Page 15 of Fortune's Ashes
She looked up at me then down at her lap as the words burst out of her. ‘He’s human!’
‘Uh…’ I scratched my head. ‘That shouldn’t make a difference. Should it?’
‘I don’t always understand humans and their ways. It’d be easy if he was a wolf. Or even just another supe. But he’s human and that means—’ Her words trailed off.
‘Means what?’ I asked.
‘That I’m out of my depth,’ she whispered. ‘I can deal with wolf stuff.’ She touched her heart with the tips of her fingers. ‘But human stuff is much harder. I know it sounds silly but I really like him, and I really want him to like me too.’
I pushed aside my earlier reservations and did my best to be kind. ‘Treat him in the same way as you would treat a wolf,’ I said. ‘Ask him out in the same way you’d ask out a wolf. Honestly, Buffy, humans are not to be feared.’
She twisted her hands together. ‘The thing is, there’s another woman to consider,’ she muttered.
Uh-oh. ‘A girlfriend?’
‘No.’
My heart sank further. ‘A wife? Buffy…’
‘No! It’s nothing like that.’ At my look, her expression altered. ‘Honest! She’s more like his – mother.’
Now I was thoroughly confused. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘He looks up to her, trusts her. She’s like his matriarch, or something.’ She sought the right words to explain. ‘Kind of like how Lady Sullivan is to me. I want to know if I should ask her permission before I ask him out.’
My astonishment was difficult to conceal. ‘Ask her permission?’
‘You know. Like how in the olden days a man asked a woman’s father for permission to court her. I feel like I should ask this woman for permission to courthim.’
‘Is he an adult?’
‘Yeah. Of course.’
‘Is he single?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Then you don’t need this woman’s permission, Buffy. Just ask him out.’
‘What if she doesn’t approve of me?’ she asked in a small voice.
‘You’re not going to be dating her,’ I said firmly. ‘You’re going to be dating him.’
‘So I should ask him out and not worry about her?’
‘Exactly.’ I already pitied this poor nameless man – and his matriarch, or whatever she was. They didn’t stand a chance with Buffy.
She breathed out. ‘Okay. Okay.’ She gave me another worried look. ‘But what if she tells him that he can’t date me?’
I felt a sudden surge of sympathy for her. ‘Why would she tell him that?’
She bit her lip. ‘Because I’m a wolf.’
‘Screw her,’ I said. ‘It’s not up to her. And if this man is worthy of you, he won’t care what she thinks.’
She started to nod. ‘Okay. Yes, you’re right. I should ask him out. I can do it now.’
‘You go, girl.’
