Chapter 12 - Arthur
Arthur woke to the scent of frost and female.
For a second, he didn’t know where he was. Rock under his back, cold air in his lungs, something warm and solid curled up on his chest.
Dani.
Memory slotted in. Stars. Her mouth. The way she’d shaken in his arms afterward, from cold and from everything else.
She was still there, half sprawled over him, hair a dark tangle against his coat. At some point in the night, she’d stolen more than her share of the blanket; only his wolf kept his toes from freezing off.
He could have stayed like that all day.
Dawn was leaking gray around the edges of the hollow. His back hurt. His shoulder had gone pins-and-needles where she rested her head. The ridge would be slicker going down. Patrols would wonder where the hell their Alpha was.
And Aurelia—
“We should move,” he rumbled, voice rough.
Dani made a protesting noise and burrowed in closer. “You move,” she muttered. “I’m dead.”
He huffed out a laugh despite himself. “Can’t. Your daughter will kill me if I bring you back as an ice sculpture.”
That got a groan. She peeled one eye open, then winced as the light stabbed it. “Why is it morning?”
“Lunarion hates us,” he said. “Up.”
He levered himself onto an elbow, tightening his hold so she didn’t roll straight off him. The blanket slid; cold bit every exposed inch of skin at once. She swore under her breath and scrambled for her coat.
They were both rumpled, hair a mess, clothes creased. His wolf liked it. A lot.
Dani caught him looking and arched an eyebrow. “If you say one word about how I look, I will hex your boots together on the way down.”
“You look fine,” he said honestly. “Cold. But fine.”
A flicker crossed her face that he couldn’t quite name. Soft. Uncertain. She shook it off with a snort. “Come on, you’re right. We should go.”
They packed the basket in companionable silence, shook out the blanket, then picked their way back down the trail. The world was oddly quiet. Snow squeaked under their boots; their breath hung white in the air.
Halfway down, Dani reached for his hand without seeming to think about it. He took it. Didn’t comment. The bond hummed, pleased and possessive.
At the bottom of the hill, the town was yawning awake, smoke from chimneys, faint clatter from the docks. Instead of turning up toward the alpha house, Dani angled toward Thistlehouse.
“She slept there?” Arthur asked.
“Lavinia stole her from Chase,” Dani said, waving a text message in his face. “Apparently, witches are the only ones qualified to supervise dental hygiene.”
He grunted. Not offended. Just… aware of the way Dani’s shoulders eased as they approached the coven house. Wards brushed his skin, uncomfortable and electric.
Edith opened the door before they reached it, as if she’d been standing there listening, pale hair in a lopsided braid, mug in hand, expression unimpressed.
Her gaze swept over them, mussed clothes, cold-reddened faces, the way their hands were still linked.
One eyebrow climbed. “Well,” she said. “Nice of you to remember you have a child.”
“Good morning to you, too,” Arthur said.
“She was fine,” Edith added to Dani, ignoring him. “I don’t know why on earth you left her with that wolf. I stopped by to check in at ten p.m., and they were up watching a horror film and eating ice cream.”
Arthur snorted and Dani elbowed him in the side, her smile tightening. “Thanks for watching her.”
“I’ll talk to Chase,” Arthur said, wilting slightly under the older witch’s withering glare.
A small blur shot out from behind Edith and latched onto Dani’s waist. “You didn’t come back,” Aurelia accused, voice muffled in her coat.
Dani wrapped both arms around her, holding tight. “We were on the ridge,” she said into Aurelia’s hair. “Sorry. We fell asleep.”
Aurelia leaned back, eyes flicking between them. Caught the linked hands. The rumpled clothes. The way Arthur couldn’t quite stop staring.
Her mouth made a tiny, smug curve. “Right.”
Arthur cleared his throat. “Morning,” he said.
Aurelia eyed him, then stepped out of Dani’s grip and, to his shock, walked straight over and wrapped her arms around his middle, too.
He froze.
Then, carefully, he hugged her back.
Her scent hit him full force, no longer blunted by distance or shock. Salt and ocean and something that matched the pull in his bones exactly. His wolf made a helpless, stupid, pleased noise inside his head.
“You all right, kid?” he asked, awkwardly patting her hair.
She nodded against his shirt. “Edith made terrible porridge,” she said. “But then she let me watch her fix a broken ward, so it was okay.”
“My porridge is excellent,” Edith said. “Your child has no taste.”
“Our child,” Dani said quietly.
The words did something strange to his chest. He tightened his hold on Aurelia for a second, just to keep from swaying.
“Our child,” he echoed.
Aurelia pulled back, beaming in a way that made her look suddenly younger. “Are you going to fight today?” she asked him, matter-of-fact.
He frowned. “Fight?”
Aurelia nodded. “Last night, when Edith picked me up from your house, Chase mentioned something about a patrol and some more shifters coming. They began to argue, then I heard Chase say ‘clusterfuck,’ and Edith threw a spoon at him.”
