Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf (Black Swan 4) (23 page)

Storm simply gaped at her. He wasn't a visionary, but he did know for certain that life was never going to be boring. When he looked from Litha to his incubus-in-law, he found the demon staring at the screen, mesmerized by the baby's image. "Beautiful," he whispered.

Deliverance was exasperating in countless ways and was fast coming to feel like the price the Universe exacted from Storm for the gift of Litha. But if he was going to compliment and appreciate their daughter, he would be tolerated, within reasonable limits.

***

CHAPTER_11

About half of the Elk Mountain tribe put their names on the list. Undoubtedly each soul of an age to make their own decision had their own reasons for signing up. Conspicuously missing from the list was Stalkson Grey's only child, Windwalker.

Win was grown, of course. He was fortunate enough - and strong enough - to have won one of the few young females and was happily mated. They were expecting in late summer. Twins. He suspected that might have something to do with a decision to do the safe thing.

It could just be a simple matter of timing. Pregnant with two pups wasn't an optimum time to pull up stakes and start a new life.

Late that night Grey walked the settlement in human form thinking about the utter strangeness of life. Just a week before he had never given thought to whether or not there were other dimensions, much less the existence of other realities similar to his own. Realities where werewolves like himself congregated and lived.

As an afterthought, he decided to revise the comment about finding other werewolves like himself. Humility just wasn't a good fit with his personality.

The next day he was to meet a guide and make plans for a tour of some of those other worlds. He walked until he found himself near Drift's encampment. As he approached he amused himself with the thought that he had been walking aimlessly and had "drifted" there. The old wolf didn't care for human-style structures. He had never slept in a building for even one night of his long life. His home was teepee style, made of thick tanned buckskin fitted together like patchwork, then stitched with latigo lacing.

The tent flap was up in welcome. "Son of StalkingShadow, come. You are welcome in my home."

Stalkson smiled and crouched so that he could enter. He sat across the small fire from Drift, who was smoking a thin pipe. Age had drained the color from his eyes making them exceptionally pale and a little eerie looking.

Drift took the pipe from his mouth. "Have you decided what you're going to do?"

"About what?"

Drift laughed. "Going. Or staying."

The king didn't answer at first, but appeared to be concentrating on something in the blue flames. "I don't have the answer."

"Well, when you do, you will know."

Grey smirked at him. "Was that supposed to be profound or just your usual folksy bullshit?"

Drift laughed harder. "Let me know when you find out for sure."

"I didn't see
your
name on the list."

"Oddly, I was ready to pass in peace and reunite with my mate, but the prospect of this fine adventure has made me a little sad that I'm too old to start over."

Grey nodded. "And LongPaw? Does he also think he is too old?"

The old wolf had a curious look on his face. "You'd have to ask him." Stalkson rose to go. "Spirits with you, Alpha."

"I'm coming back, old one."

"See that you do."

He'd received very specific instructions from the youngster Glen Catch. By face phone, Glen had told him that his guide, named Deliverance, would arrive at 0900. Grey's initial reaction had been to think, "How bad could someone be with a name like Deliverance?"

As preparation, Grey had been told that Deliverance would transport him to Jefferson Unit by highly unusual means, that he would need to maintain physical contact during the trip, and that he should not let go under any circumstances. Highly irregular, but easy enough.

He hadn't asked Catch what to wear, but the kid had volunteered that he should dress for comfort. At 0830 he had wolfed down some venison flank steak and eggs with a little overcooked spinach mixed in, showered, dressed in jeans, pulled his hair back into a leather tie, and was waiting. At exactly 0900 there was a polite knock at the door.

When the king opened the door, the visitor became a guest for all of thirty seconds. Before Grey knew they were leaving, Deliverance had taken the wolf's forearm into his powerful grip and delivered him to the conference room next to Sol's office. The king wanted to take the occurrence in his stride, but there was a difference between entertaining a thought and processing an experience. The fact of being instantly transported across the country was a shock that took getting used to. And his stomach felt a little queasy.

He recognized Catch, Monq, and Elora Laiken, of course, but there was another man and woman he had not previously met.

Litha was closest to their point of arrival. Deliverance pulled her into an embrace and kissed her temple. "This is my daughter, Litha."

Litha beamed like a daddy's girl. "Hello."

The king noted that father and daughter appeared to be the same age, which meant they must age like werewolves.

Waving her hand toward Sol, Elora said, "This is Sovereign Nemamiah, your wolfiness."

Sol gave Elora a look of reprimand then offered his hand to Grey.

"I see you've met the demon."

Grey's head jerked toward Deliverance. "Demon?"

Deliverance shook his head and smiled, "A rose by any name..."

"S'okay, Grey. He's a semi-good guy." Elora tried to reassure him.

"Semi?" He scowled at Elora.

"You worry too much." She pointed to his forehead. "Those what-the-fuck lines between your eyebrows are just going to get deeper and deeper until they're frozen there even when you smile."

Sol stepped in. "Please forgive the Lady Laiken. She meant no insult."

"Actually," said the werewolf, "I'm used to being insulted by Mrs. Hawking."

Glen's eyes widened. "She lets you call her Mrs. Hawking?"

Grey laughed at him and just like that the tension over the demon in the room dissipated.

Ram came in, his blonde hair looking damp from the shower and darker than usual. He raked his wife with a look of sexual interest as he closed the door behind him. She responded with a promising smile. Observers probably wouldn't guess that they were married and had been sharing a bed together just a couple of hours earlier.

