Page 23 of Shifter Mates for the Single Mom

“Society for Creative Anachronisms. They do medieval reenactments, tourneys, stuff like that.” I handed her the first few skewers, and she started lining them up inside a shallow casserole. “It’s a lot of work, but a whole lot of fun, too.”

“No shit? Heh. Can you make me a shaksha?” I couldn’t help but test her a little. Jamie and Ulf were more into swords than I was, but their enthusiasm and Madelyne’s were infectious.

“A Cossack sword? Sure. I’d have to alter the hilt and scabbard decorations, though. Trade silver for different colors of gold.” She considered me. “Which type?”

I laughed, pleased and even more intrigued with her. “Don Cossack, the big straighter ones. You really know your shit, eh?”

“I don’t do things halfway. No more than you guys do.” Her smile had a hint of wickedness in it. “I’ve studied swords from all over the world. I can’t quite do Damascus yet, and it’ll take years more study before I can do traditional Japanese, but I have most of my European swords down.”

“Heh-heh-heh. You know, between us three sword fans and Nathan, you’re gonna have trouble getting rid of us once this is all over.” I kept chopping, trying to ignore the tempting scent of raw meat. My Wolf was quietly reminding me that we hadn’t been out hunting in far too long.

Her smile became a brief and delightfully naughty grin. “What makes you think I want to get rid of any of you?”

“Oh, well then!” I said, brightening. Our eyes met for a moment, and I saw a gleam in hers that gave me hope and the beginnings of a serious boner. “I’ll just have to keep that in mind.”

“You do that,” she told me, and we went back to prepping supper.

TEN

MADELYNE

Aidan finally got to sleep around ten with a belly full of steak, but even with it cooled down and a good meal in me, I was restless. Maybe even angry. Having Nathan and his pack around was definitely a good thing, and as I’d said to Bela, I wanted it to go on well beyond when Matthias was finally dealt with.

The idea was sweet. It made me happy to think about it. But that happiness was ephemeral compared to the growing rage and sense of helplessness I felt about Matthias. It was like dropping ice cubes into a lava flow.

I had never backed down from a fight in my life. Not even with heavy fighters who towered over me. I knew how to take the bruises, tough it out, and keep going. The idea that a piece of shit like Matthias had magical powers that made it impossible for me to fight back against him directly was intolerable.

I wasn’t satisfied with letting Nathan and the others fight our battles for us. I might have hired them for that, but I just wasn’t made for the damsel in distress role. I would never be able to tolerate it, and maybe it was best that I prepare for the fact that that sneaky bastard might find a way past my guardians somehow.

My forge sat out back of the house, far enough away that the clang of the hammer and the roar of the blowers would not disturb Aidan or anyone else. The men were sleeping and guarding in shifts, true to their military backgrounds. I knew the grounds were safe, for now. It was time for me to get out and work some steel.

It was finally cool enough to wear jeans, my apron, and some work shoes. I had the design for Aidan’s knife, and I had decided that I wasn’t just making one. I wanted one of my own, just in case. At a minimum, I could use it to buy myself time until Nathan and the others showed up to step in.

Once I had my gloves and goggles on, I started up the forge and selected a couple of lengths of steel to work with. I heated the first length of steel to a steady yellow glow, then started shaping it.

Unsurprisingly, the clang of my hammer soon brought me attention. Nathan was on guard, and maybe ten minutes in, I caught sight of him walking up out of the corner of my eye. He moved around into my field of vision, staying far enough away to avoid any flying sparks, and watched as I balanced and formed the rough blade.

I loved working the forge. The tension I’d been holding in my shoulders unknotted itself. Sweat dampened my skin as my body put all its effort into shaping the stubborn steel into what I wanted. It was as good as a sauna. Later, once I was done, I’d take a cold shower and really feel myself wash away this trying day.

Once it was shaped, it was time to heat it in the forge again and let it cool on its own while I worked on the other. I would have to repeat this process multiple times to get the freshly shaped steel to mix toughness and flexibility in the right proportions. Then would come sanding, reheating, and oil-quenching and reheating to finely shape and properly harden the steel.

I might run out of arms before both knives were ready to be jacketed in silver, but by then, I wouldn’t have much left to do besides that. Sharpening would be a trick. I didn’t want to sharpen all the silver away from the edge, but I would figure it out. If there was one thing I was good at, it was making metal behave.

When both blades were going through the slow-cooling process, I sighed and stepped back, pulling off my gloves to air my sweaty hands. Nathan moved closer to me then, smiling and looking curiously between myself and the blades. “Not planning to mix silver into the steel?”

“It’s possible for me to do that Damascus style, but my skills in that style aren’t up to where I want them yet. Easier to jacket the blades.”

“Mm.” He tilted his head, and the light caught in his eyes intriguingly. “You mean for yourself and Aidan to carry them?”

“As a last resort, yes. In a stand-up fight, I would bet on you and the guys all day. But Matthias is sneaky, and so are his kin. And Aidan… he’s not the only one who doesn’t like feeling like our only options are to hide and be dependent on others.”

“Well, it’s good that you trust us, but you’re right. As a last resort, you should have something. After that little incident this afternoon, it seems especially important.”

I couldn’t quite hide my relief. “I’m glad you approve.”

“Of course I do. In your shoes, I’d want some means of direct self-defense, too.” He reached over and brushed some stray hairs off my cheek with his fingertips. The contact made me shiver a little.

“I never asked how you got into metalworking.”

---