When the man finally reached the top of the rock, he inclined his head with respect to Simon, Letta, and Myla. “I’m Barrow, and I understand Hannah was left in the human world, and just came into her abilities. I’m her brother.” The dark-haired man smiled.
Simon didn’t know the guy, except by sight at the games.
“You are not with the pack that claimed her already. Did you move to the new pack when you were older? The pack leader said nothing about her having a brother.”
“I didn’t know another pack had claimed her.”
Okay, so that meant one of two things, Simon thought. This guy was lying, or the pack leader was. Gut instinct told him the pack leader had been sincere.
“Oh, I see the difficulty. She is my half-sister, though I would refer to her only as my sister. Our father was one and the same, our mothers different. Hannah’s mother took her to the human world. My father, suffice it to say, had found a new mate when he was on a trip. He was wrong in doing so and Hannah’s mother was ashamed and left her own pack.”
“And your dad can verify that he is Hannah’s father?”
“Of course. He’s not at the Gathering, but I’ll return and have him send word.”
“Since Hannah’s father abandoned her to be with your mother, Hannah belongs to her mother’s pack.” Though it would give Hannah a second option if she didn’t care for her mother’s pack and they didn’t like her either. Still, Simon thought it sounded odd that the wolf was laying claim to her so all of a sudden.
“You know she was a fae seer before this?” Letta asked.
Barrow turned his gaze on her. “I do. She couldn’t help what she was before she came into her powers. Not once she was abandoned by her mother.”
“She had human foster parents,” Letta said.
“Correct. She’s not responsible for her actions when she lived there.”
“It is good that you feel this way.” Simon was studying Letta, trying to determine what she was seeing in Barrow. She had her head tilted to the side a bit, her eyes narrowed, as if she didn’t believe the man. Likewise, Simon had reservations about him. But why claim Hannah for his own if she was nothing more than trouble.
“Have you had a lot of trouble with fae seers before? Have you lost pack members to them while visiting the human world?” Letta asked.
Barrow’s expression darkened. “Of course. I’m sure we all have. It’s a hazard of going to the human world and playing with fire.”
“True,” Simon said, but he suspected that Letta was getting at something else. Something darker.
“Why do you want to be her brother so bad? It seems to me that she’d feel some animosity for her father abandoning her and her own mother to want to have her live with your mother and you,” Letta said.
“To make it up to her, naturally. To show that what happened between her mother and my father had nothing to do with the way I would feel about her. She’s still my sister.”
Letta smiled, but the look was pure cynicism, as though she knew Barrow was lying. “All right, then how would your father feel about this? You have come here seeking to take her into your pack and your father doesn’t even know about it. Isn’t that so? Did he ever look back? Ever wonder what had become of his daughter? Ever search for her? If she’s happy with her mother’s pack, I don’t see why she would want to go to yours.”
“Because she would have living family there. Me, Dad.”
“And your mother?”
“She never had a daughter. She would welcome her.”
Myla was studying Barrow as much as Letta was. Simon didn’t think either Letta or his sister believed the wolf. “Unless Hannah says she wants to go home with you, she’s going with her mother’s pack leader. But we can discuss this with him and Hannah.” He glanced at Letta to see how she felt about it.
“I agree. Her mother’s pack has already stepped forward to take her in. And if we all talk and she decides she wants to go with you, we’ll want proof first that your father is indeed her father and is willing to take her in.”
“Why would I pretend some she-wolf I’ve never met is my own flesh-and-blood sister?” Barrow asked, sounding irritated.
That’s what Simon wanted to know. He suspected Letta believed the wolf intended to use Hannah for some purpose. In line with Letta’s questioning about fae seers, he thought she must think the wolf wanted Hannah to show him where her former fae seer friends were. And then what? Eliminate them? Maybe he thought she could show them how to get around to find more of the fae seers, but there was one problem with that. Even though they would have been her cohorts before, she was now one of the fae, showing off her fae aura, and they would know she wasn’t one of them. Simon was certain Barrow had no intention of trying to find the fae seers to make friends with them.
“Have you spoken to Hannah yet?” Simon asked.
“No. Since you have been caring for her, and now knowing the other pack leader claimed her, I needed to come to you first.”
“Good.” At least Barrow had done that right.
