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"Everything all right?" Jaiel asked when they reached us.
The little boy gripped my hand more tightly and shot a quick pleading look up at me before shaking his head. "Nothing important," he mumbled.
I bit my tongue. If he didn't want them to know, it wasn't my place to share.
"Well then," Tye said, smiling and holding out a hand. "How about you show us around this solstice festival of yours?"
My jaw dropped.
Since when did Tye smile? And why did it make my belly feel as though an entire swarm of flutterwings had been let loose inside me?
The little boy's eyes widened. "Really? You'd like that?"
Tye nodded. "Absolutely!"
Who was this man, and what has he done with my growly Hunter?
Finn grinned up at him. "I know the tables with the BEST cake and graiel meat. Follow me." He took off, winding his way through the crowd, running at full speed.
Tye looked back at Jaiel and me and shrugged. His cheeks were definitely a little flushed.
"Well, we better go after him," he said. "It's not like this festival is going to enjoy itself."
Then he smiled and took off at a run.
I stared after him in shock. "Well, it seems like the potion works, at least."
Jaiel chuckled softly. "I don't know if I'd say that," he said, watching Tye dart through the crowd. "Downstairs, he said a few sips should do the trick, but as soon as he saw you up here, he nearly downed the whole thing. I stopped him at three swigs and he still ended up like that." He gestured to the oddly happy man. "I'm sure it'll be fine, though …"
"Of course," I said. Inside, I knew better, though. The bond was getting stronger and more insistent the more time that passed.
We needed a proper solution quickly.
"So," Jaiel whispered. "What happened while we were gone? Everyone seemed so — tense …" He reached out to grab my elbow, but then stopped and awkwardly dropped his hand to his side and looked away.
I swallowed against the sudden tightness in my chest. He was giving me distance, and that was exactly what I'd demanded. So why did it feel so wrong?
"It's just pack politics," I said, voice full of fake brightness. "What matters now is that poor Finn over there has a shithead for a father."
"I know how that goes," he said with a grimace. "Anything we can do for him?"
"Unless your charisma can make a bad parent into a good one, I don't think so."
"Well, then," he said with a nod. "Let's make sure Finn has an amazing night tonight. It's never too early to learn that sometimes the best family is the one you choose."
My chest tightened again.
"Saints. What is he doing?" Jaiel asked, interrupting my thoughts as he pointed toward the food area.
I looked over and froze.
Tye, Finn, and a gaggle of children surrounded what looked like the dessert stand.
The children were taking turns holding out their plates, and Tye was overloading them with more sweets than one human could even eat.
But every time a sensible adult tried to stop him, he'd growl until they backed off.
It was the sweetest and most ridiculous thing I'd ever seen …
