After they had ordered, Logan was the first to speak. He stared hard at Mason, sniffed deeply, then said, "Mason, you look and smell like shit. What did you do, piss off a witchdoctor?"
Turning to me, he continued, "See, alpha? That magic crap is bad news. That's why smart werewolves avoid it at all costs."
6
"I may be old and decrepit," said Mason, "but I can still kick your ass."
Logan growled and his claws lengthened. Then he shook himself, gritted his teeth, and pulled his claws in.
"I'm not going to beat up my alpha's mate, especially when he's not in top form," said Logan.
Mason looked away, eyes focused on things only he could see. "I'll be back to one hundred percent in two days," said Mason calmly. "We can take up our differences then."
Logan stared at my belly, then said, "Maybe after the cubs are weaned. I'd hate to deprive my nieces and nephews of a father figure."
"'Nieces and nephews?'" asked Mason.
I interrupted, happy to derail the confrontation, "It's a pack thing. All pack members consider themselves part of the same family." I rubbed my belly and smiled. "Our cubs will have lots of family to watch out for them."
Naomi giggled, and said, "Yeah, surrounded and protected by magic-proof werewolves, a father and a grandfather magician, and the meanest mother in the world. And you wondered why Mason's fairy family would be worried!"
"We have no interest in Fae affairs," I said. "We just want our children, families, and friends to be safe."
"The fairies don't start any trouble, and there won't be any trouble," said Logan. "Just like our deal with the US government."
"Will the government keep that deal?" asked Kuga.
"If they don't, the consequences would be severe," said Mason.
"How severe?" asked Naomi.
Instead of answering directly, Mason said, "I printed up a twenty-four by forty-eight inch satellite image of Manhattan. Then I printed up another map to the same scale on a transparent sheet, bound them together, and sent them to the US president."
"Why would that bother him?"
"The overlaid map was an old satellite image of the island where they had imprisoned me. It was slightly larger than Manhattan."
"So you broke out of a prison larger than Manhattan? That's supposed to scare the US government?"
"No, but the fact that the island no longer exists should scare them."
"You threatened to sink Manhattan?"
"Not directly," said Mason. He shuddered and continued, "I could never hurt that many innocent people, but I needed to send a message."
Naomi turned her nose up in disgust. "You're an idiot! You didn't need to do that. We could have followed my plan and had me stand in for Hillary at the next election and that man would have been out of our hair."
"Are you sure that influencing the next election would be the best? Are you sure that the next president wouldn't be worse for us?"
"I thought you were told not to interfere with our politics?" I interrupted.
Naomi made a sour face. "Yes, my queen has made it clear we shouldn't interfere with your system." Her eyes brightened, and she added, "But I could play it off as a practical joke, since it would injure no one."
Mason stared at her and said, "We don't mess with politics, unless we're forced. Cleaning out that demon infestation at the Pentagon came very close to breaking all of our rules. A war between normal humans and supernaturals would be catastrophic."
Naomi's expression was stubborn, but she was astute enough to change the subject. "So all this worrying about normal humans turned your hair white overnight?"
"No," I responded. "Mason used a lot of energy to teach me the Fae language overnight."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Naomi tilted her head, quirked an eyebrow and said, "Nam nam nam, nam nam nam nam nam."
I responded without thinking, "Nam. Nam nam nam nam nam, nam nam."
"What the hell was that?" asked Logan.
"It's a Fae tongue-twister," I said. "Something they tease children with. It's the same word pronounced with different intonations."
"But what does it mean?"
"Where does the garuda bird nest? Anywhere it wants."
Mason chimed in, "A garuda bird is about the size of a 747 aircraft, and is impossible to kill. Such a creature can roost wherever it wants."
"Okay," said Naomi. "Correct tense, correct tones, informal, but essentially correct. You've learned a bit of the Fae language." She looked at Mason and added, "Impressive. Did you teach her any other languages?"
Before Mason could answer, Naomi turned to me and spat out a sentence in Japanese that went by much too quickly for me to understand.
