Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
F or the record, I’d genuinely believed that Henri had been messing with me the night before. “ I bet it’ll be worse tomorrow ” had seemed like a joke.
So, the next morning, when I’d been heading downstairs with Duncan, and I’d asked him, “What do you think, my little donut? Are there going to be a bunch of guys in the kitchen today trying to sign up to marry me?” I’d said it with a cackle. And from the way his tail had slowly swayed and he’d nudged my ankle so sweetly when he said, “yes,” I thought he’d been playing along too.
The only warning I got was when we were halfway to the kitchen and I finally picked up on the strong presence of magic coming from it again.
Except this time there were eight or nine tall men, with Franklin in the middle of them looking baffled.
“Good morning….” I trailed off as Duncan leaned against my leg. His tail had slowed, and he didn’t look defensive or worried, but his little head was swinging from side to side, taking everyone in. He stepped on my foot.
A round of different versions of “good morning” answered.
Meanwhile, Franklin’s eyebrows were knitted together behind his glasses. He looked well for someone who had been missing for over a month. I’d never gotten around to asking where he’d gone.
“Hi, Franklin,” I greeted the elder specifically, taking in the half-zip baby blue sweater layered over a striped button-up shirt and dark brown slacks. “Welcome back.”
His answering expression was a little too bright, I suspected. “Good morning, Nina,” he replied in a tight, contradictory voice. His gaze swept the kitchen, and his bushy eyebrows pinched together even closer. He gestured generally around him. “How long has this been going on for?”
I made eye contact with a handsome man with green eyes for a second and then forced myself to focus back on the elder. “Them? Since last night.”
He peered at the group some more, his hands going to the pockets of his pressed pants. “Is there a reason they’re here?”
I hadn’t forgotten about his bracelet.
A man with medium brown skin and hazel eyes loudly cleared his throat. “Can we introduce ourselves now?”
Franklin glared at him.
And me? I stood there, not sure what to do. Was this my time to shine? Should I be friendly and talk to them? I wasn’t un friendly by nature… but that guilt came back with a vengeance for some reason.
I’m not doing anything wrong.
But time wasn’t on my side, and there were only so many single men in the community for me to choose from to begin with—even less who might be interested. As much as I might want to, I couldn’t back out and disappear into my room. Dominic had made it clear there were rumors going around about me.
People liking me wasn’t something I would have normally wanted, but….
“ Again ?” a deep voice growled.
I didn’t even have a chance to turn around before a warm, dry palm cupped the nape of my neck, a thumb and index finger landing on the tendons on either side of my throat. I’d been so distracted, I hadn’t been paying enough attention to sense him.
For one brief moment, I thought about stepping back into him, into his side. Into the familiarity and comfort that was Henri… and then Duncan started nibbling on my shoelace, and I stopped myself from moving an inch.
Henri had made a promise to keep an eye on me, not to marry me.
It was what it was.
So all I allowed myself to do was smile at him weakly over my shoulder—he was in sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt—and say, “Morning.”
Some of the men started muttering curse words.
“No, no, no,” Franklin spoke up. He was shaking his head. “I don’t like this. If there’s going to be any courting, we’re going to do it the way we’ve done it in the past.” I didn’t miss the way his eyes sliced in my direction.
The fingers on my neck skimmed up to my hairline, the warm palm flat against my skin.
“This is much too soon,” Franklin continued as I forced myself to stay exactly where I was. “I will set up a schedule, and if you want to spend some time with our potential resident, you can sign up for a slot.” The older man hesitated before sharing a smile that seemed borderline grim to me. “If that’s acceptable to you, Nina. We’re accustomed to starting this process after the three-month mark.”
These people and their schedules.
I almost blew out a relieved breath, and my nod could have been more enthusiastic, but... I didn’t know these people, and all their attention was on me… and Henri was here, witnessing it….
It was too much.
Or maybe I was being a chicken. There was that.
I had to meet them—eventually—and get to know them, but I didn’t want to do it like this. This was worse than a job interview.
I nodded as the rough pad of Henri’s thumb grazed the underside of my jaw, and my chin instinctually went up in reaction. There was no reason that should have felt that nice. And I needed to pretend it wasn’t happening.
