Page 69 of Wicching Hour

He barely glanced at me before he shook his head.

“Oh my god! You have to try this.” Tyler tried to give Jake a bite of his cookie, but Jake ignored him, still staring down Declan.

I stepped to the side, blocking Jake’s line of sight.

He glared up at me.

“Don’t do that,” I said, my voice low. “He doesn’t deserve it, and I won’t allow it. Declan is a good and honorable man who is running himself into the ground, helping to level out his wolves so that no one—neither the wolves nor their mates and children—are hurt.”

“Arwyn don’t—” Declan began, but I put up my hand to stop him.

“This is between Jake and me. You butt out.” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Tyler’s eyebrows winging up as he started on a brownie. His calm reassured me that Jake wasn’t really going to attack. Not that I couldn’t take him; I just didn’t feel like brawling today.

“My cousin is a sorcerer,” I continued, “and doing what she can to tip the wolves into a violent frenzy. One has already died. If it weren’t for everything Declan is doing to look after his pack, there would be more. So I’m not going to let you poke at him. Too many rely on his strength and calm.”

“Do you fight all his battles?” he sneered.

Tyler’s gaze was going back and forth between Jake and me like a tennis match while he continued to eat. Him, I liked. “Ask yourself,” I said to Jake, “what’s your goal right now. Are you trying to goad Declan into killing you? Sick of your life? Or were you looking for me to stop your heart? Maybe freeze your lungs? Maybe just toss you over the railing to see if some cold water can snap you out of this sour mood?”

Jake growled and I felt Declan moving in behind me.

“I’m fine,” I said.

“I know.” He kissed the top of my head. “I was more worried about him.” He reached over my shoulder and snagged two brownies. “Plus, I wanted these.” He sat back down. “Sorry to bring you guys out of the mountains. I thought this might work, but I see now that it won’t.”

Following Declan’s lead, I ignored the men and went to sit on Declan’s bench. “Will you be able to make dinner tonight with my aunt and her family?”

He nodded, taking a cookie. “I told the pack I couldn’t meet tonight. I want to be here for the planning, especially now that you have that map. Can Bracken make it?”

Neither Jake nor Tyler had moved.

I nodded. I wanted a lemon square, but I hadn’t brought chopsticks or rubber gloves with me.

“Which one?” he asked.

Grinning, I said, “Lemon, please.”

He held it for me so I could take a bite.

“She can’t feed herself either?” Jake grumbled.

“Shh,” I hissed. “We’re ignoring you.” I took another bite and turned to Jake, eyebrows drawn together. “And what do you meaneither?”

Tyler raised his hand. “Can I have a lemon too?”

“Of course,” I said while continuing to glare at Jake.

“He carries you around. He feeds you. Not much of an Alpha,” Jake said, but the challenge I heard in the question was different from the words he said. With any luck, Declan had picked up on that too.

“You live in the mountains,” Declan said. “Haven’t you noticed the power dynamic in natural wolves? The Alpha isn’t some aggressive tyrant. They’re just the mated pair who look after the pack. They set the tasks and activities, but the pack works as a family. It’s like Arwyn’s grandmother being the head of the Corey Council and the matriarch of the family.”

Tyler sneaked back over for another lemon square, giving me a grin of thanks.

Jake gave a mean laugh. “So you’re saying you want to be our daddy?”

I choked on the bite I’d just taken.

Declan leaned forward and patted my back. “Definitely not saying that. And I’m helping Arwyn because she’s wearing gloves and forgot her chopsticks. You’ve been watching Tyler this whole time, pretending to be pissed at us while happy he’s eating something he likes. It’s the same for me, although I’m not pretending anger I don’t feel. I’m annoyed at the disrespect you’re showing my mate, but I understand that you’ve both dealt with a great deal of disrespect yourselves and you neither know nor trust us.”

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