by Maddy Barone
Yes! She remembered how odd it was that in spite of her fear, she had fallen asleep. She ripped her hand free of his hold, fear and suspicion swirling inside. “Never do that to me again!”
He took a hesitant step toward her, but stopped when she retreated. “I won’t. I promise.”
She continued to back up until she was at the gate. Red Wing shifted narrowed eyes from her to Kit, and then to Colby and Howling Wolf, who came up to the gate with expressionless faces. She managed a smile at her uncle. “We’re back,” she said cheerfully, and unnecessarily. “Let me in, please. I need to get into the kitchen to help with dishes.”
Kit took a quick step forward. “When can I see you again, Olivia?”
The pleading on his face softened the wild emotions churning inside her. Her immediate refusal died. “Tomorrow night at 8:30. Unless Uncle Hawk says no. Come here tomorrow night.”
The relief on his face almost made her smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chapter Twelve
The following evening, while Olivia was drying the last of the restaurant dishes, the back door opened with a bang, sending a burst of icy air swirling through the warm kitchen. Looking over her shoulder, Olivia saw Colby come in. He wore the same angry expression that he had since yesterday when he figured out Kit had used magic to make him surrender. She didn’t blame him for being unhappy about it. The idea of being coerced into behavior without her knowledge, much less consent, sent ice pellets sliding down her spine. Still, Cole didn’t need to look like a buffalo bull with a thorn in his hoof forever. She scowled at her cousin until she saw Uncle Stone follow him in and close the door gently. She quickly dried her hands on a towel and rushed over to give Stone a hug.
“Uncle Stone!” she said, pressing her face into his shoulder. The flannel shirt he wore in deference to winter was cold against her cheek. “When did you get here? Where’s Aunt Sara?”
He gave her a loud kiss on the cheek and held her away to look at her. She looked back, not seeing any changes from the last time she’d seen him two years ago. His long black hair hadn’t a single gray thread and his handsome face was still unlined and boyish, in spite of his forty years of life.
“Sara is at the den,” he said easily, releasing her shoulders. “With the kids.” He cast a look over her shoulder, probably at Colby, before focusing on her again. “I hear you have a new beau.”
“Yes.” Olivia checked the clock. Kit would be here in half an hour. She had thirty minutes to decide whether or not to allow him to continue to court her. She needed to be sure of his feelings and intentions. Relief loosened her shoulders. Kit couldn’t lie to Uncle Stone. “Will you talk to him?”
“That’s why I’m here.” The faintest edge of grimness entered his voice. “Do you have doubts about him?”
“No.”
Except he had the power to make people to do what they normally wouldn’t. Yesterday, she had wondered if she were falling in love with him. Were those her own feelings, or something he magically manufactured in her?
“Well, yes,” she amended.
But he was sweet and had promised to never do that to her again. But her male relatives detested him. “Maybe?”
The door to the restaurant opened. Aunt Connie came in. “I thought I heard voices back here.” She glanced from the three of them by the back door to the sinks where the last two large saucepans were sitting in the drying rack. “Where’s Victoria and Kendra? They are on kitchen duty tonight, too.”
“They’re done, Aunt Connie. I only have those two pans to dry and put away, and then sweep and mop the floor.”
Aunt Connie’s silvered blonde hair glinted as she nodded. “Okay. Your young man will be here soon. Better hurry up.”
Olivia gave Uncle Stone one more beseeching look.
He smiled. “Go on. I’ll be here to meet your young man.”
“Fine,” said Connie. “Come into the family room. Des, Hawk, and Red Wing are waiting to talk to you. I’ll get you some coffee. Colby, you give Olivia a hand finishing up in here.”
After the door closed behind Connie and Stone, she and Colby stared at each other in unspoken challenge. He, with his Alpha nature, was better at it. After a minute, she took her fists from her hips to throw them up in the air. “What?” she demanded.
“You can’t seriously be considering accepting that cat.”
“Why not?”
Colby closed the space between them. “Because he thinks nothing of using mind control to force things to go his way.”
To hide her inner wince, she whirled around to grab the pans on the drying rack. They clanged when she shoved them into the cabinet. “Do you want to sweep, or mop?”