Franklin pushed his glasses up his nose and clapped once. “It’s settled. Everyone out. You can make your proper introductions another time, not when you’re crowding the kitchen and some of us have things to do.” He gestured to the door. “Out with you all.”
No one made a peep, and the man with the green eyes happened to catch my attention again, smiling just a little when he did.
I smiled back—a deep, low growl by my ear had my head jerking to the side.
“You good?” I asked the underside of Henri’s chin before leaning over so I could see his face.
I blinked. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw clenched. Even the tendons at his throat were standing out way more than usual, and I’d seen him aggravated and pissed before.
I tapped his chin twice.
Amber eyes landed on my face, that muscle in his cheek pulsing one single time before smoothing away. “Fine,” he just about barked.
That tone didn’t seem fine to me, but if that was the story he wanted to stick to, then who was I to tell him he was full of it? I was in the middle of a shrug when one of the men walking out of the kitchen—they all had their heads down for some reason, I noticed—stopped and flicked his eyes over to meet mine quickly. “I made breakfast today,” he announced quietly.
His irises were even prettier up close. It was almost as if there was a starburst around his pupil. A little gold, brown, and green all mixed in together.
Beside me, Henri took a single step toward the guy right before Franklin butted in again in an even more irritated tone.
“Do I need to repeat myself?” the elder snapped. His lips kept moving though, but the only thing I heard after that was something, something “death wish,” I thought.
Hazel Eyes looked startled, then quickly nodded and dropped his head again before he kept moving.
Werewolves weren’t normally so submissive….
My eyeballs followed the man with the pretty eyes out of the room, at least part of the way, before Henri startled the crap out of me. His voice was sharp. “What are you doing?”
I jerked, busted. “Whoa, Fluff, checking him out.”
Right in that moment, I learned that Henri Blackrock had a vein in his forehead that could bulge. I reached up and dragged the tip of my index finger across it before meeting his gaze and asking, “Where’d this come from?”
Then he did something I never, ever would have expected.
He nipped the side of my hand. Not even a little hard, but a nip was a nip, and I yanked my hand back in shock. I hadn’t been nipped in years. Decades!
I laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s just so… bulgy.”
Fluffy didn’t seem impressed with my observation, not even a little bit.
Somebody was touchy.
I tried to make him feel better. “It’s cute?”
Franklin let out an exasperated sound that drew both of our attentions to him. “Can we have breakfast now? I have news and questions.”
Henri wasn’t the only grumpy one.
I said, “Yes,” at the same time Henri agreed too.
No one said much as we went to the range where there were different dishes already prepared.
Henri served up a plate for Franklin with a little of everything while I made the pups their breakfast as Agnes strolled into the kitchen on four legs. I was in the middle of portioning out a serving of eggs when a warm body leaned over me, and there was a nudge at the top of my head.
I blinked at Henri being right beside me, so close. Was he…? “Whatcha doing?” I asked.
Had he been sniffing my hair?
There was another nudge. “Marking you.”
My lips parted as he dipped his head lower.
He was rubbing his scent on me like he’d done when we’d gone to see Spencer.
It took me a second to get my words together, and when I did, there was only one I could come up with as he pressed his cheek to my crown. “Why?”
Henri didn’t let me down as the side of his throat grazed my ear so nonchalantly. “For protection.”
I almost freaking choked. “From the big bad wolves that just left?” I croaked.
He didn’t answer.
What he did do was lean forward and touch his cheek to mine, a soft puff of his breath hitting my ear while he did it. And just as casually as he’d done it in the first place, like he did this type of thing every day, Henri straightened, looked at me once more, and then cupped my cheek. Then he nodded one last time and turned to the range like that just hadn’t happened.
That sure hadn’t seemed like it was just for “protection,” but….
This wasn’t the time to overanalyze it, especially not with Franklin right there.
Trying to pretend like it was no big deal Henri just rubbed his face all over me, I finished serving myself and took a seat on the stool next to the elder I thought was still being really suspicious. More suspicious than Henri, who came and sat on my other side, his thigh crowding mine in.
I left my leg where it was.
“I’d like to be caught up on what I missed while I’ve been away, but first, I have some news you might be interested in, Nina,” Franklin said after we’d all eaten a little.
