Woodland Fae: The World of Fae, Book 10

by Terry Spear

  Ena smiled. She couldn’t help herself. If Hannah had been likeable, Simon would most likely have convinced her to stay with his pack.

  “There!” Letta said from down below, pointing at them sitting high up on the rock. She was with Simon and his brothers and they appeared to be concerned for Hannah.

  They all had to climb up on top of the rock and Ena was eager to hear what was going on.

  “This man had accosted Hannah,” Ena said first.

  “Apparently,” Simon said, “a couple of packs have some grievances with fae seers, and they have the notion that they can use Hannah to go after them.”

  “But she’s not truly a member of their packs,” Letta said. “Thank you for coming to Hannah’s aid.”

  “It looks like we have confirmed that she belongs to another pack,” Simon said.

  “That doesn’t want me,” Hannah said.

  “Why?” Ena asked. Unless they knew her personally, she didn’t understand why a pack wouldn’t want to take in a former member who had been abandoned in the human world for who knew what reason really. And Hannah had nothing to do with that.

  Hannah brushed away tears. “I don’t belong anywhere. Even you don’t want me back.”

  “Is that no wonder?” Ena wasn’t about to sugarcoat Hannah’s circumstances. She wasn’t going to roll over and say Hannah could return to her employ, when she wouldn’t work at all.

  “You can stay here with our pack until we sort it out,” Simon said. “But Ena’s right. You have to earn your keep, just like everyone else does.”

  Bryan and Mark joined them then, Bryan saying, “We overheard some of the conversation. Man, we can’t believe how much we can hear with our wolf senses. Anyway, Mark and I have been offered jobs to create gardens for various people—like the dragon shifter, Alton and his mate. So if you want to help us plant and pull weeds and remove existing plants to make way for new plants, you can come to work for us. But you won’t be able to get away with what you used to pull. Not now that you’re a fae like everyone else here. It was one thing when you were a mopey human fae seer. You’re not that any longer. Not that it gave you a good excuse to shirk your responsibilities before.”

  “Yeah, we’re willing to give you a chance to help us create beautiful gardens, but it means lots of hard work. If you don’t want to help, you’ll have to find work somewhere else,” Mark agreed.

  Ena suspected Bryan still felt some responsibility for Hannah since he was the one who wanted to take her to the fae world with them. She was glad he offered. She hoped Hannah would finally get her act together.

  “By the way, when you’re free, would you like to go with me and return to the human world to pick up some more puppies?” Ena asked Mark and Bryan.

  “You want more underfoot?” Mark asked, sounding surprised.

  “No, Queen Viviana wants them.”

  Bryan and Mark laughed. “Don’t get anything else new or she’ll want it too,” Mark said.

  “I want to go too,” Hannah said.

  Not once since they’d taken Hannah with them to the fae world had she been allowed to return to the human world. But now that she had fae traveling abilities, she could go there whenever she liked. They couldn’t stop her, unless they made her wear a fae collar, but why bother?

  Ena just wasn’t sure that it was safe for them to take her with them.

  Mark and Bryan were watching Ena, trying to decipher which way she would go on it. She finally nodded. “All right, but you listen to whatever any of us have to say.”

  “I will. I know how dangerous it can be if fae seers see us. Even if my friends, former friends, were in the area, I would be on their target list now,” Hannah said.

  “We’re free now if you want to go,” Mark said.

  “After the trials. The queen will have to wait to take her puppies home after they’re housebroken anyway. We’ll take care of that part, but I just thought you’d like to go with us to pick out the puppies and select whatever else they need before we turn them over to the queen.”

  “Yes,” both Mark and Bryan said.

  Even though Hannah didn’t chime in, she looked just as eager to go with them.

  “Do you mind if I go with you this time?” Brett asked.

  “We’d love to have you come along. You can help run interference if anyone thinks we haven’t ‘paid’ for the merchandise.”

  “I could help,” Letta said.

