Page 4 of Branches of the Willow

“We can.” He offered as he tensed up beside me. “Jess, I meant what I said earlier, you have to take care of yourself too.”

“I want to get this taken care of so that the rest of the night is ours to enjoy.” I yawned then. Taking in the scent of the deeply wooded town that I had grown up in as we walked along the narrow road to my parent’s house. The sound of Mikael’s light laughter caught my attention. “What?”

“I think you mean so you can go home and sleep.” Mikael gave me a knowing look that promised I would be missing out if that is indeed all we ended up doing. Didn’t I know it.

“I’m sure I could be persuaded to put off sleep for a while, if breakfast in bed comes with the deal.”

The smile that lit up his face then was priceless. I lived for those smiles these days. They showed off the deep dimples in his cheeks despite the stubborn stubble that tried to hide them. “I can definitely work with that. Let’s go see who showed up and find a place to toss them for the night. We can always deal with them tomorrow after breakfast in bed.” He paused, appearing deep in thought for a minute before adding, “Maybe after lunch.”

“You’re incorrigible.” I swatted at Mikael’s chest, but he simply took my hand in his and used it to pull me closer into his side. My head immediately went to rest on his chest as the house came into view. The porch light was on, but so were the interior lights in the living room. As we approached, I saw the shadow of someone pacing back and forth behind the window. “Looks like someone’s antsy in there.” I nodded my head in that direction.

“Probably Andy, wondering if he’s ever getting off babysitting detail.” Mikael joked as we ascended the steps of the porch. As we stepped inside, I turned to my left to peek in the room, and sure enough Andy was the pacer by the window. The look of relief on his face spoke volumes.

“Andy.” I inclined my head to him. “Stick around for just a bit longer if you would. We’ll probably need to find a place for these guys for the night, at least.”

“I already had someone get Jack’s place together.” I looked down at that, feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of strangers intruding on my friend’s space. A part of me was still hurting for Jack’s loss, and even though I knew Sierra, his mate, couldn’t stand to be in the house without him any longer, it just didn’t sit right with me that we might end up using it for what amounted to a boarding house for strangers. Andy must have seen all of that written on my face. “Sorry, everywhere else is already taken right now.”

“I understand.” I looked over at the three men who now stood in front of my mom’s floral couch, and I thought about what a ridiculous picture that made. Two of the men were well over six feet tall and sported the usual sturdy, muscular frames that werewolf males came to possess after their transitions. Mikael leaned down to whisper in my ear, “I’m going to grab us some drinks.”

I walked across the living room as Mikael headed into the kitchen. “We’re actually going to try to make this really quick and painless tonight, since it’s late. You guys will be given quarters for the night, and arrangements will be made in the morning.”

I had not bothered to introduce myself, or display any power for that matter, so it didn’t surprise me that one of the wolves eyed me up like I was a dinner entre and he was starving. Andy walked over to stand beside me, apparently having noticed the same thing. “Let me introduce everyone,” He pointed to the starving man first. “This is Nicholai.” If I didn’t have a mate, I might have been interested in the guy. He was the quintessential tall, dark, and handsome that I had always found attractive. His hair was the color of a raven’s wings, almost blue-black. Those eyes that were devouring my very being were so deep brown that they nearly appeared black themselves. The five o’clock shadow that sprung up across his jaw just added to the look. He was as tall as Mikael, with broad shoulders, a trim waistline, and perfectly pouty lips that a girl could suckle on forever. Just as I was thinking that, those lips turned up in a very self-assured grin. I was saved from further perusal when Andy continued with his introductions.

“The man to Nicholai’s left is Dimitri.” Dimitri had a fine build too, as most werewolves did. He was tall, with defined muscles, and topped off with a coppery, reddish-brown hair and shining blue eyes. The smile he bestowed upon me with his introduction was a welcoming hello. It was nothing like the sex in a smile look his compatriot had given me. I smiled back and moved on to observe the third man. “And this is Brian.” At Andy’s introduction Brian bowed his head in my direction. He was a much smaller man. He probably only stood at just under six feet tall, and while he was well proportioned for his height, he was trim, but not well defined. Brian did not, at all, leave me with the impression of being an Ancient. Unlike the other two men, Brian also had a more olive skin tone, dark hair, and dark, shadowy eyes that bespoke a life that had not been easy.

