Chapter 18: Chapter 16

Adam expected Ivory to have nightmares that night, with the return of her aunt, he thought they would be fresh and gruesome. Such was not the case though. Nor did she desire his presence to not feel so alone. In fact, she didn’t make a sound all night.

He awoke a little before dawn, as was his custom, having slept peacefully all night. After tossing and turning for a while. On his way out, he paused to listen for her breathing. He heard nothing. Not even the sounds of breathing. Adam was hit with a small bit of panic and opened the door.

Ivory’s bed was made and empty.

He turned and practically flew down the stairs and to the kitchen. Even though it was a very short distance, he was out of breath by the time he saw her leaning over a small table, rolling out dough.

She looked up and saw him. Her mind registered that something was wrong and grew worried.

Adam quickly walked over to her, needing to reassure himself that she was there, and she was alright. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

“Adam? What’s the matter? What’s wrong?” Ivory asked.

“I couldn’t hear you breathing through the door. When I checked, you weren’t there. You scared the living daylights out of my wolf and I, Ivory. We feared the worst had happened and we had somehow slept through it.”

Ivory laughed softly and let herself relax into his embrace, knowing soon enough he was going to step away and distance himself again.

“Why are you up so early? Did you not sleep well? I never heard you cry out.”

“I didn’t sleep at all actually. I’ve been down here all night. It’s something my mother always did when she couldn’t sleep. I do the same. We drove my father nuts with it.” Ivory tipped her head back, leaving only her chin against his chest.

She was taller now, but he was still more than a head taller than her.

“You know, my parents lived in the same castle their whole lives and yet they never met until one night? Neither of them could sleep. She was baking and he wanted to sneak a piece of pie. My father was a glutton when it came to her apple pies. Any of her baking really. It’s a miracle he wasn’t overweight from how often he ate them.”

Adam loved the way her little laugh sounded. He loved that she was finally remembering good things. As much as he would love to think that had something to do with him, it probably didn’t. He laughed softly with her.

A trace of the sun started breaking through the windows. Adam sighed and kissed her forehead, hugging her tight to him one more time before releasing her and stepping away.

“I’m sorry I over reacted.” He said quietly.

Ivory wanted to tell him that was ridiculous, and he could overreact anytime, but he still wasn’t ready. She told him that story hoping to remind him about her mother.

It obviously didn’t work.

He’ll see it when he’s ready. The voice in her head told her.

Ivory figured she was really losing it if she was hearing voices now. The day before, she thought it was her conscience, and she was basically talking to herself. Not anymore though. It seemed to have a mind of its own.

Adam lifted a hand toward her cheek then dropped it before it could make contact with her. He spun around and marched out the back door. A few minutes later she heard a howling, one that she could feel in her heart.

Adam had shifted. And his wolf was in just as much pain as they were.

A little over an hour later, the males of the house all began to leave for the fields. All but Charles and Gabe.

“Why are you two still here?” Ivory asked them as she walked into the living room, tying her shirt up.

“We are staying home with you today. Alpha’s orders.” Charles winked at her. He knew this was ridiculous too.

Ivory opened her mouth to argue the point and then changed her mind. What was the point?

Around midafternoon, all three of them sank into a sofa. Ivory had felt the need to stay busy all day. She insisted they not sit around either. Charles complained often, only he did it with a smile and whistled while he worked. It was rather, odd. But that was just Charles.

Ivory was thinking about a nap before making dinner when she saw Charles sit up straight, his eyes looking around the room before settling on Gabe.

“Get Adam and the others, fast!”

Gabe was off and out the door before Ivory could take another breath.

“What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s here. Get upstairs. Stay quiet.”

Charles walked outside, while she ran to her room again. He waited on the chair on the front steps. It was something Adam had made for Snow on her last birthday, knowing she liked to sit outside once in a while, staring at the clouds or the stars.

Charles picked up a knife and a block of wood someone had left there. He started cutting it, not really thinking about what he was making, just trying to look natural.

At the same time, he was listening to the horse coming closer to the house. When it was close enough, he looked up and watched it saunter closer. Charles stood up, still holding his project.

“Interesting seeing you out this way, especially so late in the day.” Charles didn’t even bother trying to hide his suspicions.

The Innkeeper jumped off his horse and loosely wrapped the reins around one of the poles supporting the porch roof. “Where’s Adam and Brian? Are they close?”

“We’re right here.” Adam said as they walked up.

The other males were all covered in sweat. Adam hardly looked winded at all.

