“Bruce?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do we have a list of all the births in the last three decades?” I ask.
“Of course,” he says, standing up and opening what appears to be an ancient filing cabinet and pulling out multiple files. “Here you go.”
I specifically pull the year Jonas and I were born, wondering if Violet is also listed, but I’m met with confusion.
“It says no males were born this year,” I say, pointing it out, and Bruce puts on his glasses and nods.
“Yes, no males.” His brows furrow and he clears his throat. “I believe a few pregnant women left that year. Their children must not have been cataloged.”
“What was the climate with the witches back then?”
“Oh, that was a terrible year. Atticus Collins was a great Alpha, his son, Oberyn was set to take over, but he disappeared. That year was when the witches started really eating up downtown and pushing us out. We had shitty leadership after that, no one fit to lead. You can see the way births have gone down since then.”
“Do you have Oberyn Collins’ family chart?”
The older wolf scrubs his beard and looks around at the massive stacks of files and cabinets.
“I’ll have to search around for it. Though I don’t think you’re in his line.”
“Thank you Bruce. If anyone has any issues with my ideas, please feel free to send them my way.”
The old man smiles, his eyes crinkling. “You’re a lot like your grandfather, but better in the ways he lacked,” he says and I tilt my head.
None of the other elders have freely mentioned him, and I didn’t want to push it.
“Hans was too hard. Some joked about how he didn’t have a heart. He led the wolves into a strong era. We avoided the witches, and I’ll give him credit. He handed the torch to Atticus when he was getting too old. But you’re not self serving. You’re strong, but you still have a heart.”
I’m not sure how to take the compliment, and I nod at Bruce instead of saying thank you or letting his words go to my head.
“We are an excellent Alpha,”Thorin says, having no issue at all with the compliment.
“Also, I have a few granddaughters your age, all unmated, beautiful. Well, maybe not Seline, but the other three are.”
“Thanks for your help, Bruce,” I say, ignoring that he just called one of his granddaughters ugly. I scoot my chair back and wonder if Jonas and I were the only males cast out of the pack at birth.
What had everyone so scared thirty years ago?
When I arrive at Violet’s home later that evening, she’s in the black nightgown, the silk clinging to her body like it loves her, as she eats a bowl of noodles at the table. She has two ancient looking books open in front of her, magic turning the pages while she reads.
“Hi,” she says, putting the chopsticks down and standing up.
The dress tightens against her chest and I lose it, grabbing her by the hips and tossing her over my shoulder.
She laughs and wiggles as I slap her ass and carry her into the bedroom. I plop her down on her massive bed, loving the way her hair splays against her soft purple sheets.
“Long day, honey?” she jokes and I nod.
“Been thinking about how I’d come home and fuck my wife,” I tell her.
A coy smile takes over her mouth as her nightstand drawer flings open. Her vibrator floats in the air, until it lands in her hand.
“What if I already took care of that itch?” she asks.
“We both know that you need more than one, little witch.”
