Ember

by Ophelia Sexton

  Chris and Daniel seemed to be enjoying themselves, too—she couldn't talk to them while all of them were in their shifted shapes, but Chris bounded playfully from boulder to boulder, and occasionally pounced on his uncle, who promptly engaged in a mock battle with the half-grown cub. There was a lot of growling and snarling, but Margaret noticed that their claws remained sheathed and Daniel's swipes at Chris were half-hearted rather than serious attacks.

  Then Chris leaped from a boulder and landed squarely on Margaret's back. He snarled triumphantly with what could only be interpreted as the sabertooth version of "Got you! You're it!"

  Margaret crouched low, as if he'd landed a real blow, then sat back on her haunches while rearing up. Chris let out a startled yowl and tumbled to the ground behind her. She whirled around and pinned him with one of her huge paws, careful not to hurt him with her wickedly long claws. Then she huffed at him, baring her teeth in an ursine smile before letting him up.

  Daniel joined the game, head-butting her before darting away, and she gave chase as his lean, muscled form plunged through the undergrowth, Chris hot on her heels.

  They returned to the house for lunch several hours later, when Chris's stomach began to rumble audibly. Young shifters needed lots of food on a regular basis. Margaret remembered those days with her own kids, when the fridge had emptied at an alarming rate every week.

  She had just finished dressing after her shift back to human, and was trying to ignore the occasional groan of pain coming from her guest rooms, when her phone buzzed with an incoming text message. Margaret glanced at the message displayed on the screen.

  It was a text from Elle

  Justin and I are returning home this afternoon. We want to meet Daniel and Chris as soon as possible. We've been getting all kinds of interesting texts from the family, if you know what I mean. Join us for dinner?

  Margaret remembered Mark's vehement opposition, and felt a flutter of nerves despite Elle's earlier support.

  Telling herself that everything would probably be okay, she replied, Sure. Let me know what time, and we'll come over.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven – Unexpected Confession

  Margaret's fingers clenched around Daniel's hand as they climbed the stairs to the raised porch that surrounded the big yellow-and-white Victorian ranch house. He could sense the tension radiating from her as she reached for the big embossed brass doorknob.

  To be honest, he was feeling a little tense himself about the prospect of meeting Elle Swanson and the legendary Justin Long. But Daniel squeezed Margaret's hand reassuringly, and dropped a kiss on her sweet-smelling hair.

  "Whatever your sister decides, everything will be okay," he whispered. "Worst case, Chris and I can find a place nearby to rent."

  She turned a fierce gaze on him. "I won't let her force you to leave."

  "I don't wanna go, either," Chris added.

  He saw her take a deep breath before she released his hand and opened the front door.

  "Elle?" she asked, not bothering to raise her voice. "We're here. Welcome back!"

  Margaret stepped inside, and Daniel followed her into the wide, tiled foyer.

  It was warm and spacious, lit by the stained-glass panels over the front door, and smelled appetizingly of smoked meat, tangy barbecue sauce, and baking bread. To his left, he saw a grand, curving wooden staircase leading up to the second story. The foyer walls were covered with framed family photographs ranging from antique formal portraits in silvery grays and blacks to more recent color photos.

  He caught sight of a wedding photo that looked like it had been taken thirty or forty years ago. The groom was a tall dark-haired man who bore a strong resemblance to Ash Swanson. Two men who resembled him closely enough to be brothers stood at his side. Then Daniel spotted a much younger Margaret, her chestnut hair braided with tiny white rosebuds and wearing a shiny mint-colored satin bridesmaid dress that flattered her curves. She stood next to a tall, statuesque bride with light brown hair.

  "Maggie!" Daniel looked away from the photos to see an older version of the bride approaching them from the long hallway that led to the back of the house.

  Elle Swanson had retained her lush figure. Her hair had been bobbed and highlighted with blonde streaks. She was dressed casually, wearing knitted cranberry-colored sweater over jeans. Daniel saw the strong family resemblance to Margaret, especially around the eyes, but in place of Margaret's air of gentle strength, Elle's strong jaw and direct stare made her look every inch the bear shifter clan matriarch she was.

  Smiling, she swooped in and gathered her sister up in a warm hug. "I can't tell you how nice it was to come home to running water again. Thank you so much for handling the repairs."

  "It was no problem," Margaret assured her, returning the hug. "I knew Steve would get the job done."

  The sisters stepped apart, and Elle turned her attention to Daniel. "And you must be Daniel Langlais. I've heard all about you."

  If she was trying to throw him off-balance, it was working.

  "Mostly good things, I hope. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Swanson," he said, and extended his hand.

  She took it. Her skin was soft, but her grip was firm and her gaze was sharp and assessing. "Call me Elle."

  Her smile returned as she looked at Chris, and the sudden warmth softened her somewhat intimidating features. "And you're Chris, I presume?"

  "Yes, ma'am," he said, shyly, but offered her his hand the way that Daniel had taught him.

  She shook it gravely. "Welcome. I hope you're all hungry. We stopped in at Justin's restaurant and picked up some food for dinner."