“What are you doing here?” Adam stopped just a few feet in front of their longtime customer and crossed his arms across his bare chest.

“I had to come tell you that you can’t come to the market tomorrow. I didn’t want to entrust the message with anyone else.”

Adam raised one eyebrow, wondering if this was some kind of trick. He wasn’t going to tell the male that he had already planned that very same thing. Not yet anyway.

“Why?”

The Innkeeper licked his lips and took in the size of all seven brothers for the first time. His eyes widened in shock but not fear. He was impressed. He was proud.

“The Queen and her advisor checked into my Inn last night. They are in town for a couple days. Not sure why. It seems like a meet and greet type of thing. She did specifically mention a family of males, saying one fixed her wheel. She was asking questions about you all. I didn’t like it. Thankfully, I was all out of your goods. If she were to taste any of it, she would know Snow was here.”

Adam rubbed a hand over his face. He studied the Innkeeper again.

“We should probably take this inside. These are dangerous times to be speaking openly.” Adam suggested firmly.

He led the way in, knowing they would all follow him without a word. Brian entered last, closing the door behind him.

The Innkeeper looked around, a small smile on his face.

“I’m happy to see that you have been taking such good care of the place. I half expected to find it covered with a layer of dust in here.”

Charles laughed hard. The Innkeeper looked at him as though he had lost his mind.

Adam smirked. “If you had stopped by three years ago, that would have been the case. We slacked off on cleaning after our father was gone. Not that we did much of it before either. Mom was the one who was a stickler about dirt.”

The Innkeeper smiled knowingly. “Females usually are. They also have a way of bringing light back into the world, do they not?”

“Yes. They do.” Adam answered succinctly. “Ivory?” He called up the stairs.

This moment had been a long time coming but Adam felt like he could trust this male. If he was going to turn them in, he would have done so by now. It would have been made especially easy with the Queen in his Inn at this very moment in time.

“It’s okay, you can come down.”

Small, slow footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Adam was the closest to her. He needed to be if he was going to stay levelheaded during the unexpected meeting. When Ivory was close enough, he raised a hand, which she quickly took, then gripped his whole arm and half hid behind him.

The Innkeeper bowed at the waist, his jaw practically hitting the floor.

“You are more lovely than the rumors said you would be. You look so much like your grandmother, except for the hair.” He chuckled.

Ivory smiled softly at him. “When I was younger, her hair did turn white. She often would laugh and say she was copying me.”

The Innkeeper gave his normal jovial laugh in return. “Yes. That sounds just like her. I must say. Having your pies has brought back so many good memories.”

Ivory blushed and held tighter to Adam. She didn’t care for flattery much. It had always made her uncomfortable.

“Thank you.” She replied in a whisper.

Adam squeezed her hand, trying to let her know that everything was alright, and she was safe. He felt her body begin to relax behind him.

Ivory looked up at him. “What’s going on?”

It was meant to be just for him, but there were too many wolves, both fully grown and partially grown, in the room. Everyone heard her.

“He came to warn us. Your aunt is staying in his Inn. She has been asking questions about us.” Adam couldn’t resist. He lifted a finger and brushed the back of it along her jaw. “Don’t worry, he was already out of pie. With us not going tomorrow, there are no chances of her getting any.”

Ivory looked deeply into Adam’s eyes, looking to see if he was actually calm or just trying to hide his frustrations with the male. Apparently she was taking too long as Charles began whistling from across the room.

When she looked at the Innkeeper again, she saw that he was grinning from ear to ear. Almost like he had just been given the best pie in the world. Again. Adam didn’t like that look. He knew that meant the Innkeeper had figured out his attachment to her already. Ivory didn’t understand what it meant though, nor why it upset Adam so much.

They sat down, and the Innkeeper went through everything again.

Adam shared what had happened the day before, even the part about the pie. He had yet to tell that part to his brothers. Charles actually fell out of his chair laughing. Even Gabe giggled quietly next to Ivory.

“So, do I get the real story of how you ended up here with them, your highness?”

Adam had been relaxed, up until the Innkeeper called her that. It was like waking up to a bucket of cold water being dumped on your head. He swallowed it down to answer the question.

“What you heard about the dolphins was the real story. I just left out the fact that the dolphins were pushing Ivory toward the pier where my brothers were fishing. They pulled her out of the seaweed blanket she was wrapped in. We brought her home, where Dean fixed her up. She’s been with us ever since.”

The Innkeeper was silent, contemplating that. “I hate to ask, but do you know who it was?” He kept his voice soft as though it would keep the hurt from her.