Too quick to understand, but she wasn't speaking quickly, just at normal conversational speed. I was disappointed Mason hadn't been able to upgrade my brain with other languages.
"No, teaching Luna another language would have required too much time. Toward the end of the lessons, she was resisting my mental probe."
"She's always been kind of stubborn. Couldn't you just jam it into her head?"
"No. Aside from the effect on her teacher, forcing more would have caused brain damage. She might have recovered because of her werewolf stamina, but she would have lost any progress we’d made on her Fae lessons."
I reached over and touched his hand. "But we can do it again later, right?" It had seemed to take years, but learning a language in one night would be wonderful. In a month, I could speak as many languages as Mason. Well—maybe six months.
My hopes were dashed when Mason shook his head. "This technique is tough to use on strong-willed people. Entering another's mind brings up automatic defenses, and repeated interactions strengthens these defenses. It was only because of our relationship that we could complete these language lessons."
"So no more overnight language upgrades for the wolf girl," said Naomi. Then she giggled. "But you immunized her against Fae mind-control! That might be more valuable than language lessons."
"You didn't tell me that, Mason."
"Two birds, one stone. I didn't think you'd mind."
"Any time you contemplate messing with my mind, I mind." I willed my nails to grow and gave him my stern face. My experience with a demon parasite that had tried to control my mind made this a sore subject. That had been followed by the government experiments on subliminal suggestion in prison.
"I'm sorry. I only wanted to help." His throat moved as he gulped.
Naomi's head was swinging back and forth, eyes bright with excitement. She was enjoying the drama way too much; it was in her nature to stir up conflict. I gritted my teeth and retracted my claws.
One deep breath, then another. Anger at Mason for trying to help would be an overreaction. I smiled and reached over and held Mason's hand. "It's okay. I know you want to help. Just don't do any more mind magic on me without my approval."
"I promise," he said, holding his right hand up in the gesture magicians used to swear: fore and middle fingers together, ring finger spread, and pinky held down with a thumb. A cross between a Vulcan salute and a Boy Scout greeting.
I leaned back and took a sip of my decaffeinated coffee. "So, what's our agenda for today? We still have almost a week before we can transfer to Mason's homeland."
Mason spoke first. He looked at Logan and said, "Considering the challenges I might soon face, I need to speed up my recovery. I need to absorb a lot of energy to accomplish that."
"Lots of energy? Can't you just stick your dick in a light socket?" Logan laughed at his jibe.
"I'd need a huge light socket. I'm thinking Hoover-Dam-sized."
Logan's laugh cut off abruptly. Mason almost never made jokes like that.
Mason continued, "It's the nearest source of large amounts of energy. The conversion from electrical to magical energy is inefficient, so I need a lot of electricity."
"As long as you don't blackout Las Vegas," I said.
"I'll be careful. I won't ab
sorb more than a few percent of the generator's output."
A few percent of a multi-megawatt generator that powered much of the country? I couldn't imagine handling that much power. Mason operated on a level I couldn't reach.
Yet.
Mason's inhuman sense of humor had stumped Logan. He had no response, so changed the subject. "I need to visit my ex and my kids," he said.
"You mean there's more little Logans running around?" said Naomi. "I want to see this!"
At my look Naomi stopped talking. Logan didn't enjoy discussing his ex or his children.
"Okay," I said. "Mason, you go do your meditation on Hoover Dam. Logan, we'll go through with our plan to meet your family. Kuga, I will need your help. Did you bring the items I requested?"
"Yes, alpha." I resisted the urge to tell her to use my name, instead of my position of pack leader. It was a Japanese respect thing that I understood more clearly now that I had absorbed the Fae language. The Fae were also highly focused on social status and respect.
"You want me to come, too?" asked Naomi. At my suspicious look, she pasted an innocent look on her face and added, "I promise, no tricks or jokes."
"Well, I planned on taking the girls shopping."
"Girls? What girls?"
