Page 21 of Wild Wolf

Richard considered, forcing his attention onto the pot of stew. “I feel like you should be defending your fellow Marines, Declan.”

“But why? If they’re not good enough to survive Amber or Nicolina, are they really worthy of calling themselves Marines?”

Nicolina giggled. “We better not tell Amber Declan said that, because she might start proposing to him.”

I frowned. “Why would you not tell her, then?”

“Probably because she’d beat you up to see what standard she should hold other Marines to,” the woman replied.

My wolf was ready to attend a beating if Amber was the one handling said beating. “It is a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

Richard laughed. “I see it’s too late for you, Declan. If you offer Amber the first of the brownies, she might not beat you into next week.”

My wolf and I had no problems with Amber showing us her prowess. “Is there a problem with Amber beating me into next week? It sounds like I win. I get to see her in action, and I get to miss this issue with the werewolves here.”

“I can’t argue with you on that one.” Richard grabbed a clean spoon and taste tested the stew. “This is ready whenever anyone wants some. Desmond said I had to order you to eat no less than two bowls, and he’ll be happy if you eat three.”

I sniffed the steam coming off the pot. “That smells like a four bowl stew, Richard.”

“If you want to eat the entire pot, go for it. I can make more.”

“I’ll start the brownies, else they won’t get made.” I went to work, shaking my head at the insanity my life had become, and all I could do was hope I wouldn’t regret having called Dante about the problems in Blagoveshchensk.

Chapter Six

While Nicolina drooled like some starved beast who dined only on brownies, I refused to allow anyone to partake until I could offer Amber the first one. My edict drove Richard’s wife to the edge of her sanity, and the instant the crunch of gravel announced the arrival of several vehicles, she dove for the door, waged yet another ineffective war against it, and barreled out, howling the witch’s name.

Richard’s pained sigh made Anthony grin, and he said, “She’s something else.”

“I’m sorry. I swear, the flight here must have scrambled her brains. We didn’t even have much in the way of turbulence, and she fidgeted like we were going to crash the entire time. The instant her feet touched the ground, she became a hyperactive ball of impatience fueled with sugar.”

“She seemed rather energetic in London, too.” I joined Anthony in grinning. “Her appreciation of my brownies is nice, though.”

“Dante already made me buy a plot of land neighboring mine, get it zoned for a cabin, and start building it, by the way. He then made Desmond do the same neighboring his land. Otherwise, he thinks we’ll kidnap you so you make brownies for us every day.”

“Remind me to thank him for that later.” I cut a corner brownie out for Amber, set it on a plate, and waited for the mayhem in my cabin to resume as too many bodies crammed into the small space. Nicolina led the charge, dragging Amber in by her hand.

“What has gotten into you today?” the witch demanded.

“Brownies,” Richard’s wife replied, as though that somehow explained everything.

Amber groaned and bowed her head. “Seriously, Nicole? Seriously?”

“If she gets too rambunctious, I’ll take her outside, make her shift, and run her around until she’s a little more sane,” Richard muttered.

“Why didn’t you offer that an hour ago?” I asked, unable to keep the curiosity out of my tone.

“Honestly? I didn’t think of it until just now. She’s usually not this bad.”

“Richard!” Nicolina maintained her grip on Amber’s hand, dragging the witch to me.

As I suspected Richard’s patience flagged, I placed my hand on top of his wife’s head, turned her around, and directed her at her father, who came through the door. “Let Amber go and find out if your father bought you a rabbit. If he did, I will make it for you, but you need to sit down and be quiet. The amount of silence we get until your rabbit is ready determines how many brownies you get for dessert.”

To my amusement, the woman released the witch and dove for her father, who caught her, pulled her into a hug, and chuckled. “I did get enough rabbit for everybody, and I’ll keep her amused outside for a while. Richard, I’ll have her shift and keep an eye on her if you unload the vehicles.”

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel.” Richard abandoned the cabin, and I chuckled at their antics. Anthony got up, winked at me, and followed Richard out the door.

Once they were gone, I offered the plate to Amber. “That’s the best piece, so you should go sit down and enjoy it. The stew is done if you want some, but since you’ve been having to put up with that, the stew is dessert while the brownie is dinner.”