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Jess, the urgent note in his voice caught my attention as he continued, she knows better than to be on Pack lands without permission. She was avoiding the patrols. Keep an eye on her.
Easier said than done, I muttered. She went to town to get party supplies.
Monster? He questioned, and affection surged through me at his immediate concern for my brother.
Is with me. I glanced at him as he showed Nicky something in the dirt. I’m not letting him out of my sight until I know what the hell she’s up to.
Good plan. I’m headed back to you after I check one more thing. His presence, the sense of him, disappeared then and I went to join Nicky and Monster.
I watched them for a while when it dawned on me that I had the perfect source of information playing right in front of me.
“Monster, what do you normally do with Wren?”
“We play games,” he answered, pushing a truck through the grass.
“Do you play games in the woods?” I pushed, wondering if she’d told him to keep it a secret.
“Yeah,” he replied and my stomach dropped. “She shows me different trees and plants and tells me what they do.”
“Do?”
“Like heal and stuff. How to recognize pois…poisonous ones,” he said, stumbling over the word.
“That’s great,” I replied, forcing a smile. “Does anyone ever go with the two of you?”
Monster shook his head and I felt a spurt of relief that quickly disappeared with his next words. “Sometimes she meets someone though.”
“Meets someone? Like Sam or Trent?” I asked, trying hard to be casual. He’d clam up if he thought I wanted to know.
“No, someone else. I’ve never seen him.”
“Him? How do you know it’s a him if you’ve never seen him?” I teased, knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist telling me how he knew.
“I heard him. He talks funny,” he replied with all the attitude his five-year-old self could muster, which was a lot, I had to admit. “Wren has me sort different plants and then she leaves, but I can hear them.”
“Do you know what they talk about?”
Monster reluctantly shook his head, clearly disappointed his hearing wasn’t that good.
“Well, you’re not supposed to eavesdrop on people’s conversations,” I told him, ignoring the fact that’d I’d been doing a lot of that myself lately.
“She seems sad after she talks to him,” Monster added and I wondered if she’d left someone behind, someone who wouldn’t have been as welcome as the women and children.
Dom appeared at the edge of the forest then, distracting me from all thoughts of Wren as he sauntered from the woods wearing nothing but a loose pair of work out shorts. A shirt dangled from his hand but he didn’t bother putting it on as he came closer.
Monster waved at him happily as Nicky stared at him in awe. I remember Nicky’s reaction to his grandfather Hank and could only imagine what he thought of this other giant. Dom dropped down next to me, a fine sheen of sweat covering him even as I huddled inside a hoodie.
“Aren’t you cold?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Nope,” he replied, slinging his arm around my shoulders and tugging me closer. “I can keep you warm though.” I snuggled in because he was better than any heater. His head ducked close to my ear as he whispered, “Is that –” His voice cracked slightly and he paused to clear his throat, letting the next part come through our mental link. Nicky?
“Yes,” I answered out loud. “You want to meet him?”
“Sam?”
I hesitated, wondering how much I wanted to worry him. “She went to town. Asked me to babysit.” I went with simple since he was about to meet his nephew for the first time. “Nicky, come meet your Uncle Dom.”
Nicky’s expression held a hint of fear, but he was a Navarre so he came over with only a slight hesitation. Monster followed him, looking awed that the younger boy had such a cool uncle. “He’s your uncle? Cool.”
“Hi,” Dom kept his voice gentle as he held out his hand, letting Nicky make the choice whether or not to take it. “I’m Dom. Your mom is my sister.”
Nicky nodded minutely, studying Dom with wide eyes. “She told me about you,” he replied, setting his hand in Dom’s larger one. The difference was comical, but Dom shook it gently, treating Nicky as an equal.
“Did she?” Dom swallowed hard, studying the little boy so hard I knew he was memorizing his features and knowing Dom probably his scent so he would be able to find him if it was ever necessary.
“She said you were as big as a tree,” Nicky giggled. “And that you were nothing more than a shadow when you turned into a wolf.”
“She’s right,” Monster said enthusiastically. “His fur is black. You can’t even see him at night. Except his eyes.” Dom nodded, tapping the skin next to his eyes.
