Heart's Desire

Chapter 29 - Monty

"Alright, alright – foxy's going bye-bye," I say, taking the toy from Luna. "If you can't share, then nobody gets it."

Luna's screams of outrage join her brother's, and I can tell there's no stopping the meltdown now. Just gotta ride it out till they get tired.

At least, that would be the case if the twins were 'normal' Wolf children.

A stream of lilting words reaches me, like a softly spoken song, and Julian joins us, summoned by his childrens' cries.

Speaking in Fae, he goes to them, and they quickly quiet – screams fading to little whimpers, pain and outrage soothed by his soft voice. He picks them up, and comes to join us on the couch. They snuggle against him, safe in his arms, and in less than a minute, they're asleep.

"That's some kind of magic, right there," I say.

Julian looks up, his amethyst eyes lit with a faint light, and I realize I might not be far off.

"They're tired," he murmurs. "They pick up on emotions easily, like me, and there've been a lot of emotions going around recently."

I study him a moment. His skin is almost unnaturally pale, his hair a rich chocolate brown, smooth as silk. Beneath his superficial beauty, though, he looks tired, too.

"You won't really take them to Faerie, will you, Julian?" I ask. "I'd miss 'em something awful, and Dane..."

Julian shakes his head and gives me a wan smile. "No. I was just upset when I said that. It's the wrong time of year, anyway – time's faster on that side, now. Months or years might pass there, while only a few days go by here. I could never do that to Dane; he doesn't want to miss a thing."

He looks down at the twins fondly, and runs his fingers through their soft black curls.

"It's just... as much as I know I'm Pack, sometimes I also feel... like I'm not, really. I'm not a Wolf, and there are some things Dane just doesn't expect me to understand, so he doesn't bother to explain. It's not like he keeps things from me on purpose – usually; he doesn't think about it. But this..." He sighs and glances up at me. "Did you know? I mean, am I the only one who didn't?"

I rub the back of my neck and shift uncomfortably. "Dane said he was gonna tell you."

Julian sighs again and lets his head drop back against the cushion.

"I still don't completely understand what it means, except that it makes them targets for people like this 'Dire' creep, and that they'll have things to learn and responsibilities to shoulder as they grow up. I don't know why he couldn't have told me sooner – like as soon as he knew."

"He didn't want you to worry," I say.

"That's another thing I don't get," he grumbles. "What exactly am I not supposed to worry about?"

"He didn't explain the Challenge?" I ask, surprised.

Julian sits up and narrows his eyes at me. "No. What about it?"

I bite my lip. It's not my place to tell him, but somebody's got to.

"When one Alpha challenges another," I say carefully, "like Dane thinks this 'Dire' guy plans to do... it's a fight to the death, Julian. That's why Dane wants to take the Alpha from our dad."

Julian's eyes flare with Fae light again, and he transfers the sleeping twins to me and gets to his feet.

"Thank you, Monty. I guess you Wolves can explain these things, after all, because I understood that just fine. Where is my Mate, anyway?"