by Terry Spear
Simon took hold of Ena's arm in a comforting way. "Our women get that way when they are having little ones. I fully understand." Though it had taken him a while to realize that was the issue and the healer had confirmed that could be the reason.
"Thank you. And if you don't need Letta around and think she's safe to be with us and she still wants to come live with us, we'd be happy to take her in."
He bowed his head to Ena, and then he left the castle, then fae traveled home. He wouldn't wish Letta on any other fae, if she was as warlike as her predecessors. Not when she was now a wolf too. He wondered if they didn't have an immunity to the wolf shifter's bite then because they were such an ancient race.
He was rethinking the notion of letting her roam freely. They might have her collared so she couldn't leave, but she could still use her magic to hurt his people. That worried him where Myla was concerned. Yet, the two of them seemed to enjoy each other's company. He probably had nothing to worry about with regard to Myla and her. Still, what if Letta just…snapped?
When he finally reached his and Myla's cottage, he smelled Gia's scent. Now she could be real trouble, and he hadn't even considered how much so with so much else up in the air. He knew she was interested in him, trying to capture his attention, trying to help out when he didn't need her help. She probably had learned he was guarding Letta last night and didn't like it.
He opened the door to the cottage and all the women turned to look at him. "Gia?"
She smiled brightly at him. She was a pretty brunette and she was a good fighter, but he just didn't feel any attraction to her.
"I need to speak with my sister and Letta in private."
Gia's face fell. She sliced a glower at Letta, which concerned him. Then she managed a small smile for Simon, inclined her head, and hurried out of the cottage.
Simon shut the door and Myla looked concerned that he didn't have good news. Which he didn't. "Letta is a scorpion fae."
Myla turned her head sharply to look at Letta.
Letta stood and appeared resigned to her fate. "Did you want to take me back to the cage or release me so I can find another place to live?"
Simon frowned at her. "Are you going to cause us trouble?"
"Why would I do that?" she asked Simon, sounding annoyed.
"The scorpion fae destroyed their own kind."
"Many did. I wasn't raised by those who had killed the others. I give you my word I don't plan to take over your wolf pack or kill any of your people, unless it's in my own self-defense."
He couldn’t believe she was now saying she was willing to stay with them. "You've had a change of heart about staying with us?" He suspected she thought he'd remove her collar if he believed she wouldn't run away.
"I was born a healer. That's my inherent talent." She didn't answer him about staying with them.
"And the magic you used to repel the brown wolf?"
"A defensive mechanism."
"That you could use in an offensive manner," Simon said.
"I could, but I don't. I have no reason to. Not unless I'm attacked. And then it would only be to protect myself. None of our kind are supposed to tell others what we truly are. We made up the woodland fae name to disguise the fact that we are the offspring of the scorpion fae. But the fae who fought each other died. I don't know why our king told Princess Alicia and the others who we were. Maybe as a warning, because he knows that much fighting continues to go on between the fae kingdoms. In any event, none of the rest of us have ever been involved in a war. Once we're of mating age, we have to seek our way in the world. That's all," Letta said. "I know you don't trust me, and I can only show you that you have nothing to fear from me. Hannah is another story. She showed no remorse for biting me or the others."
Simon nodded. "We will see how she reacts to Myla then. You can stay here and make yourself comfortable, Letta. Myla, come with me to see Hannah and tell me what you think about her. She seems to be shifting all right, but I don't want to release her yet if she could continue to be a problem to you or anyone else in the pack after what she did to you, Bryan, and Letta."
"Can I wander around the grounds?" Letta asked.
"You can. Just a cautionary note, your collar will tingle before it zaps you, if you get beyond a safe distance from the village. If you get even farther out from the village, it’ll knock you out."
"Good to know." Letta didn't sound like she was worried, concerning the prospect, which made him wonder what she might be up to.
She went outside with them, and then took a path away from the hut where the wolves were caged.
Simon suspected she was going to check out the layout of the village and learn the best way to escape when she had her chance. He saw Gia watching the situation and he gave her a look that told her to leave Letta alone. He was afraid she’d give the scorpion fae a hard time, and who knew where that might lead.
“What did you want to talk to me about? In private?” Myla asked Simon.
“Do you think it’s going to be safe with her here?” He watched as Letta disappeared into the woods, the village comprised of cottages located throughout the woods, not like a human village where the trees would surround the village. The wolves liked their woods.
“Letta?” his sister asked.
“Yes.”
“I think she’s going to be fine unless Gia gives her grief.”
He let out his breath in annoyance. “I don’t know why the woman can’t get the message that I’m not interested in mating her. Gia won’t become my pack leader mate. She rubs too many of our pack members the wrong way. Particularly the she-wolves. She only makes an effort with you because you're my sister and she knows I'd be all over her case if she gave you trouble.”
Myla smiled. “I really like Letta. She and I just hit it off great. Like we've been friends forever. You know how it is when you just bond right away with someone. Hannah is a different story. I’d just as soon send her on her way. Oh, and why did you fit Letta with a non-punishing collar? If you’re worried she might try to leave?”
