Chapter 105: Shifter Bonding 101

Talon POV

"Kitchen dance, Daddy? Kitchen dance?"

Those words took Lord Talon Blackthorn, Peer of Lugdunum, secret Keeper of the Farmer's Charm, back to when his little boy, William, was just a tiny pup. Years before he even knew his true identity as a wolf shifter. But it wasn't William's voice. It was Jiro's little pup, Tiberius. A big name for such a wee one! He was tempted to call it pretentious…

But then, his cousin Jiro Cresta swept up the toddler in his arms and danced around the kitchen with him. And Talon shut up, because he'd look like a complete idiot for saying a word. And his lady, Kelara, would never let him hear the end of it. Especially now, when they had all joined the family in preparing for the huge feast this evening.

Juggling the toddler in one arm and stirring a bowl of sauce in the other, red hair and beard streaming every which way in the kitchen heat, Jiro looked like anything other than a typical haughty Alpha. But Talon had learned that within five minutes of meeting him. Jiro's brother, Dane, was even more approachable when it came to family. It must have been from losing his parents and having to take over as a parent AND an Alpha almost ten years ago. 

Holding one of his triplets while fussing over the menu, laughing and reprimanding his little brothers and the pups that were everywhere, Dane Cresta looked like the father Talon aspired to be for William and the pup growing in Kelara's belly. 

Dane showed more love and warmth than Talon's own parents …

Best to keep those unhappy memories as far from this beautiful moment as possible. FINALLY, after so many years of letting himself be ruled by his parents' dictates and denying the pull to be with his own kind, he'd taken the leap to join the shifters. Having his close family along with him made it all the sweeter … and yet his heart twisted in rage.

He could have been here among his people years ago. He'd certainly become aware of them when he reached adulthood and the title passed to him. But he'd absorbed all the warnings from his parents.

Even after they stopped speaking to him following the shame of his divorce, he couldn't bring himself to seek the shifters on his own. Why? Was it the darkness he'd fallen into?

From across the long, spacious Cresta kitchen, golden-haired Kelara looked up while washing goldenberries. Her beautiful, delicate face wrinkled in a frown. The bond alerted her, and she had a gift for sensing people's true emotions anyway. Her pregnancy only boosted her powers–in addition to making him completely delirious with joy, seeing her growing belly and imagining their child being born. He loved caressing her body when they made love, kissing her belly–and every part of her. Waking up with her and relaxing, drinking coffee in bed, feeling her so soft and warm beside him. He couldn't imagine his life without her.

Near Kelara, Dane's and Jiro's jolly, roguish younger brother, Patch Cresta, also stared at him penetratingly. He was helping Kelara with the berries and catching her up on pack gossip.

Talon had seen Patch in action on that cursed island. Despite the outrageous remarks, the man had enough nerve and courage for a battalion of stone-faced knights. His quick wit delighted Kelara, and she'd already taken a liking to his mate Anneliese, as she had to all the Cresta women. Talon's sister Florinda and her mate Alicia were chatting with Anneliese while they worked. So much feminine power in this kitchen.

Speaking of which, he could feel Luna Ravyn Rolfe Faolan's eyes on him while she mixed dough for her famous goldenberry cobbler. That woman saw everything. Especially the things you didn't want her to see. A great trait in a Luna–his own mate had it. But d*mned uncomfortable to deal with at times. 

He couldn't be too vexed with her. If it weren't for her, he'd never have embraced his destiny. Hearing his son William argue playfully with the Cresta pups about who got to taste the cobbler first when it came out of the oven, Talon decided that life simply couldn't get any better than this. The kitchen felt homey. After all, he wasn't one of those lords that had no idea where the kitchen was. He regularly helped cook meals at home. 

Finished slicing the vegetables, Talon turned and bumped into one of the kitchen hands, who pulled away from him. The woman smelled bitter and cold, like the dead of winter. Disgust crossed her face, and then she flounced away. 

He apologized for bumping into her, but she turned her back.

Beta Kyon Cresta, a tall mountain of a man, scooped up the vegetables and dropped them into a bowl. "Nicely done. Dane NEVER slices them that cleanly." His warm brown eyes twinkled.

"I get them done fast," Dane defended. "I don't have to make the cuts perfect, like SOME people." This was aimed at Jiro.

"He got them sliced in five minutes and they're all the same thickness," Luna Lilia razzed Dane. The two of them definitely had the same banter as Talon and Kelara.

