Page 19 of Wild Wolf

“Old habits,” I replied, and I got up off my rocking chair with a tired groan. “We didn’t even fight, and I feel like I’ve been put through a wringer.”

“That can happen. We’ll feed you, and you’ll be as good as new tomorrow. Desmond didn’t seem worried; he just ordered us to keep an eye on you, as he thought it’d been so long since you and your wolf felt safe you’d catch up on sleep.”

As Desmond wasn’t wrong, I nodded, picked my way around the people taking over my cabin, and peeked into the stew pot, taking a sniff and determining whatever was in it hadn’t come from the butcher or my freezer. “What is this?”

“The local Fenerec gave us a list of what we’re allowed to hunt. They informed us they keep a roe farm and several flocks of geese, releasing prey into the wild each season to minimize the damage they do to the wild populations, so we can take as many as we want of those species. We took down two older boars, a few geese, and an old buck. We found an abandoned fawn, which Desmond took to town so she could go to the farm. I’m concerned he might try to adopt her.”

Nicolina rolled her eyes, came into the kitchen, and attached herself to me while peeking into the pot. “I told him he couldn’t keep the fawn. Deer are for eating, and if we start keeping pet deer, deer will be off the menu.”

“She loves deer,” Richard informed me in a solemn tone. “She’s also angry at me we didn’t take down some rabbits for her enjoyment.”

“They looked positively delicious.”

“There were babies, and we don’t take the moms with babies,” Richard scolded. “We can get farmed rabbit for your enjoyment. If you’re lucky, your father got you some when he was shopping.”

“I really hope my father is smart and did the right thing.” Nicolina wrinkled her nose. “So. Amber.”

As the woman had her arms wrapped around me, I couldn’t escape the question, and I twisted to stare down at her. “What are you asking of me, Nicolina? To perform the ritual if needed, or something else?”

“Something else.”

“Okay. What do you want, Nicolina? I don’t want to play a guessing game today.”

“From what we know of you, you don’t drink, but the Russians said you could drink them under the table,” she said.

Wait. What? What did alcohol have to do with Amber? “If I have a choice in the matter, I don’t drink, because when I drink, I do stupid shit, including inviting rowdy Russians into my home. And they bribe their way into my home with vodka. It’s a problem. Fortunately, I don’t think I’ve done anything particularly stupid since coming here, but I’ve been on my guard even when drunk off my ass.”

“How much alcohol would I have to ply you with to get you to start hitting on Amber?”

Ah. “Considering I already asked her to marry me once because she beat up some SEALs, none. I’ve already done a good job of making an ass out of myself. Of course, if she takes Lane out like she’s after dinner while I’m watching, I’ll end up blurting the same damned thing again. Who wouldn’t?”

“Married men?” Nicolina asked in an uncertain tone. Her brows furrowed. “Possibly married women.”

“Possibly?”

Richard snickered. “She asked Amber why she hadn’t marry her instead of me a few weeks ago. I’d gotten on her last nerve.”

“Is that why you don’t mind she’s hanging off me right now?”

“I don’t mind she’s hanging off you because it means she’s not hanging off me while I’m cooking for a change. She wants your brownies, but she’s afraid to ask because she doesn’t know if you have the ingredients to make brownies.”

I sighed, twisted around, and peeled Nicolina off. “Go to the freezer and retrieve one of the blocks of butter. Assuming Richard hasn’t completely cleaned me out of flour, I’ll make you brownies.”

“Brownies!” Nicolina dove for the outdoor chest freezer, hitting the door at full speed. I winced at the thump, and the breath whooshed out of the woman. After a valiant struggle, she managed to get outside.

Richard sighed and bowed his head. “I’m sorry. She’s been like this ever since her father mentioned having you potentially perform the ritual where she could hear. She wasn’t supposed to find out about that.”

“She loves Amber.”

“Dearly. And she’s playing pretend around her father, as she’s well aware of Amber’s health problems. Her one moonstone is damned good at healing, and there are limitations to what she can do as a wizard. Reversing the consequences of old age is one of those things.”

“Why won’t the Inquisition change the rules?”

“They’re working on it, but it’s a slow process, and fire witches like Amber tend to have dramatic rituals, which are hard to hide. Once they hammer out the details, it’ll change. Witches who undergo the ritual later maintain their ability to help other Fenerec, although they tend to need a witch of their own for a while. We’ve got enough witches with us that if you do perform the ritual on her, Amber will have the help she needs. I recommend you drag her at least fifty feet away from your cabin before doing the ritual, though.”

“That far?”

“She’s a pretty powerful fire witch, and she’ll lose control of her witchcraft immediately following the ritual,” Richard warned.