“I didn’t want to hurt her. I just wanted to pretend she could be hurt so that she won’t try and leave.”
“If she’s doing okay with her shifting, why not let her leave?”
“She still needs to learn our ways, for her protection.”
“Nothing more?” Myla smiled at him. “We’ve been wolves since birth. I know when you’re interested in a she-wolf. Most you've shown any interest in have come and gone, but that was when you were younger, and you weren't leading the pack. This one’s different.”
“This one’s a scorpion fae.”
“Well, there is that. Maybe that’s what intrigues you about her. She’s unique. Brett was closer to her when she fainted, and yet there you were, jumping in to rescue her before she hit the floor. Everyone there who observed your actions knew, like I do, that there's something more going on between the two of you. And then you slept with her all night.”
“Guarding her.”
Myla chuckled. “Right. As if she needed a guard. And if she had, you could have assigned someone the job and he would have stayed on the outside of the cage.”
“I had to make sure she didn’t grow ill again.”
“Right. She likes you too, Simon,” Myla said.
Simon snorted. "She's looking for a way to get out of here as fast as she can."
"And whose fault is that?" Myla glanced at him as they stood in the woods near the path that would lead them to the hut housing the caged wolves.
"Your safety was what was most important."
"All right, but if you really want her to stay, and not because you believe she belongs with the pack, solely because she's a wolf and she needs to learn our ways, then let her know it. You're the pack leader. You're the one who will have the most influence over her."
"She is determined to join Ena and the dragon fae."
"She will be happy to live with her own kind, once she sees we all accept her. She has done n
othing to indicate she would be a danger to any of us."
They entered the hut where the cages were and found the men were now in their human forms.
“Did you eat?” Myla asked them.
“Yes. As soon as we left our wolf coats behind,” Mark said. “When can we leave the cages?”
“When you have complete control over your shifting,” Simon said. “Can you turn into wolves? Either of you?”
Mark shook his head. “I was just finally able to shift so I could eat like a human.”
“You’re fae now, no longer human. You’re wolf shifter fae,” Simon said. “Try and turn into a wolf for me.”
Bryan groaned. “It’s like Mark said. We finally were able to shift back to our…uhm, fae form.”
“Simon is right. The faster you get control of your shifting, the sooner you can leave the cages and you can live with someone in one of the cottages,” Myla said. “Besides, if you controlled the shift so that you could eat in your fae form, there’s hope you can do it again.”
Both Mark and Bryan wrinkled their foreheads as they concentrated, and Bryan shifted.
“Woah,” Mark said, “good going, Bryan.”
“He’s been a wolf longer than you have, Mark, so it might take a little longer for you to get the hang of it,” Simon said. “Keep trying though. And, Bryan, shift back.”
Bryan shifted back and pumped his fist in victory. “You can do it, Mark, just keep trying.”
But Mark couldn’t. Still, Bryan practiced shifting back and forth and looked thrilled to be getting used to it.
"We'll leave you here for another day so you can keep Mark company and encourage him," Simon said, "but if you can prove you're doing well with shifting, and you're not going to bite anyone—though I'll tell you right now if you do, you'll be in for a fight—we can release you. We'll have someone fix you with collars so you can leave for exercise and other business."
Then Myla looked at an obstinate Hannah sitting on her mat, watching the guys, and then Simon and Myla.
“So you’re shifting all right now,” Myla said to her.
“Yep. Fancy that.”
“And you killed fae when you were a human,” Myla said.
Hannah didn’t say anything to that.
“You could apologize for the wounds you gave Myla,” Simon said.
“What about the wounds she gave me!” Hannah said, her tone belligerent.
“It appears yours didn’t last long.”
Hannah folded her arms. “Hers are healed too.”
Simon frowned at her. “Apologize to Myla for injuring her so badly.”
Hannah chewed on her bottom lip, then said, “Sorry, Myla. But if you hadn’t attacked first, none of this would have happened.” She smiled.
Myla smiled at her, but Simon knew that look. If he agreed, Myla would keep the wolf caged up for the rest of her life. He didn't blame his sister in the least. He would leave Hannah in the cage for a little while longer too.
When Simon and his sister left the hut, he intended to locate Letta, when they saw her with one of his bachelor brothers, and Aegis looked way too interested in Letta.
"Well, you might not have to convince her to stay if another wolf, even one of our brothers, can encourage her to join us permanently," Myla said. "I'm heading home, so you can attend to whatever needs attending to, regarding leading the pack."
"I'll be back for the noon meal."
"See you then." Myla headed home and Simon stalked toward Aegis and Letta.
Letta was nodding as Aegis talked to her, animatedly motioning with his hands, smiling, definitely interested in the woman and Simon had to put a stop to it. He reasoned that Letta still could prove to be dangerous to their kind and he didn't want her to hurt any of his people. Besides, his brother had work to do.
"Aegis," Simon snapped to get his attention, frowning at his brother. "Don't you have guard duty for Alton's treasure right about now?"
"It's Myla's turn. Uh, oh, yeah. Sorry, Simon. I forgot I was taking her place until she's completely healed." Aegis smiled broadly at Letta. "I'll see you later." Then he hurried off.