  “If you go, I’ll go too. You’re not thinking of picking up a puppy of your own, are you?” Simon asked.

  Letta just cast him a devious smile and Ena suspected that’s just what she had intended.

  “We could just get a puppy somewhere around here, you know,” Simon told her.

  “I know, but where’s the fun and excitement in that?” Letta said.

  “All right, it’s settled. Return to my castle when you have finished your games and we’ll go on a puppy hunt,” Ena said.

  Then she and Brett shifted, flew off the rock as dragons, and headed home.

  “DO YOU WANT A PUPPY?” Simon asked Letta. He knew that a dog would soon become one of the pack, even though no one in his pack had one. A few fae had them for pets, cats, and birds too, but most had them if they were working animals. Cherished still, but useful in some way, other than just a companion.

  “Sure? Why not? They make cherished companions.”

  “You have me.”

  Letta laughed. “Of course I do. I grew up around dogs. When I had to live with my grandfather, he wouldn’t allow me to take my dog with me. My brother took care of her until she died.”

  Simon nodded. “A puppy it is.”

  “Maybe two so that she’s not lonely.”

  He smiled. As soon as Ena had mentioned getting puppies for the queen, he saw the interest in Letta's expression. He would get her anything to make her happy. "You'll have to be in charge of puppy training. I'll help, but I haven't the foggiest idea how to take care of a puppy. I mean, as wolves, we're similar but we're also fae."

  Letta laughed. "Good thing too."

  Simon was called up for the final tug-of-war contest between wolves and he hoped they won, but he'd already won the greatest contest of all—Letta's heart and his pack leader mate.

  21

  More music was playing in the background, but when Simon was in the final tug-of-war contest to determine which pack won for the celebration, Letta stood on top of the rock and played her music, encouraging both wolf teams to pull their hardest. She could have inspired just her pack, but she didn't want to influence the outcome. She just wanted everyone to enjoy the rivalry between the last two winning teams before the true winner was decided.

  Then she saw the man who said he was Hannah's brother talking to Hannah. Letta hoped he wasn't trying to bribe or convince Hannah to return with him to the human world so that he could eliminate the fae seers she knew. Letta didn't know what came over her, but she wanted to help Hannah find her family or learn what had happened to them.

  And she was even thinking Hannah should stay with them and if they could, they would teach her to be one of them—which was ironic, since Letta hadn't started out as one of them either. But at least she'd been a fae all along.

  Then Letta noticed Myla and Crystal were standing near Hannah as if they were there to protect her since Myla's brothers were all in the tug-of-war contest. Then Gia came up to join Letta on the rock.

  Letta didn't stop playing her music but nodded a greeting.

  "You probably wonder what Barrow wants with Hannah. He insists he's her brother, that his father lied about her because being a wolf and cheating on his mate was such a terrible thing to do.” Gia frowned at the wolves in the contest. "Are you helping both sides? I thought you were playing to help just our side."

  Since Gia had tried to take Letta down so she still had a chance to mate Simon, Letta figured the woman wouldn't get it. Letta played the music to encourage all the players. The competition would remain with the players, and
the best, or luckiest, would win.

  Letta's heart stuttered when she saw Roland slip and fall, losing hold of the rope. That was a disaster in the making. As soon as he did, she knew a bunch of the wolves could trip over him or lose their grip, like a domino effect that she'd seen earlier with competing teams. But Roland jumped back into the fray before they lost any ground and as if to save face, he tugged so hard, growling so loud, that two of the wolves on the other team lost hold of the rope.

  The feeling that the rope was now navigating in the direction of Simon's team must have given them encouragement and they tugged all the harder, putting their teeth and backs into it, their paws digging into the ground to keep their footing.

