Page 123 of The Howl
“No one stands between me and my woman,” Piepen yelled.
“About that,” Fenris said. “I think we need to have a man to man talk.”
Piepen shot up over Fenris’s shoulder and looked at me.
“Why did you bring him?” he demanded.
“Because I needed help,” I said.
Fenris turned and held up a hand.
“Would you mind waiting in the car?” he asked.
I retreated into the lingering warmth of the vehicle and watched Fenris lead Piepen to the edge of the marsh. He spoke quietly for a while. Piepen stopped flying and perched on a cattail stalk, his wings dropping behind him as he looked down at his hands. Then his dejected gaze flew to Fenris’s and his wings started to perk up again.
As I watched, more brownies appeared in the stalks. All males from the looks of them. All of them raptly listening to whatever Fenris was saying.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I rolled down the passenger window a crack.
“Desperation has its own scent. Females can detect it even if their sense of smell isn’t evolved like mine. It turns them off in a big way. If you want to win a woman over, you have to get rid of the desperation.”
“How?” Piepen asked.
“You’re not going to like the answer,” Fenris said.
“Tell me. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“You need to win over another woman.”
Piepen looked over at me. I could see the longing in his gaze and wanted to hide. When he turned back to Fenris, he looked determined.
“For Eliana, I’ll do it. She’s a goddess.”
“Remember, you have to let a woman come to you, not the other way around. It won’t be easy. It’ll take a lot of time and a lot of patience.”
“I understand.” Piepen held out his tiny hand to Fenris. “Thank you for your advice.”
Fenris shook his tiny hand then headed for the car, a slight smile tugging at his lips. When he got in, he rolled up his window and winked at me.
As I started the car, I glanced at Piepen, who was watching me. The little guy nodded in my direction then flew away.
“Did you just encourage him to keep harassing me?” I asked.
“He thinks that’s what I did,” Fenris said. “But what I really just convinced him to do is find another girl. He’ll be married with a baby on the way before he figures out what happened.”
I should have felt bad for Piepen, but my relief was too consuming.
“Thank you,” I said. “For your help with Piepen and the druids. Do you want me to drop you off at your cabin?”
“Nah, the Roost is fine. I’ve been avoiding the girls too much, and they’re complaining to my dad.”
“You mean hugging me today won’t be enough to keep him happy?”
“Hugging doesn’t cut it in my world,” he said.
“Right. The mate run.”
“Yep.”