I barely managed not to drop my fork as I swiveled on the stool to face him. “About Duncan?” I might have sounded deranged.
A heavy hand settled between my shoulder blades, and I turned my head to meet Henri’s gaze. His expression didn’t change, but his touch said what his mouth didn’t—he was there for me—and that touched me so much I had to fight the urge to throw my arms around him.
The older man forked food into his mouth like he hadn’t just teased the crap out of me. He made a pleased face while eating his eggs, and I understood. They were delicious. They were buttery and fluffy, and I understood why Hazel Eyes had wanted to take credit. I would have too.
I should add him to my notes app. I poked at the eggs when that thought made my stomach hurt worse.
“Yes. I had some success with the pup’s background,” Franklin began to explain between bites. “I reached out to an old friend, who steered me to someone else, and I was able to get in contact with a man in California who I was told might have very specific knowledge. He wouldn’t admit a word over the phone, so I took a trip to visit him.”
That was not what I’d been expecting him to say. He’d gone to California for Duncan ? After barely meeting him?
“He told me about a set of brothers in Alaska who might have answers.” Franklin didn’t stop eating or chewing as he continued with his story, but I’d swear his voice got funny. Maybe a little flat? “They live in a community there.”
It had to be the one that Matti had mentioned as a backup to here.
Franklin kept talking, “I took a trip there?—”
“They allowed you to visit?” Henri asked, sounding surprised. “I was under the impression they don’t allow guests.”
That question had the elder pausing. His hesitation was evident, and I wondered why. “I… have a family member who calls the community home. I am an exception.”
Was that something worth being secretive about?
“As I was saying.” That was quick. “The magic there is rich, but not as strong as ours. They have less land than we do. Their community is much newer. Their organization is mediocre; it’s run as a monarchy for now. They have some things to sort out.” He made a slight face. “They didn’t ask for my advice, and I didn’t provide it, but there are some issues they’ll have to address one day,” he told us with a huff.
“I digress. It took some coaxing to get the brothers to speak with me. Once they agreed, they had several questions. I answered them to the best of my ability. When I shared the pup’s physical description, there was a reaction there. I attempted to get them to admit what they thought the pup might be, but they refused.” He sniffed and gave us a pleased and almost smug grin. “It took some time, but fortunately, we were able to reach a compromise.”
What did that mean?
Franklin paused his story as he ate a breakfast sausage, and once he was done, added, “The brothers are older and avoid traveling. They would like to send a representative of the community first to confirm the information I provided. At that point, the pup could travel back with the rep, or they would consider coming here, under the right circumstances. Those circumstances being that they strongly believe in certain signs regarding the pup’s parentage.”
I sat up straight, and I mean real straight. From the wall where he was eating his breakfast—at least I’d thought he was—I felt Duncan’s “no” shoot across the room at the same exact time.
And if none of that was enough, Henri’s almost scary, cool voice said, very carefully, “They aren’t taking Duncan, no matter what he is or isn’t.”
My body and brain were well aware that, to some extent, I couldn’t violently react to what Franklin had just announced. I couldn’t cry, I couldn’t get mad, and I couldn’t freak out. I wanted to. Over my dead body, and a whole lot of others, would my boy be going anywhere without me.
I couldn’t control my heartbeat speeding up a little, but I managed, just barely, to keep from getting upset.
I didn’t want Dunky to know.
But my hands balled up into fists as I tried to rein in every curse word I knew. I was so busy focusing on not freaking out that I almost lost my balance when the stool I was sitting on got spun around.
That perfect face that I was learning every inch of, with its clean-shaven jaw and those orangey-light brown eyes that shouldn’t have been possible, was suddenly right there, inches from mine. “Don’t lose your shit,” he ordered quietly.
I pinched my lips together, fisting my hand tight.
His eyebrow rose about a millimeter before the hand that had spun my stool landed on top of one of mine. “Listen to me, Cricket,” he instructed, prying my fingers open with his dry, warm ones.
“I’m listening,” I said, trying to ignore the fact I was gritting my teeth while I did it.
“He’s yours, and you’re his,” Henri reminded me, taking my other hand and starting to peel those fingers open too. He didn’t break eye contact. “ No one is taking your boy.”
