“My love, I have to do this alone.”

  Daniel looked at her with a confused expression.

  “This isn’t a vampire den.”

  He wasn’t one for many words. If he was going to listen, he did. If not, he didn’t. He mostly respected his mate, but when he didn’t, conversation wasn’t on the table. This was different. This concerned Sarah’s safety. Mary knew that—knew the daughter was the only thing pulling enough humanity out of him to make him care about plans, strategy, restraint. Inanna was real danger—not to him, but to the people he loved. The summer had taught him they were vulnerable. Mary felt the vulnerability though their long held bond.

  “Are we having a conversation?” she asked gently.

  “I’m trying.” He forced the words out. “If she had killed Kim… it would have been… bad.” the weight of new paradigm weighed so heavily on him he slumped down under it. Sitting at the base of a tree and placing his head in his hands.

  “Maybe.” Mary’s voice softened. “I’ve seen more dark wolves than you. I fo have a few years on you.”

  She could see the frustration carving lines into his face as he fought to understand. “If you spent more time as a human, this might be easier, you know.”

  She knelt before her weary mate—the great storm, the nightmare’s nightmare—brought low for the first time by an enemy that couldn’t be solved with fangs alone. For the first time he had a weakness: one with a mind of her own, too innocent to recognize danger. To trusting in her father's great power.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “I love you, you know,” she said, stroking his face. “Do you trust me?”

  “To my soul.” Passion thrummed through their bond; she felt it, saw it in his eyes. He loved Mary. But he knew she could take care of herself. Sarah was another matter all together.

  Mary placed his powerful hand over her chest. “To my soul.” It had been a long time since she showed him affection in human form. She knew he longed for the simplicity of his life as a wolf hunting in the Appalachian mountains.

  “Maybe we should’ve killed the witch,” he managed.

  Mary was surprised she had convinced him to let Annie live. “We can always kill the witch. We have her scent. But if Inanna is trying to assert herself again, she’ll have a coven. She’ll have artifacts. The aid of others. We have to dismantle it all. It requires surgery to keep our pup safe. Not a butcher knife.”

  Daniel was struggling to understand. Mary found it hard to watch him wrestle with his thoughts. But as his lover it was nice to see the rising storm as a man—not because she didn’t love the wolf, but because she loved them both. This wasn’t hard for him only because he was a wolf; it was hard because it was so far outside his experience since he first changed over five hundred years ago.

  “I like to see you as you are too,” he said, answering her unspoken insecurities. Now it was her turn to be taken aback. “I fell in love with that face.” he said, cupping her chin in his hand.

  “Sometimes I think you forgot.”

  He pulled her close. “It’s hard,” he whispered. Mary melted into the embrace.

  “I know. That’s why I have to do this alone. It’s too hard for you. At least right now.” He refused to let her pull back. She just rested in his arms until he was ready to let her go.

  “If I don’t hear from you in an hour, everything in this city will die.”

  “How about if you don’t hear from me in a day, you can come looking for me?” she said with a smile.

  “This form’s senses are too weak. And if I change…”

  “You could lose control.” Mary shrugged. “Thats the risk we take my love. Regardless I need a day.”

  Mary wanted to stay—to savor this rare flash of vulnerability. “Duty calls,” she said as she stood.

  “A day,” he repeated as she retreated into the city.