Dani’s mouth twitched. “Welcome back,” she said.
He looked at her properly then, like he was re-orienting himself. His eyes were tired, but sharper than they had any right to be after the day he’d had.
“You all right?” he asked.
The question was gruff, almost offhand. The bond nudged, a more honest echo.
Are you safe? Are you hurt? Did anything happen while I was gone?
She shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t start any wars. Figured I’d leave that to you lot.”
He made a face. “Funny.”
“What happened?” Aurelia wanted to know, bouncing a little. “Did Dominic punch anyone? Did that Leonid guy get thrown off a cliff? Did the vampire do anything cool?”
Arthur’s jaw tightened at the mention of Leonid. Dani filed that away.
“Bedtime,” Dani said automatically.
“It’s not bedtime,” Aurelia protested, “It’s barely nine.”
“Then it’s ‘stop interrogating your alpha’ time,” Chase said. “Let him take his coat off before you ask who threatened to stab who.”
“You eaten?” she asked him, nodding at the pot.
He hesitated just long enough for her to know he hadn’t. “A bit at the inn,” he said. “I’m fine.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re lying,” she said. “Sit. I’ll get you a plate. You can explain the apocalyptic showdown in small words for the benefit of the child.”
He almost said no. She saw it in the set of his mouth. Then his shoulders eased a fraction, as if he’d remembered that refusing food in his own kitchen when his mate offered it might qualify as stupidity even by Nordan standards.
“Fine,” he said, and pulled out a chair.
Dinner was more reheated than cooked, but none of them cared. Chase filled the silence with exaggerated commentary about the stand-off, how Leonid had swaggered about, how Dominic had nearly exploded, how Rory had played mediator, and the vampire had watched everything with dead shark eyes.
“Wait,” Aurelia said around a mouthful of pasta, “youinvited the Volnoye? Like, on purpose?”
Arthur’s fork paused halfway to his mouth. “Aye.”
“Leonid really betrayed Dominic?” Dani asked quietly.
He looked at her. Really looked. The reminder landed like a stone between them.
“He did,” he said, “and he paid for it. Dominic made sure of that.”
“Enough to trust them now?” she asked.
“Enough that I’ll take what they know and keep a very close eye on them while they’re here,” he said. “They’re staying on the ridge. They don’t set foot in town without permission. They step one toe out of line, Dom has the right to remove their heads.”
Chase snorted. “Julian wrote the rules himself. You’d have enjoyed it, Dani. Lots of his icy threats.”
Aurelia frowned, “Is Dominic mad?”
“Yes,” Arthur said bluntly. “He’s also not wrong to be.”
That earned him a flicker of reluctant approval from Dani’s magic and an odd look from Aurelia.
“So you invited a bunch of dodgy wolves to our home,” Aurelia summarized, “and now everyone’s mad.”