“Language,” Edith muttered.
Dani and Arthur exchanged a look over Aurelia’s head. New arrivals, and not welcome ones.
Arthur’s wolf stirred, uneasy, his stomach sinking as he connected the dots.
“We’ll handle it,” he said. “That’s our job. Yours is not learning any more swear words from my brother.”
“I know more from Mom anyway,” Aurelia said, deadly serious.
Dani choked.
Edith smirked into her mug.
It was stupid, maybe, to feel it, but for a moment, standing in the doorway of a house inhabited by witches, his daughter wedged between him and his mate, Edith rolling her eyes nearby, Arthur felt…like they were something whole. Not fixed. Not healed. But real.
Family.
He’d barely had time to taste it when the wards shivered.
A second later, the door banged open without the benefit of a knock. The protective magic flared, then subsided, recognizing the offender.
Chase stumbled in on a gust of cold air, cheeks flushed, eyes bright with alarm.
“We’ve got a problem,” he said.
All the warmth dropped out of the room.
“Your patrols last night?” Arthur asked, voice low.
Chase nodded, “We got word from the wolves at the border. The Volnoye have arrived. I’m sorry, I thought they’d be at least another day.”
The name hit like a fist to the gut.
“Dominic?” Arthur asked.
Chase was practically humming with repressed energy. “Volkhov intercepted them. They’re having a…confrontation as we speak.”
Arthur growled, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Shit. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have invited them.”
“I did tell you—”
“Shut it, Chase,” Arthur snarled, turning towards the door. “Follow me. We need to get there before any blood is spilled. You go on ahead.”
Chase nodded, immediately running out the door in a blast of cool wind.
“You invited the Volnoye?” Edith asked. “What on earth would possess you to—”
“I was angry,” he snarled, “that Dominic had invited so many enemies into town without consulting me first. I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.”
Edith scoffed, “If Layla’s to be believed, Dominic and Leonid would kill each other given the chance.”
Dani made a small, distressed sound. “Aren’t they cousins?”
“You left before the Volkhov splintered,” said Arthur. “Dominic killing his father came as a shock to everyone. Leonid wanted the throne. Many had also wanted him to take control. There was a fight. Leonid left with his faction and formed his own pack. The Volnoye. They’ve been enemies ever since.”
He was moving as he talked, fastening his coat, striding towards the door.
Dani stepped after him. “I’m coming.”
“No,” Arthur said.
She huffed, “I’m not one of your pups. If there’s a pack half the supernatural beings here hate walking into town, witches should be there. This is why Lavinia came.”
“This is why I’m here,” he snapped. “Volnoye are wolves. This is pack business.”
“Pack business that affects my coven,” she shot back. “My people are in your town. If some rogue bastard decides witches are fair game, I’m not letting them stand there without one of their own.”
Her eyes flashed; he could feel the spark of her magic prickling under her skin.
Chase looked between them, wisely staying quiet for once.
Arthur forced himself to slow his breathing.
“Dani,” he said, lower. “These aren’t Volkhov.
They’re not Severney. Volnoye are savage.
They’re notorious for their cruelty. Dom’s lost good wolves to them.
They see witches as toys at best, threats at worst. You walk into that fight with a bite on your neck that stinks of Nordan Alpha; every eye they’ve got will be on you. On you and Auri.”
Dani’s hand tightened on Aurelia’s shoulder without conscious thought.
“So I’m supposed to stay here and…what? Knit?” she demanded. “While you go down there and defend my honor for me? ”
“I’m saying you stay here and don’t give them a weakness to grab,” Arthur bit out. “Stay with Aurelia. With the coven. Thistlehouse is warded to hell. If things go badly, this is where I want you. Not in someone’s crosshairs.”
Dani’s jaw worked. “I can help.”
“I know you can,” he said. “But not there. Dom and I need to go in teeth first, not with you standing where every Volnoye wolf can see how much I care if you bleed.”
The admission slipped out before he could catch it.
Her eyes widened, just a fraction.
Aurelia pressed in closer to her side, small fingers fisting in her coat.
“I hate this,” Dani said quietly. “Being told to wait in the safe house like a good girl.”
“You’re not a girl,” he said. “You’re my mate.
And the mother of my child. And a witch every hybrid would love to get their hands on.
” His voice roughened. “If Leonid makes threats before we know his intentions, I might not be able to control myself. There will be blood. You want me at full strength? You stay.”
It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t equal. But it was the truth.
Silence stretched.
Finally, Dani blew out a breath, sharp and angry. “Fine,” she said, like the word burned.
Arthur stepped in, cupping the side of Dani’s face, thumb rough against her cheekbone.
“Stay here,” he said. “Keep her safe. Keep you safe.” He kissed her, quick and rough, more promise than heat. Then he pressed his palm briefly to Aurelia’s head.
Without looking back, he turned and followed Chase into the sharp morning air, his wolf already rising, ready to defend his town from his own stupid mistake.