He would talk to them later—or send a memo.
Making his way to the door, Simon noticed Lieutenant Montgomery, who had also stopped in for lunch. Something must have caught the human’s attention, because he took a step back from the door in order to remain unseen. Simon hurried to join him.
“You do not want to go out there right now,” Montgomery said. He held out an arm to block the door.
“Why? What’s going on?” Simon scanned the open area of the Market Square but saw nothing alarming. In fact, when Simon considered voice rather than actions, Montgomery seemed amused.
“Negotiations.” Montgomery pointed a finger at Miss Twyla, who was sitting on a bench eating an ice cream cone, and Skippy, who was chasing a bowl of ice cream until he finally pushed the bowl against one of Miss Twyla’s feet. Since her legs were crossed at the knee, the other foot dangled.
“Roo-roo.” Skippy planted a paw on Miss Twyla’s dangling foot and tried to pull it down so he could wedge the bowl between her feet instead of chasing it.
“No,” Miss Twyla said mildly.
“Roo-roo!” Skippy batted at her foot, more insistent.
“You can ‘Grandma’ me all you want. Doesn’t change the fact that you can hold that bowl by yourself. Miss Meg showed you how.”
“Roo?” Skippy looked around.
“She’s not here.” Miss Twyla licked her ice cream. “You just sit yourself down and put your own paws around the bowl.”
“Oh,” Montgomery breathed. “He’s going to try the ‘I’m too helpless to do this’ routine.”
Skippy did look pathetic, pushing at the bowl with one paw while the ice cream rapidly melted.
“We could go out and help him,” Simon said.
“You could do that. Of course, you’ll have to get around Mama now that she’s decided Skippy can do it himself.”
“But when we all had dinner the other night, she cut up his food, helped him eat.”
“The other night he needed help. This he can do by himself.” Montgomery studied him, openly curious. “Do you continue to feed your young once they’re old enough to do for themselves?”
“Of course not. They have to learn to hunt, as well as learn to protect their share of the food.” Simon considered what Montgomery was asking. “Doesn’t mean juveniles won’t act like puppies sometimes and try to coax an adult into giving them an easy meal.”
“Not much different from humans that age. How often do your adults give in?”
When Simon didn’t answer, Montgomery grinned. “That’s what I thought. I guess Wolves and my mama have some things in common when it comes to raising children.”
Put that way, it explained why the Wolves treated Miss Twyla more like one of their own than like a human.
They watched Skippy flop down and put his front paws around the bowl. He gave the remaining ice cream a lick, then looked at Miss Twyla.
Montgomery laughed softly. “Oh, there are the big sad eyes. Lizzy tries that look on me every so often. Hard for me to say no to that look, even when I know giving in would be bad for both of us, but Mama is made of sterner stuff. Every grandkid has tried that look, and every grandkid has failed.”
They stood in the doorway, watching, until Miss Twyla turned her head and looked right at them.
“Are you two going to keep gawking, or are you going to get some work done?”
“That’s our cue,” Montgomery said under his breath before he raised his voice enough to be heard. “We were just leaving, Mama.”
Simon strode out of the Market Square with Montgomery but said nothing until they were out of sight. “I am the leader of the Courtyard. I’m the one who makes decisions.”
“Yes, you are.” Montgomery waited a beat. “You going to tell her that?”
He growled. “Maybe I’ll send a memo to her too.”
Montgomery just laughed.
? ? ?
Late that evening, when the Market Square stores had all closed, Vlad walked to the back of Erebus Sanguinati’s mausoleum, where Grandfather and Leetha waited for him.
“Simon will be here in a few minutes,” he told them. The Wolf had been a little confused, to say nothing of wary, about being asked to have this discussion in the Chambers. After all, it was only the second time since Simon took over the Lakeside Courtyard years ago that he’d been invited inside the black wrought-iron fences that marked the boundaries of the Sanguinati’s part of the Courtyard.
“Why does he need to be involved?” Leetha asked.
Vlad studied the female who had relocated here when the terra indigene abandoned the Toland Courtyard. She was an intelligent, beautiful hunter. Not in Stavros’s league as a predator, or his, or even Nyx’s, but deadly nonetheless.
“Simon Wolfgard is the leader of this Courtyard,” Vlad replied.
“And why is that with Grandfather residing here?” she challenged. “The Sanguinati always rule the Courtyards in prominent human cities. While this city isn’t as significant as some of the cities we rule on the East Coast, it’s still a major port on the Great Lakes.”
“The Sanguinati support the Wolfgard here.” Vlad felt his temper sharpen.
“Enough.” Erebus’s snarled command was directed at both of the younger Sanguinati, but he had turned toward Leetha to make it clear that she was the provocation. “It was decided many years ago that shifter forms were better suited to lead Courtyards in certain areas of Thaisia, just as we were better suited to rule the large urban cities and coastal towns.”
“Then why . . . ,” Leetha began.
“Perhaps the Sanguinati ruled in Toland so long they began to think of other terra indigene as subordinates rather than strong predators whose ancestors chose a different shape that better fit the other predators and prey where they lived. Your attitude displeases me, Leetha.”
She looked stunned. “I—I’m sorry, Grandfather. I didn’t mean to give offense.”
“Then learn. Simon and Vladimir are friends. They work together, live as neighbors, have fought well together. There is true cooperation in this Courtyard, not just an agreement to work together to defend against the human infestation as is the case in so many Courtyards. And that cooperation has opened up opportunities for all the terra indigene. Tolya now rules a Midwest town, a rustic place compared to Toland, but the Sanguinati have a foothold in a part of Thaisia as never before—because Tolya was willing to work with the Wolfgard and other shifters in the area.”
“So isolated,” she whispered.
Vlad studied Leetha. Was there a hint of fear in her voice? Tolya, and the Sanguinati he had selected to join him in running Bennett and some of the town’s important businesses, seemed to be thriving. But unlike the Wolves, who usually hunted four-legged animals and liked living in the wild country, the Sanguinati were better suited as urban predators, with humans being the preferred prey. That wasn’t as easy to do when you knew everyone in a small town—and they knew you. That was one reason the Sanguinati preferred using larger human cities as their hunting grounds.