Page 31 of Kin of the Wolf

“Mom, this is Duncan, a lone wolf from… the Old World.” I couldn’t share the tale he’d given me in confidence, but that didn’t seem too much to offer. He’d told me that much long before he’d admitted to the rest.

“I could have guessed that.”

“From my melodious accent?” Duncan bowed to her.

“You emanate power like a sun, have the chiseled physique of an alpha, and have abs taut enough to deflect bullets.”

Duncan’s jaw drooped open. “I… hadn’t realized my abs could indicate my birthplace.”

“All the old-world werewolves I met in my youth were more impressive than the pups born here today.” Mom waved vaguely to indicate our pack’s territory, or maybe all of America. “More impressive and more dangerous.”

She leveled an assessing gaze at Duncan.

“Maybe having their abs pelted with bullets makes them irritable.” Duncan rubbed his stomach as he made a face.

Mom looked at me. “He’s goofier than you are.”

“I’m not that goofy,” I said. “Buthetries to disarm people with affable charm.”

“Before he ruthlessly slays them? And I’ll remind you that you put tinsel on my tail one year during the human winter holiday.”

“I haven’t forgotten. And Duncan thus far hasn’t ruthlessly slain me, so that speaks well of him, I should think.”

“Quite,” Duncan murmured, though his eyes grew dark for a moment. Was he thinking of the control device and how he’d attacked me? I hoped that as long as we kept our distance from Abrams, Duncan wouldn’t be susceptible to its power.

I mulled over a way to shift the topic to my cousins, but Mom wasn’t done speaking with Duncan.

“What are your intentions toward my daughter?”

Duncan and I blinked in surprise.

He recovered first. “I’ve been attempting to woo her into my lair for a healthy adult frolic, but she’s thus far evaded my advances.”

I groaned. I’d always heard Europeans were more open about sex, but there were some things one shouldn’t bring up with a woman’s mother. Andmymother didn’t look amused.

“My daughter doesn’t need to frolic like a horny teenager,” she said. “She needs a suitable mate to breed healthy werewolf pups with before her fertile period ends.”

My second groan was even louder, and my hand came up to cover my rapidly heating face. By all the howling wolves in the forest, there were also things one shouldn’t discuss with a guy one had just met. EvenIhadn’t known Duncan long enough to bring uppups.

“We haven’t discussed that possibility yet.” Duncan looked at me, his eyebrows up.

“No, we have not. And we’re not going to.” I faced Mom. “Ihavechildren,grownchildren. And I’m forty-five. I’m too old to have more.”

She lifted her eyes toward the wooden ceiling planks, as if I were the dimmest of her offspring. “I already told you, Luna. Werewolves are fertile longer than humans. Nature intended that. In our quests for dominance and quality hunting grounds, we kill each other off left and right. We’re much more aggressive than our unmagical lupine kin. Further, the threat we represent makes us targets for other species as well. As I’m sure you’ve noticed. Our creators gave us a long span of fertility so we’d have the ability to have numerous pups to replenish our species.”

“That’s fine, Mom, but?—”

“And yourhumanbabies are…” She flicked her hand, as if she were tossing garbage over her shoulder. “Inconsequential.”

Indignation and anger on their behalf made me lift my chin and snap, “They’re anything but that. Theirfathermay be a loser, but they’re good kids. Austin is serving in the military as we speak, ready to defend this nation in time of war.”

“This human nation.” Mom flicked her hand again. “Werewolves do not recognize arbitrary borders created by human conflicts and politics. To us, it doesn’t matter which of them thinks they rule over this land.Weclaim this territory and will defend it.”

“Augustus is claimingmorethan the territory the pack has historically patrolled,” I said, jumping on the chance to move the topic away from my fertility. “Do you know about his mafia habits, Mom?”

She frowned at me. “Mafia?”

I explained the bartender and convenience-store owners and how Augustus was demanding monthlytaxesfrom people. “He apparently claimsit’s for their protection, but he’s a shitty protector.”

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