"Sorry for the tardy. Nanny was runnin' behind as usual." He nodded at the king. "Grey."

"Please, everybody. Sit." Sol took his usual place at the end of the table closest to the door. "There's a coffee and tea service... Can we get you something?"

"No. Thank you."

"Very well, then. Let's discuss what we came to discuss. As I understand it, the number one priority is finding a situation where there are available females for mating purposes." Even though that was a statement and not a question, Sol looked to Grey to confirm or deny.

"That is the priority, although about half my tribe has expressed an interest in migrating to a place more conducive to our way of life. To answer your point, would it be possible to look for mates in the, uh, same dimension our ancestors colonized?"

Sol looked to Deliverance to answer that question. He stared back at Sol until Litha said, "Dad. He wants you to field that question."

"Field the question?"

"Answer it."

"Okey-dokey." He looked at Grey. "I don't have to tell you that werewolves are typically territorial. Most of the time they wouldn't be welcoming off-world males come courting. They'd see it as poaching.

"However..." He stopped for a dramatic pause, "...I do know a dimension where male werewolves routinely mate with human women. The human male population dwindled because of war and male infant mortality, but the female population thrived. Their biology must be a little different because they breed without any problems and their offspring are werewolves - strong."

"Hybrid vigor," Monq said thoughtfully while stroking his chin like he had an invisible goatee and looking at Glen.

"An overpopulation of human women that are attractive to us. And they produce purebreds?" Grey sounded hopeful and dubious at the same time.

Deliverance grinned. "Oh, yeah. All you can eat pussy buffet."

"Dad!" Litha was stifling laughter while trying to appear scandalized for propriety's sake. The overall effect was a suggestion of rapid cycle bipolar. Truthfully, she knew from experience that it was better to laugh than to try to domesticate her sire 'cause that simply wasn't gonna happen. Others, however, were not always as tolerant of his antics.

"What?" The demon looked baffled as to why his daughter was doing that correcting thing she did.

Litha turned to Grey. "He's an incubus, which means his perspective on sex is very unorthodox, which means inappropriate comments are inevitable."

"Hellooooo. I'm in the room, you know." He rolled his eyes at Litha and continued. "We would still have to get clearance from the occupying species, but it's not an overpopulated dimension. There may be enough open space and available females so that neither would be an issue for them."

Ram and Elora had both seen Glen bristle when Stalkson Grey specified that he wanted offspring to be "purebred". Naturally they both felt defensive about their boy. Ram quietly excused himself, holding up his phone as if to say he needed to step out and make a call, but when he walked behind Grey, he flipped him off with a big grin for Glen who smiled in response and relaxed, knowing there were two retired knights who had his back and his feelings, too.

"We could establish a territory of our own?"

"I don't know everything about how wolf politics work. Could be tricky, but I can ask if the idea appeals to you."

"And you could cause interdimensional ill will that gets us banned from contact for generations." Litha turned to Sol. "Honestly. The idea of my father as diplomat is scarier than a French horror movie. When you asked if he could assist with Order business, it never occurred to me that you were going to try and make an ambassador out of him. The phrase 'lost cause' comes to mind."

Deliverance cocked his head and looked at her with interest. "So. What are you saying?"

Sol cleared his throat. "I understand your concern, Litha, but our demon is the only game in town."

Arching an eyebrow, Deliverance said, "
Our
demon???"

"Um, forgive the error. Definitely a misplaced pronoun." Sol looked at Litha. "I get it. Diplomacy is hard. One wrong word..."

"...has been known to start wars," Litha finished for him.

"Yeah."

Everybody was silent while they absorbed that. Ram was as inconspicuous as it was possible for Ram to be when he came back into the room. As he took his seat, Elora gave him a smile of approval for the well-placed bird and a silent high two.

"Well, if you won't be needing me further, I'll just slip away..."

"Sit down, Dad. We need you here. And stop looking like your feelings were hurt. That won't play either."

Litha got a perfectly demonic grin in response. She shook her head and rolled her eyes like a teenager.

Having been quiet for some time, Stalkson spoke directly to Deliverance. "It seems to me, if I'm understanding correctly, that you've been visiting these various worlds and mingling with their inhabitants off and on for a long time."

The demon nodded. "Eight hundred years. Give or take."

"How many wars have you started because you said the wrong thing?"

"None."

"In that case, on behalf of my people, I would like to ask that you do what you can for us. We will be obliged for whatever that is."

The demon said nothing, but offered his handshake in the custom of Loti Dimension humanoids. "Very well, wolf. You've got yourself a guide."

As they shook hands, several of the meeting attendees, who were there to ensure that an agreement was reached, were thinking that they should have stayed out of it and let the demon and the wolf handle it between themselves to begin with.

As Stalkson Grey, the werewolf king, and Deliverance, the Incubus, talked quietly, beginning to devise a plan, Sol said, "I think the rest of us are just in the way. We might as well go about our business and call this a success."

Sol was first out of the room. Litha waved to Elora and disappeared before Elora could ask how 'things' - meaning pregnancy issues - were going.

Glen filed out with Ram and Elora. "Thanks, Mom. Thanks Dad."

In a clear gesture of affection, Ram put his hand on Glen's shoulder. "'Tis Sir Hawking to you, rookie."