She shook her head. “I only saw a gray wolf attack my parents. I tried to help, but I slipped in moss. I was standing on one of the stone barriers in the ocean. The waves kept pushing at me. Eventually I fell and hit my head. The waves pushed me off. Next thing I knew, I was here. Feeling like a pin cushion.”

Adam and the others laughed lightly. Enough time had passed that they felt it was acceptable to laugh at that. The Innkeeper gave them a funny look though. He was probably thinking they were all crazy now.

Brian spoke up first. “Do you remember me telling you about Dean practicing stitches on us?” At the Innkeeper’s nod, he continued. “Really, it was Snow that he was practicing on. She had quite the gash on her head.”

Ivory turned her head and pulled her hair back, showing off the small scar. “He did a pretty good job for a first timer.”

“Oh, stop. You’re making me blush.” Dean laughed.

The light mood evaporated faster than it started. Everyone sobering again. Maybe enough time hadn’t passed yet.

“What’s the plan, then? If you don’t show up tomorrow people are going to talk. Your family hasn’t missed a Sunday market in decades.”

Adam leaned forward onto his elbows, rubbing his hands together. “That I don’t know.”

“They’ll have noticed you leaving town as well.” Brian pointed out.

The Innkeeper waved that away. “I’m always in and out of the village. That’s nothing new.”

“To the village people, no. To your royal guests, it might be.”

“Brian has a point.” Dean cut in. “I have an idea though. Why don’t we send you back with a few of the things Snow made?” He held up a hand to stall the retort he knew was about to come from Adam. “Not the pies, obviously. And nothing Apple, just to be safe. You can tell everyone that Adam sent word. A few of his brothers had taken ill. You can spin the story about the trick pie he told to the Queen. You came down to pick up what you could of your usual order. Understandably, it is smaller than normal. You can even claim that we are amateurs at the prank business and ended up poisoning the whole apple batch. It will give the villagers a good laugh. It will match all other stories the royal dirtbags heard. And, most importantly, it should keep them from stopping by anytime soon. I don’t think the Queen would lower herself to check on sick subjects.”

The Innkeeper slapped his knee. “I like it! It fits the bill perfectly.”

Since they weren’t sending pies with him, his saddle bags were good enough to use. Ivory had made a few dozen peach turnovers, ones she had started before the plans had changed, that she was able to send with him.

Adam and Brian walked the Innkeeper back out to his horse and helped him load the bags. Once he was settled he looked down at the brothers.

“Wednesday I’ll be leaving for a few days. I’m taking a few others with me. We are headed to the Duke’s city.”

“I thought that was closed off. I heard the Queen’s soldiers were sending back anyone who tried to enter. And they weren’t very nice about the ways they did it. Especially to the females.” Brian gave him a shocked look.

The Innkeeper winked. “You just have to know the right people. Load up what you can, Adam. Have Snow make a variety of turnovers. Come with me. You can make a good deal of money on this trip.”

“What about the Queen? I’m not sure I could leave Snow right now.”

The Innkeeper smirked. “I have a feeling you wouldn’t be able to leave her either way. Besides, the Queen should be miles away from here by then. I heard them discussing the itinerary. They have no reason to be coming back this way. Anyway, think about it. If you decide to come, we leave at dawn.”

He turned his horse and put it into a trot, going for the casual look.

“You’re gonna go, aren’t you?” Brian asked, not even looking at his brother.

“It’s a good opportunity. Larger cities have more money.”

“That’s not the only opportunity it provides.”

“No. It’s not.” Adam looked back up at the house.

If he listened carefully, he could hear Ivory’s movements in the kitchen.

“I need to take some space. And I can spy on things there. See if her uncle is someone we can trust.”

“We don’t want her to leave.”

Adam’s head snapped in his brother’s direction. “And you think I do? Just the thought of it feels like a dagger in my chest. But it’s not about us. It’s about her.”

“I know.” Brian sighed sadly. “Have you asked her what she wants?”

“Not yet. I will after I find out more about her uncle.”

The days went by, and no one came to visit. Not a soul detoured from the road to come anywhere near their farm.

The only interesting thing that happened was the twins finally shifting. Right in the middle of the orchard, while picking fruit for Snow. Unfortunately, they squashed a few while they were playfully wrestling.

They came running back to the house, yelping, and pushing each other. Their wolves were nearly identical, just like them. They were both a chocolatey brown, the same as Adam and Brian. The only difference between the two was that Dean’s wolf had two black marks on his eyes.

Even as a wolf he looked like a nerd.