"Logan's daughters."
"But I thought they would be—" She stopped herself, then continued, "…too young to enjoy shopping."
"Girls are never too young for shopping," I said.
Logan drove us in our rental car to the Galleria Mall. We waited in the food court for Logan's ex and children to show up. Logan had vetoed meeting at their home.
The scents of the different kitchens wafted over the area, bringing saliva to my mouth, even though breakfast had been just an hour earlier.
Even with the food smells, the odors of the shoppers were discernible. There were even a few supernaturals in the mall. Through chance or fear, they were avoiding the werewolves camped out in the food court.
I had never met Logan's ex or children, so I couldn't tell when they arrived. But Logan could. He tensed up at a new scent. His wolf side surged up and his face shifted to bring his fangs out.
"Not so fast," I said, mentally pulling on his wolf's leash. I had promised Logan that I could restrain his wolf side and keep his ex and kids safe from the wolf's rage. Logan calmed and his face shifted back to human. He nodded his thanks to me.
Logan stood and turned, then said in a calm voice, "Hello, Stefania."
Stefania was about five-four and one hundred thirty pounds of trouble. She had black-dyed hair, breast implants, and gold hoop earrings, as well as multiple tattoos on her bare arms. She wore designer clothes a size too tight.
Stefania stopped short, crossed her arms and said, "Do you have my money?"
Through our pack link, Logan's anger surged. Then he looked at the children and responded calmly, "Good to see you, too, Stefania. Hi, Alisha. Hi, Brita."
"Hi, Dad," said Brita, the youngest, a girl of about twelve. The teenage Alisha just grunted. Alisha was taller than her mom by two inches, with a pockmarked complexion inexpertly covered up by makeup. Brita was a skinny pre-teen, gawky and full of energy.
"Stefania, this is my boss, Luna, and our friends Naomi and Kuga."
Stefania interrupted the introductions by repeating, "Do you have my money?"
I nodded to Kuga, and she pulled out a cashier's check made out to Stefania Powell. "You will find this amount more than covers all of Logan's back support payments. Future payments will be credited to your bank account directly."
"It's a check. I want cash."
"It's a cashier's check, Stefania. It's as good as cash anywhere," said Logan.
"I want cash. I know about you and your fake checks. If you want to spend time with the kids, give me cash."
"Stefania," I said, "I would hate to think you might want cash only to 'forget' that Logan is caught up on his child support. If you want cash, I suggest you and Logan go to the bank together and cash that check that has your name on it."
Stefania tried to stare me down, but could only bear ten seconds of my predator gaze.
She grabbed the check from Kuga and turned away. She was five steps away when she barked, "Logan, get your ass in gear and drive me to the bank."
Logan gulped and followed, looking back with longing at his children. Stefania hadn't bothered to say anything to the children. We were left staring at each other.
"Are you guys hungry?" A safe bet for two teens. "Let's get an early lunch." At their looks, I added, "My treat."
I handed the oldest a hundred-dollar bill and said, "Get whatever you and your sister want. I’ll get a plate of the Greek food from that place over there. Meet you back here."
After a quick exchange in Japanese with Kuga, Naomi accompanied me to the Greek food outlet. The girls went to the burger place about thirty feet away from us.
After placing our orders—two plates for me and two for Naomi and Kuga—Naomi whispered, "You know those children are not related to Logan, right?"
"Of course I know. There's no similarity in their scents."
"I suspected when you said they were girls. If ninety-nine percent of werewolf offspring are male, the chances that Logan would have two girls would be astronomical. But if you know, why doesn't Logan know? His nose should be just as sensitive as ours. He has to know."
"Male wolves are just as sensitive as we are. They're also very good at self-deception. Logan doesn't want to know." Then I paused and corrected myself: "His human side doesn't want to know."
Naomi was shaking her head. "Someone should tell him."
