Page 5

"Mother, you never worked a day in your life."

"Don't tell me that," she snapped. "I worked to raise you. To keep this home. To raise your brother."

The bare minimum,he thought to himself. All she'd ever seemed to do was complain. Why wasn't his father making more? Why couldn't they move further east, away from the forest? This, that and the other. It seemed to never end. So of course, when Bryan had come of age and been chosen by Minister Zamgarg, she was beyond ecstatic. Her golden ticket had arrived—or so she'd thought.

"Besides," she said, "Why does it matter, Bryan? We're now in the good minister's graces. Once you have his child, everything will be fine. And it's only a matter of time. And how is that faring? I know the Minister is a pious man, but you two are mates. Hasitnot happened yet?"

"It's happened," Bryan muttered. "I'm trying. It's just... It's taking a little longer than expected."

"Well. The Minister is an older Alpha. But that also depends on his mate, you know? His mate needs to sufficiently please him in order for his seed to perform as well as it can. Are you pleasing him, Bryan?"

He no longer wanted this conversation to continue. To his relief, at that moment Lukas burst into the room. In his wolf pup form, he skidded across the floor.

"Brother!" he barked.

"Lukas!" Bryan shouted, grinning. He pushed past his mother and the little wolf sprinted and leaped at him, shifting mid-air into a boy. Bryan caught him and spun him around. "How's my favorite brother?"

"I'm your only brother," he pointed out. "Of course I'm your favorite."

Bryan laughed and carried him into the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I've brought you some good things."

Lukas nodded hesitantly. He was a proud little boy and didn't like to admit his pains, but the food from the minister's house was too good to deny. Bryan set him down and opened the container of food, which he'd wrapped in a cloth. "Dig in," he said. "It's all for you. There's cuts of lamb shank, cheese and some apple slices."

"Yay!"

"How's Father doing?" Bryan asked.

"He's alright," Lukas said, stuffing his mouth with food. "He talks more now."

"Good, good." Bryan ruffled Lukas's hair. "I'm going to go see him. You enjoy your food, alright?"

Lukas nodded. "Thank you."

Bryan passed his mother in the hallway. "You know," she said. "It does worry me. It's nearing the end of the month, and you still aren't pregnant. Certainly the minister plans to extend the contract? He must understand that these things take time and effort..."

"Don't speak to me about this, Mother. I don't want to talk about it."

"But if the contract ends—"

"That's not going to happen," he said, glancing back to the kitchen where his brother was eating. "I can't let that happen."

Bryan's father, Michael, was sitting in his usual place in the bedroom by the window. He turned his wheelchair around when he heard Bryan enter, slowly rolling himself towards him. Bryan would never be able to get used to his father's diminished appearance. He'd always been such a strong figure, a trained soldier and logger whose physical prowess was his pride and calling card. But now, ever since the sickness had consumed him, he was so gaunt and weak, hardly able to move himself around.

"Bryan," he said, his voice nearly a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

"I had some time, so I thought I'd come by and visit." He bent down and gently hugged him. He remembered the massive hugs his father used to give him, squeezing him so tight he thought he would nearly pop. Impossible now. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you think?" he asked with a slight smile. "Like absolute shit. But I live." He turned his chair around, his frail hands struggling to turn the wheels. Bryan helped him and pushed him back to the window, which had a view looking out over the graveyard and the forest operation off in the distance.

"Is this good for you, Father? Staring out there all day?"

"I like seeing the cutters doing their work. Damn mongrels probably fucking it all up, but I like to see. I'd be out there if I could. Wheel me right to the edge so that I could smell the sawdust and see the trees come down."

"You'd just end up shouting at the men,” Bryan said, laughing. "You'd go right back to work. That'd be no good."

"Yeah, well. That's where I belong." His father reached out and grasped his arm with bony fingers. "How's matehood? Is your Alpha treating you well?"

Bryan forced an easygoing grin. "Oh, yes. Things are excellent, Father."