Page 42 of Hexes & Heartstrings (Shifters of Bastion Keep #2)

Once Sergiy had all of the salient points written down for sharing with the war council, he shook Roland's hand, thanked each of the four witches with a handshake or hug as appropriate, then stepped just outside the room.

As he waited for Russ to finish receiving a list of tasks from his father, he heard Rosemary whispering.

"You haven't told him yet?"

"I couldn't. I will, though."

Was that Bruin's voice? It must be, he had a deeper voice than anyone here but Russ.

"Don't wait forever. Seriously."

He didn't hear what Bruin said next, and within a moment, his mate rejoined him in the hall as each of the witches departed to begin their own weekend activities.

Sergiy studied his witch for signs of a secret, but just saw his normal open face.

"Give me a kiss before you go!" Bruin said. "I'm going to spend some time in my garden before our big dinner. You are going to be there, right? No last second noble meetings?"

"Go easy on me, I haven't cancelled in weeks.

Lady Yi has become easier to manage since you and Russ bested her.

" Sergiy ran a hand through his favorite witch's hair, causing his mate to smile.

"Your fight settled her instincts as to the pecking order, and being promoted to an active pack satisfies her mentally. Everyone wants to be useful."

After giving a parting hug to Russ, Sergiy marched down to the war room on the second floor. Reading through his slim pocketbook, he took a seat and waited for the others to gather.

Yacob and Summer arrived first, both in their werebeast forms and smelling fresh from the baths, soon followed by Roland.

Then his older siblings, who seemed in high spirits, with Marka continuing to rib their brother for his position as the Garrison Schoolteacher, as she put it.

Last to arrive was Lady Yi and his mother, with his stepdad beside them for technical support and scribing.

"We're in the final stretch, now," Sergiy said as the others took seats around the table.

"We have the supplies, we have a way to find our quarry, and we have the personnel needed to stop him.

But for the next two hours, I want everyone to tell me what we don't have.

Any flaw in our plan, anything we're not thinking of.

We have all of next week to correct any deficiencies. Mom, why don't you start us off?"

◆◆◆

"So then these two pups," his mom said, gesturing with her tankard at Sergiy's twin siblings."These two, they dump out all the food rations, then climb into the crate in their wolf forms."

"Oh no," Bruin said, in danger of spilling his wine glass from how engrossed in the story he'd become.

"Oh, yes. And then they hitch a ride in the back of a humvee to the anchor to follow mommy. So their box gets set out alongside the other supplies, and then one of my guardians, June was her name, she tries to shift the supplies across into the Umbral."

"Oh no!"

"Which didn't work, of course. It takes direct intent to shift another living being, an old safeguard in the anchors.

June shifts all the rest of the supplies across no problem.

Food, water, bedrolls. But this one crate stays behind.

So another guardian tries, nothing. By the time I check in on our supply problem, I've got an entire pack of shifters staring at this one food crate. "

Marka could barely contain her laughter. "So then mom—"

"Excuse you, sweetheart, but mommy's telling this story," she said. "So then I, in my weredrake form, heft the crate up over a shoulder, chastise my pack for the delay, shift across, and then…"

His mom mimed dropping a heavy weight, and Marka and Markos both yipped in mock pain.

"And that's the story of how two stowaways changed our entire supply procedure."

Shaking his head at the familiar tale, Sergiy looked across the room at where his parents were quietly discussing which story about their children to tell next, the picture of domestic bliss, and then to the side where Bruin and Russ sat, sharing their own quick word.

Eventually, dinner wound down, and it was time to head back to their own room.

Russ seemed keen on carrying their dozing Bruin himself, hefting him up gently into his arms. After a last farewell to his family members, he watched Roland head off to the Sage's Quarter, Marka following after but soon overtaking him with a brisk stride.

His sister was probably taking the other set of stairs to her chambers on the third floor so as not to crowd the three of them, which was thoughtful of her.

