It surprised Greg a little when David didn’t run straight back to Fort Brunich the next day. His oldest brother had that expression—that restlessness.

Not that Greg felt any better. Even for the first night of the full moon, there was something off.

Was he going mad, or was there someone standing behind him? When Greg turned his head, there was nobody there, but he could have sworn he heard someone breathing right in his ear—ever since he had first stepped into the drawing room in the morning to wake the cubs. He had been helping his mother and Morgulon feed them breakfast when he had first noticed the odd sound. The brush of air on his skin.

Nobody else seemed to notice.

Well, Morgulon either didn’t notice or didn’t think it was worth mentioning. It was still hard to tell with her. And Greg didn’t want to ask. It was probably something about the full moon. If it was, he didn’t want to know.

At least David could go into the city, or the palace, and do something useful with himself. Greg was certain he’d just screw up his calculations or something, if he tried to work on the paper money today.

So he took the cubs out into the garden and tried to relax as they chased butterflies and bumblebees across the lawn, stumbling into each other. Biting each others’ tails and knocking each other over. It would have been relaxing—even idyllic—if it weren’t for that distinct sense that he wasn’t the only one watching them.

Did someone hold the curtain for him as he ushered them back into the dining room for lunch?

But Imani didn’t seem to notice, and neither did his father or Nathan. Morgulon still made no sign that anything was amiss when she padded in after Lane.

Greg took a seat, right next to Thoko as usually, a shudder running down his spine as he shifted Hewan in his lap.

He still jumped when David walked in, and the silver shade around his neck flew to the ground, turning into the giant wolf cub—crashing into the man who appeared right behind Greg’s chair.

Greg almost jerked out of his skin and into his other body at the sudden appearance. Morgulon stopped him, like a gentle hand on his shoulder, before he could wreck the table.

She couldn’t stop David or the crossbow he whipped off his back—nor the two bolts that went flying.

The stranger folded in on himself, collapsing into a different shape, with an elegance and ease that Greg wouldn’t reach for decades to come. Human to wolf to human again. And still—by the time the two steel tipped bolts clattered to the ground and the stranger reached for his clothes, David’s crossbow was trained at him again, now loaded with silver.

They stared at each other—naked werewolf and hunter—with identical expressions of shock and horror.

You’re an idiot, Morgulon commented.

“What are you doing here?” David asked, catching himself first, his face quickly closing off.

It sounded like they knew each other?

Greg didn’t think he’d ever seen the stranger—a man with bright red hair and beard, about Bram’s age, if Greg was any judge. A strange man who was missing a hand.

He was slowly raising both arms, fully fixated on David’s crossbow. “I came to visit my nieces.”

“And you decided to sneak in like a burglar, why?” David asked.

He glanced at Nathan, who no doubt had his own crossbow ready, if yet hidden below the table. Greg wished he knew what the signal meant. He thought Nathan was relaxing a little?

“The city guard tried to send me to a place they called Windish when I attempted to enter the city. It did not seem wise to show myself once I had evaded them. I meant no harm.”

To Greg’s surprise, David abruptly lowered his crossbow. “Be glad I rarely pack silver these days,” he said. “And don’t do it again.”

He turned to the rest of the room. “The Red, everyone.”

Greg stared at the old man, who slowly, not looking away from David, reached for his pants.

David didn’t put the weapon away.

“Did—did Larissa find you?” Greg asked, when nobody else said anything.

“Yes,” the Red said.

“So… will you help with the Rot-queen?” Greg asked.

“Another one?” the Red asked, picking up his shirt, too. A simple, somewhat grubby shirt, that fit with his flap trousers. When he was finished dressing, he wouldn’t have looked out of place in Eyal’s butty gang.

“We can discuss that later,” David said. “Have a seat.”

Greg got a strong sense that the elder would have much preferred to just walk out the way he had come, but after a second, he nodded, sitting down next to Greg.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I apologise for startling you,” he said. “It was never my intention.”

To be caught at all?

Greg decided not to say that out loud.

“Even Morgulon didn’t know you were there, did she?” he asked instead. When the Red nodded, he added: “How did Alvin spot you then?”

“Alvin? Oh, the ghost boy?” The Red glanced at David. “I do not know. I have never tried to hide from a dead spirit before. He is nothing but magic, so I suspect that he interacts with magic quite differently from a living soul. I would be interested in knowing how he came to be bound to you, Lord Relentless.”

