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Seff made a couple of trips from the stove and delivered the teapot for me and my mom, coffee for himself and my dad, and mugs of hot chocolate to the long table where we sat. Arteisma climbed up and sat on my left, while Nereida sat to my right. My dad took a seat next to my mom and poured her a large mug full of tea.
“Look at you! They got you doing tea service now?” Decker chuckled.
Seff gave my brother a look but said nothing.
“Seff, you can sit next to me,” Nereida said as she scooted to the next chair over to make room at the table. She ignored Decker as well as I did.
Seff smiled and gave me another of his little secret winks before taking his seat between Nereida and me. The light from the candles burning on the table flickered in his dark eyes and made another of those little fluttery feelings burst inside my chest.
Dear gods, it was just a wink.
Was it so inappropriate to feel that spark of joy when surrounded by so much death?
Yes, probably, but I couldn’t help it.
I took Seff’s hand in mine, twining my small fingers through his larger ones. We’d held hands this way for hours while sitting in silence on the futon. Again while lying in my bed. It was as if we’d held hands this way all our lives. I never wanted to let go.
My mother’s eyes widened for just a second before a small smile curved her mouth, then disappeared. Decker cursed under his breath while standing off in the corner. I didn’t rise to his taunt.
“Seff Weylan?” Mom asked. “Derry Weylan’s son?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Seff answered.
Another slight smile brightened my mom’s face. “I helped your mother bring you into the world.”
“You were the midwife?”
“Yes, I was.”
Seff grinned. “My mom told me what you did. Thanks for savin’ my life.”
“Saving your life?” I asked.
“My umbilical cord was wrapped around my shoulder and caused some worry.”
“And he was a large baby,” Mom added.
“Yep, I was big.” Seff poured a good amount of half-and-half into his coffee. “So your mom did some finagling, and I arrived with no problems.”
“I remember those days,” my dad said. “Your mother would hop on the back of my bike, and we’d travel the country for months. Comfort, Texas was one of our stops.” Dad slid a hand down his mustache and beard, then gave Seff a small nod. “I heard Gunner and his new mate were the ones who brought Rule to justice.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Such a sad story, that one.” Dad shook his head and took a sip from his coffee cup. “Rule was one deranged wolf. I met him a couple of times back in my travelin’ days. Did you know he killed his dad in the Rite of Ascension?”
Seff and I shook our heads.
“Yeah, his old man was nuttier than a squirrel turd. He’d sired I don’t know how many kids before he mated his cousin. When the other packs found out, they told him, fine, mate with whoever he wanted, but no offspring. It was right after that he and Rule fought in the ascension rite. I never heard what happened to his mate after he died. After all the horror stories I’ve heard about Rule, it wouldn’t surprise me if he killed her, too.”
Dad brought his coffee cup to his mouth and took a drink before going on.
“And here we are, dealing with the mess Rule left behind.” He wrapped an arm around my mom’s shoulders. “Your mom and I need to get back to town before we’re missed. We left the trailer parked out of the way. When the snow picked up last night, we knew we weren’t gonna make it back. I was out taking my nightly walk when I caught the blood scent mixed with yours, Des.”
“I injured one of them.”
He looked at me without speaking. I knew what he wanted to ask without saying it out loud. I lifted my chin in a slight nod. He understood what I’d done andhowI’d done it.
“Well, you must’ve done a hell of a job since they took the chance to stop in town and break into the pharmacy. By the time I’d tracked their scents there, they’d taken what they wanted and skedaddled. The sheriff, along with a few other people, had already arrived. Those two wolves were long gone by then.”
