Page 21 of Hexes & Heartstrings (Shifters of Bastion Keep #2)

"Herr Simmons, it's good to see you looking well. And I don't mind it at all, though they're lucky they remembered to bow, or else I might have gobbled them up, hom nom nom!"

There was delighted screaming, and then Russell heard a child kick the floor. "Dad said we shouldn't interrupt you while you were playing."

"Your dad has good manners. But I'm done now, so you can interrupt all you want. Having fun?"

"Yeah! Hey, can you breathe fire? Melody says you can, but I know you can't. Tell her!"

"Nuh-uh, of course he can! Lord Usenko is a dragon, and everyone knows that dragons breathe fire!"

"I'm so sorry, Melody, but your sibling is correct," Ser said. "I'm actually a drake, not a dragon, so no fire."

"Told you so!"

"That's horseshit !"

"Melody!"

Mr. Simmon's chastisement of his daughter was overshadowed by the stifled laughter from Ser and Bruin both.

"Apologies, m'lord, a certain someone sounds like she needs a good talking to about appropriate language, and a nap. Children, say goodbye to Lord Usenko and his mates, we should let them be on their way."

"Bye, Lord Usenko, thank you for protecting us!"

"Yeah! And for protecting dad! He says you came swooping in and saved the day."

Ser's scent immediately became subdued, and Russell reached a hand out to put on his shoulder.

"I was simply doing my job," he said, so quietly that Russell nearly couldn't hear it through the earplugs.

"Don't put yourself down like that, m'lord.

You're a great warlord, and I hate to think what might have happened that night if someone else had been in charge.

And you can bet, m'lord, that as soon as the doctors clear me, I'll be right back up at the keep, don't you worry.

Good day to you, m'lord. And to you, witch and Russ. "

And as the man and his children departed, Russell heard the sound of a limping gait aided by a cane.

◆◆◆

Ser's surly mood persisted through both ice cream and a short visit to Russell's moms at their shop, which made him less happy during their outing, but fortunately for him his little witch was the proactive sort.

As they were headed back home, Bruin loudly demanded a detour, smelling like a handful of stubborn sticker burrs.

So now, Russell was leaning back against a tree that grew a short ways off the road to the keep, idly running his fingers over the ridges around Ser's eyes as his mate lay in his big drake form with his head in his lap.

Bruin, meanwhile, had draped himself over Ser's barrel, occasionally giving his belly a rub.

"You did so much good that night," Bruin was saying, now about twenty minutes into a pep talk. "Why should a couple negatives outdo all the good?"

Ser snorted, still smelling a bit cross.

"I just keep thinking over things I could have done differently—"

"Stop that. What did I just tell you?"

Ser fell silent, and after a moment of him not speaking, Russell patted him on his head.

"Ser. Remember? What his orc dads say?"

His grumpy mate sighed, hissing long and loud.

"If you make a mess, don't distress," he muttered.

"Exactly!" Bruin said. "And then?"

Like it were being pulled out of his mouth by a long thread, Ser finished the saying. "First de- stress, then address, so you can progress."

As Ser lifted his head, he still spoke in a flat tone, but he was smelling a little bit less unhappy. "Bruin, do all orc sayings rhyme?"

"Nah. And these aren't orcish sayings, they're dad sayings. Mostly from my o'ba, but my mi'ba and my der'za both contribute. Not so much my mom, though."

"Wait, I remember that o'ba and mi'ba mean big and little dads. What's der'za ?"

"Basically means fabulous parent, which he is.Or they, depending on the day."

"Thanks. So… what. I'm just supposed to forget all the bad things?"

"Of course not," Bruin said, sliding off of Ser and coming around to his head. "You address the root causes, which you're already doing. You've made changes to the keep, like new patrols and all those garrison guardians. I think you just need to recognize what you've accomplished already."

"Bruin…"

"Say it! Say you're an amazing warlord."

Ser growled, turning his head, but Bruin was undeterred, grabbing him by the sides of his head.

"Say it, my lordly mate! Just repeat after me, I am amazing."

"Alright.I'll humor you. I am amazing. See? I also feel silly. A two for one!"

"I know you're being sarcastic, but that's fine. We'll get there. In the meantime, in keeping with what my dads say, is there anything else we can do to help you de-stress, or plan?"

Carefully, Ser rolled off of Russell and got to his paws. He turned his head to give Russell a nuzzle, who joined him in standing.