Another couple of packs won rounds on the tug-of-war contest and cheers went up all around.
“We have one more round of four packs facing off on this contest. After that, if you’re not participating in the next game, and Hannah’s leader isn’t, we’ll meet with her and Silas,” Simon said.
“Thank you.” Barrow inclined his head and climbed down from the rock.
They waited until he was out of earshot and Simon asked Letta, “You suspect he wants to use Hannah to search out her co-conspirator fae seers and terminate them.”
Letta nodded.
Myla frowned. “So he’s not related to her? He just lied?”
“It could be. I’d like to learn if Barrow’s father had another mate before Barrow can talk to him and convince him to say he’s Hannah’s father,” Simon said.
“Who would you send?” Myla asked.
“Gia.” Letta smiled. “She wants to prove she’s loyal and above reproach, she can go. She can still transport herself and she can question the father.”
“She’ll have to be coached as to what to ask,” Simon said.
Letta let out her breath. “I’ll need to go. I'll be able to tell if he’s lying or not. But I don’t know my way around the packs. Would Gia even?”
“One of our brothers can go with you,” Myla said. “I know Simon doesn’t want to let you out of his sight for a second, but if you go, Killington can protect you. Maybe Valoran too. Simon has to stay for the Gathering as host pack leader.”
“She’s my pack leader mate. She needs to stay here too,” Simon said.
“Well, if you really want to learn the truth, she needs to go,” Myla said. “And before Barrow can send someone back to set up the ruse. Even while we’re here arguing about it, he could be doing so.”
“Don’t your brothers need to be in the tug-of-war competition?” Letta asked.
Simon agreed with his mate. “Letta’s right.”
Myla folded her arms across her chest. “Someone else who isn’t in the competition then.”
“My strongest men are.” Simon knew his sister worried about Letta, but she didn't have to go right now.
“Not your strongest then. Maybe Myla and her friend Crystal,” Letta said.
Simon opened his mouth to object, but Letta kissed him, overriding his objection. “I have my magic too. Myla, do you want to go?”
“Yes. Crystal isn’t flying in the winged wolf competitions until much later. We can see if she’ll go with us. In the meantime, Simon can help us win the tug-of-war competition and set up a meeting with the pack leader, Silas, Barrow, and Hannah. We’ll return as quickly as we can.” Myla and Letta waited for Simon to agree.
He knew now that Myla wasn’t going to step down from telling him how to run his pack, though he didn’t mind. She often had great suggestions. He hugged Letta. “Go, but return as quickly as you can.”
“We will.”
Myla gave him a hug too and then she and Letta climbed down the rock. If it hadn’t contained iron ore, they could have just transported themselves from there.
They quickly searched for Crystal and found her giving a pep talk to some of her friends.
“We need your help,” Myla told Crystal, taking hold of her hand. “Now.”
“You and Letta?” Crystal said.
“Yes, to uncover a mystery.”
“I’m all for it. Let’s go.”
Letta really liked the winged wolf. She was full of adventure, no questions asked.
When the three of them transported and finally arrived at Barrow's wolf pack, they were met with wariness at first, but seeing they were three she-wolves with no male escort, some of the bachelor males appeared to be interested.
“We’re looking for Barrow’s father,” Letta said. “I’m Simon’s pack mate. This is his sister, Myla.” Though she suspected they knew who she was since she knew how to find her way here. “And Crystal.”
“Myla, Crystal,” a man greeted them. “I’ve never heard of you before.”
“She’s new to the pack,” Myla said. “Is Barrow’s father around?”
“He just came back from a hunt. His cottage is on the other side of the village in that direction. What did you need to see him about? Nothing’s the matter with Barrow, is it? Durbin would be beside himself to hear it.”
“No, not at all. He’s doing well in the tug-of-war competition. I imagine he’ll be in competition against my mate later this afternoon,” Letta said.
The man’s face brightened. “Good to hear of it. I’ll spread the word.”
Letta smiled at him, and then she and the other ladies hurried off to find Barrow’s father.
“What’s this all about?” Crystal whispered.
“To learn if Durbin is truly Hannah’s father, or Barrow lied about it,” Letta whispered back.
Crystal frowned. “I can’t imagine anyone wanting a wolf like that in their pack. I heard another pack claimed her.”