As soon as they made it to his quarters, Bruin yawned, then asked to be set down.

"Wait, don't undress yet!" Bruin said, and Sergiy paused in the middle of taking his shirt off. "Stargazing, remember?"

"Are you sure you're awake enough for that?" Sergiy teased. He studied Russ carefully as he bent down to sniff Bruin, but only shrugged.

"I'll be fine. Come on, you promised me some cozy time."

"We were just together on my mom's couch."

"More cozy time."

"We could be going to bed together."

"Yes. But couch and bed are only two cozies, so if we go out onto your balcony…"

Sergiy nodded solemnly, trying not to laugh. "I understand now. The balcony would make three cozies with the three of us, and three is a magic number. Alright, witch, but it's getting chilly out. Fetch us a comforter."

As Bruin strode away into the bedroom to dig through Sergiy's linen chest, he at last let some of his humor leak out, chuckling weakly into Russ's shoulder.

"Get us some water, love?" he asked, fixing his shirt properly. "I'd rather have wine, myself, but I think our little mate needs to avoid dehydration. I'll get the furniture out."

Leaving Russ to his task, Sergiy went out to his balcony, then to the closed storage room.

Opening it, he pulled out several modular pieces of patio furniture, lightweight wicker items with foam cushions that could withstand the outdoors.

However, he'd learned that if he didn't put them away after use, they tended to collect dust, grit, or the occasional nesting of bugs, like spiders.

He didn't really mind most of that, but it made Russ sad sometimes when he had to sweep away cobwebs, so in storage they were kept.

By the time he'd linked the chairs together and secured the cushions, Bruin had returned with a large blanket, and Russ was bringing out a pair of tumblers. The three of them made themselves comfortable, Russ on one side of Bruin and Ser on the other in order to keep their mate warm.

He felt his mate shifting, leaning first into himself, then Russ.

"How are you feeling, Bruin?" he asked.

"Pretty damn good, honestly, though that might be the wine talking. I am happy. "

"Well, if ever there comes a day where you being sandwiched between your two mates stops doing that, let us both know, okay?"

"It'll never happen!" Bruin said glibly, then leaned forward so he could look at the sky. "Hmmph, I should have checked the weather. Can't really see anything, can we."

"Looks like some low-flying clouds have rolled in with the winter winds."

"Autumn winds," Bruin correctly sternly, and Sergiy assumed he was wagging a finger beneath the blanket that covered the three of them. "It's not winter until after Thanksgiving."

"Maybe where you're from, but once we start seeing snow, you'll find that everyone else in Bastion and Town will say otherwise. I give it another week, at most."

"Brr," Bruin said, then leaned more into Russ, who wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him in close. "Okay, no stars for me to point out. Guess we'll just have to talk to each other like we're in a relationship, or something. How's your physical therapy going?"

"Finished it last week."

"You did? Then why have you been going to Town every few days? Wait, don't tell me…"

"I've got to get my title back!"

He heard Bruin snort. "You should have told us you were done so we could celebrate.But tell us when you're going, next time! We can hang out for a short bit, and then Russell and I can visit his moms while you do your arcade stuff. And what about you, Russ? How did your week go?"

Russ stared out into the night sky, then leaned over, putting his weight on Bruin in an affectionate manner. "It was nice. I liked having dinner with everyone."

Sergiy heard Bruin start to make a comment, then laugh, and bury himself back up against Russ's warmer self. As Sergiy adjusted the blanket, he found himself a little jealous, but decided against changing forms.

"While we're on the subject of dinner… Bruin.

Why did you really become a witch? I heard Markos ask you.

" He heard Bruin take a large breath. "Hang on, you've already given me the easy answer of how you like to help people, but I suspect that there is more to the story. I am your mate, and we have time."

Bruin exhaled, and then Sergiy felt him shrug.

"Why'd you choose to become a warlord? In the end, I think it's about the same reason.

