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“That must have come as a shock,” I continued, trying to send warm healing energy into the older woman through both my words and my fingers. The two humans flanking us leaned in closer, like dogs offering comfort through their presence alone.
“It was a disappointment,” the older woman countered. But rather than pulling away from my touch, she squeezed my fingers one second longer while offering me the fairy tale I’d spent a decade pretending I didn’t crave with the yearning of an orphaned fox pup.
“You, however, were not a disappointment,” my grandmother informed me. “I have long searched for a granddaughter. A firm, strong woman to train and to nurture. A brave kitsune to carry on the family name after I leave this plane.”
As she spoke, she gazed at me with eyes so dark they might as well have been Mama’s. There was a warmth to her smile now, a pride that seemed to stroke my cheeks while making my spine straighten.
And like a fish in a pond, I rose toward the bobber, opened my mouth to accept the offered nourishment. Of course, bait inevitably comes with a fish hook. But at that moment, I didn’t even care that this was bound to end in pain....
Before I could speak, however, Sakurako continued, “I just need one small favor from you, granddaughter. Nothing major. No skin off your teeth.”
“Yes, Sobo?” I nudged her when she turned silent.
Rather than answering, the old woman peered at me for one long moment, her pursed lips reminding me so much of Mama’s that my breath caught in my throat. Then, finally, she told me the price of becoming part of her family.
“All I need from you,” she finished, “is that black fox you and your sister are hiding. Oyo is difficult, dangerous. Too much for you to handle on your own without further training. Turn her over to me to take care of, then we can build up our family as it should be with the next generation at its heart.”
***
“OF COURSE, SOBO.”
I could feel the words lingering there on the tip of my tongue, ready to escape if I unclenched my teeth and let my mouth fall open. Which was absurd given that what Sakurako was asking was both dishonorable and patently unwise...while also going against my oath to the black-furred kitsune both Gunner and I had promised to protect.
Worse was the knowledge that the woman before me wasn’t manipulating me via magic the way Liam had done four months earlier. No, this decision—chosen family versus blood family—would be mine to make and mine alone.
I couldn’t say no and I wouldn’t say yes, so I merely disentangled my hand from Sakurako’s and stepped backwards. Meanwhile, the old woman’s words flew after me like a thrusting sword.
“Next time I see you, granddaughter, I will expect your answer.”
And I couldn’t even shake my head as I stumbled out the door and shut it between us. My answer. I had no answer. Wouldn’t bring even more conflict to this ailing pack, and at the same time couldn’t talk myself into giving either Sakurako or Oyo away.
I have a grandmother. A manipulative grandmother who appeared to possess a heart of ice, but a grandmother nonetheless.
Striding blindly down the street, I imagined for one awestruck moment becoming part of a large, loving family. Possessing older, wiser family members able and willing to steer me away from bad decisions before the results slapped me in the face.
Why did even dreaming of such a rosy picture feel like a mistake?
I was so lost in the confusion of my roiling feelings that I nearly walked past the two werewolves half-hidden by the trunk of the oak tree that spread huge and magnificent across the pack’s gathering space. But I couldn’t miss the sulfurous stench that rose around me, cuing me to extend my senses just as Gunner murmured, “I understand that Edward.”
“You understand? I don’t think you do, alpha,” Edward countered. And, through the brush, I could just barely see him shake off Gunner’s physical show of support so violently that any other pack leader would have taken mortal offense at the slight. As it was, I could barely smell the faintest hint of electricity invading the sulfur as Gunner tamped his frustration down enough to reply.
“I understand you thought this pack was worth saving or you wouldn’t have stayed when so many others left with my brother,” Gunner answered, not a single growl in his tone even though his voice grew firmer as his statement progressed. “I ask that you remember our purpose here before...”
“Before you act like a spiteful child and tear up everything your father built? Before your kitsune concubine makes so many mistakes there’s no pack to even attempt saving? You let her do this even though she’s not really your mate?”
Edward was so red-faced, I was a little afraid he might succumb to a heart attack. A little afraid...and also very faintly hoping that the greatest rabble-rouser in Atwood territory would take himself out of the picture without either me or Gunner having to do the deed ourselves. Concubine, my ass.
“Edward.” Now Gunner did finally growl out a chastisement.
“Don’t bark at me, Gunner.” Edward stood taller as he spoke, a sure sign of a werewolf in search of a fur-form turf battle. “I remember when you were a toddler gnawing on your father’s fingers. I never thought I’d see the day you forgot your duty over some fox in a skirt.”
The last time I’d worn a skirt was during an ill-fated job interview. But I think we all got Edward’s point, because this time Gunner’s order was both more specific and more adamant. “You will respect my mate.”
“I’ll respect those who deserve respect,” Edward countered. “And if you don’t wake up and do your duty to this pack before kitsunes invite in our neighbors, then I’ll correct my own mistake and join your brother in exile. You know half the pack will follow me.” He paused, then threw down the gauntlet. “And is it truly exile when no one but the weak are left behind?”
I only realized my fists were clenched and my sword visible when the tip of the latter caught in the hem of my trousers and nearly tripped me. Okay, that’s not helping matters, I chided, imagining literally stumbling into Gunner and Edward’s conversation before falling flat on my face.
Edward would be enraged. Gunner would be mortified. No, that definitely wouldn’t help defuse the older male’s anger...but what would?
My fingers slid across the face of my cell phone, Ransom’s unanswered text rising up in my mind’s eye. “I grant you free passage to and from Kelleys Island if you’d like to come and talk about it.”
The message suddenly seemed less like a trap and more like much-needed breathing space given the drama I’d be leaving behind.