“Nobody,” I emphasized with a little nod.
“And I told you every person here is mine, didn’t I?” he went on, giving my pinkie a jiggle when he was done spreading my fingers.
“Yeah.” I sounded like Pascal answering that, kind of pouty, kind of resigned.
His eyebrow went up to be parallel with the other one, and I wondered if he recognized the tone. If he did, he let it go. “And you’re a member of this community, aren’t you?”
I nodded slowly.
“That includes you and Duncan, and I’m not letting anybody go anywhere,” this gorgeous man assured me. “Right?”
He didn’t have to be this nice to me, and I knew it, but I sure wasn’t going to bring it up. So I dipped my chin and agreed, “Right.”
Henri’s thumb swept over my knuckles. “You’re upset, and he’s alarmed. Neither of you need to feel any kind of way, but you want to know what he is, don’t you?”
The selfish part of me wanted to say that I didn’t, not at this cost, but… “I do.”
“Then they need to come and meet him, but that’s all that’s going to happen. Got it?”
I didn’t want to say it, didn’t think I could to begin with, but I had to.
I knew it.
I just had to dig in deeper than I ever had in my life to find the totally unselfish part of me. It was buried under layers and layers of emotional greed, stubbornness, and fear of losing something precious and irreplaceable. Because that’s what Duncan was to me. He was my treasure, and nobody wanted to lose what they valued the most.
Nobody.
“Unless he wants to go,” I made myself mutter, knowing dang well that I might have said the words, but they sounded so, so forced.
The soft padding of feet warned me that my boy was coming over, and my donut’s chin went straight for my knee.
He gave me a look that had me sighing. He had his smiling face on. How could he be this mature at his age?
“It’s all right,” I reassured him, reaching down to stroke his soft cheek. I gave it a gentle pinch; it was so squishy. “Nothing is going to happen unless you want it to.”
I really hoped I didn’t sneer when I said that last sentence, but if I did, Duncan didn’t have a way to tell me.
But his “love” right then was the fuel that kept my heart beating, and I loved him so much, looking at his devoted face. At those long ears that were now getting further and further away from the floor with every inch he grew. He was the cutest boy in the entire world.
The best one.
And I had to do right by him, no matter the cost.
“Finish your breakfast,” I told Dunky with a blown kiss. “It’s you and me forever.” I paused. And maybe a future stepdaddy , but I kept that tidbit to myself with Protective Henri over here covering me with his scent.
I was going to talk to Matti about that when I had the chance.
My puppy gave me another long look that was pretty suspicious, but he reluctantly trotted back to his mat, that incredible tail swinging from side to side.
When Duncan was eating again, I faced Henri. “That’s the only way he can go—if he wants to.”
“No” came at me from across the kitchen and eased some more of the tension in my chest. It also made me smile because he was such a stubborn, nosy donut.
“Unless he wants to,” Henri man agreed, not looking like he totally believed me.
I dropped my voice. “But if they try to take him against his wishes, you’ll rip their spines out?”
He lifted a hand and dragged it down his handsome face before pinning me with his amber eyes. Henri almost huffed. “ No . No one is ripping out anyone’s spine, Nina.”
I blinked. “But if they try and kidnap him?”
“Then we’ll talk to them and make it known they can’t,” he replied, squinting a little.
It was a sign to me I was feeling better about the situation because of Duncan’s insistent “no” that I lifted my chin at Henri. “But what if they’re pushy? Would you?”
His eyes were slits by that point, but his mouth was a funny little line when he said, “I can’t tell if you’re fucking with me right now or if you’re being serious.”
I was being only a little serious, mostly because I didn’t need to rely on him to get people to stop doing things I didn’t want them to do, but he didn’t know that. He might guess it, but he didn’t know , so I kept my mouth shut and played along if only to lighten the mood.
“You’re a vicious thing,” Franklin chuckled in a drawn-out way, reminding me he was listening. He almost sounded proud. “I can assure you that no one will be taking anything or anyone without permission.”
Grudgingly, I turned my stool back around. “Can you tell me what your suspicions are before they come?”
He hesitated.
“I understand you don’t know for sure.”
Franklin thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “I would rather not speculate.”
Son of a….