  Though she hoped their pack won, naturally, she would be just as glad if their pack lost and were still of good cheer to show how it was done. Two more wolves on the other team fell and one of the wolves on Simon's team lost his grip on the rope. She could see wolves losing their grips and trying to get another good bite hold on the rope, which was how they would lose the battle, if too many were doing it at the same time. They really had to do this as teamwork. Perfect for wolf packs in competition.

  The opposing team would tug even harder when they could see or feel the other team's members letting up on the rope.

  All the wolves were getting tired, but Simon's team was trying to take advantage of the advances they'd made and tugged all the harder, inching the rope in their direction. It could still go either way. One or two wolves could fall and catastrophe could strike and the team would lose.

  Two wolves on Simon's team let go at the same time and the opposing team gained the ground they'd lost, but then the wolves grabbed hold of the rope with a better grip and Simon's pack pulled harder. She didn't think anyone was going to last as tired as they looked, but then the rope inched little bit by little bit back in Simon's direction. If they could just keep it up, they wouldn't have to win by a big pull, just little, steady, sure pulls. And that's what they did. No matter how much the other team tried to regain the ground, they just didn't have the energy, and when Simon's team made it to the point where the other team crossed the line, her pack won!

  She continued to play her music in celebration and in a way to smooth over hard feelings among the losing team members and with Simon's team until everyone was cheering and congratulating each other.

  Simon had shifted and climbed up the rocks to reach her, eyeing Gia warily, who was still standing next to her.

  "I was just telling your co-leader about what Barrow is up to with regard to Hannah." Then Gia headed down the rocks.

  Simon wrapped his arms around Letta's shoulders and called out to the assembled packs. "Let the feasting begin."

  Letta realized then that the aroma of bread baking, shellfish and wild boar cooking was filling the air.

  Simon leaned down to kiss Letta's lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks for the beautiful music. It helped us to win."

  She smiled. "It was to help both teams to concentrate and win."

  He still seemed worried about what Gia was up to though. "Was that all that Gia wanted?"

  "She wanted to know why I didn't play music that would help you to win."

  "You did. It helped me, anyway."

  "Having me watch you would have the same effect. I know you well enough to realize you had to prove to me you could win the challenge. Not just for the pack. But for me."

  Simon chuckled. "How would it look to my new mate if I couldn't lead my pack and win the battle? Everyone else knows I can do it, but this is the first time you get to see it for yourself. Though if we had lost, I would have been a good sport about it. In the end, that's what everyone remembers about the games."

  THERE WERE three more days of competitions and Myla and Letta enjoyed seeing the winged fae in competitions, similar to what the dragon shifter competitions were like—retrieving objects from trees and returning the fastest, only they did it in relay teams. Again, packs did things together so even in games they showed they could work as one.

  Crystal's team came in first and Letta was glad for her. Letta had heard grumblings about giving her first place on her magical music, but she really didn't compete and didn't want to accept any accolades. She just loved sharing her music for the pure enjoyment of it.

  At the end of the festivities, the pack leaders of the various packs that had participated paid her tribute for making the games so much more festive and thanked her for her generosity.

  The next morning after the final feast the night before, the visiting wolves packed up their belongings and the competitions would take place in Barrow's pack territory next year.

  Barrow spoke one last time to Hannah in private and then he left with the others of his pack.

  Likewise, Silas seemed to be making a last-ditch effort to convince Hannah to leave with him and join his pack, but she shook her head. Then when he left, Hannah saw Letta and Simon watching her and she joined them.

  "It's awful to only be popular because those who want to be my friends want to use me," Hannah said.

  "You're welcome to stay with us as long as you do your fair share of the work and are pleasant enough," Letta said, having discussed the matter with Simon, Myla, and their brothers and sisters earlier. They had agreed to give her another chance.

  "At least you don't want me to stay here because you need me to help you kill fae seers."

  "You must feel that they could be just like you," Letta said. "And more than that, I'm sure you still feel some sense of friendship with them, feeling you were doing the right thing at the time. Getting rid of the aliens who were out to get you because of your ability to see them—us."

