“I’m not blind,” Zephyr said stubbornly. “I’ve seen how you look at Honey.”
“She’s an attractive woman,” Buck said, and felt a silent growl of agreement vibrate through his bones. “Can’t blame a man for looking. I know what you assumed, and I’ll admit, she did have me wondering for a while. But I was wrong. So stop trying to mash us together like a kid with a couple of Barbie dolls.”
The line between Zephyr’s brows deepened. “You told Honey she’s not your mate?”
A warning twinge shot through his arm. Buck wasn’t sure whether his personal curse couldactuallyhurt him, but denying his connection to Honey seemed like a surefire way to find out. And even if the damn mutt couldn’t literally disjoint him like a buffalo chicken wing, he wasn’t willing to flat-out lie to Zephyr’s face.
“I didn’t have to,” he hedged. “Look, not a word of this to Honey, you hear me? Things are complicated enough as it is. Last thing she needs is to have people poking their noses into her private business. Especially her boss.”
From Zephyr’s slight wince, that hit home. “Understood. I would never overstep professional boundaries, and I certainly don’t want to make any of my staff feel uncomfortable. But Uncle, you can’t tell me youdon’t—”
“You take that back!” Estelle’s piercing yell rose above the general background ruckus—furious, shaking. “You take that back right now, you—you—motherlover!”
“I think my campers are trying to murder each other,” Buck said to Zephyr, privately breathing a silent prayer of profound gratitude. “Excuse me.”
Honey was already hurrying toward their pack’s table. She wasn’t the only one. Ragvald, who’d been assigned to monitor breakfast that morning, got there first. His huge hands came down on Estelle and Ignatius’s shoulders.
“Cease this at once!” Ragvald forcibly dragged the pair apart, as easily as if they were a couple of kittens. “Are you mere toddlers, to squall and strike at each other? This is no way for young warriors to behave.”
Estelle shrugged off Ragvald’s restraining hand, still glaring daggers at Ignatius. “He started it.”
“It does not matter who started it,” Ragvald said, towering over both children like a thundercloud of disapproval. “What matters is how you end it.”
“Well said, Ragvald,” Honey put in. She fixed Estelle and Ignatius with the kind of glare Buck usually saw in the mirror. “You two, apologize to each other at once.”
Estelle and Ignatius glowered at each other like gunslingers at dawn. It was clear that any apology was going to beextremelyhollow.
“You’ve got one chance here, kids.” Buck folded his arms, pleased to see both Ignatius and Estelle wilt a little. “Be grateful you’re being given the chance to apologize. Or would you rather skip straight to the next option?”
“Friend Buck, you speak true words!” Ragvald boomed before either child could respond. “Fists have been raised in anger, and in the feasting hall itself! For so great an offense, mere apology will not suffice!”
“Uh,” Honey said. Behind her, Buck could see Moira trying to reach their table, struggling to cut between goggling campers. “I don’t think that’squitewhat Buck meant.”
Too late.
Ragvald had already produced a pair of actual motherloving axes.
“This is a matter of honor!” Ragvald declared, as Estelle and Ignatius’s eyes went very wide. “You must settle this like men!”
At that moment, Buck was too busy stopping his idiot animal from going for the man’s throat to do anything else. Honey, fortunately, had no such problem.
“Thank you, Ragvald,” she said, her voice just a touch higher than normal. She stepped forward, smoothly taking the axes out of his hands. “I think we can handle it from here.”
Somewhat to Buck’s surprise—though much to his relief—the big man relinquished the weapons without a fight. In fact, he looked positively pleased to hand them over.
“Yes, shield-sister. It is right that you should oversee this matter, since these young ones are under your care.” With a broad smile, Ragvald reached behind his back again. “Will you be using your own ax, or may I offer you one of mine?”
Honey’s own smile was rather fixed. “I think I have all the axes I need, thanks.”
Moira descended on Ragvald like a one-woman SWAT team. “Ragvald, I require a word. Outside. Now.”
“Of course, Princess,” Ragvald said, who was now starting to look rather bewildered. As Moira led him out of the hall, Buck caught him murmur to her, “Princess? Why does everyone seem so tense?”
Honey turned back to Estelle and Ignatius. They, for their part, did not seem notably relieved to find themselves now facing an ax-wielding Honey. They both leaned away a little.
“Now,” Honey said, quite calmly. “Who would like to tell me what this is all about?”
“She attacked me.” Ignatius drew himself up, four and a half feet of offended draconic dignity. “When my uncle hears about this—”
