“I said I was proud of you.”
“Yes, thanks, Dec. But I did it. Take my hand.”
“Is that one gross too?” I laughed as she twisted the one without cookie bits closer and I batted her away.
“Can you smell this?”
I smirked. “Your cookie fingers?”
“Shut up.” But she snickered. My Honey actually giggled. It was like the chime of Old Magic in the middle of a still wood. My whole being expanded.
“Oh, the bacon grease you somehow have all over your hand?” I tussled with her a bit more, grabbing her clean palm to lick at it while I wrapped an arm around her.
“Can you follow it?”
I scoffed. “Ned could follow it, Fallon.”
“Are you sure?” She smothered her hand over my nose and giggled again.
This was turning into the best day. My jealous mate played with me of her own volition. I had to tell her we were mates. Surely, she felt it now. Not just the bond between us, but the love that came with it. It would all work out if we did this together. Right?
“I infused the cookies with it so someonecan follow them back to their monk lair. And look, no one turned into soup! If those weirdos have Brad, they can’t be up to anything good. Turning them into consommé on purpose might be fun.”
Briggs and the rest of the pack chattered excitedly, arguing who would tail them. Who would report back.
Marcus, the head wolf on patrol, snapped, “I’ve got this.”
His series of accompanying barks had Fallon backing up into me. My fists clenched. They were scaring her and I didn't appreciate it. But I couldn’t get in the middle and then have to explain what I was doing there.
Briggs bit back, “Ask Declan.”
Marcus’ arms crossed over his broad chest. He was easily twice my size. “Declan doesn’t even know the routes anymore. He left and maybe he should have stayed gone.”
“You’re complaining about having your magic back, Marcus? Or you’re sad all your power can do is spook forest animals?”
“That seems handy if you want lunch,” I offered and Briggs glared at me.
My quip only brought on another cacophony of opinions. They sniped at each other, barely letting me get a word in edge-wise.
“You’ve always wanted my position, she-wolf,” Marcus shouted, and then the claws came out. I steppedHoney out of the way. She actually helped in this situation when my pack reduced themselves to squabbling.
Briggs lunged for the male wolf. The pack was naturally unruly when their instincts pushed them - forever primed for a hunt, a fight, or a game. We worked together when it was for the good of the pack, but it came with big personalities and a lot of debate.
I didn’t like yelling, or leaving black eyes in my wake. We had been through enough of that with my father.
Separating Briggs and Marcus with my hands seemed like a bad idea. I gathered the Old Magic instead and cleared my throat. The sound reverberated through the glade and everyone went silent, the weight of my intent settling on them.
“We’ll make it a game. Split into two teams and the winning team gets a Locot cake,” I said.
Easy. Equitable. No need for claws. My sister and Marcus nodded.
“I’m the second team’s leader,” Briggs shouted.
Marcus was stuck with his mouth open, a long set of scratches down his neck.
“Fine. We’ll race you,” he said to Briggs.
A terrible howl filled the air as wolves kicked up rocks and snow in their efforts. I sagged in relief. I didn’t know if my suggestions would land. My father would have let them fight it out until blood hit the forest floor. I was just grateful to be heading home. One peek at Honey told me she wouldn’t ask me why they listenedto me.
