On Display

Murph quailed inwardly. He knew who Divinity was, of course. By reputation. She was as famous as Levity, if not more so, since she was a frequent—and flamboyant—judge on panels for nationally televised food competitions. Divinity was iconic. Tippy used gifs of her all the time. In person? Larger than life didn't begin to cover it.

"Show yourself, Kindred," she demanded. "Take pride in a heritage worth having."

"Be reasonable," protested Levity. "And tone it down. You're worrying him."

Divinity dragged her gaze to her sister's face. "Me? Look at you ! Not a sigil in sight, all your wares on display."

Levity stood, pointedly putting herself between her sister and him.

Murph wasn't sure how to read this situation.

Mare Blazelock didn't seem concerned. She rolled her eyes and calmly announced, "I could use some help, Shep."

A moment later, a blond man strolled through the door, eyed the bickering ladies, and offered Murph a hand. "Up you get, mate. Ah, don't mind them. Divinity gets protective where Levity's concerned, and recent events have her riled." Hand still clasping Murph's, he added, "Name's Shep. I do most of the cooking for the household. Can I set you up with anything?"

Murph's first instinct was to trust the guy. That was the only excuse he had for crowding closer to Shep. He asked, "You're one of them?"

"Seems to me you're one of us." Shep's smile was slow, his gaze steady. "That can't be comfortable. Let me get you into something with more room to wag."

Murph did want to get away from Divinity, so he nodded.

Shep led him by the hand from the room.

"You're a wolf?" Murph checked.

"One of the wild dog clans. Dingoes aren't as big as wolves, but I have things that should fit you well enough."

Fifteen minutes later, Murph wore loose-legged lounge pants that had been designed to accommodate tails. Shep pointed him to a seat at the kitchen counter, and Murph eased onto a stool that was also convenient for persons with tails.

When he declined liquor, Shep said, "I know just the thing. Trust me on this."

Something that was muddled, fizzy, and fascinating was the result. Murph was sure there were flowers involved, but he couldn't place all of the flavors.

Appetizing tidbits made an appearance, and Murph was relaxing by increments.

Not much was said until Shep took the seat next to his and asked, "How much do you know about Levity?"

"A fair bit. We've worked together for years."

"Nice. But I meant her plans. Divinity's worried about what's ahead." Shep lowered his voice. "The Amaranthine people—that's us—are stepping into the open. We'll be exposed. Vulnerable. And the ones making these plans, they're asking Levity to lead the way. Like what she did for you, but on a bigger scale. An international outing."

"She'll be a headline."

"And those aren't always kind. It's scheduled for the next full moon." Shep's gaze turned pleading. "You're in a position to know, Murph. How are her other coworkers going to react when they realize how many little lies our Levity has been hiding behind?"

Gorgeous Color

Levity was furious with Divinity for toying with Murph. This was a time to be building trust, not making bids for dominance. "Why are you unleashing wildness? You're not even a wolf any longer. Are you?"

"If I am a dog, I'll be a wild one."

"To please Shep?"

Divinity narrowed her eyes. "Focus, dear. The topic of the moment is throwback, not outback. By my whiff, your infant wolfling is one-sixteenth Amaranthine at most. Probably half that. And smitten with you."

"The poor man woke up with a tail. I am hardly his first concern."

"Don't even try to pretend. This is your fault! He's responding to you. You stirred up his latent genetic potential. You're the moon to his tides, and the consequences are dramatic!" Pushing through the swinging door to the kitchen, Divinity gestured broadly to the guys sitting side-by-side. "Behold his attainment!"

Murph startled.

Shep smiled.

Divinity whisked around the counter to inspect the delicacies her suitor had pulled together to tempt Murph. She breezily added, " Gorgeous color, by the way. Levity's always had a passion for red wolves."

Levity widened her eyes at her packmate.

Divinity selected a canape. "What? I'm not wrong."

Murph's tail tucked. "You're embarrassed? I embarrass you?"

"No, Murph." And hesitating an extra beat, Levity asked, "You can tell how I feel?"

" Somebody 's been bond-building," Divinity said, high and sweet.

Shep vacated his seat, waving for Levity to take it, like it was her rightful place. Because that's what it was. Murph's gaze was all questions and pleading, and she couldn't very well deny him. Or any of this. So she joined him.

"I am embarrassed," said Levity. "I'm embarrassed because Divinity is providing more context than I'm used to sharing. But I shouldn't be surprised. With wolves, you can't hide anything. Feelings least of all."

"Are we having feelings, then?" Murph asked warily.

Levity couldn't help smiling. "We're certainly having words."

"You're not having me on?"

"Oh, you have her." Divinity nibbled at a wedge of cheese. "Untuck your tail, my fine ruddy fellow, and flash it her way. It'll do the both of you some good."

"Jargon," Murph grumbled. "Do please rattle on, Miss Highstreet. Or prattle if you must. I'll compile a list of terms that require definition as you go. It would be a shame for semantics to get in the way of peace."

Levity hadn't expected to find Murph in editorial meeting mode. "You've rallied."

He pursed his lips. "No. I'm distracting myself with work. I can hardly do a competent job of framing your upcoming series if I don't know proper terms and their usage."

"So this is work now?"

"If the Perspective is going to cover this Emergence of yours, then yes."

"You told!" Levity protested.

Shep said, "He's clearly Kindred. He's within his rights to know."

Divinity drawled, "You're going to be in headlines, sister dear. Isn't it better for all of us if he's the one writing them?"

Murph's tail puffed and twitched, then began to sway. "I'm good at my job. Let me do it. I'll sort out my place in all of this … later."