“They’ll be here soon,” he said in a way that made me think that was him trying to make me feel better instead of making me panic even more.
I barely, and I mean barely , managed not to shout, “How soon?” Tomorrow soon or three months from now soon?
“I explained that I needed to speak with you before we could agree to any kind of invitation.” His eyes slipped in Duncan’s direction. “For the sake of the child.”
A graze at my lower back had me sitting up straight and appreciating the affection that Henri wasn’t being stingy with when I needed it the most.
Because I really did right then. As much as I was trying not to overreact, my heart wasn’t getting the memo as it pounded slowly but steadily against my sternum. But having your whole life on the line might have that effect on anyone.
“I need names and flight information before they arrive,” Henri demanded in his Great Wolf voice.
Franklin went back to eating, apparently not bothered by the bossy tone. “I’m aware, Henri. I’ll send you the information when I receive it.” His movements paused after he speared a sausage with his fork. “There was some excitement on their end at the possibility of Duncan’s ancestry.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
The last time people had been excited to meet him, I’d ended up with a bruised neck, sore vocal cords, and had made decisions that wouldn’t haunt me exactly but that I’d wish that I hadn’t needed to make.
But I was never falling for BS like that again. Henri didn’t seem willing to rip out any spines to protect Duncan—a disappointment—but I would carve them out with the little blade on my nail clippers if I had to. I’d use my fingernails if it was my only choice.
“Is that plan agreeable to you?” the elder asked.
I didn’t want to say that it didn’t sound like I had much of a choice. I wanted to know what Duncan was, mostly just so I could care for him the proper way. It would be good for him to have that knowledge too.
There was a small chance he might meet people like him and prefer to live with them. I was aware of it. I hated the idea with the passion of a thousand suns, but it was a risk I was willing to take if it benefited him.
It might kill me, but what was love if it wasn’t a freely given gift?
Plus, if Duncan... left…without me… before the three-month trial period was up, what would I do? There wouldn’t be a reason to stay here unless something drastic changed. What if he decided to leave after I’d gotten married? Then what? I’d be tied to someone for the rest of my life for no reason?
Those variables complicated things so much it made my heart and my brain hurt.
Maybe the community knew exactly what it was doing with their trial period. Maybe I should wait until the three months were up before getting to know anyone. It didn’t mean I couldn’t do research and take notes in the meantime.
Just in case.
I bit the inside of my cheek and tried to keep my voice level. “Sounds good, Franklin. That works.” I dug my fork into a sausage and paused when the tines touched the plate. “Now, would you explain what this whole schedule thing you mentioned earlier means? I just kind of went with it, but I don’t understand.”
“Ah, yes,” the elder answered, his attention briefly snagging on something behind me. “In the past, when a new member joins the community and is in the process of meeting a potential mate, we’ve found that having specific, short periods of time where partners can speak to one another in privacy works the best. Unless you want an audience during every conversation you have?”
This was the modern-day equivalent of a dance card. “Can’t you all hear everything anyway?”
His forehead wrinkled. “We could, but the idea of there being privacy makes things more comfortable.”
I wasn’t sure how you were supposed to forget you were surrounded by people who could hear every little fart if they wanted to, but… sure.
“We typically ask our new members to wait until their trial period is over before we take that step….” The elder trailed off, his eyes darting back and forth between mine and whatever he kept eyeing over my shoulder. “I don’t believe you have much longer left. When you’re ready, choose the days and times that you would want to meet with interested parties, and we have a schedule where they can sign up.”
This suddenly felt very, very real and very, very unreal at the same time.
“Like how mealtimes are scheduled?” I asked in a dry voice.
He gave me a tight little nod.
I’d always said they’d thought of everything here.
“What do you think about that? Do you have a problem waiting for that period to be up?”
The hand on my back fell away. It’d been so steady there for a minute that I’d forgotten Henri was still touching me. My spine suddenly felt lonely and cold.
But too freaking bad.
I picked up my speared sausage and bit into it. Only after I swallowed it did I say, “Sure. That works. I think… I think I’m going to wait until then. The three months, I mean. I’m about halfway through. It should be here around the corner, right?” The weak smile that took over my face fell off as quickly as it had arrived.
The suspicious old man pushed up his glasses, but he nodded.
* * *