Andy began to introduce me. “Gentlemen, this is…”

He was cut off by Nicholai, who didn’t bother to wait for the full introduction. Instead, the man stepped forward, closing the space between us, and with a cocky grin plastered across his face he finally spoke in a gravely deep voice, thick with his Romanian accent. “Pleasure to meet you, draga mea.” He bowed slightly, reaching for my hand to kiss it. I backed up a step and turned as I heard a dangerously low growl coming from the doorway to the kitchen. Mikael stalked towards us with two bottles of beer clutched in his hands.

“You,” Mikael pointed at the man in question in such a rough manner that I felt bad for the air he just stabbed. “Will show some respect.” He started to hand me a bottle, but an odd look crossed his face, and he placed both down on the side table by the chair instead. Then he came to wrap his arm around my waist. “This is Jessica St. Marks DéLune. You will not refer to her as anything less than Jessica, My Lady, or Mrs. DéLune.”

Amusement flickered over Nicholai’s face. The other two men standing with him blanched. Dimitri shook his head in disbelief before he spoke. “We were not aware.” He bowed his head respectfully then, as did the third man. Nicholai just stood there, having a staring match with Mikael. The dynamic would have been funny, with Mikael’s anger bubbling to the surface while the other man still just seemed amused, except I knew that the longer it went on the angrier Mikael would become.

“State your business so we can be done with you for the night.” Mikael managed to get out, his voice low with barely contained anger.

Nicholai ignored Mikael then, and moved his body so that he was facing me alone. “More than a pleasure, now that I know to whom I speak.” He granted me a mock bow, the grin never leaving his face. “We are here to be immersed in yo…” The man couldn’t even get one sentence out before Mikael was growling again. I bumped my hip into him slightly and tried to hide the smile that attempted to bloom across my face. While this wasn’t the time or place for a pissing match, I hadn’t seen someone get under Mikael’s skin this bad since his brother, Evan.

“It’s been a long day, gentlemen. I want to get home, so let’s speed this up. You, Dimitri, can you please speak for your group?” More amusement, tinged with just a flicker of ill will, flashed across Nicholai’s face as he was dismissed.

“M’Lady,” Dimitri started with another small bow. “I am honored to be in your presence. We are seeking entry into your immersion program. Both Nicholai and I are from Ancient clans. Brian is a Lesser, but he lived in our community. While he’s not strictly speaking an Ancient, the others will see him as such. We want a chance at finding a mate, and perhaps a little happiness after many hard times.”

“You are not what I was expecting when I thought of the white wolf.” Nicholai spoke out of the blue.

“No?” I questioned after turning my attention back to the man.

“No,” he returned, “not at all.” His appreciative gaze was about to send Mikael into another tizzy.

“And what about you?” I turned to the third man, choosing to ignore Nicholai before Mikael decided to take the man’s head off.

“I simply want to have the normal pack experience. I was turned by one of King Antoine’s guards, years ago, and forced to live as a low-class worker for the royals.” The poor man appeared to shake all over as his eyes slowly slid between Mikael and me. He was obviously afraid he had said too much, considering we both now carried the DéLune name. I had to hand it to him though, he was not lacking in courage, because despite his obvious fear, he continued. “I just want to get a taste of some freedom, normalcy, and if I find a mate while I do that…” He let the words trail off as he closed his eyes. I had no idea what he imagined his new life to be like, but my heart went out to him. I had heard that Antoine treated the turned wolves no better than indentured servants or slaves in a lot of cases.

“I am the opposite of Brian. I was born Ancient, and there were certain things that were expected of me. I was given a guard position, while all I wanted to do was work with my hands. I used to stand guard for the King’s brother as he worked in the shops. I always dreamed of being able to craft such things as he did.” The wistful look Dimitri’s his face nearly broke my heart too. These men were each, in their own ways, slaves to Antoine.

“I think perhaps Nicholai and Brian should go to Avery’s clan.” I was thinking out loud, but I noticed Mikael’s head nod in agreement.

“Do you not want to hear my sad story too?” Nicholai interrupted with a faux pout on his face.

“NO,” Mikael growled at him.

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