“You have nothing to say about the mind control?” From the grim satisfaction in his voice, Olivia assumed he thought he’d won the argument. “I’ll mop,” he said.
He dipped out a bucket of the still warm dishwashing water, retrieved the mop from the closet, and followed behind her where she swept. He hadn’t won the argument. Olivia used the long broom carefully so she wouldn’t kick up dust, and thought about Kit’s talent. It scared her. Maybe this was how regular human people felt about the wolf warriors? It was strange, and could be dangerous. But her family didn’t attack for no reason. So wasn’t it likely Kit wouldn’t use his ability for no reason?
She would ask him tonight. And with Uncle Stone there, she would know if Kit was telling the truth or not.
*
Kit stood outside the gate to the Plane Women’s Eatery. Big, lazy snowflakes filled the air and collected on his hair and shoulders while the guards moved slowly to open the gate for him. They had never been friendly, but tonight they bristled at him. Literally. One was in wolf form, his hackles raised and his teeth showing. Kit knew from her reaction yesterday that he had somehow offended Olivia. He just didn’t know how. She had almost refused to see him again. Her face had said so. His offense obviously annoyed her entire family.
He nodded to the guards as they let him pass. Olivia’s uncle Hawk was at the front door to let him in. The Alpha, Des, stood in back of the entry, arms folded, brows pulled down. He was another of Olivia’s uncles. Justin and his mate had taught him about human family relationships. An uncle was the brother of a person’s parent. So Des and Hawk were the brothers of either Olivia’s father, or her mother.
He followed Des down a corridor to a different room than before, this one smaller. There were three couches pushed against three of the walls, with small tables and chairs scattered about. Just about every seat was taken. Most of the people in the room were men, but he also saw five women. A quick glance around showed him Olivia wasn’t there. Fear gripped its icy fingers around his heart. What had he done to offend her so badly that she wouldn’t see him?
The sound of his mate’s voice melted the fingers’ clutch and he turned back to the doorway. She came in with her cousin Colby behind her, and a man he didn’t know beside her.
“Kit,” she said, smiling. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you came in.”
“That’s okay.” He felt the relief leap inside him. She smiled at him! Maybe she wasn’t angry anymore. “I just got here a minute ago. How are you?”
She walked to a small square table and beckoned him over. “Sit down, Kit,” she said. “Meet my uncle Stone.”
Kit shook the other man’s hand. He wasn’t young, but neither was he old. He wore his hair the way many of Olivia’s kinsmen did, in two long black braids. His eyes were light brown instead of inky black, but they held a watchful expression as he accepted Kit’s hand and gave it a vigorous pump. They sat down at the table. Kit wished Colby would’ve chosen somewhere else to sit. His eyes were not only watchful, but anger smoldered there as well. Was that just Colby’s usual dislike, or was it related to whatever Kit had done to offend Olivia?
He sat opposite her at the small table and smiled at her beautiful face. There was something there, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Excitement? It wasn’t that cautious, alm
ost fearful, look she had given him on the sidewalk yesterday. Stone sat at her right hand and Colby sat on her left. A quick glance around the room showed him that most of the people there weren’t staring this way. Some were playing cards and others were working on some sort of handwork. Talk was quiet and the tone was casual. Nonetheless, but he could almost taste suspicion and anger on the air. Kit was sure they were straining their ears to hear everything he and Olivia would say. They were all related to Olivia in some way. Her family was large, larger than he thought was normal for humans. But they were wolves, so perhaps their women birthed big litters. Maria, Tricia, and Juanita sometimes had twins, but not more than that.
“How many uncles do you have?” he asked her.
She counted on her fingers. “Well, there’s Taye, and Shadow, and Des. Hawk, Red Wing, Quill, Sand, Snow, Sky, and Stag. Oh, and Snake, Paint, Raven, Lobo, Standing Bear, White Horse, and Matt, but Matt’s more like a cousin, I guess.” She screwed up her face and looked at Colby. “Who am I forgetting?”
“Never mind,” growled Colby.
“Are they all your father’s brothers? Or are some of them your mother’s brothers?”
