Page 66 of Werewolves Don't Howl
“Blocking bullets? Playing suitor? Researching werewolf law?”
“Mm. I am also very good at buying yarn.”
I smiled and let the scent of him, flowers, and moonlight, lull me into a sense of safety and contentment.
I woke up the next morning with birds singing, the sun shining, and everything right with the world. Cross was sitting up, careful not to wake me.
“Good morning,” I said.
He froze and cautiously turned to look at me, studying my skin tone and eyes. “Good morning.”
I sat up and pulled the blanket up so I would stay covered. “You look nervous.”
“Mm. I slept defenseless in your father’s house. That bodes ill.”
“Does it? Why?”
He sighed heavily. “I waved my title around like an arrogant idiot.”
“Ah, an elf thing I’m too normal to understand. We’re going home today. Don’t worry about whatever subtle meanings you may have communicated with my father. He’s married to a gnome. He’ll let it go.”
“Mm.”
He gave me a slight bow and then left the room, closing the door behind me so I could have some privacy, or so he could have some privacy. I shouldn’t have made him sleep with me, but I’d been too tired and out of it to think clearly. I got dressed in some nice jeans and a pretty blouse with lace around the collar, and packed up. I was still moving slow, probably because of the blood loss. It took time even for a werewolf to regenerate.
I grabbed my suitcase and went out into the hall, having to step over vines that spread over the hallway, hanging from the ceiling all around my door. Hm. Looks like my dad had grown a protective barrier to keep out my mother. That was interesting. And worrisome. What did that mean to my elf father?
Hopefully, we could leave before I found out. I went downstairs, put my suitcase against the wall, and headed for the kitchen. I opened the door to the scent of onions and something bloody that my gnomish mother would never cook. Liver? My mouth watered, and I took a step closer to the stove.
“Good morning,” my mother said cheerfully, hefting the cast-iron skillet and swinging it towards the table. She dumped the grayish slivers of meat and onions onto a plate and beamed at me. “Sit down and eat. I’ve got some giblets as well, marinating on the stove in bone broth. It’s supposed to be very nourishing.”
I walked to the table and sat down, feeling numb and weird. My mother definitely knew I was a werewolf. “You know.”
“Of course. Also, your father did blood work on you, and you aren’t contagious. I was so irritated when he insisted on waiting for the test results before he let me see you. After he shot you! Poor dear.” She ruffled my hair with her gentle fingers. Like I was still her daughter.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and stabbed the liver, glancing up at her for permission.
“Go on. You’re still too pale, but for being shot in the heart, you look wonderful. There are definitely some advantages to being a werewolf. And how nice that your elf doesn’t mind.”
I licked my lips. “He’s not really my elf.”
She smiled at me. “Of course. Eat your breakfast.”
That ‘of course,’ told me everything I needed to know about her thoughts on the matter. To her mind, Cross was my elf, and we were as good as married. Insisting that we weren’t would do absolutely no good. So I ate my breakfast, and it was exactly what my wolf craved and never got. I wanted to whine and wag my tail at my new favorite person. I should be baking cookies and camouflaging my scent, but I’d do that later. After we got back to town.
I ate more than I ever had in my life, and finally, I stood up. “Thanks, mom. I really can’t eat any more.”
She pulled me into a hug, coming up to my chin and squeezed me tight. “My poor dear girl. The next time disaster strikes, you tell me. You don’t run away and hide from your family. Understood?”
I squeezed her back. “Thanks, mom. But I’ve done all right on my own.”
“Hmph. Well, I suppose so, but you would have done better with our support. I could have been sending you care packages that you could actually eat.”
“Mom, I can still eat cookies.”
Her eyes brightened. “Really?”
“Of course. I can eat anything a gnome, elf, or a wolf can eat.”
