crayon. “What about the hellhound children? Do they go to school?”
“We’re still looking for someplace that will take them. Half-demons aren’t welcome in very many places.”
Talia put the book down, trying to distance herself as a blast of anger roared through her gut. Humans complained that the other species didn’t integrate well into society—but how could they, when access was barred to something as basic as elementary education?
Mina put a tray with tea and cups on the table.
“Why not set up a private school?” Talia said. She wondered if anyone had published educational materials suitable to other species. See Were-Spot Run. See Spot Eat Dick and Jane. It had possibilities.
Lore put his hand over Talia’s. “Can we do that?”
She noticed Mina looking at their hands, and slid hers away. “Sure. It’s not simple to get through all the paperwork, but setting up a private school can be done. I can help.”
Lore still watched her intently. Just being the focus of his attention made Talia’s mouth go dry, and that loss of control made her cautious.
“Just like that?” He sounded incredulous.
She shrugged. “You could even make funding it an election issue.”
Lore’s eyes narrowed, as if he were imagining the possibilities.
Mina didn’t look happy. The old woman’s expression insisted that Lore belonged to the hellhounds, not to a vampire waif. Talia doubted her credentials would impress the likes of the old woman and Mavritte. Forming any kind of a permanent bond with their Alpha, even a business arrangement, would probably spell trouble.
The realization turned her insides to stone, but a large part of her didn’t care. I have a master’s in education. This is about the kids.
Lore’s cell rang. He flipped it open. “Hey, Bevan.”
Mina poured tea and silently slid a cup across to Talia. She took a tiny sip to be polite. It wasn’t blood, but she could get a small amount of hot liquid down without feeling sick. Lore stood and took his call into the next room. Without him, Talia had a sudden pang of awkwardness, and she cast about for a topic.
“How many school-aged children are there?” she asked Mina.
The older female shook her head. “There was big fight to leave Castle. Many have no parents. For every house where hounds live, there live two or three young.”
Talia wasn’t sure how many that was, but it was a lot. “Orphans?”
Mina looked confused. Maybe she didn’t know the word.
“They have no mother or father,” Talia prompted.
“They have pack. They have what they need.”
They need a school.
She was spared by Lore’s return. “I’m heading over to Bevan’s place. I’ll make it quick.”
“What’s up?” Talia asked.
“Just a fire I have to put out. The Elders have decided they need their own meeting house. He has some suggestions, but I have to figure out how the pack is going to pay for renting a room in the community hall. I don’t know why Obar Ranik’s basement isn’t good enough anymore.”
Mina sorted. “Osan Ziva is jealous. She thinks the Prophets belong to everyone, not just Ranik.”
Lore sighed. “It’s the season.”
Talia was intrigued. Did every community have its petty disputes? “What season?”
“The first full moon after the solstice. Our winter holiday. Now that we are out of the Castle, we can keep the old traditions.”
“It is when Prophets give blessings,” Mina said. “We have feast.”
“Sounds like fun.”
Lore gave a rueful grimace. “Only if I find a room so the Prophets don’t play favorites. I’ll be back in half an hour. This isn’t a priority, but it’s the best way I can catch all the hound warriors at once. They’ve been looking for Belenos, but no luck. We’ve got to rethink the search.”
“Hard to smell one vampire in a city full of strangers,” Mina put in. “Not pack business.”
Lore let that pass without comment. He touched Talia’s shoulder. “You’ll be okay?”
“Sure.” Actually, she dreaded being left to make small talk, but she wasn’t going to complain.
Mina slurped her tea, the noise disapproving, as Lore left the room.
Talia put on her best face and turned back to Mina. The old woman’s stony look rekindled Talia’s dread of being thrown out into the snow. Lore’s back was turned. The incentive for Mina to make nice would drop like a stone. What do I talk about? Kids? Teaching? Her usual fallbacks were danger zones because of the school idea.
Talia gave what she hoped was a warm smile. “My grandmother always gave me her mending to do when I went to her house. She made me learn to darn socks.”
“Smart woman.” Another derisive slurp of tea.
The conversation died. Talia toyed with her mug. The bright, primary colors in the room felt like a heat lamp. She was going to start sweating any moment.
Osan Mina suddenly spoke. “Lore needs hellhound woman. There will be no pups until he takes mate. The females do not become fertile.”
Talia set down her tea before she spilled it. Too much information!
“Really?” Her voice was too high. She wondered if that was what Mavritte had meant about Lore being the pack father. “How is that possible?”
Mina’s eyes were unexpectedly compassionate. “That is our tradition. That is how it must be. He has one mate. We die, we are reborn, we find mate again. Paired always. Never outside pack.”
Despite her shock, Talia felt a puzzle piece fall into place. Half demons were immortal, and yet hellhounds aged and died. Reincarnation. That was how they could be both eternal and mortal at the same time.
Talia rubbed at the design on the side of her mug. “Lore hasn’t—uh—connected with his female yet?”
Mina shook her head. “Castle killed many who do not come back. Packs are smaller. Loved ones gone for good.”
It was true that souls could be destroyed—or at least taken out of the reincarnation circuit—by powerful magic. “She’s gone forever?”
Mina shrugged. “Who knows? It is one thing an Alpha can never prophecy.”
Talia was getting confused. Did he have someone waiting or not? “You don’t know who your once and forever mate is before you meet them?”
“Strong hounds find them. The weak die alone.” She gave Talia a hard look. “Alphas must be strong. Finding mate is test.”
Talia got the picture. If Lore didn’t take a mate, not only was the pack supposedly infertile, but he would look like a weak leader. In beast packs, weak leaders were killed.
Irritation and alarm prickled through her. So why was Lore paying so much attention to a Hunter- turnedvampire? She was the worst possible girlfriend he could have. Was she a last-minute fling before he got down to the business of being a literal father to his people? Talia folded her arms, more upset than she had any right to be.
Girlfriend? Get real. They’d slept together. It wasn’t like they had a committed relationship.
I’m prettier than Mavritte.
I’m also deader.
Thick, sour jealousy threatened to suck her down.
Lore had meant more to her than a onetime fling. She was pretty sure he felt the same way, but maybe he wasn’t thinking like an Alpha. Talia had little to lose. He risked far more by being with her. Why the hell is he doing it?
Why the hell was she letting him? People close to her got hurt: Tom, Max, Michelle. Call it bad luck or a vampire curse; she didn’t need to add Lore to the list.
A sharp rap came at the door. With that unnerving swiftness Talia had seen in Lore, Mina was out of her chair. “Who is it?”
She asked the question in English. How does she know it’s not one of the hellhounds?