“Oh.” She laughed a little. “My mother doesn’t have any brothers or sisters here, and my dad just has one sister with the Clan. Uncle Stone and the others are related to my dad, but they are really cousins. Since they’re older, we call them Uncle.”
“Never mind that,” said Colby impatiently, looking from her to the uncle. “Get on with it.”
Stone leaned forward, catching Kit’s attention. “Do you love Olivia?”
Another protective male relative. Kit didn’t mind answering that question. There was nothing he enjoyed saying more and he would say it as many times as he needed to. “Yes, I love her.”
Stone looked over at Olivia and gave a brief nod. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “What would you do to keep her safe? If the only way to save her life was for you to die, would you do it?”
He felt no hesitation. “Yes. I would do anything to keep Olivia safe.”
The other man lifted one eyebrow and gave another subtle nod to Olivia. Her face lit with a smile so beautiful Kit caught his breath. Every time he saw her she was lovelier and more precious to him. If he could see her smile at him like that every day he would be the luckiest man in the world. A faint sniff sounded from one of the couches against the far wall. Kit sent a quick look in that direction and saw the woman named Marissa raise a finger to swipe a tear away. Alarmed, he glanced quickly at the woman’s mate. Making a woman cry couldn’t be good. Her mate would want to punish Kit now. But the man, Red Wing, didn’t look angry at all. He wore a tender smile as he slipped an arm around his mate’s shoulders.
“How about happy?” Stone tapped a finger on the table to bring Kit’s attention back. “What would you do to make her happy?”
“Anything. I want her to be happy as much as I want her safe.”
Colby slouched in his chair with a scowl. “Yeah?” The younger man sneered. “Would you brainwash her to make her think she was happy even if she wasn’t?”
There was dead silence in the room. Kit shifted in his chair when he felt everyone staring at him. “Brainwash? What is that?”
Colby jerked upright, his chair scraping on the floor. The anger that had been smoldering at the back of his eyes was now a fiery blaze. “Like you don’t know.” Breath whistled between his clenched teeth. “You’ll stare deep into her eyes and tell her she’s happy and she’ll believe you because your magic will force her to.”
No one had touched him, but Kit felt like Colby had just sucker punched him. “I would never, never do that to her.”
Both Colby and Olivia looked at her uncle.
“Truth,” he said.
Colby sneered again. “But you could if you wanted to.”
A tiny spark of anger pricked Kit. “No, I couldn’t. I can’t make people change their emotions. I can’t make people love me, or think they’re happy.”
“You can force people to do other things, things they don’t want to,” Colby accused bitterly. “Like surrender.”
Oh. The reason for the anger and suspicion became suddenly clear. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.” He looked at Olivia pleadingly. “I told you I wouldn’t do it again. I promise, I never will.”
Again, all eyes went to Stone. “Truth,” he said.
“Oh, Kit,” Olivia said softly. She smiled at him with … Love? Was it love? “Are you sorry you stole me?”
“Yes,” he said.
Stone’s brows twitched together and he shook his head. Kit stared at him. How did he know? He pronounced true or false, and all of his kinsmen believed him without argument. Was he never wrong? Maybe not. He wasn’t wrong now.
“I am sorry!” Kit burst out. “I’m sorry that I did it all wrong and you were afraid of me. I’m sorry that I scared you.”
“I wasn’t scared of you,” she said defensively.
Her uncle looked at her. “Lie,” he whispered.
Color rose in her face. “Only a little at first.”
“That’s what I’m sorry for,” Kit said.
“But not for stealing me?”
Even though the entire room was listening intently, and with varying degrees of anger, he answered honestly. “No, I’m not sorry for that. I’m glad I had the time with you.” He almost mentioned his pleasure in feeling her mostly bare body pressed to his when they slept, but a glance at her uncles, Des and Hawk, made him swallow the words. Colby was rigid with temper, but the young wolf didn’t concern him as much as the elders. “I’m sorry because I didn’t listen to you. You told me I had to take you home. If I had listened to you, I could have begun courting you then.”
Colby snorted. “We would have killed you.”
“True,” Stone said with a wicked smile. “Or probably true, anyway.”