David’s face hardened even further. Greg half expected him not to answer at all. “He took a silver bullet for me, at the battle for Port Neaf. I attempted to help with what little magic I have and failed. His blood mixed with mine when I did. I expected the Rot to take me, but instead…”

David waved at the shade of the young wolf, which flowed together, gathering like a shawl around David’s shoulders once more.

“How very curious,” the Red said softly. He hesitated, looking at David searchingly, before adding, “He must have cared for you a great deal.”

“I would have made him my heir,” David said, abruptly setting down the crossbow and taking a seat himself. His tone clearly said that the conversation was over.

***

The garden of the house in Deva was much smaller than the one at Courtenay. Greg hadn’t minded before, but with two adult werewolves and five cubs, plus Imani, Thoko and Lane, the little piece of lawn, surrounded by a hedge and a wall towards the road, felt quite crowded.

Or maybe that was just Greg. He envied the two elders who lay in the sun like there wasn’t a care in the world. Like it wasn’t the first night of full moon in a few hours. They didn’t even seem interested in the snacks Imani had had brought out.

It made him feel even more greedy for picking from the plate constantly, but it was the only thing that stopped him from snapping at the cubs when they tumbled into him.

Morgulon didn’t even twitch her ears when one of the boy-cubs sank his baby teeth into her tail and tried to play tug-of-war with it. Emboldened by their brother, her other two sons joined in on the game, but Morgulon barely seemed to be aware of the three cubs using her extended spine as a teething toy.

When they started on his tail, too, the Red asked: When will you take them to safety?

They are safe.

For now, the Red conceded, but he pressed on, it’s a good time to cross the mountains.

No.

Greg jumped at the vehemence in Morgulon’s thoughts. The Red raised his head, too.

Stay, if you want to help, she went on. I’m done running. My children will not chew snow for water, sleeping in caves, eating their kills raw.

The Red’s answer sounded amused. You enjoy all those things.

Their father doesn’t, Morgulon said, looking at Greg, who was chewing at a piece of cake. And I don’t think all of them will come after me. If they chose to, it’s different. But they’ll have that. A choice. I will give them that.

She looked up at the house, towards the window of David’s room. We will give them that.

Greg shuddered when he followed her gaze, and reached for another piece of cake. He was glad, so very glad, that he couldn’t help with David’s plan at all. The Red, though? How old was he really?

He hasn’t yet managed to defeat one of the enemy’s armies, the Red pointed out, with the same tired tone of a teacher who had to explain too often. And you know the enemy can send more.

He will create a Rot-queen, Morgulon said. Sacrifice the river to do it. Drive the queen at the enemy. If you want to keep them safe, stay and protect this city.

While you do what?

Drive the queen, of course.

How do you know you won’t end up a sacrifice to the river yourself?

“That’s idiotic,” Greg complained. Lane and Thoko and Imani jumped at his outburst.

Greg withered as the weight of the Red’s regard fell onto him, but the assumption annoyed him so much—or more likely, Morgulon backed him—that he could add. “Nobody wants to deal with a queen that powerful. Asides, you think anyone would help push back the Rot afterwards, if David did that?”

The Red just sighed. But he will sacrifice a werewolf to do it, won’t he?

Morgulon’s tail jerked, to the delight of the cubs who hung on for dear life. Traitors who threatened to kill his family, she said. Bitten for the purpose alone.

The Red raised his head to look at her—stare at her, really—in a silent challenge.

Morgulon rolled her eyes at him. After a few seconds, he looked away again.

I believe it is a good solution, Morgulon said. As much as the circumstances allow. Unless you know a dragon we can summon to drive out the enemy.

The Red didn’t answer, turning away to look at the cubs who were now testing if his tail would move, too. Aiwaz gave up quickly, and instead tried to climb up his back.

Lane looked at Greg, but he shook his head as subtly as he could.

I don’t know any dragons, the Red said after a long moment. Or any other creature that could defeat the Valoise. When will you leave the city?

Right after this full moon.

The Red ducked his head as Aiwaz had managed to push up to his shoulders, until she managed to plant one front paw between his ears. When he lowered his head, she tumbled right down, briefly trying to hold onto his nose, before she landed in a heap between his front paws. Looking up at him with big eyes.

I suppose you can leave it to Monroe and Malinda to make sure the city remains safe, Morgulon said. And Pierre of course. They should be quite able repel a single queen.

That old priest you fought? Bah.

Morgulon shrugged. He is certainly old.

The Red bared his teeth at the comment, until Aiwaz poked her nose against his lower jaw.

Fine, the Red grumbled. Fine! I’ll stay. At least till the queen passed through the city.

Greg exhaled a breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding, grinning at Thoko without thinking about it.