I was refuting everything he’d told me, but for some reason, Tadhg’s expression remained infinitely patient as he asked, “Okay, then, are you able to go without eating or relieving yourself for long periods of time—days to weeks, if need be?”
“Yes, but…” I squinted, wondering how this particular topic of conversation was coming up again so soon after my weird discussion with Amanda. “All wolves can do that.”
“All wolvescannotdo that,” he assured me, and he didn’t give me a chance to answer before asking, “Have you been feeling sleepy as of late? And unbelievably hungry?”
How did he know?
I scrunched my forehead. “Yes, but that’s just because I’m gluttonous and prone to sloth when the weather gets cold.” I stared at him blankly. “My mother told me that because she had a child outside of wedlock, I was born with those two stains on my character. And it’s something I must fight within myself every season.”
“Why would she…?” To my surprise, Tadhg’s expression darkened. But only for a moment or two, then it softened into sympathy. Like he felt sorry for me, even though I’d just explained that I was a she-wolf who’d been cursed from birth. “I don’t know why your mother told you that. But it’s nothing to do with your character, Strawberry. It’s in our nature. Because we’re bears living in a world that doesn’t hibernate. That’s part of the reason Cian opted out of living in The Above, so he did.”
He indicated the Shadow King, who now sat on his bottom. Technically resting, but his back paws were on the floor, putting him in a crouch, and his two front paws were also braced between his bent back legs. That and his chosen position directly between me and the glass door made me suspect he was ready to come after me with that maw full of teeth, if I tried to run again.
“Cian normally takes a sabbatical around this time,” Tadhg told me. “Finding out about you is the only reason he hasn’t already retired to his castle for the next season. And even after over a decade of living in the human world, Declan, the other Irish Bear King, and I still have a hell of a time in the winter.”
Tadhg sighed. “Imagine our company would be twice as profitable if we’d been born wolves, like Iain Scotswolf.”
A wholly unusual sensation of feeling understood rushed through me. How many times had I gotten down on myself because of the Winter Sloth? I’d had a harder time with school when the weather got colder. Also, keeping up with my community duties, staying awake in church, or even during quiet conversations with Naomi—sometimes just day-to-day functioning felt like a chore. One I couldn’t do well in the winter.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m a?—”
“Give me your hand,” Tadhg suddenly said.
“What?”
“Give me your hand, and I’ll leave off trying to prove it to you until the next full moon. My sister’s pregnant with her husbands’ cubs at the moment, so she’ll be able to take a picture of you when you turn.”
Finally, something familiar. I understood the concept of shifters not shifting while pregnant. His kind must have that built-in protection measure, too. But did he say she was pregnant by herhusbands? As in, more than one?
I fretted my bottom lip, remembering what Malcolm and Gavin had claimed about the Irish Wolves mating in pairs.…
“Sadie, will you give me your hand?” Tadhg’s insistent question interrupted my meditation on what other strange customs Irish Bears might have.
I swallowed. “Okay, if it will put an end to this conversation.…”
I held out my hand.
Which Tadhg took and turned over, his grip light but firm.
I understood why when he reached inside his shirt collar and pulled out a medallion with a knotted Celtic bear, just like the one around the Shadow King’s neck. “A least two of the Irish Wolf Kings also have these, but theirs are made of bronze.”
I immediately began tugging to get my hand back. Whereas the Shadow King’s lemon smell had covered what his knotted bear was made of, the scent of the medallion’s pure silver hit my nose. “Don’t. Don’t!”
Tadhg’s grip tightened.
He turned my palm over, promising, “This won’t hurt.”
“But it will!” I told him, tugging back on my hand as hard as I could. Did he not know? “Wolves are highly allergic to sil?—”
I broke off when he laid the medallion in my hand and…
…nothing. The beautifully knotted medallion was slightly larger than my entire palm, yet the only warmth I felt was the faint heat from Tadhg’s body.
But how…?
I looked up from the silver medallion to Tadhg to ask, “How is this possible?”
“It’s possible because you’re a bear, like Cian and me. And unlike wolves, bears are not allergic to silver.”
