39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

I tapped David on the shoulder. ‘Come with me.' A flash of apprehension washed over his face and I grinned. ‘Relax, it's nothing bad. I wanted to give you a new responsibility.'

He straightened his shoulders and smiled. ‘Yes, ma'am.'

‘Come and meet Nina.' I walked to the cabin, but before I could knock her door swung open in welcome. I stepped inside; the cosy fire was going and it was warm and homely. A cup of tea winked into existence.

You came back! Nina said excitedly.

‘I said I would,' I said aloud for David's benefit. ‘And I've brought you a werewolf to talk to, as well. His name is David. Give me a moment and I'll link you.' I hummed a song, stretched my magic out to both of them and established a light communication binding. ‘There,' I said with satisfaction. ‘Nina, say hello to David. David, meet Nina.'

Hello David, Nina said shyly.

Eyes a little wide, David bowed and held a hand to his heart. ‘My honour to meet you, Miss Nina.'

She gave a coquettish giggle.

‘Nina has been alone for a very long time,' I explained to David. ‘She would love someone to come and talk with her every day, so I thought that when you come out to do some gardening you could pop in here and have a chat with her.'

He smiled. ‘It would be my honour.'

‘Wonderful. Nina, I also wondered how deep your roots go. And by that, I mean how many rooms do you hold? I appear to have called a large volume of lone wolves to my door. Could you help with housing them.'

Inhabitants? she asked excitedly. The walls juddered, like she was jumping up and down with joy.

‘If you would like some. Not permanently, but for now.'

Oh yes, I should like that very much! I have lots of materials stored, though I suspect I will need some more wood – and perhaps some fabric for curtains and rugs and the like.'

‘Do you need me to bring you curtains and rugs or just any old fabric?'

Anything will do. I need material to start with then I can make what I need, but I can't create from nothing.

‘Wonderful! '

I'll start my expansion immediately.

‘I'll leave you and David to get acquainted. I'm sure he can help you with any questions you might have.'

‘It would be my honour to assist you, Miss Nina,' David said solemnly.

I left them to it. I longed to find Ben and check he was adjusting but I could see him grinning at Noah, laughing and joking by the barbeque. He didn't need me right now and there were others that did.

Greg had already opened the horsebox and Ivy was out, snuffling the lawn cautiously. ‘Come on,' I said to the unicorn. ‘Let's go and find Ares. He'll know what to do with you.'

I made sure I had some mints in my pocket and we headed into the woods. Esme longed to run but Ivy hadn't been particularly comfortable with us in wolf form so we resisted the urge for now.

I took a few steps but Ivy didn't follow me, so I reached out and sent her an image of Ares. Her ears pricked up instantly and she gave a happy snuffle. This way, I told her. This time she followed me.

The noise from the lone wolves' camp drifted on the air: mostly it was the sound of laughter. It was beautiful, though not the calm quiet I had envisaged .

Ares wasn't in his lean-to that David had made him, so we plunged deeper into the woods and found him sunbathing in a clearing at the other end of the property. ‘Hey, Ares,' I called. He opened his eyes lazily, but when he spotted my companion he surged to his feet and gave an equine greeting. Ivy responded in kind, though the noise she made sounded plaintive.

Ares trotted over, bowed his head to her once then carefully leaned down and touched his horn to hers. Because I was nosy, I reached out with my magic and connected to them both. Images whirled between them, so fast they were dizzying. When Ivy showed the image of her deceased mum, Ares broke the connection and snorted with rage. He slammed his feet on the ground, the hair on his neck stood up and he looked at me accusingly.

‘Hey!' I objected. ‘You know I would never sanction that.'

He grunted and lowered his hackles, then turned back to Ivy, nuzzling her and offering comfort. They touched horns again, and this time I didn't intrude.

As I sat on a boulder in the clearing and waited for them to finish communicating, I lifted my face to the sun and let the warmth fill me. A pointed snort from Ares grabbed my attention and I opened my eyes. ‘Yes? '

He swung his head to Ivy then back to me. I reached out with my magic and he sent me a series of images: Ivy, running by his side; Ivy next to him at the lean-to; Ivy, running along the perimeter of our lands with him.

I blinked. ‘You want her to stay?' He pawed the floor once. ‘Well,' I said slowly, ‘she's more than welcome, but werewolves killed her mum. Does she truly want to live here?' I looked at the trembling foal, but then she also pawed the ground in affirmation.

‘Okay. Let's see how we all get on, shall we? She is most welcome. I'll get Finley to arrange for a delivery of raw meat and have it put by the lean-to.' To emphasise my point, I sent Ares an image of a pile of raw burgers next to his shelter.

He gave a happy whicker and nuzzled my shoulder – then he caught the scent of the mints in my pocket and pointedly snuffled at it. I laughed and pulled them out, one for Ares, and one for Ivy. Ares took his instantly and happily munched the peppermint treat, but Ivy sniffed my open palm cautiously. Ares gave her an encouraging nod and finally she took the mint delicately with her teeth. She crunched it once and her eyes flew open; a few more chews and she threw back her head and gave a happy neigh .

Ares nudged my pocket again. ‘One more,' I conceded. ‘A little bit of what we like is good now and again, but it won't be a treat if we have it all the time.'

This time Ivy snatched the mint instantly. We had a new fan.

‘I'll leave you two to get acquainted,' I said. ‘I'm going for a run.' I looked at Ivy and sent her an image of me shifting into Esme as a gentle warning. If she was staying here, she'd have to face her fears; I couldn't forbid my wolves to shift on their own lands. Cruel as it was, Ivy would have to get used to it.

I shifted. With my focus on Ivy, I forgot to remove my clothes. Bugger – bye-bye Boys Drool T-shirt. And dammit, another pair of jeans had bitten the dust. I should have worn Terrance.

Esme held us perfectly still on four legs as Ares came over and nuzzled us affectionately. He looked pointedly at Ivy. I thought he was asking too much of her, but the trembling foal came closer. To my surprise, Esme lay down and exposed our belly. I am no threat to you, youngling, she thought firmly.

Ivy crept a little closer, sniffed us then moved back quickly and leaned against Ares. It was a start. Once we were sure she was happy, we gently rolled to our feet and loped away.

It was time to run!