Letta agreed wholeheartedly and she figured that once Hannah lived with anyone, they would learn the truth about her. Unless by some miracle she changed.
They saw a man out chopping wood and Letta was going to ask him if they could send them in the direction of Durbin’s cottage, but when he saw them coming and straightened, he looked so much like Barrow, she figured he had to be his father.
“Are you Durbin?” Letta asked.
“Yeah,” the man said, looking and sounding growly.
Letta smiled. “Hi! I understand that you had a daughter by a former wolf mate.” She realized she should have waited until he set the axe down. Then again, it looked as though he had no intention of doing so because he had a job to finish.
“Where did you hear that?”
The problem was if she said his son, the dad might realize he needed to back him up. Otherwise, he might not want to admit he was a wolf who had abandoned his wolf mate.
“The daughter is with us, looking for her dad.”
Durbin glanced at the other women with Letta.
“We didn’t bring her with us to see you because we had to make sure if the rumor is correct or not. We didn’t want to get her hopes up.”
“I only have one mate, one son, and no daughter.”
A woman came out of the cottage and said, “What’s this all about?”
Did the woman know anything about Durbin’s former mate? Or had Barrow lied about all of it for his own dark purpose. The only thing was that if he had lied and his dad wouldn’t go along with the plan, especially if his mate strongly objected to it, Letta didn’t know how he hoped to gain anything by it.
“Just chasing down an unfounded rumor. Thanks for your time.” Then Letta and her friends fae transported back to the Wolf Mountain pack.
They were having relay races between wolf packs now, but Myla said, “I’ve got to help my brothers prepare the nooning meal. Are you going to tell Hannah about any of this?”
“I have to because I’m sure Barrow will speak to her before long. And I’m going to talk to the pack leader who claims she belongs to his pack also. Maybe Silas knows the truth.”
“Okay, let me know.”
“I will. And thanks, Crystal, for coming along.”
“My pleasure. Any time you have a bit of sleuthing you need done, just let me know.”
“Thanks.” Letta headed to where she saw Simon watching the relay races to tell him what they’d learned.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’m glad to see you back. What news?”
She explained what had happened. “Are you going to run in the relay races?”
“No. I’m saving my strength for the next tug-of-war contest between winners.”
“Do you mind if I talk to the pack leader and Hannah about this situation?”
“No. I’d go with you, but I need to watch the games to show my support and make sure nothing gets out of hand.”
“I’ll let you know what I learn.” Letta gave him a kiss, then headed off to find Hannah and the pack leader. She couldn’t find Hannah right off, but she found Silas. He was giving his wolves a pep talk and glanced at her.
“Is there something wrong?” Silas asked.
“I just need to talk to you about something that came up. Something concerning Hannah.”
Silas joined her and they found a private place to talk. “What’s this all about?”
“Do you know the wolf named Barrow?”
“Aye.”
“Well, he claims Hannah is his sister.”
“He does, does he?”
“Yes. He says his dad is Hannah’s dad and he abandoned her mom, mated a new she-wolf, and had him. So Hannah is really his half-sister. I spoke with his father, but the man said it wasn’t so. I didn’t tell him his son was the one who claimed she was his sister. His mother came out of the cottage about that time. It could be that Durbin doesn’t want to acknowledge that he had a former mate and daughter in front of his second mate and us, or he truly never had another mate, nor a daughter named Hannah.”
“Why would Barrow make up this story then?”
“I don’t know, unless, because she was a fae seer and knows more of them, he wants her to return there with him and he’ll hunt them down.”
“Have you discussed this with Hannah?”
“No. I came to you first.” Mostly because Letta couldn’t find Hannah. “I just want to do what’s right for her.” Letta couldn’t believe she was trying to protect Hannah when she didn’t even believe the woman would thank her for it. Then again, this is what her grandfather taught her, to show tolerance, and as a pack leader now, she really did have to try and keep the peace, like Simon was. “If she truly does have living family with another pack and they want her to stay with them, I just think she should have the option. But if Barrow does want her to stay with them, and she really is his sister, but the father doesn’t want her to join his pack, nor does Barrow’s mother, then we need to know that too.”
“All right. Speak with Hannah. We’ll leave it up to her.”
“Thank you, Silas. We’ll let you know what she decides when she decides it.” Now, Letta just had to locate the willful fae.