Page 44 of These Little Heirs
“You’ll be good as new in a few days,” Dad said, settling in on the sofa on my other side. “You will. It doesn’t seem like it now but you’ll heal fast and if your pain doesn’t go down in a bit we’ll get Dara over here.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ciro
I didn’t leave Medwin’s side from the moment I arrived to Moonscale Manor and neither did Cade except to send his younger siblings through the Other World to Heartville where one of his brothers-in-law picked them up. An assassination in broad daylight could mean riots or panic in the streets. My and Teal’s mating link was a jumbled mess of emotions. I just kept thanking the old cats that Teal was alive and so was Morvan.
I sat beside my father-in-law as Medwin filled us in on what really happened. Of course, Clarence Moonscale had his claws involved in this. Then again, what would’ve happened if he hadn’t?
“Don’t think about it,”my cat chimed off from his inner sanctum.“That didn’t happen. We keep Medwin safe until we know nothing’s going to explode and then we get back with Teal.”
Medwin paced, communicating rapidly with folks across the territory over the group link. I felt as useful as a new bag of sand in the desert. Every now and then my heart skipped a beat because Teal was reliving it all. I wasn’t an idiot. Cade dragged me here because he showed up too late to stop the assassination and was worried someone would come after me if they blamed Teal. I’d have joined the guards out in the community, ensuring everyone had what they needed but my cat wouldn’t have it. We had kittens on the line. Yes, he said kittens in the plural.
“I don’t think they’re going to riot,” Cade said hours later. “I think most people like Morvan. I think finding out his brother wanted him dead is a shock but it’s not like Dad killed him. Maybe then they’d riot but Patrica isn’t a ruler. She’s a lynx whois probably a bit of a sadist but folks like her too. They like her because she’s worked with Teal and Morvan to save people.”
“If you two want to go home to your mates, I’ll be fine,” Medwin said, glancing out of the window.
“As much as I want to see Teal, I’m not leaving you alone,” I shook my head and crossed my legs. “We don’t do that to each other when shit hits the fan. If I had been there when my parents---”
“You were a cub and you’d have been dead too,” Medwin sighed. “We’ve been over this, Ciro.”
“I’m still not leaving until Clarence gets back. So, either you come with us or we’re here,” I said.
“I can stay,” Cade said. “You should go check on Teal.”
“Your grandkid was just born,” I countered.
“Your nephew was just born,” Cade shot back.
“Ciro, please go to Teal. I appreciate that you want to keep me safe but Cade and I have waited out worse together and that was before he was old enough to have a fighting style. That was back when he thought tossing the washing machine at an invader was the best way to go about it,” Medwin’s eyes lit up as he spoke.
“He splattered nicely, though, Dad,” Cade grinned.
I hugged them both goodbye and made them promise not to do anything crazy. The promise wasn’t worth much since their definition of crazy probably didn’t match my own.
The streets were full of people but they weren’t fighting or looting. They weren’t even chanting. They were standing and sitting in little groups eating and discussing what had happened. A cleaning company was scrubbing the blood that was left out of the sidewalk and some teenagers passed around a condolences card for Morvan. London had been through a war against a hate group together. One asshole wasn’t going to be the thing that crumbled this mighty empire.
“Is Teal okay?” Someone I never talked to asked and everyone turned to look at me.
“He’s grieving,” was the only answer I provided as I wound my way through the crowd. A few others asked questions but I wasn’t comfortable speaking for Teal. He’d answer or not answer questions later.
“He’s not injured,” Patrica slipped out of an alleyway to announce to the crowd. “Teal Moonscale is hale and healthy.”
The lynx winked at me and motioned for me to go as the crowd surged forward full of complicated and personal questions.
“Cats always do the dirty work,”my cat chuckled from inside his inner sanctum.
I should’ve avoided the area all together but I needed to see for myself that London wasn’t going to fall apart while I was gone. Its crumbling to the ground was the last thing Teal wanted. One single tragedy didn’t mean the whole thing went down in history like some crazy old human play where everyone croaked. I pushed such thoughts out of my head and made for the Other World gateway. The world would make sense again once I was back with my mate.
***
Back in Heartville, Bobby Hemlock, the pack alpha, had questions for me but I told him unless he was placing me under arrest that I wasn’t stopping to talk to him.
“We don’t arrest people here unless it’s murder, rape, or destruction of crop, home, or community property,” Bobby frowned. “I don’t know what sort of show Clarence is running over there but since I’m not in the mood to deal with his theatrics I thought I’d have better luck finding out if you guys needed back up from one of Medwin’s guys.”
Medwin’s guy. I sort of liked that.
“He’s okay. Cade’s with him,” I said, starting to walk further into town. Bobby followed at my side keeping pace. “Morvan is fine. They didn’t save his brother but he’s a traitor. No one is rioting. Moonscale Meals will still go forward with the launch. I don’t really know what you could do for them.”
