Chapter 14: Her Name in Public

The yard was so quiet I could hear the lake slapping the boathouse.

Three hundred wolves, and not one of them breathing.

Aldric climbed two steps of the porch, so they could all see him.

He held out his hand for the letter, and folded it into his shirt pocket.

"Tell Alpha Mossgrave I'll answer him," he said. "At the bridge, at noon, the day after tomorrow. In person. Not in a letter."

"He'll ask what the answer is."

"He'll hear it with everybody else."

That was all he said.

He went inside.

I stood in the yard with his son's hand in mine and every Langtry wolf staring at me, trying to work out which way their Alpha would jump.

He didn't come to find me that night.

I didn't go to find him.

I put the children to bed myself, because he was in his study with the door shut and the light on until three.

Mags sat up with me in the guest room, her bad leg on a pillow.

"He could hand you over," she said.

"He won't."

"He could. It's a good deal. Two pups safe, one problem off his books."

In the morning I went down to breakfast and stopped in the kitchen doorway.

Aldric was sitting at the long table with Clover on the bench in front of him.

He was trying to braid her hair.

"Ow," said Clover.

"Sorry."

"OW."

The cook was standing at the stove with her back to him, shaking with silent laughter.

Arlo was eating cereal and watching his father.

"Over, under," Arlo said. "Not under, under."

"I did over."

"You did under twice."

Aldric looked up and saw me in the doorway.

He didn't say anything.

Neither did I.

I came over and took the three hanks of curls out of his big, hopeless fingers.

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