eyes like emeralds. The greenest eyes I’d ever seen aside from a cat.
He stared at me as he opened the door and still I did not know—had he been aware I was here, or not?
“Isaac—?”
He embraced me—didn’t say a word.
I slid my fingers into the short hair at the back of his head, pulling him even closer, muscles tight, as if clinging to the edge of a cliff. I shut my eyes on tears, heart pounding, not with nerves, but the violence of my own feelings.
So many things I wanted to say to him. Yet we just hel
d on in silence—and said everything we needed to.
Chapter 14
We met in the field at 7:00 p.m. Not a good time: after dinner, others out, pups all over the place before bed, yearlings hanging about, slightly older wolves joining up with musical instruments.
Not that these people interfered. Rather, I felt sure we interfered with them. Many uncertain looks from a distance, shying off from us—sitting roughly around the empty fire pit—they murmured together about my being back here. Those who had been happy to see me go.
I kept things short, outlining Kage’s plan as if it were my own in order to keep the peace and everyone to agree it was a good one.
We talked about Dieter, my scry, then grew distracted when Isaac and Andrew wanted to know about the kindred sighting.
“All right,” I said at last. “Leave here at … eleven? A little before? How about we meet at the bikes at half past ten?”
They nodded, aside from Jed—who’d taken almost no part in the discussion.
I hadn’t thought Jed would care about missing out. In fact, I’d presented this part as an added bonus that he didn’t have to revisit London.
Jed had merely given me a blank stare, then said being on lockdown meant he wasn’t to change. Not that he couldn’t leave under the right circumstances.
Mostly, though, Jed was typically laconic. The last time I’d been with them around this spot had been at night and Isaac had kicked Jed in the face for something he’d said. So I knew well it was best for Jed not to say anything.
I waited for the others to move on so I could speak with him alone. Taking some doing since they mostly seemed to expect to personally escort me back and I had to again tell Kage and Isaac I would see them later. Zar in particular wouldn’t take a hint and I finally told him I wanted a word with his brother.
Zar appeared wounded: glancing disbelievingly between us, then slinking through the field in evening sunlight, looking back several times. I hated to hurt his feelings but Zar happened to be especially susceptible to this condition. Double water sign. I had trouble wrapping my mind around that. Extra confusing was the fact that the two brothers shared a sun sign, yet were less alike than a meadow lark and a great horned owl.
Once I had Jed alone, I tried to explain.
“I thought you’d be happy to skip London. We wanted to keep it down to three bikes for simplicity and parking and managing the city. I promise you, I wasn’t trying to close you out. Since I’d assumed you wouldn’t want to come anyway, and that it could be a problem with your lockdown and needing a silver to vouch for you, it just made sense. Do you really want to come along that much?”
Jed sat on one of the chopping log type seats they had out here around the fire, watching a beetle scuttle across the back of his hand. He shrugged.
“Jed? Do you want to go? It’s only one more bike. If you do I could talk to—”
“Of course I don’t want to go to bloody London,” he said in a disgusted growl at his beetle. “That place is sharp ice.”
“That’s … what I thought. But you’re upset about not going?”
No answer.
“Because you want to be part of the group?”
“To hunt alongside those bastards?” With a snort.
I started to tell him if he wanted to come to meet us later. Or don’t. But I’d had some experience with Jed. Instead, I took a seat across the broken circle from him and leaned forward with my arms on my knees.
“Sorry you’re angry about the plan,” I said after a while. “This is not a dictatorship. I’m only trying to work with you all, and the time, and what we have to do as efficiently as possible. I’d like to know what you think about it. If you have other ideas…?”
Then I waited. And waited… Sun getting lower, sounds of shrieking pups and stringed instruments. A guardian in fur trotted past on the edge of the field, giving a sniff in our direction before going on.
“I don’t want to go to London,” Jed said under his breath.
“What do you want?”
He finally met my eyes. “You to stay and send them.”
“What?”
“We swore to protect you, and what do we do? Take you all over three countries looking for murderers, vampires, breaking in, pinching ancient artifacts, you going underground in London after undead? What the hell? What kind of Moon-cursed, rubbish thinking is that? That’s not looking after you. That’s not putting your life above ours. It’s sterk. The most senior officers, just like top silvers, stay at the back. They don’t lead cavalry charges and hunts. Because we can be replaced. All the other ranks, all the hunters, all the worm servants and crafters, are replaceable. You’re not.”
He kicked a stone into the long grass and glared after it. “No, I don’t want to go to kir London again. Ever. But everyone else acting like this is such a first rate idea—let’s take the witch and be one guard short and it all makes perfect sense—that’s just asinine. It’s bloody irresponsible.”