  "I'm looking forward to it," Daniel assured her.

  So far, so good. It had to be a positive sign that Elle hadn't instantly ordered him out of her house, right? And Margaret seemed a lot more relaxed, too.

  Elle led the way down a long hallway further into the house, which had been beautifully restored to maintain the original nineteenth-century look and feel, right down to the wallpaper pattern of pink cabbage roses against a dark green background. Daniel looked around with curiosity as they passed the living room, which was also furnished in Victorian style, complete with an antique horsehair sofa and a big bay window hung with lace curtains and heavy green velvet drapes.

  The large dining room took up fully half of the rear of the house, and the giant antique dining table looked like it could have seated all of the adults who had shown up at Margaret's home for dinner last night.

  Like the rest of the house so far, the dining room was furnished in a historic style, with a wallpaper pattern of thin stripes and flowers. A large polished metal gaslight chandelier hung from the molded plaster ceiling. It had large, pink tulip-shaped frosted glass shades around the light bulbs. A massive antique oak sideboard stood along one wall, and an old-fashioned swinging door led to the kitchen.

  As they entered the dining room, Daniel saw that one end of the oval table had been set for five. Bowls of dark mahogany-colored barbecue sauce, macaroni and cheese, and coleslaw in creamy dressing stood in the center of the table, along with a large plate stacked with gently-steaming squares of golden cornbread. A brimming ice bucket with tongs stood next to a cluster of brown beer bottles and cans of soda.

  A tall, lean man emerged through the swinging door, carrying a huge platter of sliced barbecue brisket, beef ribs, grilled sausages, and smoked chicken quarters with crisp browned skin. Underneath the mouthwatering smells of the meat, Daniel caught the scent of a fellow sabertooth shifter.

  This could only be Justin Long.

  The other shifter had dark golden hair heavily silvered at the temples, a weathered, deeply tanned face, and striking blue-green eyes. He was dressed in a light blue cowboy shirt with pearl buttons over new-looking dark blue jeans. He wore ostrich-skin cowboy boots and a large polished silver belt buckle decorated with the head of a sabertooth cat with inlaid turquoise eyes and mother-of-pearl fangs.

  "Howdy there, Chef Langlais," he greeted Daniel in a voice flavore
d with the twang of his native Texas.

  He placed the platter in the center of the table and shook Daniel's hand. His grip was strong and warm, his palms callused with hard work. "I hope you don't mind that I picked up some food from my restaurant. I know this probably isn't what you're used to—"

  "Barbecue!" Chris exclaimed, as he entered the dining room behind Margaret and Daniel. "Oh, yum!"

  Justin's face creased into a smile. "Howdy. I'm Justin. And you must be Chris."

  Chris nodded, stepped forward, and extended his hand politely. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Long."

  Daniel felt a moment of pride at his nephew's courtesy.

  Then Chris ruined the moment by blurting, "Is it true that you won a challenge duel unarmed and in human form?"

  Daniel groaned silently, but Justin didn't seem to be offended.

  "Is that what you heard?" asked the other sabertooth shifter.

  Chris nodded. "Everyone talks about you!"

  "Well, it wasn't exactly a challenge duel, I was indeed in human shape, but the part about me being unarmed is only partly true, son," Justin said, with a self-deprecating twist of his lips. "When the big ol' cat broke into my house in the middle of the night, I managed to grab a big knife from my kitchen."

  "Why don't we all sit down and Justin can tell you the story over dinner?" Elle said, smoothly.

  "There's not much to tell," Justin protested, pulling out a chair for his mate.

  "A kitchen knife versus a fully-grown sabertooth cat's fangs and claws?" Daniel asked, incredulously, as he pulled out Margaret's chair for her. "And you managed to survive? I'd love to hear your version of the story."

  "Justin not only survived the attack, but he killed his attacker," Margaret pointed out as the two men seated themselves and everyone began helping themselves to food and the drinks.

  She passed Chris a can of Sprite, then offered him the bowl of macaroni and cheese, which he eagerly accepted. He loved mac-n-cheese, and this version looked rich and creamy and smelled of at least three different kinds of cheeses.

  "I won't lie. When I saw what had invaded my living room, I didn't think I'd make it, and I sure was a mess by the time everything was over," Justin said, passing the big platter of assorted meats to Daniel.

  Daniel helped himself to a generous portion of brisket and a large piece of barbecued chicken, then handed the platter to his nephew.

  "Well, Uncle Dan fought three sabertooth shifters," Chris boasted, snagging several of the big ribs and a couple of sausage links. "And they had guns. They shot him!"

  Daniel shook his head as he twisted the cap off his beer. He added quickly, "And then the police showed up, or we'd both be dead. I took Junior here and ran for my life. I'm no hero."

  Not like Justin. I don't deserve to sit at the same table with him.

  "Yes, you are! I heard you fighting them! They shot you!" Chris insisted. "You saved me from them!"

  Daniel shook his head again. He looked down at his plate, the taste of shame bitter in the back of his throat.

  "Daniel." He looked up to meet Justin's gaze. It was filled with sympathy.

