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Pou woke to a frantic knocking at the door. After their trip downtown, he'd collapsed on the sofa and passed out. His muscles screamed in protest and that stitch in his side refused to relent. Thankfully, the others left him alone, though Hapa had yet to apologize.
Carney stood on the other side of the door, eyes wild and glassy. She started jabbering in French, but Pou stopped her and tapped his throat. She did the same. "Trina is about to do something stupid."
Trina had been so upset after they left the flower shop that she'd shut down completely. Once they returned, she'd stormed off while Carney helped him into the house and deposited him on the couch. "Thank you," Carney had said. "You've been such a huge help."
And now he needed to help again. "Of course." Gingerly, he descended the steps after Carney and followed her toward the lodge. Would Trina even listen to him? What was he supposed to say to her? What stupid thing was she about to do?
Shuffling and clanging sounded from a side room in the lodge. Carney threw the door open to reveal Trina stuffing as many weapons as possible into a saddlebag. “What are you doing?” Carney asked.
“Going to get answers,” Trina replied. “Our sister may have been tricked and I—”
“Trina,” Pou said. “Stop.”
To his surprise, she paused.
"Look at me."
She did. Determination turned her yellow eyes to pure gold.
"Let me go instead."
His statement surprised them both. Trina stepped back, bumping into a cabinet that held an assortment of knives. “I can’t do that. She’s my sister. This is clan business.”
“You sound like Père,” Carney muttered.
“Trina.” Pou took her hand. His heart raced at the contact, and his throat went dry. “I’m trained for something like this. I know what to watch out for. Let me help.”
Her gaze dropped to their hands and the way he absently stroked her fingers with his thumb. She licked her lips and swallowed hard. Then she pulled away. “I’m descended from great warriors,” she said, returning to her task. “I’m capable of this.”
Pou pondered his next words. What would Matā say here? “You’re more than capable, Trina, but you’re needed here. If your sister returns, she’ll look for you, and if you’re gone, what will that say to her? What will she do? If you send me and something happens, at least you’ll still be here for her.”
She faced him and looked at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw, perfect mouth in a delicate O. "I hadn't thought of that," she admitted. "I'm just so angry, Pou."
Taking another chance, he slipped his hand behind her shoulder and guided her against him, savoring the way she fit so perfectly.
“I have to know if it’s real,” she muttered. “I have to know that she’s okay. It’s up to me.”
“Us,” he said. “It’s up to us. I’ll see what I can find.”
“You’re still injured.” She pulled back. “You’re not in a condition to go anywhere.”
"I'll be fine. It'll do good to get out and move."
"You aren't going to change your mind, are you?"
"No," he answered. "I'll find you when I return."
***
After getting directions, he headed out with just a dagger in a sheath at his hip. Alone. The Tane wouldn’t give him permission, but this was information-gathering, not a hunt or a fight. He hoped Matā approved of this, too.
And maybe Pou wanted the chance to impress Trina.
The walk through the woods felt good, too. A cool breeze drifted through the trees, rustling leaves that were beginning to change already. Warmth didn't stay here long, it seemed, but when it did, it was beautiful. He enjoyed the sun streaming through the branches, the way the damp ground beneath his feet smelled, the reminders of walks through the forest back home. More often than not, he took walks by himself to enjoy the world Tane-mahuta had created when he separated Earth Mother and Sky Father. The trees and forests and birds he'd formed. Until coming here, Pou didn't know there was a world beyond the forest. The elders never spoke of it, and yes, sometimes they found pākehā, but Pou had never given much thought about where they had come from. Words like "Europe" or "England" never meant anything to him. They were as much concepts as the stories of Tane or Maui. Myths even. He didn't need to think about the outside when he had so much to worry about in the village—gathering food for the chilly winter, helping thatch roofs or repairing the elders' homes, protecting the people he loved.
It had been generations since the Whakamanu had accepted a pākehā bride. So long ago that only stories of her remained, and though her name was listed in the genealogies, no one remembered what she looked like, what her voice sounded like, where she was from. Once pākehā brides came into the iwi, they took a new name altogether and effectively became Māori. Nothing like what Trina's mother had done, holding onto her old heritage with such a tight grip, hiding her lover's feather in her wedding cloak. There were rites that brought an outsider into the tribe, and expectations that came along with it. Maybe the Kaqtukaq had no such rites or expectations, and that was why Rosa hadn't given up her past life. Not for the first time, he let himself wonder, briefly, what it'd be like if Trina joined the Whakamanu.
The trees and brush gave way to at least a half dozen hunting trails that fanned out through the woods. He activated his second sight and studied the area. Paw prints stood out in stark relief from the dirt, and wolf fur littered the ground, the bushes, even the tree bark. Carefully, he followed the trails back to their convergence at the main gate, where more tripwires stretched between trees, almost invisible even with his vision. He disarmed a few, but if he disturbed many more, he’d give himself away. A new scent was bad enough.