Letta frowned at Simon, then walked off. He hurried to join her.
"You want me to stay with your pack, right?" Letta asked.
"Of course."
"Then I'll find a wolf to mate. When I was with the others of my kind, we weren't allowed to have boyfriends. That's one of the reasons I left."
Simon didn't think she was being serious. She just got here. He knew she was annoyed with him for interrupting her visit with Aegis.
"Or is it that you object to Aegis for some other reason?"
"My brother is a good man, but he had agreed to take Myla's guard duty. Even though she's healed well, she can't stay in the cold, damp cave or fight, if she has to, until we know she's fully recovered."
"I understand. So are you releasing Hannah soon?"
"No. I don't trust the wolf."
"That makes two of us. Though you don't even trust me."
"She's injured people. You're capable of it but haven't used your powers to hurt anyone yet, except for protecting yourself against Hannah's attack. And you didn't leave any permanent injury.”
Letta sighed. "True. Did you know Gia doesn't like me."
Simon didn't say anything. He was afraid Letta was coming up with a reason to excuse a future fight between her and Gia.
Letta glanced at Simon. "So what do I do about it?"
"What do you do about what?" Simon wondered if it was a good idea to have Letta staying with him and his sister. Yet, the reason he was doing so was to protect his people from her should she become combative.
"Gia's not liking me? If I mated another wolf, she'd know I wasn’t interested in becoming your mate."
"She knows you're not interested in me."
"That's not what she said. She's furious that you slept with me."
Simon pulled Letta to a stop, his face feeling flushed all at once. "I did not sleep with you."
"But you really did. All night long too. Not the way she thinks, maybe, but you were there with me. Anyway, I might have only just become a wolf, but I've always had good instincts where people's emotions are concerned, even if they're trying to hide them from me."
He felt his face flush again.
"I know when someone likes or dislikes me. And she very much dislikes me. When she comes to fight me, what do I do? Let her tear into me? Take the injures to prove I'm not a warrior fae at heart? Or fight her to show I won't be intimidated by the likes of her? What would two wolves of your pack do who can't come to an agreement with each other and tempers flare?"
"You keep the peace and I'll take her to task."
"Is that what wolves in your pack would do? I thought they'd deal with it on their own."
"Sometimes our males get a little aggressive over a female or for other reasons and they snarl, and growl, and bite."
"Teach me how to do this."
"What?" He frowned at her. He didn't want to teach her how to fight and hurt another wolf.
"I don't know how to take care of myself in a wolf fight. If you want me to protect myself, I'll have to learn how."
"Not by me."
"Of course not. You're the leader. Your people might think I'm trying to take over."
He gave her a smug smile. As if she could do that. "I'm a male."
"You sure are."
Simon shook his head. "You would need to fight a she-wolf. Practice fight."
"Myla?"
"When she's all healed up, I'm sure she'll love to teach you."
"I'd fight Hannah, but I wouldn't play-fight."
"Holding a bit of a grudge, are we?"
"Yeah. She had no reason to bite me."
“We’re getting too far out. Your collar will begin to let you know that you are. Let’s go back. Myla’s returned to the house if you want to visit with her further.” Simon hadn’t realized just how far away from the village they’d walked, and he didn�
�t want Letta to know her collar would do nothing but prevent her from fae travelling. Though he could give her a jolt if she tried to kill one of their wolves with the controller he had in his pouch. But for her collar to just go off when she went too far out from the village? It wouldn't happen and he didn’t want her to learn what he told her wasn’t true.
8
While Letta and Simon made their way back through the woods, she was actually rethinking leaving the Wolf Mountain territory, now that she had become a wolf shifter. Even though the wolves weren't her people, she was now more like them than her own people. Being a scorpion fae among the dragon fae wasn't the same as being a wolf shifter among them.
So why not join the wolf pack? Hopefully, she wouldn't have to kill Gia. No way was she letting Simon fight her battles for her. She figured, even if she didn't know all the nuances of fighting, she would still have some instinctive sense about it if Gia decided to attack. At least Letta hoped so.
She also thought she needed to learn how to fight male wolves, just to get in practice with a much heftier wolf. That might help her against a really aggressive female. She was certain Myla would be too gentle with Letta, worried she'd injure her.
Then Letta smiled. She could ask Simon's brother, Aegis, to play-fight with her. He might be willing.
Hannah wouldn't be her friend, she was sure. But she'd met several other wolves in the pack who had thanked her for saving Myla's life and seemed genuinely interested in welcoming her to the pack. She'd even met Simon and Myla's sister, Kirsten, and her four wolf cubs. Kirsten had warned Letta not to let Simon boss her around too much, which Letta appreciated.
She wondered about the collar and if it wasn't working. She hadn't realized she and Simon had walked so far out of the village, until they began walking back and it took them forever to begin seeing cottages in the woods again. She hadn't really been testing the collar, just wanting to really meet everyone she could and see the layout of the place.
"How are Mark and Bryan doing?" she finally asked Simon as they both had been really quiet, and she wondered what Simon had been thinking about.
