Three #3
“No,” he rushed out, clamping a heavy, clawed hand down on my shoulder. “Clearly, he’s a madman and there’s no agreement to come to with him. I truly thought we’d left on good terms, with arrangements we both understood after the lives he took from us.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t have him threatening my pack.”
“No, I agree.”
“What would you do?”
Narah, who was standing next to him, turned to look at his profile, and I saw the surprise on her face. Clearly, he didn’t normally ask.
“I think you let Tuss go home with only those who wouldn’t choose to come back.”
He took a breath. “So the others who would want to return, to kill us, will die.”
“I don’t think there’s any other choice.”
After a moment, he nodded. “I concur.”
“Good. So I’m going to wake them, one by one, and ask what they want to do, and I’ll be able to judge whether they’ll follow Tuss again or not.”
“And the ones who spew hatred and violence?”
“Won’t leave my grove,” I said flatly.
“Oh.” He glanced around, realizing where we stood and seeing how beautiful it was for the first time. “I didn’t notice how—did you plant it this way or—”
“I have friends who tend this area,” I told him. He was so distracted, so overwhelmed. These were the tests of a leader, and sadly, he wasn’t one.
“Merritt, you must come and have dinner with me.” He went on like life-and-death decisions weren’t about to be made. “I would like it to be just you and my family, if you would.”
“Whatever you want,” I said as Justin joined us, stopping in front of his father. He had come with the others, bringing the two dead men up the hill. He wasn’t helping carry, but he was directing. “You let me know.”
“Good, good.” Abel turned to Justin.
“What are your orders?” Justin asked.
Abel looked back to me. “What would you have us do?”
“I’ll bring the kids down now. All the parents should stay, and all the other men should take Tuss back down to your home. He needs to be guarded. Then just wait, and I’ll send down however many others will be accompanying him home.”
“Okay,” Justin said, “but what if Tuss sends the authorities to find bodies or blood or any trace of—”
“Why would Tuss call the police?” Abel asked him. “For anything? Ever? Wolves handle things themselves. We do everything we can not to involve law enforcement. You know that.”
“I—”
“And there won’t be a trace of anything,” I assured Justin. “These are the woods. Nothing will be found. You’ll have to clean the house well, but other than that, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Are we just supposed to take your word for that, Merritt?” Justin asked.
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t have to. Cole spoke for me.
“Are you kidding?” Cole retorted, glowering at Justin. “He saved the kids, Justin. Where the hell were you when he was saving the kids?”
“You have no right to—”
“Save it,” Cole ordered, and then he turned to me. “Thank you, Mere.”
I nodded, breathed out, then took a few steps away from everyone. “Teague,” I called out. “The kids can come down.”
The grove was well lit, and if the situation had been less dire, people might have wondered how that was done.
How they could still see everything without a full moon when it was so late at night.
But in moments it was bathed in the same green light from earlier, and no one registered anything but joy.
The kids were excited to see their parents, but they also wanted to go back and talk to Teague.
All the parents got to hear about him, the wood elf who wouldn’t come down to greet them but was a good friend of mine and would always watch over any children who got lost in the forest. Some of the kids had crystals in their hands, some night-blooming flowers.
Others had intricate crowns made of leaves on their heads.
Evan was still holding the baby, who was fast asleep, and he was staring at a large ammonite in his hand.
“Mommy!” a little girl cried out, and a woman who had been about to ask me a question turned just as her daughter ran into her.
I suspect what was a wee bit disconcerting for the parents were the glowing green luna moths that followed the children down into the grove and then flew up into the sky and disappeared.
“You’re not a witch yourself, are you, Merritt?” Narah asked me. “You would tell me if you were, wouldn’t you?”
“I would,” I assured her. “And I’m not.”
“Might we meet this Teague?” one of the mothers asked me.
“No. He’s a bit of a hermit, and he’s a protector of children, but he’s not all that fond of adults. He’ll be a good friend to your bairns, but not to you.”
“Bairn?”
“Sorry, that’s my Gaelic coming through. It’s been a long night.”
“Yes, it has.” Cole, fully healed now, walked over to take my hand. “I’d like to stay and help you speak to the men.”
“As would I,” Abel said quickly. “And Justin should be here as well.”
