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“Does it hurt?” he whispered. Part of him wanted to shout at River to stop just so he wouldn’t be in pain.
“Not really.” Wyatt wrapped his arm across Bel’s chest, pulling him into a tight, comforting embrace. “When we’re young, the first few shifts can be extremely painful. But now, after so much time, it’s more like the burn of a good stretch.”
“Good,” Bel said on a relieved sigh.
The glow faded to nothing. In River’s place stood a wolf with white-and-gray fur. He shook his entire body. He stretched one rear leg and then the other.
“Wow,” Winter breathed in awed tones. “That is so amazing. He-he looks amazing. Smaller than I was expecting.” River’s ears snapped back in what sort of looked like an expression of shock and hurt. “No! What I mean is that you lost some of your human mass. I thought it would be one-to-one. The same size regardless of whether you’re human or wolf. Wait!” Winter’s eyes snapped over to Wyatt. “He can understand me?”
Wyatt chuckled. “Yes, our thoughts are still largely human in wolf form. We pick up the wolf’s sharp senses and some of their hunting instincts, but our brains still operate as human.”
“How does the pack communicate as wolves? Do you have a form of telepathy?” Bel inquired.
“No. We communicate the same way wolves do. We follow a leader. We make the same noises. And we read body language.”
River walked over and sat down in front of Winter. He placed one large paw on his knee and panted, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. He was similar to a very large dog with frighteningly large teeth. Very slowly, Winter touched River’s paw, holding it as if holding his hand. He reached out so very slowly, pausing here and there to make sure River could see what he was doing before he finally touched his head. He stroked the top of his head and then his ear.
There was such a look of wonder and awe on Winter’s face that Bel could feel his own joy bubbling over in his heart. This was something of his brother he’d not seen in a very long time. He would never be able to thank River enough for this moment.
“Beautiful. You are very beautiful,” Winter whispered.
River nudged Winter’s hand with his nose and walked over to where he’d been sitting. He jumped up on the couch and curled up right next to Bel, head in his lap. Without a thought, Bel stroked his head. River sighed, his body fully relaxing. Bel smiled at the waves of contentment rolling off River, happy that he could give that to the werewolf.
“Have you heard any news recently about the Ministry or the latest murder?” Bel found himself asking when a comfortable silence had settled over the room.
Winter frowned, his stare falling to the coffee table in front of him. Bel almost regretted bringing it up when he saw the old shadow fall over his sibling. He’d been happy in this little escape with the wolves.
“Nothing new yet.”
“I’m not wrong in believing this was all started by the Black Wolf clan, right? Minerva admitted to killing the first three.”
The former clan leader had only been interested in seizing power and she had seen the Variks as a possible roadblock in her path. But they had destroyed her and her clan months ago.
“No, you’re not wrong. She did start this, but since no one has been eager to step up and claim a Ministry seat, the opportunity has been there for someone else to essentially pick up the torch from Minerva and carry on.”
And why should anyone claim a seat? Other than having a steady stream of income and being known for its corruption, there was little advantage to being a Ministry member. Each one lived with a target on his or her back.
“Marcus has finally arranged for Aiden to meet with the head of the Montgomery clan in hopes of restarting the alliance talks,” Winter murmured. His eyes darted over to River and down to the table.
“What?” Bel warily demanded.
“Marcus and I are concerned that the presence of the wolves could add a…complication to the talks.” Winter paused and shifted in his seat so that he was now leaning forward with his forearms resting on his knees. “We’re sure that Aiden will likely be very up-front with them about our clan members and potential…issues.”
“Wyatt and River are not ‘issues.’ They’re people,” Bel snapped. Wyatt’s hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed.
“Bel, it’s okay.”
“But it’s not. You’ve been used and poorly treated by the MacPhersons and your own clan. It needs to stop now. I’m drawing a-a damn line in the sand here.”
Winter smiled at him and Bel flinched. “What? What’s that look?”
“I’m just proud of my crazy scientist brother,” Winter said.
