Page 22 of Wild Wolf

“You live to feed people, don’t you?” Amber replied, and she smiled, taking the plate. “Thank you. I could eat. It’s tiring work making sure nobody touches my charges.”

“Any problems?”

“The locals were perfectly civil, and a few of the braver Fenerec came to say hello or observe us. The Chinese were chatty, but we survived that, too. Richard’s going to be annoyed, but China is really pushing for a visit. We can handle that as soon as we’re done here. Expect two weeks in Beijing.”

“If you think I’m going to refuse two weeks in China, you’re mistaken,” I informed her. “There are recipes I don’t have yet, and if Richard has an official summons, I might be able to get some really good recipes.”

Amber grinned. “I think you’ll be the happiest one of us while we’re there. They’ll do just about anything to get on Richard’s good side, and they’ll try to impress Desmond, too. All they’ll have to do to get you treated like a prince is show you any favor at all. Nicolina will be treated like a princess the whole time, given attendants and everything, and if she’s not really careful, one or more of those attendants will end up coming home with us.”

“Why would they come home with you?”

“They would be young Fenerec, and Richard will have to do some fancy verbal dancing to avoid it. Nicolina is becoming more and more social every year, and the Chinese Fenerec take debts seriously. They owe Richard a debt, so I expect the packs there have been training younger women to become the equivalent of Nicolina’s handmaidens. It’s an honor for them, and they would have volunteered. Richard’s been dodging it because he is not good at sharing his wife with others, and he’d have to expand the house again, as we don’t have two suites for a pair of Fenerec women determined to be a mix of Nicolina’s confidants, bodyguards, and anything she needs. I think it’s a good idea.”

I read between the lines: Amber understood she wouldn’t be around forever. “I think it’s a good idea, but I think it’s a good idea probably for an entirely different reason than you do.”

That earned me an arched brow, and Amber sat in my rocking chair, nibbling on her brownie. “All right, Declan. I’ll bite. Why do you think it’s a good idea?”

Once upon a time, before I’d let the stress of being on the run get to me, I’d shown more of my playful side to Anthony. I’d shown some of it through my use of odd profanities. I resurrected one facet of my humor to test the waters. “I can’t try to run off with you if she has you under her thumb.”

She choked. “What?”

“I figure I’ll get my ass kicked, as you have a hobby of beating on SEALs for fun, but if Nicolina is clinging to you all of the time, I can’t even try to run off with you. I mean, that’s the ultimate victory, right? If I’m able to drag you off, I’ve bested you in close combat, I’ve gotten you past your merry gang of people who adore you, and I’ll have proven I’m the top wolf. That’s how that works, right?”

She coughed and took another bite of her brownie. Then she grinned. “You just want me to kick your ass like I kick the ass of other SEALs.”

“I hope I put up a good fight before you take me out like Nicolina is going to take out the rabbit I cook for her later.” I chuckled and dug out one of the bowls, filled it with stew, and brought it to her. “Let’s just clear the air. I’m neck deep in special ops, and while I’ll do all the covert jobs as needed, and I can keep secrets as needed, I’m not going to play that game with you. Desmond taught me the ritual so I can use it on you if your health sours. Apparently, if I snap and perform the ritual, it’s legal, where the others don’t have the convenient loophole of having been born a rogue. Since I don’t want to play that game with you, I want to know what you want. Not what Nicolina wants, not what Richard or Desmond hope for, but what you want.”

I’d misjudged Amber’s hunger, as she inhaled her brownie and grabbed the stew bowl like it might escape her. I sat near my fireplace and enjoyed the warmth on my back while watching her eat. After a few minutes, she emptied her bowl. I got up and took it from her. “More?”

“Please. I’m trying to hide the extra calories, but I need them.”

“Losing weight despite eating like a horse?” I guessed.

“Yeah. It’s the cancer.” Amber shrugged. “I knew it before anyone else did. I am a fire witch, after all. I was aware within days of it starting to develop. It’s in a bad place, and while chemo might work in a Normal, it probably won’t work for me, and even if it worked for me, it would cure the cancer but kill me in the process.”

I got her some more stew, and I brought it to her. Her concern the cancer treatments would kill her made sense. They killed Normals often enough, and if they interrupted her witchcraft, it wouldn’t surprise me if her age caught up with her. “Are you aware they’re dodging the subject with you?”

“They’re idiots.”

I returned to my spot near the fireplace, and Petra huffed, got up, and flopped beside me, resting her head on my knee. If the wolf didn’t want attention from me, she’d rebuke me with her teeth, but she accepted my tentative scratching behind her ears with grace. “They’re not idiots for loving you.”

“They’re idiots for not talking to me about this.”

I considered Dante, Desmond, and Richard, and then I considered what I knew about Amber. I could see all three men being afraid of offending the woman for various reasons. Dante would want to dodge a beating. Desmond and Richard would egg the woman on to see how they handled her beating on them but would view her as fragile—something the ‘fragile’ Amber would take serious offense to. “They are, but I believe they wouldn’t want you attempting to kill them for offending you or implying you might be fragile.”

“Well, I am. Fragile that is. I’m old.”

“Yet you beat SEALs for fun.”

“Not anymore. I’ve been to the doctors about it, although I went on the sly to clinics outside of the Inquisition. I’ve been to clinics in the Inquisition as well. The Inquisitors gave a better prognosis, but I think the Normals are more accurate in this case.”

“Because your witchcraft is failing, so you’ll be more like a Normal?”

“I see someone has been talking to you about this. Which one was the brave, brave soul?”

“Dante started it, but as I said, Desmond taught me the ritual specifically for this purpose. Or he taught my wolf. I’m still a little unclear on that. I’m surprised Richard hasn’t gotten involved yet, although he might trust Desmond to handle it.” I shook my head at the insanity.

“The wolves handle the ritual, and the human side is more of a sidekick. It takes the wolf to call another wolf, and without the other wolf, there’s no Fenerec. Essentially, your wolf will try to summon another wolf, and that wolf will decide if I’m worthy of a bond. The wolf ultimately decides, although the human being turned into a Fenerec does play a critical role in whether or not the ritual is successful. The human truly has to want to bond with a wolf or be desperate enough to accept it.” Amber shrugged. “In my case, it has nothing to do with want, and it has everything to do with Inquisition rules.”