Chapter 33
Everything resolved more easily than Uma expected upon returning the citadel. Although it took them twice as long to get back to Old Wayfairer since they struggled to keep their hands off of each other, the Ragoru’s return was granted with only mild concern. It seemed that Uma’s initial report had not only been read but that Katiera had submitted an additional report before leaving that updated Renny on everything that was happening. Upon submitting another report and all of her evidence, the Ragoru were granted permanent residency and, weeks later, a job within the Guardsmen Guild to assist the lower district with controlling crime as well as managing any issues that arose that were Ragoru-related.
Only Kam had happily declined the offer, stating that he was perfectly happy just providing for the den rather than “peopling,” a strange term that made her laugh. Kam was happier expending his energy meeting people and helping wherever he could, which really fit better with his sweet temperament. Although he could fight, it was obvious that he was reluctant to turn aggressive if he didn’t absolutely have to. And it was nice having him there when she got home to fuss over her.
Life couldn’t get much better, she decided with a stretch as she left the station with Vrin and Laro prowling at either side of her. The only shadow over everything that happened was the fact that the huntsmen had, upon discovering there was in fact a second triad present that they had been fruitlessly chasing, and that Uma had escaped with her mates back to the citadel, cleared everything out from the outpost before the team of guardswomen could get there.
And then there were Katiera and Jessie. She hadn’t heard from either woman which made her anxious. Katiera was a senior guardswoman, so Uma was somewhat less concerned about her up against a town of people who thought to flout the laws of the High Council. But no one had heard from Jessie at all since she disappeared. She had checked all of her contacts again, hoping for any word at all, but there was nothing.
“Something will turn up,” Laro rumbled at her side, correctly interpreting her mood.
Uma nodded unhappily. “I don’t know what she was thinking. Where did she go? Did she try to follow Katiera? What’s worse is that no one knows anything. And Katiera can’t affectively communicate to save her life,” she grumbled. “She’s good at reminding everyone else about what they are supposed to be doing but conveniently forgets when it comes to her own duties.”
“You are naturally worried,” he soothed. “They are your guardswomen, but they are also trained by you. As such they follow their duty and responsibility just as you do, as they should. Whatever happens, it is not something you control.”
Vrin grunted quietly in agreement. “I would be more worried about why Kam is at the door with a small human female,” he added wryly.
“What?” Uma asked distractedly, her eyes flying to the door of her home where indeed Kam waited with a little girl tucked into his upper arms who couldn’t be any older than five with a dirty face and big brown eyes. She blinked in surprise and hurried over to her mate. “Ok, who did you steal her from?” she groused impatiently.
More than once she had to return children to their parents when they followed her mate home. Of course her mate was delighted to have them and did not always understand that their mothers would not be thrilled. He couldn’t simply just bring home a child because he found it, believed that the child was abandoned, and fell in love. She understood the thinking even as she had to sternly discourage it. For Ragoru, rogs stayed in the den with one of their parents at all times. They were slowly adjusting to the fact that human children often played together in the streets away from the safety of their dens, something that made all her mates, but especially Kam, anxious.
“I did not steal her,” he huffed indignantly, clutching the child to him even as the little girl appeared to cling even tighter to him in turn as if afraid of being torn away from him. “She doesn’t have a family. She is a...what do you call them... street child. I found her being bullied by a couple of young males and brought her home with me after I chased them away. Her name is Matilda, and her mother died two months ago, leaving her alone on the street with her older sister until the female abandoned her.” He gave Uma a hopeful look. “Can we keep her?”
Uma peered down at the grubby face, and the little girl blinked up at her with a cautiously hopeful expression. Kids and their big eyes. She was such a sucker. Kam was going to fill her house with children every time she turned around if she allowed him to bring Matilda home. She squinted at her other two mates to gage their own reactions, certain that Kam was about to get an earful. To her surprise both males crowded close and immediately began affectionately patting the little girl’s soft brown curls. Laro looked utterly smitten, and even Vrin wore an indulgent smile as he plucked a sweet from a small pouch he carried for whenever they needed to bribe a street kid for information or calm an upset child during an altercation.