"His wolf side already knows. That's why Logan had problems controlling his temper around them. I can keep his wolf in check and Logan can handle his relationships on a human level. So no one should tell him. It's not our place to interfere with their lives. Spouting off can only cause trouble. Logan's in a good place now. He can work on improving his relationship with the kids."
"But it would be so much fun."
"Naomi, you promised no tricks and no trouble-making."
"Humph, okay."
We took our lunches back to the table and the girls soon joined us. The older teen neglected to give me my change back, probably something learned from dear old mom.
The youngest spoke up first. "You're my dad's boss? What does he do for you? Mom says he's a bum."
"Your dad's not a bum. He works for me and has a great work ethic."
The older teen pursed her lips in disbelief. "So you're not his girlfriend?"
I had to laugh. "No, Logan's not my type. I nearly killed him the first day we met. My mate is a stage magician."
"Why did you hire him if you nearly killed him?"
"He's very good at what he does."
"What does he do for you?"
"Mostly he beats people up for me."
The girls shared a look and a nod. "Yeah, Dad's good at that," said Alisha. "We had to leave Reno after Dad beat up a cop."
"So Dad's your bodyguard?" interrupted Brita.
"You could say that." Naomi raised her finger to interject, so I continued, "But I have more than one bodyguard."
A flicker of motion from Naomi and a wad of cash was on the table in front of me. I picked up the money and said, "Thanks for returning my change. It was the right thing to do."
Alisha slapped the purse hanging at her side with anger on her face. My level gaze stopped her in her tracks.
"No problem," she muttered as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She stared at Naomi and said, "You know, that goth look is out of style."
"It's still popular in my country."
"Where's that, China?"
"No. Japan. We're from Japan." Naomi nodded at Kuga to show they were together.
"What are you doing here?"
"Kuga also works for Luna. I'm here to support her."
"What kind of money do you make?"
Naomi was getting offended by the blunt teenager's ques
tions. To change the subject, I nodded at Kuga. "Speaking of money, your dad wants you two to get an allowance. So he gave you each an ATM card. You'll be able to withdraw your allowance each week."
"Mom handles all the money. You can't subtract money from Dad's child support and call it an allowance."
"This won't affect your dad's child support; that will remain the same. This is an extra allowance so you can make purchases on your own. If you want to give the money to your mom, that's up to you."
Alisha tilted her head and asked, "Just how much do you pay my dad?"
"Just enough to keep him with me." I gave her my blandest smile.
With the practicality of a twelve-year-old, Brita said, "So how much will I get?"
"You get one hundred dollars a week, your sister gets two hundred. When you turn sixteen, your allowance will get bumped to two hundred."
I expected to hear, "That's not fair!" Instead she said, "That's great! Now I can get those shoes I want."
Alisha held up a hand and said, "If it's true. Dad's unreliable. We can't trust him."
"There's an ATM over in that corner. Try out the cards."
They took the bank cards from Kuga, along with their assigned PIN numbers. Brita skipped to the ATM, followed by Alisha. They came back in a few minutes, Brita proudly flashing her cash. Alisha was still frowning.
"Everything work out okay?"
"Yes! Thanks," said Brita.
Alisha said, "Yeah, it worked this time. We'll see what happens next week." No trace of gratitude.
It would take a lot to convince this stubborn teenager that Logan cared for them. Instead of arguing, I changed the subject. "We brought your health insurance cards. Our company has one hundred percent coverage for all medical. No copayment required."
"What's a copayment?" asked Brita.
"That's what a patient has to pay before the insurance kicks in," said Alisha. She looked at the card in her hand, then asked, "What does this cover?"
"Pretty much everything. Medical, dental, counseling. Whatever you may need."
"Can I get braces?" asked Brita.
"Of course—" I began, but I was interrupted by Alisha.
"If this dental plan is so good, why are Dad's teeth still screwed up?" She seemed awfully smug, like she had scored a point.
Lycan Legacy - 4 - 5 - 6: Princess - Progeny - Paladin: Book 4 - 5 - 6 in the Lycan Legacy Series Page 5