“Right.” He nodded once more at me before limping toward the infirmary.I watched him go. I sent a message to Dom to either keep an eye on him on his way or have another Warg go with him.I turned to Lance, who was now within a few paces of me. I hadn’t even heard the kid move. Dammit, he is good.I kept my thoughts from showing on my face, but the slight smirk on Lance’s lips irked me. Cocky bastard.“We haven’t met,” I said. “I’m Night Shepherd.”“I know who you are,” he replied. “Just like you know who I am.” He slipped his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. “I watched your fight with Troy. It wasn’t what I’d expect from an alpha like you.”Another twinge of annoyance went through me, even though I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me. I ought to be unbothered, but everything about this kid set me on edge, and I wasn’t sure why. He just screamed “threat” to me.“You ought to know that wasn’t a fair fight,” I replied. “I won’t let another wolf have any advantage over me
“Sure, sure,” I said. “I think I’m going to find Bryn.” The fact that Lance had brought her up made me want to see her again. My need to make sure she was safe overpowered anything else.Chapter 20BrynTavi accompanied me to the garden. I’d reached out to her telepathically, asking if she’d like a change of pace, and she agreed.We entered the gardens, the scent on the air shifting from clear and pine-scented to the comforting aromas of moist soil and fresh vegetation. I’d heard that the crops had withered during the short span of Troy’s reign, and as familiar as the garden looked, I saw that things were different.In my memory, I saw lush fields filled with rich life, with bees and butterflies flitting from flower to flower. The growing plants looked healthy, but the fields weren’t as plentiful. Harvesting of the vegetables would account for some but not all of that loss. It hurt my heart to see how Troy’s evil had hurt the health of the land.“Wow,” Tavi said. “This is pretty amazi
Tavi nodded.“How do you think I did as alpha?” I asked.“Well, when you consider what you had to work with—a pack where almost every wolf was against you and only a month to get anything done—I think you did well. I mean, I think what you got done was a net positive for the Kings, whether anyone wants to acknowledge it or not.”I smiled. “Thanks, Tavi. What about you? How will you look back on being a beta?”She chuckled. “Well, it’s been an interesting experience, to say the least. I never thought I could do this, even before all that stuff with Troy. My goal was just to stay by your side and be there when you needed me. I think I can say I more or less keep you out of trouble, huh?”I laughed. “You know, you’re right. As far as I’m concerned, you pass with flying colors, Tavi. And I’m glad you won’t be obligated to read through all those boring documents once we’re through. Unless you want to.”It occurred to me that without her job, Tavi might revert to the way she was just after
I embraced her as hard as I could. “You’re welcome, Tavi. I hope this proves that I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you. You’re my sister now and forever.”She chuckled. “Of course.” And then she added telepathically, “We’re sisters for life.”I could have held onto her for hours, but she pulled away, and we said our goodbyes. I went to the kitchen to make tea and toast, and then curled up on the couch because I didn’t feel like walking upstairs again. After finishing my tea and snack, I napped for a couple of hours.A knock on the door woke me. I yawned, stretching my arms over my head before getting up.It was Violet. When I opened the door, she gave me a warm hug. “Hello, sweetheart,” she said. “How are you?”“Hi, Violet,” I hugged her back. “I’m doing okay today, though I’m a little tired.”“Ah, I remember those days.” She gave an empathetic smile. “Is my son around?”“Not right now, but he’ll probably be home soon. Did you need something from him?”“Not really. I wanted to
“Night told me you didn’t have an easy time when you were pregnant with him,” I said. “Was this soup something you ate a lot back then?”“Oh, yes. That boy was an even bigger pain back then, and he wasn’t even born yet.” She chuckled to herself. “Those were some of the hardest months of my life, and this soup was pretty much the only thing I ate besides bananas, peanut butter, and pickles.”“I see.” I made mental notes as she cooked the soup. When it was bubbling on the stove, she had me taste it. I found the broth rich and filling, with the peanut butter adding an interesting complexity to the flavor.She fixed us each a bowl, and we ate at the table. The cabin felt warm and happy and full of potential. While Violet entertained me with stories of Night’s childhood, I thought again about the ritual and my baby. I was so close to learning more about my birth parents, and I couldn’t wait.Chapter 21NightI caught the savory scent of dinner even before stepping into the cabin. As delici
Instead of responding to that, I asked, “What did you mean when you said you were getting things ready for tonight?”“I’m sure Bryn will tell you. It’s not anything you didn’t already know.” She patted my cheek. “See you then, son.”I closed the door behind her and returned to Bryn. “What are you and Mom doing tonight?”She smiled brightly at me. “There’s a ritual that will help me learn more about my birth mother. We’re doing it tonight!”Her smile was so sweet that it took me a few seconds to comprehend what she’d just told me. “Wait, you’re doing that tonight?”She nodded. “Isn’t that awesome?” But her smile slowly disappeared when she saw me frowning. “You don’t seem happy.”“Mom told me about that ritual. She said she needed to make sure it would be safe.”“Well, I guess she made sure it was safe. She wouldn’t have suggested it to me otherwise, would she?”She was right, but frustration swarmed my chest. “How could you make that decision without talking to me about it first?”Whe
“Elder Sage is right,” Mom said. “Bryn, step into the circle when you’re ready.”“Right.” Bryn started walking toward it, but I pulled her back.“Just a minute,” I said. Elder Sage seemed displeased but didn’t say anything as I pulled Bryn aside.“Are you nervous?” she asked.“Aren’t you?” I pushed her hair behind her ear and bent so I could talk to her at eye level. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?”She kissed the corner of my mouth, then looked up at me with love blazing in her eyes. “I haven’t been this sure about something since the first time we made love,” she whispered.The kiss, followed by the memory of that first night, seared through me. Yet, it still seemed so unsafe. “Everything in me is screaming at me not to let you go in that circle,” I told her.“I know you want to protect us,” she said, her hand on her belly. “But Night, you can’t protect me from this. This will answer so many of my questions about who I am. I need to do this.”I let out a long breath. I
My hands rubbed my stomach in slow circles. I didn’t have control over this body, so my mother was moving on her own. It was almost like she knew I was here somehow and was trying to show me as much as she could.Suddenly, the sound of footsteps running toward me permeated my mind. A little boy, maybe six or seven years old, sprint my way. One hand stayed on my belly as the boy got close. I hadn’t expected to hear my mother’s voice, but I felt her mouth open. I would have felt a shiver of anticipation had I been able to shiver.“My, you’re in a hurry, aren’t you?” she said as a smile spread across my face. She had a slow, smooth voice, like a fresh honeycomb pulled from the hive. It was easy to listen to, which made me wonder if she had been a good singer.The boy nodded. He couldn’t immediately answer her because he was still panting from his sprint. His black hair was an adorable mess. She chuckled and tried to pat the unruly locks into a more presentable style, but it didn’t work.