Uma crossed her arms over her chest and looked at them with disbelief but her heart begrudgingly melted when Laro suddenly lifted little Matilda up his arms and hugged her close to his broad chest. Okay, that got her right in the ovaries. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea. The streets would eat a little one like her alive anyway without an older child around to care for her. And when she was younger, she had imagined having a few kids around. She loved kids even if most were frightened of her scars, or the fact that she was captain of the guardswomen.
She hesitantly stepped closer, her gaze flicking among her mates before resting on the little girl. Matilda stared back at her with wide eyes and hugged a beat-up stuffie. Were the gods trying to distract her from her worry over Katiera and Jessie? If so, they were doing a good job. Clearing her throat, she offered her hand, preparing for the girl to recoil.
“Hi, Matilda. I heard you want to stay here.” Curls flopped as the little girl nodded. “Okay, that’s fine,” she soothed with a faint smile. “Uh, welcome home.”
That sounded awkward as hell. Especially since the girl’s eyes suddenly filled with tears making all three males look at Uma in alarm. Uma stared back at them aghast. She hadn’t done anything! Suddenly thin arms flailed as a small body flopped toward her despite still being held by Laro, and those little arms wrapped tightly around Uma, clinging to her.
“Thank you, Mommy.”
Heart melting to a puddle, Uma smiled and hugged her back as Laro happily shifted the little girl over to her. Humming softy, Uma carried her deeper into the house, her mates following after her.
“Let’s set up a room for you,” she told her. “Did Kam already let you pick?” At Matilda’s nod, Uma grinned and hugged her again. “That’s great. We will get you all set up. There is shopping to do, and we will get your stuffie cleaned. What’s his name?”
She listened as she was regaled with all the details about the tattered plush. Matilda chattered at a fast pace in a little sweet voice about everything under the sun, but especially about Kam and the Ragoru. A bath and a hot, filling meal later, little Matilda was tucked into the spare bed Vrin dragged into the room for her and Uma snuggled among her mates among her blankets and the furs that they had painstakingly transported back to their home from their den. It had taken Laro and Vrin two weeks to gather everything. She had to admit, with all the woven baskets, carved wooden utensils, shelves, various ornaments, and all the fur and leather goods they brought, it made her home the most comfortable place in the lower district.
Kam stretched out beside her and gave her uncharacteristically sober look. “Uma, were you trained in blacksmithing by your mother?”
Uma nodded. “Ever since I was about as big as Matilda. I was studying some more formal techniques for certification within the citadel when my family died.” She glanced over at him curiously. “Why do you ask?”
“I was thinking of asking you to teach me,” he said slowly, his gaze drifting away. “I enjoy making things with my hands and while I have more fur than you do, I think I can manage. And it would be something good to pass down to Matilda as well.”
She smiled despite herself. Reaching over, she touched his cheek, her fingers stroking the fur before gently turning his head back toward her. “Of course. If this is something you want to do, I would be happy to teach you everything I know. You will just be responsible for getting the final certification, but I know you can do it. Besides,” she sighed as she cuddled up against him, her heart soaring at the broad smile spreading across his face, “the lower district should have a blacksmith family again. Starting with you, honey.”
Kam hugged her close as Vrin snuggled beside her. “Do you really believe I can do it?”
“Of course. You can do anything you set your mind to. Hasn’t mate hunting in the citadel proved that to you yet?” she teased.
“You mean the mate hunting that got us thrown into a cell for the Withering Days and attacked by huntsmen?” Laro replied, his brow lifting playfully.
“Well, every hunt has its hiccups,” she replied and then giggled as Vrin pounced on her from behind. “And you got the best prize—a female who loves you. Me!”
“A very successful hunt indeed,” he growled as he lifted her up off the furs and carried her toward the bedroom. “And now I think I’m ready to feast again on my prey!”
Kam shot to his feet and laughed as he followed after them with Laro’s hushed scolding chasing behind them that they not wake up Matilda. Uma tucked her head against Vrin’s chest, her heart full of love.
If she could go back in time, she would have told that lonely scarred woman who asked Arie and her triad if a Ragoru could ever love a woman like her to not worry—her mates were coming, and she would be happier than she could ever have imagined.
Not even a fairy tale had a better happily ever after.