Near the end of the trail, various cabins came into view, obscured by a fence without any guards. Strange. The Kaqtukaq had said the fence stayed under heavy guard. Still, it would be foolish to go in the front. On a deep breath, he skirted to the left and followed a less-worn trail. A multitude of voices drifted to him from inside a nearby cabin. The closer he got, the more he heard. He caught screams, but ... not of pain. Screams of children playing. Of joy. The voices coalesced into conversations, chatterings in the same language the Kaqtukaq spoke. Pou slipped through an opening in the fence, heart pounding, almost afraid of what he'd find. Several kids ran around the front yard, too engrossed in their play to notice him. Then he peeked through a window and found the source of the commotion.
Margot. It had to be her. Swans recognized their own.
She held a baby. Her lovely face was soft, eyes half-lidded as she looked down at the small infant wrapped in wolf skin. Behind her, with her chin resting on Margot's head and arms wrapped around her shoulders, stood the mystery woman. The wolf who'd come to the pond. She was beautiful; they both were. Margot with her white, opalescent hair cut just above her shoulders and delicate features, reminiscent of Rosa's, a lovely contrast to the mystery woman's long silver hair. The moon and starlight, he thought. Pure adoration shone from them both as they looked down at the little bundle in Margot's arms. Other members of the Pack gathered around them, and she begrudgingly returned the baby to its mother.
Margot was safe. She was ...happy. And as she shared a kiss with the silver wolf, Pou realized she was in love.
A pang of jealousy hit him but quickly passed. At least Margot was alive.
He retreated back into the woods before anyone caught his scent and headed toward the Kaqtukaq village. He reset a couple of the traps he’d disarmed, hoping they’d blame the others on squirrels or other animals. Hoping his scent would fade before they went on another hunt. Hoping he’d know what to tell Trina.
***
By the time he returned, the sun had almost disappeared below the horizon. He checked the weapons lodge and found no one there. Then he went to the main hall where everyone had gathered for a dinner that was almost over. Trina and Carney sat in their usual spot in the corner, and Trina glanced up when he entered. Electricity went through him when their eyes met, and he swallowed hard before joining the sisters for a few brief moments; after all, he needed to get back to the Whakamanu, who no doubt wondered where he was. "She's okay," he said.
They both let out a relieved breath.
"She's safe?" Carney asked.
"Better than safe," he replied. "We were right. The wolf is the woman from the store. They're ... in love."
A distressing hardness settled over Trina's features. This wasn't the way he expected her to respond at all. “They’re in love,” Trina repeated. “Because that damned wolf tricked Margot.” Her gaze flicked to Pou. “Right?”
“What exactly did you see?” Carney asked.
Pou recounted the scene: “Margot sat in a rocking chair near a fireplace and held a newborn baby swaddled in wolfskin. Her lover, the silver-haired woman, stood behind her and stroked Margot’s hair while they both cooed over the baby. Others from the Pack sat with them, while children played outside.” He took a breath and reached across the table for Trina’s hand. “There’s no trick. What mother would let an enemy hold her child?”
The emotion drained from Trina, leaving a blank stare while who knew what went through her mind. Then she blinked, and the rage came back tenfold. “He fucking knew it, and he lied to me.”
“Who?” Carney asked.
“Père. Who else? He came at me with his talk of Malsum’s trickery, saying the wolf had tricked Margot into leaving with her, but it’s real.” Trina slammed down her fork and pushed her plate away, almost knocking it off the table. "He knew, but Margot hid it from us. Maman is fine with leaving because she knows, too. She has to."
"Maman is leaving?" Betrayal twisted Carney's face and tears filled her eyes. "What the fuck is happening to our family? What is Père doing?"
Trina crumpled. She moved to the empty seat next to Carney and pulled her sister tight. “Oh, little orange. Père doesn't give a shit about our family. Telling everyone the wolves abducted her means he doesn't have to admit she wanted no part of his stupid bargain with the Whakamanu. She didn't want a loveless marriage like our parents'. She got the chance to go off with the woman she loves, and now we're stuck here, trying to keep the pieces from breaking further."
Another pang hit Pou’s heart as he watched Trina squeeze her sister; how many times had he comforted one of his sisters the same way?
"I gave him the chance to admit it and he denied it,” Trina continued. “He said he has a plan, but the Thunderbird hasn't blessed it. He has been buying time for weeks, and no one has called him out on it." She glared over her sister’s head at her father, who conversed with the storyteller and a few of the elders.
"Trina, don't," Carney whispered.
Trina kissed her sister’s blood orange hair. “Only because you asked. But after tonight, I can’t make any promises.”
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