Shrugging off the odd encounter with the kitchen maid, Talon challenged Dane and Jiro to a vegetable slicing contest while Kelara laughed, enjoying everything, and William cheered him on.

* * * * *

Jiro POV

THAT didn't look friendly.

The kitchen maid's reaction to Talon bumping into her seemed far too excessive. Dane had hailed him as a hero, and Talon hadn't even been in shifter lands for a day. He couldn't possibly have done anything to the woman. 

But Jiro could sniff out hate and prejudice from across a room. They turned his stomach. 

He pulled Ravyn and Jude aside and murmured, "Did you–"

Ravyn growled and said under her breath, "If Dane and Lilia saw that, she'd be cowering in the corner."

"Unfortunately, you can't prove anything," Jude muttered. "All she did was flinch after he bumped into her. He had a sharp knife. She can explain it away."

"Kyon saw it," Ravyn pointed out. "Even tried to divert Talon."

Jiro smirked. "Leave it to Kyon. His hidden talent is putting people in their place without them realizing he's doing it."

Jude growled, "I like Talon and his family. They fit right in, considering their feet have never touched shifter lands and they don't know our ever-expanding clan. What Kyon did was too good for that woman. For anyone who wants to show the ugly face of hatred to our new family members."

"Kyon is all about the pack," Jiro muttered. "He's protecting the pack first."

Baring his teeth and obviously having seen the ugliness, Cyran joined the huddle. "If anyone asks, we're just mixing dough over here."

Patch, Garnet, and Naomi clustered around them, too. "What's going on?" Naomi whispered. 

"Just that not everyone around here is as happy as we are to have the Blackthorns here," Jiro said in a low voice. "They might have kept a good pack face on it this morning, but that's just a disguise."

 Garnet was seething. "I knew that."

"Only idiots would go rabid and embarrass every shifter in all three packs after their Alphas all laid down the law," Patch growled. "Besides, the Crimsontails would gut them."

His eyes blazing golden, Cyran clearly had a problem with the maid's poor attitude. "It's easy to put a good face on it in public and then show your true colors when no one's looking." 

"What are we going to do about it?" Naomi whispered, smelling sharp and determined.

Jude smiled darkly. "Whatever it takes to protect our family–and save the pack from itself."

They all lured the woman out of the kitchen on the pretext of wanting some fresh herbs outside in the herb garden. Jude smelled the meat being prepared for cooking by the hunters, including Dirge. 

The maid looked at them warily, sensing something up. "You said you wanted herbs?"

Patch approached her, his eyes turning wolf colors. "Nothing in this garden can mask the scent of your hatred. What did Lord Talon Blackthorn, from the Sinsworth royal family, ever do to you?"

The maid's hands shook. "I don't know what you're–"

"It's all just a misunderstanding," Naomi said in a honeyed tone. 

Catching on, Garnet agreed. "That's right. She didn't mean to be rude."

The maid tried to act casual. "I didn't see him there. Although my nose must be clogged. How could I miss the human stink? He may have some wolf blood, but he's still HUMAN. Goddess only knows what he was planning to do to any of us."

Ravyn folded her arms, eyes piercing the woman. "He's helping us make dinner. He's doing your work. He's going to enjoy the feast tonight along with his mate and son. That's his entire evil plan."

"A likely story," scoffed the maid. "And she's having a mutt just like the boy."

Patch narrowed his eyes. "Please tell me your ignorance isn't contagious. That other people aren't planning to humiliate our pack."

"THIS is humiliating our pack! Consorting with humans!" The maid scowled. "I quit!"

Swiftly, Garnet and Jiro pinned her against the wall. "We'll let you go," Jiro said in that chilling, emotionless voice that scared every Alpha. "And we won't tell Alpha Dane how you've disrespected him in his own house. In return, you'll tell all your friends not to make trouble, or there will be consequences."

Garnet agreed. "You insulted a Crimsontail, and as much as I respect Evenhide, I stand with my pack."

The maid, trapped, snarled at Cyran. "What are you looking at, traitor?"

Cyran made a sound of disgust. "Let her go, Jiro."

Jiro's fangs sharpened. "Not until she promises."

The woman whimpered. "I promise. I swear to the Moon Goddess. Can I go now?"

Roughly, Jiro released her. Jude watched her sprint off, feeling supreme satisfaction. He turned to the others. "Let's all keep our guard up tonight."

They returned to the kitchen, wanting good, wholesome family togetherness.