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“You’re not quite what I expected for a vampire,” Maggie said.
“Well, that’s because I’m a scientist.” Bel stopped and surveyed the kitchen with its newly cleaned counters. “And I’ve learned that work progresses much better when a space is clean and organized.”
Maggie smiled up at him. “You must keep your boys on their toes.”
Her words warmed a spot in Bel that had recently gone cold with worry. He moved to the pantry and started pulled out bread and other things he could find, then crossed to the fridge. “It doesn’t sound as if it bothers you. That Wyatt, River, and I are gay.” He kept his eyes on the contents of the fridge as he spoke, not wanting to pin Maggie down. Definitely not when she was his one ally at the moment. Or maybe she’d just elected herself as the one who would check out the vampire for the rest of the pack.
“No, I don’t mind.”
Bel’s head popped up and he looked at her in open surprise. She made a noise and waved one wrinkled hand at him in a dismissive motion.
“Oh, I know the old notion that a wolf is only as good as the number of children he’s fathered, but your Wyatt has already proved himself capable of protecting his own little family. Is he really less worthy than the monster he put down tonight? Definitely not.”
A slow smile grew on Bel’s lips, and he started pulling out packages of sliced meat and cheese. It wasn’t much, but they could slap together some sandwiches for anyone who returned to the house. Wyatt was going to need something after all the shifting and fighting. And River was just a bottomless pit of hunger.
He laid everything on the table in front of Maggie so they could comfortably work together.
“We’ve lost too many good wolves to that old way of thinking,” she said softly. She paused and licked her lips. “I believe…I lost a nephew that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know Wyatt’s sister. Good woman. Hard worker. She confided in me what happened with her pack. I’ve never heard of a wolf coming out to his pack the way he did. Most…they just disappear one night. All are well past the marrying age, just when people are starting to talk and the pressure is mounting. The pack just wakes up one morning, and the person is gone along with some of their belongings.” She shook her head. “My nephew was a sweet, kind boy. I never once saw a girl turn his head. One night, we were at a wedding for a boy who was the same age as him. He held my hand tight during the entire ceremony. Later that night, he hugged me and told me that he loved me. Next morning, he was gone. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.”
Bel reached out and laid a hand on her thin shoulder. “I’m sure he was able to build himself a good life. Find love and happiness.”
Maggie smiled at him, but she didn’t exactly look convinced. Bel hoped that he was right and that all those exiles found something other than the kind of hardship Wyatt and River had suffered.
They redirected the conversation to lighter topics like the promise of spring. Bel peppered Maggie with questions about normal pack life, and she answered them all with an air of amusement. She even asked him a few more about old vampire folklore that simply wasn’t true.
Minutes ticked by slowly. Bel could still feel his wolves. Amusement, joy, relief, family, and little twinges of pain rose from both of them. They had back something they’d not enjoyed in a very long time. They were running free with their own kind. They were a part of something they had thought they’d never have again.
And it was selfish of Bel to want them to leave all that behind.
The wolves couldn’t have been gone longer than an hour when heavy footsteps could be heard up the front steps. The door opened and Wyatt strode through, wearing only his jeans. His chest was covered in sweat and dried blood, but it looked as if all his injuries were healed. The wolf walked tall like the conquering warrior that he was. Directly on his heels was River, looking windblown and so very happy.
River flashed a wide grin that morphed into a moan when his eyes fell on the huge plate of sandwiches. “Oh God, Bel! How did you know?”
“You think I’ve forgotten your eating habits?” Bel teased.
River grabbed up two sandwiches and took a huge bite out of one while tightly clutching the other.
Wyatt nodded to Maggie and Bel. He grabbed a sandwich and offered them to the other two men who’d followed them into the house. Wyatt then handed the plate over to a man Bel hadn’t seen before.
