“Can do, Tynan.”
Tynan caught Fyodor before he followed the others. “I’m going for a run tomorrow evening and could use company. Think about what you were talking about here, and we’ll discuss it while we’re out.”
The cub’s mouth dropped open.
Tynan grinned. “We’ll work on your hunting skills, too.”
Fyodor looked like the sun had risen. “By the Gods, yeah. Thanks, Beta!”
Turning, Tynan checked the area. Troublemakers were dispersed. Everyone else was engaged and having fun.
Time for a beer.
At the drinks table, Zeb joined him. “Beta,” he said in his harsh voice.
Tynan chuckled and returned the greeting, “Beta.”
Zeb’s gaze was on Fyodor who was helping his littermate carry a tub of ice. “Knew you’d be good for the cubs.”
Tynan frowned at his fellow beta. “You do realize that the young males admire the hell out of you.”
“Aye.” Zeb’s rare smile flashed in his dark face. “And you. But you they’ll talk to.”
“Ah.” Tynan grinned. “Maybe it would help if you didn’t think a conversation consisted of growling?”
The response of a growl made him laugh.
Near the end of the evening, Margery held a sleepy boy cub in her lap as she sat at a table with Bree.
“I’d nearly forgotten how much work these parties are,” Bree murmured. “And how much fun.”
“They really are. Both.”
“The eye-candy doesn’t hurt either.” Bree motioned toward Donal and Tynan.
Margery could only grin sheepishly. All her female friends were teasing her about the way she watched Donal and Tynan.
She hadn’t thought she was that obvious.
Wrong.
But, dear Goddess, both males were simply captivating. Tynan, stable and strong as a mountain, watching over the wolf pack…and everyone else, too. He probably didn’t know how not to be a protector.
Donal had arrived late, as brilliant as a lightning flash in a dark sky. People pulled him into conversations, asking for his opinions. Of course they did. The healer was incredibly smart, gave excellent advice—and Mr. Grumpy Cat was just plain fun to listen to.
Bree frowned at the side gate. “People are starting to leave. I’d better go make like a hostess.”
“I’d come and help, but…cub.” Margery gestured at the three-year-old on her lap.
“Stay put. Pup-tending is valued in the pack.” Laughing, Bree headed off to tell people goodbye.
“There’s a smart lad. Found somewhere soft to sleep after a long day of playing.” Tynan put a glass of juice on the table, sat next to her with a beer in his hand, and grinned.
“You smart lads are all alike.” Last night, he’d stretched out on the couch with his head in her lap. She sipped the juice and smiled. Maybe someday she’d learn to like beer or wine. That day hadn’t yet arrived. “Thank you, it’s wonderful.”
“So are you.” Tynan leaned over to kiss her, slowly, careful not to disturb the cub. Turning his chair, he settled down to watch the sun’s last glow behind the mountains.
“Sun worshipper,” she teased him. How many times had she seen him sprawled out in a sunny spot on his porch?
“Side effect of Seattle. There were weeks all I could see were tall buildings and cloudy skies.”
“Disgusting human city.” Donal took the chair on Margery’s other side. “I wouldn’t last two days there.”
“That’s optimistic,” Tynan muttered, “considering your complaints before the rescue last fall. If we hadn’t had you trapped in a helicopter, you’d have headed straight back to the mountains.”
Donal’s pseudo-indignant hiss made Margery laugh because the healer never really took insults to heart.
He propped his feet up on a chair. “Ty’s a sun worshipper, aye, but it’s someone else who sneaks out of bed to sit in the moonlight every night.”
Tynan grinned. “You saw her, too? The first time, I figured she was heading home, but, instead, she plopped her curvy ass on the floor in front of the window.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Face warm, Margery looked down to resettle the sleeping cub in her lap. The youngling didn’t even stir.
“You’re a wolf, sweetheart. Stealth isn’t in your skill set.” Donal gave her knee a pat to go with the insult.
“I can be sneaky.”
“Now there’s a pout,” Tynan murmured and kissed it off her lips. “Is it just our house or do you get out of bed every night?”
“You’re as snoopy as Donal. Tell you what. If I share my past”—reaching around the cub, she pointed at Tynan—“then you have to share about living in the city. Balance.” Balance was another of the Daonain customs she’d re-learned during her time in the Elder Village.
She really did like the tradition.
“What about Donal?” Tynan adjusted her aim so she pointed at his brother instead. “No balance for him?”
She snorted. “Like he doesn’t share everything already?”
Donal gave her an insulted look—which she knew was feigned. He had more self-confidence than anyone she’d ever met.
“Balance, hmm?” Tynan eyed her. “Aye. I’m in.”
“Okay, then.” But…was it right to push Tynan to talk about something that must have been horrendous? How could anyone live there—for a decade—after knowing the freedom of the forests?
“Meggie?”
A quick look showed Tynan didn’t look upset or stressed…and he expected her to talk first, it seemed.
“Okay, fine.” She blew out a breath, disturbing the cubling who snuffled a little grouchy sound. “My grandmama would sit with the Mother every night, out on the back porch where the moonlight could find her. After I was, oh, maybe around eight or so, I joined her.”
Donal’s eyebrows rose. “She sat with the Goddess?”
“It’s a tradition handed down by the females in our line. Mama joined us sometimes.” Margery shook her head. “As a Scythe prisoner, I was so angry and scared, but when I sat with the Mother, in her moonlight, even the ugliest emotions drained away. Since my cell window was tiny, I would get out of bed to catch when she shone through the window.”
“And now?” Tynan asked.
“Now, when the moon lights the window, I feel her presence, like she’s calling me to sit with her. So I get up.”
“And fill yourself with her glow,” Donal said softly. “No wonder children flock to you.”
Margery looked down at the cub in her lap, kissed the silky hair, and jerked her chin at Tynan. “Your turn, Mentor. How did you manage to survive all those years surrounded by buildings and concrete and steel? With only humans? Donal said you didn’t visit him hardly at all.”
Tynan ran his hand through his hair in the way he did when he was herding his thoughts. “The lack of visits was… Well, if I somehow revealed the existence of shifters, I couldn’t chance letting them track me here.”
Margery flinched at the jab of pain. One Dogwood shifter had been careless, and her village had died.