"You know what? No, no more planning, not today. I gave myself a day off, right?"

"You did!" Bruin said, then stood still while Russell first put the blanket saddle on Ser's back, and then helped lift his boyfriend up onto their mate's back.

"One day off, I should at least be able to manage that much.

" Ser hissed a laugh, and it was nice to smell him in better spirits.

"It feels like it's harder than training, honestly, but right now I'm thinking of getting a soak in the baths.

That should help with the whole de-stressing part, right? "

Grunting a cheer, Bruin patted him on the side, and Russell took a chance to give a big, deep hug to Ser, wrapping his arms around his thick neck.

It was good that Bruin was with them, Russell decided as he changed into his dire wolf form to finish walking the short distance back to the keep.

Russell could stand by his mate, and he knew how to do things that would make Ser happy, but changing his mind took words, and Russell couldn't always do that.

Once they reached the keep, they made a quick stop at Ser's room to change and grab toiletries, then headed to the basement of the castle where the communal baths were kept.

Despite the heat of early fall, the Turkish-styled baths had a cool atmosphere, and after showering off the day's dirt, they hopped into the central pool.

It was a leisure-filled relaxation, and Russell rested against the sides in his human form, Ser beside him chatting pleasantly with several other guardians. Bruin, meanwhile, glided playfully back and forth across the shallow waters like a green koi fish.

Before half-an-hour had passed, Bruin began making eyes at both of them, and his touches became more flirtatious. Ser himself seemed keen on the idea, too, and Russell perked up. That only left one question.

"Before dinner," Bruin decided for them as they made their exit, moving at a swift pace back up the several flights to get to Ser's room. "I'll go and finish getting ready."

But he stopped when they saw one of the new garrison soldiers standing outside of Ser's room. The woman had a bland expression on her face, and smelled bored. She bowed as the three approached, and Russell shifted his grip on his towel, letting it hang from his neck instead of drying his hair.

"Lord Sergiy," she said, holding out a gift basket with a bottle of wine and a card. "Lady Yi sends this to you with her regards, as a thank you for your well-reasoned words from the other day."

Russell watched as Ser took the basket, and his smell, which was veritably dripping with randy intent—a match for the chub beneath the towel wrapped around his waist—immediately deflated. It faded further when he insected the placard.

"It's about six o'clock now? Alright. Guardian Laney, thank you for doing your duty. You may tell Lady Yi that her gift is well-received, and that I will see her at her requested time."

The woman bowed, then turned to depart down the hall.

Russell couldn't help but whine as Ser opened the door to his residence and led the way inside, setting the basket on the coffee table. Smelling irritated and defeated, he sat down on the couch, rereading the placard.

"What's wrong?" Bruin asked, hurrying over to sit next to him and putting his hand on their lord's shoulder.

"Change of plans," Ser said quietly. "I'm going to be having dinner with Lady Yi tonight, instead."

Russell sat on the other side, wrapping his arm around Ser. He rumbled.

"You should just skip it," Bruin said. "It's last minute! And we had plans…"

Ser sighed, then reached out to tap the bottle of wine, pointing at the date written on it.

"It's the year I was born. And do you see how it's laid on white satin?

She's very politely telling me that she desires a conversation, that she wants to apologize, and that most but not all of the conversational weight is in my favor.

There's other messages, too, like how she sent a man-at-arms to deliver the message, instead of one of the castle staff or leaving it outside the door. "

Ser laid himself back on the couch, shutting his eyes. Russell patted him on the chest.

"Politics," Bruin guessed.

" Noble politics," Ser corrected gently. "Refusing would be a proverbial slap in the face."

Bruin was quiet, his smell initially annoyed, but settling on resigned.

"Do you have to go?"

"I could refuse. This isn't the nineteenth century, and Bastion is a damned war post, not part of an association of Houses in the gentle country. But it'll make her a pain to deal with."

"She's not already?" Bruin quipped. His tone was light-hearted, but then he looked at Russell, and some of his anger from days ago seemed to return.

"Ha, I know. But yes, she'll be worse, as will her pack for the slight."

Ser stood up from the couch, stretching. "This is normal growing pains. She's a strong-headed leader, and she's testing herself against the pecking order. I clearly outrank her, but she'll still try, it's just her way."

Bruin stood up from the couch as well, letting his towel drop as he hugged Ser.

"Alright, so Russell and I will get our own dinner, then. When are you meeting her?"

"In thirty minutes. So I should get ready."