Him and I (Declan Harp)

Chapter 9

"Yeah," I said, gaining a stare from Declan. His stare looks right through me, making me sigh. Crap he's good. "Just, not feeling so good, that's all. Probable because I almost saw Michael's junk last night," I said, hoping to brighten the moment.

I'm happy when my husband shares my smile and we both chuckle a little. As Declan takes his spot next to me, Michael's body comes into view. He makes his way over to us, stopping towards the side of Declan and I.

"What happened to the two of you?" Michael asked, wanting to know where we went and what had happened.

Declan doesn't say a word, instead he throws his knife at the target again. Knowing Michael enough to know that he won't drop it until he gets a real answer, I speak up. "We survived," A truth that doesn't give in to as much detail.

I throw my own knife.

Another knife is thrown by Declan while Michael tries to figure out what all that means. He seems to give up and move onto other things. "We've had success hitting HBC outposts and taking furs."

As Michael talks, I've thrown my last knife, causing Declan to walk over and retrieve them again. When he turns around, he slightly glares at Michael, "So the Black Wolf are thieves now?"

The Black Wolf was our home, family, and to hear they've fallen so far so fast is stabbing to us. We've worked hard to make it what is was.

"When Dimanche left, most of the men left. When you and Anna disappeared, it was just me and Sokanon. We had a job to convince a few of the men to rejoin us. We needed capital. So we took a few loans from the HBC. I thought you'd approve," Michael says, gesturing towards Declan confused.

Declan sighs, looks at the four knives in his hand before handing me my two. He then gives one of his to Michael, stepping to the side. I copy his action on the other side, watching Michael as he throws the knife. He completely misses the target, almost missing the tree.

"Throw straight, not hard," I comment, making Michael go to retrieve the knife. As Michael's back is turned from us, Declan's eyes land on me. We all knew from the sight of Sokanon half-naked and Michael pretty much naked, what had happened last night.

Michael was still young in the sense of wanting approval for certain things. And since Sokanon was part of our group, he seeked it from us.

I nod over to Michael, causing Declan to look at me confused. My mouth mouths Sokanon's name and nods towards Michael again as he turns. Declan lets out a sigh.

"You and Sokanon belong together. She trusts you. Just remember. She's family," Declan says and throws his last knife.

Michael looks at the knife sticking out of the same spot for the hundredth time. "So, what now?"

"You tell us, Michael," I say, making Michael turn and look at me before facing Declan. He sees that we're serious and takes this chance to speak up.

"I think we should keep hitting outposts, we can hit York boats when they portage. We could end up with a thousand pelts."

Declan sucks in a breath, "I don't think that's really gonna hurt the Company."

"Is our goal to rebuild the Black Wolf - or to undermine the Company?" Michael asks, still unclear why our revenge is more important than the Black Wolf Company.

Speaking honestly, I say, "We want both."

Michael turns between Declan and I in disbelief. Not wanting this conversation to continue, Declan turns and walks away, leaving Michael and I to ourselves for a minute. I can see the look of disappointment on Michael's face as he looks down.