“That was amazing, Micah. Thank you.” She pressed a kiss to the small bit of skin she could see on his cheek then hurried into the lodge with Talia. As soon as she unraveled herself and Talia from the tangle of layers he’d insisted on, she put a kettle on the stove. Micah’s smile when he came in after taking care of the dogs rewarded her efforts.
“I thought we’d need some hot chocolate after that.” Talia danced around the kitchen in agreement.
“What’s this?” Gareth’s voice sounded as he came in from the hallway. “Micah, who is this beauty? Surely she isn’t related to your ugly self.”
Talia screeched when she saw Gareth and buried her head in Olivia’s side. “It’s the boogeyman!”
Micah shook his head wryly. “Talia, this is Gareth. He’s my friend and he works here. Don’t be afraid of him, honey. Gareth, this is Talia. She’s Shelly’s daughter.”
Shaking her head violently, Talia wrapped her arms around Olivia. “No. He’s mean. He’s glaring at me!”
Pulling the little arms off her waist, Olivia picked Talia up. “Honey, Gareth is a good person. He just has a scar on his face. Look at him again. Your Uncle Micah and I both like Gareth a lot. I think you will too if you give him a chance.”
Gareth had stopped in the door, fiddling with the patch over his eye, letting his hair fall forward and turning the scarred side of his face away from them. “It’s okay, Olivia. I’m sorry, Talia. I forgot I might scare you. I’ll go away so you aren’t frightened, okay?”
Pain radiated from the man and Olivia could smell a bitterness in the air that hadn’t been there before. Talia squirmed until Olivia set her down.
Approaching slowly, Talia tilted her head to gaze up at Gareth. “Mr. Gareth, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
The sweetness of the child’s apology caused Olivia to rapidly blink back tears. She moved the kettle off the burner and pulled cups down from the cabinet. She turned to see Gareth going to his knees in front of Talia who stood straight and tall, looking right at him.
“Will you marry me? You are the prettiest thing I’ve seen in my life.” The grin that split his face only made it halfway across because of the scarring, but Talia’s shyness melted away at Gareth’s teasing. Apparently all she’d needed was the go-ahead from Micah and Olivia.
“No! I’m not old ’nough to be mated. Uncle Micah, can I ask him if he is one of us?”
Micah’s wince puzzled Olivia. She spoke then. “Talia, of course he’s one of you. He lives here just like you and your uncle. Now come help me serve everyone, will you?”
Gareth soon had everyone laughing as he told stories he’d heard from Micah’s brother Kajika on one of his visits to the lodge. Apparently Kaj loved telling tales about Micah in his youth.
“And Kaj said their grandfather threatened to skin Micah and use him for a rug when he found out how that pony got into the elders’ meeting.” When Olivia and Talia stopped laughing, Gareth pushed back from the table.
“I’d better get back to work. Micah, can you give me a hand unloading the hay? And Talia?” Gareth reached out to tickle her. “Are you sure you won’t change your mind about marrying me?”
Olivia saw Micah say something to Gareth but couldn’t hear it because of Talia’s giggling response to the proposal.
“Why don’t we go take a nap, Talia?” Olivia stood up and held her hand out to Talia. She didn’t know much about kids, but she knew naps were good. And since the dogsled ride had tired her out, she felt pretty sure Talia was also feeling tired.
“Go on, Talia. I’ll come up later and if you are still awake, I’ll tell you a story about Gareth and a motorcycle.” Micah smiled as he left the kitchen with Gareth on his heels.
Olivia went up the stairs after Talia who trudged up them like her doom awaited her. The room in Micah’s apartment that had Talia’s things in it was cozy with a country charm. As she tucked the child into bed, Olivia brushed some stray hair back from Talia’s face.
“You like Uncle Micah, don’t you? You smell just like Aunt Jane does when she’s looking at her mate.” Earnest eyes stared up at Olivia making her squirm in the intensity.
“Husband. You mean Aunt Jane’s husband, honey. Mate isn’t the right word.” Olivia stood up to go.
“Husband or mate, we call them both. Does your Pack say it different?”
Olivia shivered. Was this some weird cult? “Go to sleep, honey. We can talk about it after your nap. You can help make dinner if you like.”
Closing the door, Olivia headed for her room and her computer. She had to get her impressions about the ride down while they were fresh.
Micah caught the bale that Gareth tossed and pitched it into place by the tack room. He knew his help wasn’t necessary-Gareth had done this particular task alone many times before-so he broke the silence.
“What did you want to talk to me about, Gareth?”
Gareth set down the bale he had in his hands and perched on it. The seriousness of his gaze told Micah he’d been thinking about whatever it was for some time. Rolling his shoulders relieved some of the stiffness in Micah’s shoulders from tossing the hay but not all. Gareth’s voice cracked as he started to speak.
“Look, I know it’s not my place to question you, but have you thought about sending Talia to the Pack in town to grow up in? Don’t get me wrong, Micah. You’ll be a great father to her, but kids need mothers. If Olivia is going to stick around, then she’s going to be important to the kid.” Gareth paused, taking a deep breath but still not meeting Micah’s eyes. “I think you need to tell Olivia what she is.”
Micah nodded. “That’s my thought too, Gareth. Not about Talia-she’s fine and I’ll make sure she stays fine. Liv, though, that’s a wolf of another color, isn’t it? I tried to tell her and she misunderstood me. Thought I was talking about totems and spirit guides.” Micah’s fingers tangled in his hair as he tried to comb it back from his face. “I don’t know what to do other than change in front of her.”
“It’s not just that, Micah. She could probably accept your changing. Some humans do. I mean, Slade and Tony both have human mates, right? Olivia’s not human. She’s one of us. Now that you’re back there’ll be a Gathering and you know it’ll be a big one. Everyone is going to want to see you. And the females.”
Gareth hesitated as a grimace crossed his face. “Well, you know they’re going to be all over you. And the males will be hot on Olivia’s tail. They’re always chasing any unclaimed female.”
Nostrils flaring, Micah bit out his words. “She is not an unclaimed female. She’s mine.”
Scooting back on the bale of hay, Gareth held his hands out placatingly. “I didn’t mean anything, Micah. I didn’t realize you were that serious about her.”
Micah sighed. “Neither did I. But Olivia is not fair game. Gathering or no, if any other male gets near her, I’ll tear him apart.”
He pivoted on the balls of his feet and headed back to the lodge. Time to show Olivia what he was. And more importantly, time to show her what she was. He glanced over his shoulder to see Gareth watching him.
“I’ll need you to stick around the main building for a while. Keep an ear out for Talia in case she wakes up.”
Without waiting for Gareth’s response, Micah mulled over his options as he headed back to the lodge. He knew he had to give her unalterable proof of his claims. That would be shock number one. The second shock he had planned was what had him jamming his hands into his thighs as though the repetitive thuds could ease the guilt building in him.
Forcing another shifter to change was something he did only in dire circumstances. He’d used his power to change another shifter for necessary healing when a shifter had been hurt too badly to effect the change themselves. He’d also used it on occasion as punishment. Forcing the change too rapidly could hurt.