Allegiance(22)

After an uncomfortable pause, Sofie shrugged, waving her black-painted fingernails dismissively. “I’m not sure yet … Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s nothing.” The last line felt like an afterthought, a flighty, unconvincing one, but I caught the sharp glare of warning that she threw Max’s way. Before I could question it, Sofie was prattling off instructions in French to the two ladies. When done, she turned back to me. “Did you sleep well?”

“No … I was up for a while because of a bad dream,” I admitted, and then wanted nothing more than to change topics so I didn’t have to think about Veronique. “What’s with all the decorations?”

“Oh … that.” Sofie shrugged, as if it were no big deal. “It’s almost Christmas.” But then she smiled warmly. “I figured you should have a normal Christmas since you’ve had so many lousy ones.”

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. “Normal? Isn’t there a group of vampires showing up later today to stop the end of the world?”

Sofie grimaced. “You heard about that.”

“Yeah, Mortimer and Mage filled me in last night,” I explained as a hot mug of coffee and a freshly baked croissant suddenly appeared before me. The shorter and chunkier of the two ladies smiled at me. The simple act stirred memories and an ache inside me. “I miss Leo, Sofie.”

I looked up to see sadness cloud her eyes. “Me too,” she whispered, her finger tracing the swirling pattern on the marble countertop. “He was a good friend. Rest assured, he’s with Maeve now. Happy. Away from this mess.”

I took a sip of my coffee, wondering if that were true. I didn’t recall anything about vampires and magic and the illusive Fates casting down judgment on the world in the Bible. Was there even such thing as heaven and God? Could I believe such things anymore?

Yes … I decided there had to be. I needed to believe Leo was with Maeve. Otherwise, my dear grandfatherly guardian had died for nothing and that knowledge, if nothing else, would break me. I forced the thought out of my head. “What happened to the rest of them? Are Magda and Martha and the other beasts safe?”

Sofie inclined her head. “I thought Max would have told you.”

That’s right, I realized. Max would know, given he was connected to the other dogs subconsciously. His brothers, who he’d spent four hundred years with. “No, he didn’t,” I glared sharply at him.

Don’t look at me like that. You never asked … Max responded.

My hand flew to cover my mouth. He was right. I hadn’t bothered to ask. I was too wrapped up in myself. What a rotten, selfish person I was turning into.

Sofie’s voice broke into my silent scolding. “They’re safe. Kiril and Ivan got them out of there before they froze to death.”

I felt my face squish up. “Kiril and Ivan …?”

“Yes. The two property keepers who helped keep the cabin running.” Sofie’s brow quirked in amusement.

“Oh …” I finally realized who she was referring to. “Yeti One and Yeti Two.”

A soft musical laughter filled the kitchen. “Is that what you called them?”

I replied with a smile. That was a little joke between Julian and me. Little jokes like that kept us sane while in isolation. But my smile dropped when the memories pushed forward.

“What would be more appropriate? Werewolf One and Werewolf Two?” I asked, my voice thick with sarcasm. Max had divulged that little tidbit of a secret randomly on the same day, just before discovering that Valentina was possessed by Ursula.

If Sofie sensed my displeasure, she didn’t let on, grinning broadly. “The wolves owed me a favor, so I asked them to watch over you. They know those mountains better than anyone.”

A favor. Everyone owes Sofie a favor. I sipped my coffee as I pondered that. Sofie was like the Godfather. Everyone owed her a favor and she wasn’t shy about collecting. Leo had owed her a favor for saving his wife, and look where he ended up … I bit my tongue before I said something I might regret. Sofie genuinely hadn’t intended such a tragic end for her friend. All the same, it had happened.

“What’d you do for the wolves?” I asked, pushing my sadness away, replacing it with curiosity.

“Werewolves were all but extinct from the world for a time. They had existed for centuries—another Causal Enchantment gone wrong.” Of course … Sofie slid my plate toward me, reminding me that I should eat. “They’re rare. New wolves are created by the bite of the alpha male. There’s only ever one alpha male for the entire race. He leads the entire pack and, basically, he creates his pack. When he dies, the role passes on to the next male in succession, the oldest of the alpha’s offspring.”