  His eyes never leaving Daniel's, Justin said quietly, "Your nephew's right. You did better than I did. I know there's a lot of talk about my fight with Katzenberg, but I bet no one ever mentions what I let our Pride First do to my daughter."

  Chapter Twenty-Eight – Oxygen Mask

  "It wasn't your fault," Elle said, putting her hand over her mate's. "You couldn't have known that Ed Baldwin would break every sabertooth law and tradition when he attacked Cassie."

  "Is Cassie your daughter?" Chris asked.

  "Yup," Justin answered. "Son, maybe I'd better start my story at the very beginning, about a year-and-a-half before Paul Katzenberg broke into my house in the middle of the night and tried to kill me. Let me tell you about what happened to my daughter Cassie...and how I failed to protect her. "

  He pushed a piece of smoked sausage around his plate, and sighed. Daniel recognized the signs of bad memories, and let the other shifter take his time choosing his words.

  "Ed Baldwin was Pride First of the New Braunfels pride," Justin said finally. "He was an outsider who fought his way to the top. He took a liking to Cassie and approached me about a possible arranged mating. So, I set up an introduction and sent her to his house for dinner." The Texan sabertooth paused and shook his head, pain written deep into the lines on his weathered face. "Cassie didn't come home for hours. Then she turned up on my porch in the middle of the night, all clawed up and hysterical. I went into shock at the sight of her and blurted out the first thing that crossed my mind, asking her what she'd done to make Baldwin so angry." Justin shook his head again. "I said and did all the wrong things that night. My daughter packed up her things and left. I guess she figured that her dad couldn't protect her, and she was right. She went to Austin and cut off all contact with me. We didn't talk again until she was already mated to Thor," he finished bitterly.

  "You forgot to mention the part where Baldwin and some of his enforcers showed up the next day to question you about where Cassie had gone," Elle said. She hadn't touched a bite of the food on her own plate. "I see the scars they left every day."

  "They tortured you?" Chris's eyes were wide as saucers.

  "Yeah," Justin conceded. "I finally did one thing right in that whole mess and didn't tell 'em a thing. I don't think I could have lived with betrayin' my little girl a second time. Once was already more than I could live with."

  "I'm sorry," Daniel said, shaken to his core to hear that the legendary Justin Long was tortured by the same feelings of guilt and shame that Daniel had been carrying for the past three days. "I had no idea."

  "You know," Justin told all of them, his expression pensive. "I've always heard that hindsight is 20/20, but no one ever mentioned that it also tastes mighty bitter. I can't tell you how many times I've replayed everything I should have done and said when Cassie came to me that night. I still think about it even now, when I know she's safe and happy with her mate." He heaved a sigh. "Anyhow, all of that to say that when push came to shove, and Katzenberg challenged me for Pride First, I wanted to make sure that no First of the New Braunfels Pride would ever again dare to do to someone else's daughter what Ed Baldwin and his gang of enforcers had done to Cassie and me. I didn't want to fight because I don't believe in the system of dueling, but someone had to stop Katzenberg from taking over the pride. He'd been Baldwin's Pride Fifth and one of his enforcers. Allowing him to become Pride First would have been disastrous."

  Daniel nodded. He, too, had been replaying Friday morning's events over and over, wondering what he could have done differently. The difference was, Justin had ultimately stepped up to the plate and won.

  Elle picked up a square of cornbread and began spreading butter over it. "Daniel, it certainly sounds like you haven't had an easy time of it, either. Margaret didn't tell me much beyond the fact that she offered you and your nephew sanctuary here, though I've heard a few other details here and there, like the fact that you showed up here with gunshot wounds." Her tone was matter-of-fact.

  "Oh, Elle, let's be honest," Margaret said, smiling wryly. "I bet you've been bombarded with text messages from the family."

  Elle smiled thinly. "I've heard enough to regret missing Sunday dinner, that's for sure. Pretty everyone told me that Daniel cooked a truly memorable meal."

  "Yes, he did," Margaret said with a fond smile, and bumped Daniel's shoulder with her own.

  Daniel saw Elle's eyebrows twitch upward at both Margaret's expression and the gesture.

  Busted, he thought.

  But all Elle said was, "Would you mind telling us what happened in Albuquerque?"

  "These guys came to our house—" Chris began angrily, but stopped when Daniel reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

  "Why don't you let me tell this story, Junior?"

  Chris flushed and fell silent.

  Where to start? Daniel decided to take a page from
Justin's book, and start at the very beginning.

  "I guess you've heard by now that Pete Langlais is my younger brother," he began.

  Elle nodded, her expression grave.

  "After he and the rest of ranked members of my pride were convicted and sent to prison, the rest of us decided that maybe we didn't need a new First, Second, etc. We'd heard about what the New Braunfels Pride had done—" Daniel nodded in Justin's direction. "—and we liked the idea of an elected council managing the pride rather than a new First and henchmen. We spent a while debating, then set up a kind of steering committee, mostly the most senior pride members, to handle the pride's finances, arrange matings, and resolve conflicts between pride members. And then we all mostly settled down and tried to lead our lives."