Page 50 of Beggars, Sin, and Wine

Pax had pulled things from the chest freezer and set them in the fridge to defrost when he was cooking for Medusa last night. We kept the freezer and the fridge layout exactly the same for him because we weren’t assholes.

Sirens and mermaids were two separate beasts, though they had been confused by humans over the years. Jezebel was half siren and sirens were marine birds. She needed fish, which I pretty much always had on hand because I did, too.

Pax hadn’t pulled any from the freezer, which was unlike him. And then I remembered. Supernaturals either stopped celebrating their birthday after a certain age or we went all out. There was a family of black bear shifters here with a twelve-year-old cub. She adored fish and her birthday was right around Benji’s.

I’d thrown a fish fry for the entire village for her birthday and I hadn’t gone swimming in the lake to catch more fish since then because I was worried about Benji and then Di happened. No wonder I felt unsettled and off my game. I couldn’t do anything about it now with this many people to care for.

I felt her before I heard her. I smiled, but I didn’t turn around.

“You should be resting, little monster.”

“Bossy.”

“Only when I need to be.”

“Who’s taking care of you when you’re taking care of everyone else?”

“Remember when I told you Benji’s thing is getting me books about stubborn bears?”

“I wouldn’t mind borrowing the kinky ones…for science.”

“If you want any random book about a very specific kink and you want the heroine to have purple hair and missing thumbs, Benji will have at least four recommendations he’s been waiting years for someone to ask about.”

“Well, you’re missing fish and both you and Jezebel need it after being in New Eden. I heard this place was built next to a waterfall where you could shift and catch some. You’d enjoy it, too.”

Yeah, I would. It would center my bear and get rid of all this uneasiness. I just didn’t think I should be playing in the water with this many Coalition victims here. There were other things I could cook Jezebel and myself.

Medusa was looking at me and it was like she could see right through me. She cocked an eyebrow at me.

“I was planning on checking you out your ass before you shifted and I wanted to meet your bear.”

Damn,

“Oh, so you don’t fight fair at all, do you?”

She knew exactly how to get me out there doing what my bear needed. He was preening at the idea of showing off and catching fish while she watched and I loved the idea of her peeking while I was naked.

“No, I don’t. At all. Help me out there so I can sit in nature and let my green witch soak it up. I’ll watch you do what your bear needs. And eventually, I’ll get my strength back and go swimming with you.”

Yeah, I liked that idea. Pax didn’t swim much because of his vision and Benji was terrified of water. It would be amazing to swim with her.

Medusa looked stronger than yesterday, but she was still painfully thin. I could have wrapped an arm around her and guided her out, but I just didn’t want to. I scooped her up and carried her. She sighed and nuzzled my chest with her cheek.

“You know, part of me wants to say I’m a strong woman capable of walking on her own two feet, but the rest of me acknowledges this is better and it feels fucking nice.”

“How much of a striptease are you wanting, little monster? That’s more of Benji’s domain and sometimes Pax if the lion shifters bring over moonshine.”

“Di runs a vineyard, but his wine has a much higher proof than any other available wine and it tastes better. He gets naked when he’s drunk, too.”

“Was that a clue to our mysterious pack member’s identity?”

Because I could feel he was pack in the basement of New Eden Asylum when he destroyed the statue of the woman who hurt Medusa. He was one of us and he orchestrated all of this to get her out. He might be playing some game with his identity, but I was finding myself less mad about it.

He could have left everyone at New Eden to fend for themselves to take care of Medusa. He was taking care of the people there while trusting us to take care of her. So, I found myself respecting him and even being a kind of willing participant in this little game of his.

“It was a pretty big one. You’re going to kick yourself when you guess. I’d tell you, but this brings him so much joy. A lot of the things that used to bring him joy are a lot harder now with social media and public indecency laws. That was another hint, by the way. Wow, this is gorgeous.”

I set her down on a rock. It really was gorgeous out here and mostly unspoiled because this was my backyard. A waterfall spilled down the mountain into a grotto that led out to the river that ran through our valley.

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