“No,” I said softly, moving away so Cole had to release my hand. “All of you go home so I can speak to them. You’re going to have your hands full with Tuss when he wakes up.” I turned to Cole. “You’re the son of an alpha. They’re going to need you.”
He nodded.
I glanced at Justin. “Your father needs you.”
“I agree,” he said, taking a step toward me, then thinking better of it, turning, and heading back down the hill. Others followed, and one little girl stopped beside me, slipping her hand into mine as she had earlier.
“You promised Mommy would be okay and she is, just like you said.”
“Told you.”
She nodded. “I gave Teague a shell I found at the beach in the summer. I took it to show-and-tell today, but I wanted him to have it.”
“What did he give you in trade?”
She pulled a polished amethyst out of her pocket. Its faceted surface glittered in the lights that, again, no one asked about.
“Oh, Julia,” her mother gasped. “I don’t know if Teague meant to give you—”
“He did,” I assured her, then looked back at her daughter. “Put that by your bed and it’ll help you sleep. No bad dreams.”
She grinned wide, and I gestured at them to get going. They got a few feet away from me, then both mother and daughter spun and came running back to hug me. There was no missing that the alpha did not look pleased. His mate, however, only smiled.
Several women came up then and introduced themselves to me, thanking me for taking care of their children.
They also wanted to know about my friend who all the kids were raving about.
He was magic, they were told. He’d had long braids that hung on each side of his face, beautiful brown curls, and he’d had them drink out of a waterskin, then made fire from the air that didn’t burn the ground when they all clustered around it to keep warm.
“He’s an elf,” Evan said excitedly as he passed the baby he’d been carrying to her mother. He turned to me. “How do you have an elf living on your land?”
“See—”
“He said he lives out there in the woods and never leaves.”
“That’s sort of true, but—”
“Although he says he does have a room in your house that’s up high with no stairs. I have no idea what that means.”
It was basically a loft in my sunroom. To reach the tiny area where he slept, you had to leap from where the stairs ended, a good twenty feet in the air.
Sometimes, in the dead of winter when the snow got high and the temperature outside dropped below freezing, he stayed there.
But he also hibernated with the bears. I would have made him wash after if he could ever get dirty or smell, but as a forest elf, he was, as the kids said, magical.
Having him shower or putting his clothes in the washer was completely unnecessary.
“He’s really…really…”
“Really what?” Cole asked, concerned, squinting at his brother.
“Beautiful,” Evan and I said at the same time.
“Oh?” Cole smiled at us. “Is that right? Beautiful, you say?”
I wanted to tell him that I’d never seen a forest elf who wasn’t, and I’d met many in my life.
The fact that Teague—a name I’d given him because he didn’t have one and I felt it was necessary—had ended up on the same side of the world as me had made me protective of him.
At first, he couldn’t have been less interested in knowing me.
But with the passing years, even as solitary as many of the fae were reported to be, especially the Gille Dubh, we’d grown friendly.
When I’d made a space in my home especially for him, our relationship had become what it was now—a kinship that I treasured.
“Okay, you all need to get your kids home,” I called, needing everyone to get moving.
They all left then, waving at me. Evan dragged his feet, clearly wanting to stay, but in moments only Reggie, Fletcher, and another man I didn’t know remained, as well as Abel and Cole.
“Go now. I’ll send whoever else down to the house in just a bit. If there’s been no one in an hour, send Tuss home by himself.”
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to wake these guys up all alone,” Cole muttered.
“I agree,” Abel said. “We should remain.”
I shook my head. “Here’s the thing, if they see any of you, there’s going to be posturing instead of the truth. If it’s me alone, I’ll know.”
Cole huffed out a breath. “Yes, but, Mere—”
“He killed two of those guys all by himself.” Reggie pointed at me. “I think Merritt’s just fine.”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “Now go. You’re wasting time. It’s getting late, and you need to move Tuss.”
They finally picked him up, and he was a big man, all muscle, so he was heavy.
Of course, as soon as they cleared my land, he woke up and started fighting, turning from dead weight into someone they had to subdue.
I heard all the cursing and yelling, and when I checked, they were halfway to the house, only Cole turning several times to look back.
I finally waved, and he lifted his hand in return.
I heard movement behind me as the lights rose and moved, dimming enough that their wings were visible.
“Thank you for the light,” I said to the fairies, who fluttered up, hovering close. “I appreciate you all, as always.”