other old person?”
“Victoria, you do not understand. We do not-”
After giving him a scathing look, she retreated to her bedroom.
Bloody hell.
The day was almost over when Vic trudged through the village with a pot of stew. Alec had disappeared. Then Calum had carried Helen to her home and not returned. Vic wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or not. Arguing with Calum…hurt, and being angry with him made her feel sick.
When she’d finally left her room, Aaron had looked up from his game of Scrabble with Jamie and asked her to carry the stew to Helen’s house.
Vic took a deep breath of the clean, cold air. She could hear the people in the scattered cabins, chatting, making supper, laughing. A wave of loneliness rolled over her. Would she ever have a place to call home? Somewhere she’d fit in?
“Vicki!” Heather came from the side of her mother’s house, arms full of firewood. “Are you coming here?”
Under Heather’s welcoming smile, the feeling of loneliness lifted like a morning fog. “I am. Aaron sent you guys some stew.”
“Excellent. Mac ‘n’ cheese is the pinnacle of my cooking abilities.” Heather shoved open the front door with one hip. “C’mon in.”
Like Aaron, Helen had a log cabin, but where Aaron’s home was rustic, hers looked bright and cheerful. A chair and couch were covered in vivid floral upholstery and colorful knitted afghans were tossed here and there. A small forest of African violets crowded next to a southern window.
“Feels like a summer garden,” Vic said.
Heather dumped the firewood next to an ornately decorated woodstove. “Makes you forget the snow outside, doesn’t it? Why don’t you put that pot on the stove to warm and sit for a bit? I want to talk with you.”
Vic did as she asked, then took a seat at the table. “What’s up?”
“After Calum brought Mama home, he asked me to explain a couple things about Daonain relationships to you. He seemed to think you’d be more comfortable hearing this from another woman.”
Relationships? “Hearing what?”
“Well, you know we don’t have as many females as males.”
Vic nodded, remembering Alec’s painful explanation of why they couldn’t get involved. “Right.”
“Our customs altered because of that. Human monogamy is so a guy is certain he fathered the children. But we don’t care who begat whoever, not when our race might die out entirely. So we rejoice whenever a baby is born, whether its parents bothered to marry or not-and our marriages aren’t restricted to one male, one female.”
“Nah. At least not in a lifemating. Females are too territorial, especially if we’re having kids. Usually it’s two or three male littermates and one female.”
As Helen turned to dish up the stew, Vic stared blankly, wondering when her brain would catch up. More than one guy per woman.
Which meant the woman probably loved-and fucked-all the men in that relationship.
The men were usually littermates. Brothers.
Heather grinned. “Looks like you’re catching the drift. There’s more, but that’s enough for one gulp. Think about it, and we’ll talk again. For now, let’s take this in to mother.”
Vic followed Heather into the bedroom. Daniel occupied a rocking chair in one corner, a book open on his lap. “Hey, Vicki.”
Sitting up in bed, Helen smiled at Vic. Her eyes were clear, and pink color had returned to her cheeks.
Vic gave a sigh of relief. “You look much better.”
“Partly thanks to you, dear.” Helen raised her eyebrows. “In fact, I hear you gave me all your clothes and walked back to the village completely naked.”
Vic’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
Helen’s pressed lips didn’t hide her smile as she glanced reprovingly at her son. “I had a feeling he embellished a bit.”
“A guy can dream,” he said. His grin was fast, the sparkle in his eyes wicked. “Vicki did give you all the clothes on top except for a bra.”
Vic felt her cheeks heat.
“Now Daniel, you’re embarrassing her,” Helen scolded. “Vicki, come here.”
When Vic reached the bed, Helen pulled her down for a soft kiss on the cheek. “I thank you for the gift of warmth. Aaron said I would have died if you and the boys hadn’t patched me up so quickly and kept me from chilling.”
Vic moved her shoulders. “Yeah, well, you look really good now considering how much blood you lost.” Vic frowned. Actually, Helen looked too recovered.
“Daonain bounce back quickly,” Heather said, handing her mother the bowl of stew. “Aaron sent this over with Vicki.”
“Bless him. I’m starving. You all excuse me while I rudely eat in front of you.” Helen scooped up a bite. “Mmmmh, the man can cook.”
“Any more of that?” Daniel asked with a pitiful look. “I worked hard today too, you know.”
“Ah, poor baby. Did the wittle baby have to carry his mama who weighs at least a hundred pounds,” Heather said in a syrupy tone.
“Fine, I’ll get it myself.” He stomped out the door. “And she’s at least a hundred-twenty,” came his voice from the other room.
Vic choked on a laugh as Helen and Heather broke into giggles.
“So, Vicki,” Helen said. “Tell me about yourself. After you get adjusted to being a shifter, will you stay in Cold Creek?”
“I don’t-” A knock on the front door interrupted her. Vic heard a murmur of voices, then Alec walked into the bedroom.
She gasped. He had spatters of blood on his face and hands, more on his shirt. She was at his side before she could think. “Where are you hurt? Show me.”
He glanced down at his clothes. “Oh, damn. I’m sorry, sweetie. I should have cleaned up first, but Calum was worried about you.”
Vic tried to move his clothes to see where the bleeding came from, but he took her hands. “It’s not mine.”
“Then-” Had he gone hunting and killed a deer? “Okay.”
“Thank you, Alec,” Helen said as tears filmed her eyes.
Heather was openly crying. “Thank you, Alec,” she repeated.
Jesus fuck, he’d done something more than kill a deer. Vic kept her grip on his hand and yanked him out of the room. Her jaw was set so tight, she had to force out the words, “Okay, I think it’s time we had a talk. In private.”
“We will.” The lines in his face had deepened, making him look another twenty years older.
When they entered Aaron’s cabin, it was empty. Alec left her, wanting to wash and change, so she curled up in a chair by the woodstove. She should be getting all her ducks in a row to yell at him, but her thoughts kept sliding back to that little chat in Helen’s kitchen. Had Heather really implied that Alec and Calum might marry the same woman? That’s why neither of them seemed worried about fucking around with her? Calum had said,