  "Yeah. I mean, I was human for so long, Mark and Bryan and Brett too. I really couldn't see myself being a fae seer one minute and then a fae the next, let alone that I could be a wolf shifter. It didn't matter to me that Brett and Alicia had changed. Mark, Bryan, and I hadn't, so I just figured we weren't the same as the others. Even now, I wonder if they might never have been fae if I hadn't turned Bryan. I have to admit I don't regret it though."

  Letta raised her brows.

  Hannah shrugged. "They're happy being fae. You're fae and have always been fae. I heard you telling some others that you'd lived among the humans for some years and had been lucky not to come across too many fae seers. But you had your abilities."

  "Not right away. But I know what you mean. I knew what I was, a fae, right from the beginning. I never thought I was a fae seer. When we're younger, we don't have an aura so that if we end up in the human world, we're protected."

  "Right. So living among the humans who couldn't see the fae made us stand out. But because we could see the fae, we had to be so careful not to let on that we could. If you didn't have an aura when you were little, how did you manage to prove to the fae visiting the human world that you were one of them?"

  "I was young enough. Once you're in your teens though, it was time to move back to the fae world or deal with fae seers. Which I did."

  "Okay, then we came here, Bryan and Mark and I, and we were in the minority. Brett too, until he came into his abilities. Not only that but the fae knew we were fae seers who had killed fae."

  "But Ena and her staff didn't treat you poorly for it." Even though Hannah hadn't been an agreeable member of the staff either.

  "I…I just felt I didn't fit in. Even as a fae, I'm still different because I'm a new wolf to a pack. I was in and out of foster homes. I was angry that my parents had abandoned me. And I didn't get along with anyone. Not until I met other fae seers like myself. I respect you because you weren't a wolf either, even though you've been a fae all along. But your scorpion heritage evoked negative feelings among other fae too, like my being a fae seer."

  "But you are a fae, and have always been a fae, not a fae seer. So you just need to embrace that you are and move forward."

  "I'm trying. Bryan and Mark had lots of adventures with the dragon fae before I arrived. Helping them
to fight their battles even. Even though they were fae seers like me, they just seemed to fit in—maybe because of all the role-playing they did at Dungeons and Dragons' games. They were already good at sword play and dressing in character. I never did that. Not even to go trick-or-treating at Halloween. My foster parents didn't believe in any of that."

  Letta smiled. "Then we'll have to go this year."

  "You do that here?"

  "Where do you think that all came from? Trick or treat? One of our favorite holidays. Same with April Fool's Day."

  Hannah offered her first genuine smile that Letta had seen since she'd met her. Letta glanced at Simon. He smiled back. "I haven't done that in years."

  "I always return to see my brother and we go together. I use a little magic, of course. Glamor magic too. No one knows what age we are then."

  "Sounds good to me," Simon said. "We could even be a whole gang of kids hitting all the homes."

  "I can't wait. Two weeks." Letta loved Simon for wanting to go along with it. And she thought Hannah might just feel like she belonged after all.

  "I…I want to stay here with your pack. Even though I did wrong in biting everyone, I was just lashing out. I was just out of my head. Terrified of what I'd become. Not like Gia did to you. Every chance I get, I try to overhear anything she and her brothers are saying, just in case they plan another attempt to kill either of you."

  "I doubt they will now, unless they don't care if they get their fae travel abilities back or not."

  "Oh. True. I know Ena told you I wouldn't work in the gardens. I hate gardening. I'm just not cut out for it. I grow weeds really well and everything we are supposed to grow dies under my touch. But I'm good with animals if you want me to help with your puppies."

  "We raise sheep and alpacas for their wool. Maybe you can help sheer the animals, clean the fur, and help sell it to the weavers. I heard one of the women who works with the sheep mated a wolf and moved off to his pack."

  "Uhm, okay. I had two dogs and a cat when I was growing up. Well, they weren't mine, but I helped take care of them."