Sometimes, the strangest thing about Jed wasn’t that he bit people, or wanted to live all his life in fur, or generally seemed to hate his own pack. It was that he carried around all these things yet remained alarmingly sensible. Of course, he was overreacting. Even so…
“You make excellent points,” I said. “But I’m not top. Your silvers are. And they’re staying here where they’re indispensable, just like you said. That’s one of the reasons my being here is a help. I’m sure Atarah knows much more about most of the sorts of things we’re dealing with than I do, and would be a better choice to guide this investigation. But the pack is in danger and her place is here; people are scared.”
I paused, watching him while he didn’t look at me. “I’m an outsider. I can go out and do this stuff. And, no offense, but you need me out there. I couldn’t do everything I’ve been doing if I stayed here at home and only scried and gave directions. I could look for faces and maybe find a translator. But I couldn’t deal with Dieter. I couldn’t open locks. I couldn’t act in the moment to help and maybe learn something new. This team, this pack, needs leadership and you won’t follow each other. You would follow someone like Atarah but she can’t do it. I can. I’m glad you’re all out with me and we’re in this together. But we’re helping each other. I’m not helpless and in need of your constant shielding. Any more than you are of my shielding. Together, one witch, six wolves, with guidance and aid at home from your elders, the real senior officers, we can solve this.”
I stopped again and sighed. “It would be easier tonight with just three bikes. I’ve already dealt with these vampires twice and no one made so much as a move for us. I’ll be okay. But if you’d like to come along and stay with me, please do. And take Zar with you. He and Andrew weren’t keen on sharing.”
Jed didn’t answer.
“Jed?”
“Even if nothing’s going for you at all, even if there were no vampires, we’re supposed to be a pack.” Glaring into the long, golden grass.
Hadn’t he just said he didn’t want to hunt with those bastards?
“That’s certainly a fair point also. Why don’t you come? We’ll stick together.”
“Until it suits you to leave again.”
“I’ll have to leave again. It’s not about ‘suiting’ me. But that’s in the future.”
Nothing.
I waited a long time. More musicians in the field for the evening and I knew they wanted this spot.
At last, I stood. “Sorry, Jed. I hope you’ll come meet us later like the rest. I could clear it with Atarah for you to leave on your lockdown. They won’t mind.”
He ignored me—wouldn’t even look at me.
I almost reached to press his shoulder. Instead, I walked slowly back to the fence. By the time I climbed this and looked back, Jed was gone.
Chapter 15
Thinking of going to Isaac’s but afraid to let myself, I returned to Kage and Jason’s place. Perfect time to get in a lesson for Kage. Although I still had a feeling h
e didn’t want me bringing that up in front of anyone. Did Jason know he wanted to learn magic?
A chance to make notes and finish cleaning then—if they didn’t mind.
I gave the door a quick tap before opening. It felt as weird to knock as to barge in.
An instant later I was bewildered by a thump, a quick dart and scurry, and just caught sight of a very small person dashing around the bedroom doorway. A pictorial book on motorcycles that I had put away earlier lay on the floor by the shelves. a string cheese wrapper beside it. The place was silent.
“Kage…? Jason?”
Nothing.
A pull cord from raised blinds waved in a gentle evening breeze. The nearly setting sun blazed through the west-facing kitchen window.
“Hello?”
I might have tried a variety of moves with a child at home. I might have been a troll coming home to my lair and finding things disturbed. Might have been talking to myself, unable to believe I’d forgotten that I’d been reading about motorcycles earlier. Or might have gone about my business without any idea something was amiss.
But I wasn’t at home. This wasn’t a child.
Leaving the door open, I walked quietly to the bedroom. No sign of life.
“Hi?” I sat down against the wardrobe at the foot of the bed. “Are you looking for Kage and Jason? So am I. Maybe we can wait together? Would that be all right?”
Something shifted around the far side of the bed.
“Or maybe you’d rather wait for them with a … what? What would be the best thing to sit and wait with? A … helicopter? No, too big and noisy. A … pony? No, ponies have no patience. What about a … grasshopper? No, it would hop away.”
A little, dusty face poked around the side of the bed, a foot off the ground.
I went on gazing into space. “Maybe a book would be nice? We could read while we wait, couldn’t we? With a good book you can go anywhere, do anything. There’s nothing else like it. Or … a game, maybe? It would be nice to wait with a game to play.”
He crept out more on his hands and knees, then sat back on his heels. Maybe four years old, or a scrawny five. In dusty cutoffs and little blue T-shirt. A mop of black hair jutted in all directions like he’d stuck his finger in a socket. His dark eyes were wide.
Moonlight Heart: A Reverse Harem Shifter Romance (The Witch and the Wolf Pack Book 4) Page 9