It feels right, I like being useful, and I like living up to my potential, kind of.

But I get the question a lot from relatives, and Rosemary is always telling me to be mindful, so yes, there's a second answer. "

He saw Bruin gesturing with his hands, but they were still beneath the blanket so whatever he was indicating was lost.

"I owe my decision to her, actually. I met her when I was thirteen, freshly identified as having enough magic that I could develop it and become a full-fledged mage.

There was an after- school program for potential willworkers, and we kind of hit it off.

She was a goth in way too much mascara, and I was the only orc in a class full of humans, also in too much mascara I should add, so we made a good pair of outcasts. "

"Do you have pictures? I'd like to see that."

"Sure. But anyways, though Rosemary already knew what she wanted, I had options. I could have chosen to hone my mana to be a mage, or tried to channel it through runes. Or become a priest like Roland!"

Sergiy saw Russ lay his head down on top of Bruin's, rubbing his cheek against him.

"Just like Da."

"Exactly. I still could, I suppose."

"Football star changes career to become basketball star?" Sergiy guessed.

Bruin grunted. "It's actually closer to an artist becoming a computer programmer.

They both technically use their hands, but that's about all they have in common.

Anyways, it was partly peer pressure from my only friend that wasn't a relative or an adult, but there was one thing that cemented the idea. "

Sergiy nodded his head, putting his hand on Bruin's chest, feeling how warm it was, and his mate's steady heartbeat.

By the time that Sergiy had counted twenty beats and still without an answer, he scowled, then tooke a cue from Russ and poked his mate in the sternum.

"Bruin, if you keep me in suspense a second longer, I'm liable to think you just fell asleep."

He heard Bruin laugh, and then felt his tusks as his mate turned to kiss his shoulder.

"Your hand felt nice, it was distracting," he said.

"Anyways, a good orc. That's how my fathers' sayings always begin, you see.

A good orc does the work. A good orc listens with their whole heart, not part.

I wanted to be a good orc, Sergiy. And while I could have trained to be mage, or a druid, or a priest—"

Russ tapped Bruin on the head again.

"Yes, Russell, like your da. But as we learned in the program, the different types of willworkers all have their own special habits and creeds, including witches."

"Like threes?" Sergiy asked.

"Three boyfriends," Russell added.

"Exactly," Bruin agreed. "Our relationship is magical!

But there's a major rule that many modern witches live by.

Do what you will, an' ye harm none . For an impressionable orc teen, it rang perfectly.

It's empowering, and it encouraged me to do whatever I wanted, be whatever I wanted without shame.

It respects free will, of both yourself and others.

But it also admonishes the witch to avoid harming others in mind or body.

It's not always easy, you know, and some people we won't mention make it hard to stay on the higher road, but it calls the witch to always think about the consequences of their actions, and I like that reminder. "

Sergiy took a moment to wrap his arms around his mate, navigating around Russ's own arms as he hugged his little witch.

"If that's the creed that you go by, it explains some of what you and Lux and Rosemary do. Thank you for sharing."

"Mmhmm," Bruin said.

A silence settled comfortably around them, and Sergiy turned his attention back to the cloudy sky. After a moment, though, he heard Bruin make a long sigh, and then a few seconds after that, a kind of grumble.

Sergiy nodded to himself, recognizing the signs. His mate was working up the nerve to do something he didn't want to do. He did much the same whenever it was time for him to do laundry, or run on the treadmill.

As a minute ticked by, and then two, it turned out that Russ had less patience than he did. Or more likely, two minutes of smelling Bruin's disgruntled scent was unpleasant.

Russ pulled the blanket down, letting in cold air, and poked Bruin firmly on the chest.

"Talk."

Bruin puffed his cheeks out, but nodded, then turned towards Sergiy.

"So, Sergiy. Wonderful mate and warlord. You know that mission of yours that's coming up?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going with you."

"Oh, like hell —"