“Ouch! Why did youdothat?” The little girl glared up at me, rubbing her sore forehead.
“Umm, I’m sorry, I?—”
Olivia skirted around me and scooped the tiny girl up. “Button! It’s so good to see you again. Where is your mom, though? There are too many people around here for you to be running around alone.”
“I’m not alone, I’m with you.” The little sprite pressed her fingertips to Olivia’s cheek, smiling. “Can you make the flowers grow for me again?”
“Of course. But just this once. I’ve got to save all my energy for healing people. Bence, would you like to come with us?”
All our friends had adopted the little guy right alongside us, and I was infinitely grateful when he nodded, and Olivia scooped him up in her other arm.
The little girl giggled as Olivia carried the two children away, talking about what color flowers they both wanted to see. Lavender to match her hair,obviously. I couldn’t hear what Bence said, if anything. He was so sad, and my heart broke anew every day that I couldn’t fix it all for him.
But I knew as well as anyone that dead parents didn’t come back, no matter how hard you wished.
“Has anyone ever told you that your friends are weird?” Valens asked, craning his neck to watch Olivia and the kids wander up to a nearby bush.
“No, but I have a feeling more of that is in my future.”
“Yeah, your friends are weird.”
“The absolute best kind of weird,” I amended as Bence clapped his hands and grinned up at Oli. I twined my fingers with Valens and chuckled as Olivia made an unassuming bush turn almost entirely lavender with blooms, making the little girl squeal and clap excitedly. Then a wave of bright blue blooms followed, presumably Bence’s choice.
“I couldn’t agree more.” There was a pause as we both turned back to the procession, and then he cleared his throat. “I hate to leave you two, but I need to get back to the forge. I’m this close to figuring out a way to remove the collars.”
I spun to face him, curious to hear more. He’d been spending hours each day when we weren’t fighting working on a tool to remove the control devices. So far, every time he’d gotten closeto removing one from a captive, it had backfired, killing the supe wearing it in a uniquely gruesome fashion tailored to the species wearing it.
He’d considered quitting every time someone died, and I couldn’t blame him. Valens wanted to save them, not murder them. But if we couldn’t get the collars off, we couldn’t saveanyof them. He hadn’t said much about his progress, but I caught bits of his sorrow and anger through our bond occasionally, even though he was trying to hide it from me.
It was sweet that he didn’t want me to experience their suffering, but I could handle what I had to. I was much more concerned about him pulling away from Bence and me under the stress of everything.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. I believe in you.Webelieve in you,” I amended.
He sighed, raking his fingers through his beard as he thought. “They have startedtakingpack members who get knocked out when they retreat for the night. We’re having to work double time to clear the field of downed wolves, instead of keeping up the defenses. I’m scared that any day now, it’s going to be one of our friends who we have to fight, not strangers.”
“I know. I read the report Lucien shared this morning. But Brute, it’s not just on you to figure out. You know that, right? This is everyone’s problem.”
He looked away, crossing his arms. Stubborn man. Everyone and everything washisresponsibility. I would probably never convince him otherwise, but I still had to try.
“I know, but I want to be part of the solution.” He lowered his voice until it was barely audible over the rowdy goblin parade. “I have an advantage nobody else on our side does.”
I nodded, understanding what he meant. Our inner circle of Goddess-touched wolvesdidhave unfair advantages, and other wolves were starting to notice. The reactions ranged from aweand hero worship to resentment and muttering, but it felt likeeveryonenoticed.
Just thinking about it made the back of my neck prickle, the little hairs standing on end. Someone had given the intel about Brielle to the ODL, after all. What if there were traitors in our midst? The thought made me search out Bence, but he was still there, giggling with Olivia, perfectly fine and unaware of my worry.
There was a break in the endless stream of goblins, and with one last kiss, Valens darted away, dodging our smallest allies as he headed for his borrowed forge. I sent up a silent prayer to the Goddess that he was successful and pasted on a smile for my son as the three of them came back my way.
“Where’s Uncle Walens?” he asked, lower lip immediately starting to tremble.
“He’s off to work in his forge for the day. Are you ready for some lunch, or do you want to keep watching the parade?” I asked, studying his face and stroking my fingers lightly through his hair.
“Parade. Can I sit on your shoulders?” he asked, squeezing his wolfie tight.
“Of course, come on.” I lifted him easily onto my shoulders so he could have a better view, and together, we watched our allies pour through the castle gates. The goblins were the most fecund, so their portion lasted the longest, but then there were giant bear shifters, more wolves from all over the world, and dwarves.
Three of the massive bears stared at Shay, who’d wandered up to stand next to me at some point during the ruckus. She shifted on her feet, shooting me a warning look. “See those three bears? Unmated and very willing to sniff around wolf girls. Avoid them if you don’t want Valens to lose his mind.”
“Duly noted,” I said, surprised that she’d taken the time to single out the three of them. “All of them, or…?”
