Page 29 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

Walker or Nicomust have stopped by the diner and worded up Beatrice and Bert, because when we walked in, no one freaked out. It was a nice change really. But still, there was an eerie silence through the room as we walked in. The vampires watched the youngsters with a mix of wonder and, well, I was going to say it was with awe and not hunger because I liked to believe that my neighbors weren't sociopathic kid killers. Still, X glared like he would happily take every single one of their hearts if they so much as looked too long.

“Lass! Come, I saved you a booth.” Beatrice was grinning so wide I thought her face would crack. “Aw, look at the wee bairns. Aren’t they just precious?” She gave us menus needlessly as she fussed. “You tell us what you’d like and Bert will make it for you. I’m Beatrice, but you can call me Beatie if you want. Bless me, look at their blue eyes!”

I just stared. What the hell? It was like Beatrice had been body-snatched by a stereotypical Scottish Granny.

“The hell, woman? Are you feeling okay? Have you had a stroke?” X teased, and she scowled at the big Enforcer.

“Hush your face,Sassenach.”

She smiled toothily at Brody and Tex. “Hello, Boys. The usual, or will you be having bread and water like this one?” She tilted her head at X, who was grinning at her like he always did. Honestly, Beatrice was the only one that wasn't scared of X, and I felt like they had a history that started long before Dark River, but neither of them would talk about it when I asked.

“What’ll it be today, Lass?”

“French toast and bacon.” My mouth was already watering.

Beatrice came to the kids, none of whom had touched the menus. I wondered if they could read, but Beatrice was on it. “You tell me whatever you want, and Bert out the back will make it for you? Walker said you were wolf shifters?”

Christopher nodded and Beatrice beamed at him. “How about waffles and sausages, bacon and eggs?”

Their tiny mouths dropped open and they stared. Finally, Christopher spoke for the three of them. “Yes, thank you.”

His voice was high and clear, and I swear Beatrice was about to burst into tears. “Fine manners, young man. I’ll make you chocolate shakes as well, how does that sound?”

Enit made an excited squeak, but didn’t speak. Beatrice cooed once more and then wandered off to make the wee bairns some breakfast. I shook my head as she left.

Judge strolled in and spotted us at the back. He strode toward me like he hadn’t seen me in a month, and my heart raced. He leaned over me and kissed me like I was the greatest thing he’d ever seen. He was so touchy feely with Tex, I sometimes worried that he was here for Tex and not me, but I shouldn’t have. Tex was much more touch orientated, being a shifter. When he whispered, “Missed you, Rainey Day,” against my lips, I knew I didn’t need to worry. Judge was the type of man who was hard to pin down, but once he was yours, he was yours forever. “Why don’t you come over today?”

I raised my eyebrows because in all the time we’d been together, I’d never been to his apartment. I was even a little convinced that he had a red room of pain in there. But Tex had been there, and if there was something weird going on, I was pretty convinced he’d tell me. I grinned back, resting my head against his lips. “You’re on.”

Beatrice came out with overflowing plates of food, her wide smile still intact and all fang. She laid a plate in front of each of the pups and then Bert came out with the last plate. The soft look he gave them as he placed the last plate in front of Enit, and gave each of them a milkshake, made me think that maybe these two had kids, or grandkids in their human life. The kids began to inhale their food, and this time, I knew they weren’t starving hungry. It was obviously a condition response, and Brody sighed as he murmured, “Slow,” to them again, making them freeze.

I wrapped my fingers in his, sending him reassurance through our bond. He hated being the bad guy.

Beatrice returned with the rest of our food, and we talked quietly as we ate. I let the kids eat without trying to engage them in too much conversation. We just pretended everything was normal for a bit, letting them get used to us as a group.

Judge ate his steak, slicing off a bit for Carmen when she eyed it hungrily. She stared at the steak on her plate, then at the man beside me, like he was an alien. Judge seemed oblivious, chatting softly with X about some vamp from their past who’d apparently gone broke because he started buying and smashing Faberge eggs as a pastime. Apparently crazy came in all forms.

But I saw Carmen’s eyes go wide as she looked from the steak on her plate to Judge disbelievingly. I gave her a soft smile. “Eat it, it’s okay.”

Christopher eyed the steak on her plate like it might bite him. “Wolves don’t share their food, unless it's mothers and real young pups. It's every wolf for itself, and you live and die by how strong you are and how much you are prepared to fight for your food.” He said it with no inflection, like he was reciting the words of an adult who’d repeated it to them often.

Enit’s eyes got real wet. “You always gave me your food,” she whispered, laying her head on her brother’s shoulder.

Christopher dipped his cheek to her head really quickly, then shrugged her off. “That’s different.”

I gave him a sad smile. Brody’s hand gripped mine even harder, but his voice was soft. “We don’t work like that. We provide for the whole Pack. We’ll feed you when you’re hungry. We’ll care for you when you are sick. We’ll love you even when you crash your car into a ditch at fifteen because you were trying to impress a girl.” He laughed softly, and I had the distinct impression that was something Brody had done. “We aren’t like your old Pack, I promise.”

They all watched Brody warily, but Enit reached out and touched the back of his hand quickly. It was a rushed gesture, but I felt like it was a wolf thing. By the way Carmen glared at her, it obviously had some significance. Still, Carmen reached out and did the same. Just a quick touch to the back of Brody’s hand. Brody sat so still I thought he was a statue.

Finally, Christopher sighed heavily. He reached out and deliberately pressed his hand to Brody’s.

My strong Alpha looked a bit like he wanted to cry, but he nodded. He reached out and stroked each of their foreheads in quick succession.

Judge leaned toward me. “What’s happening right now?”

I shrugged. Tex leaned forward from his other side. “It’s scent marking. Enit touched him so his Alpha scent was on her skin, and now he’s doing it in return. If they came across another Pack, they’d smell like him and people would know not to fuck with them.”

Oh. Well, here comes those damn tears again. It also explained why Brody was clinging to me like he was about to have a very unmanly breakdown.

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