The low rumble of chuckles from around the room sounded dark and threatening.
“No, I wouldn’t have let them,” Olivia said stoutly.
“What could you have done to stop us?” Colby sneered. “You’re only a girl.”
Olivia’s eyes popped wide, then narrowed, as she surged to her feet, slamming her fists on the table. “Only a girl?” she shrieked, at a pitch that made Kit’s sensitive ears quiver. “You— You idiot!”
Stone reached out and patted one of her fists. “Calm down,” he said mildly. And to Colby, in the same mild voice, he said, “Have you found your mate yet?”
Colby’s nostrils flared in his reddened face. “No,” he growled.
“That’s a good thing.”
Kit watched while Colby’s jaw worked. “Why?” he ground out after a long, tense silence.
“Because now we’ll have time to whip you into shape for her.”
Colby’s face got redder. “Sit down,” he growled at Olivia.
Kit noticed several of the men looking at Colby with varying shades of displeasure and disappointment. The women looked nearly as outraged as Olivia. Olivia did sit down, still glaring at her cousin.
“What are you talking about?” Colby demanded of his uncle. “Whip me into shape?”
“I think you know.” Stone leaned back in his chair, still mild and conversational. “You didn’t learn that attitude from your father. You’ve known from the cradle the way a man should treat a woman.”
“I know how you treated Aunt Sara at first.” As soon as the words were out, Colby twitched as if controlling a cringe. “Sorry.”
Stone nodded. “I’m older and wiser now, and I gained that wisdom the hard way. We need to talk soon, but right now we’re talking to Kit and Olivia. Olivia, do you have any more questions for Kit?”
She turned her shoulder on her cousin and looked at Kit. “Are you really willing to live where ever I want?”
He paused, sure that Stone would know if he were lying. “Almost anywhere. A big city would be hard for me.”
“I mean, if I wanted to live close to my parents that
would be okay?”
“Yes. Olivia, living close to your family would be fine.” He watched her as she swallowed and looked away. “What is it? Is there something bothering you? You can ask me anything.”
She stared intently into his eyes, before looking down at her fingers twisting together. “There’s only one more thing.” She swallowed and drew a long breath. “What would happen if you decide someday that you don’t love me anymore?”
His jaw dropped. He looked at Stone and then at Colby. The younger man looked smug. Kit snapped his gaze back to Olivia. “I won’t,” he said simply. It was a vow he meant with all his heart.
Olivia shrugged, still looking down at her hands. “It could happen. People fall out of love all the time. And cats aren’t like wolves, are they? Wolves find only one mate, but cats are fickle.”
The smugness deepened on Colby’s face, and Kit knew where Olivia had gotten the idea that cats couldn’t be faithful. “The men in my pride don’t find mates very often, but when we do, we are true to her until death.”
He looked at Stone, who nodded. “Truth,” the other man said clearly.
Olivia looked almost miserable, but she persisted. “I saw what your pride is like when I was with you in those caves. All the men sleep with the women, don’t they?”
“They don’t have mates.” He wanted her to understand. “It’s not like that between mates. I have a mate. You are the only one I’ll sleep with.”
“Until you get tired of her,” Colby put in with a sneer. “Okay, fine, maybe you won’t sleep around,” he admitted with a glance at his uncle. “But that doesn’t mean you will be happy.”
“Shut up, Cole,” Olivia snapped.
Kit imagined punching Colby. “I’ve seen among humans how unhappy some of them are with their mates. Most of the time, it’s their own fault. They don’t even try to talk together to make it better. Well, maybe they talk,” he corrected himself, “but they don’t listen.”
Olivia tilted her head, showing she was listening.
“I don’t think husbands understand what their women are feeling. Humans aren’t good at sensing those things, I guess, but it seems like they don’t care. Sometimes it seems like the women aren’t saying the right things to make their men understand. Sometimes the men don’t try to understand.” He wanted to reach across the table to take her hand, but he didn’t dare. “We won’t be like that. When you talk, I’ll listen. If I don’t understand what you mean, I’ll ask you to explain more. And you’ll listen to what I say, and if I’m not clear you can tell me I need to try again. Then we won’t fall out of love.”
