Howl for Me by Dana Marie Bell Page B

them, human though he was. He was the weakest among them, but he stood at their sides, insisting he be included in the fight for their lives and the lives of their children. Kir let it be known he had every intention of sharing blood with Jeff as soon as the man returned.
    When he was done Jordan had just shaken her head at him. “You know, he wouldn’t be this pissed if he didn’t care what you think about him.”
    She’d walked away, not knowing that with those words she’d been the one to fire the fatal shot. Or perhaps she had. She was a smart one, his father’s wife.
    Now he sat alone on the big white sofa, his only company the one person he thought he’d never want to be alone with again, and waited for forgiveness that might not come.
    “He likes you.”
    Fen turned toward Tyr—no, Travis—and did his best to keep his expression neutral. “How do you know?”
    “I’ve known him since he was sixteen years old. He and his sister have always been a handful.” Travis shook his head, lost in memories. “I once thought that Jeff followed where Jamie led.”
    “And now?”
    Travis smiled, his eyes misting over. “He’s pure alpha.” Travis leaned forward, his hand dangling between his knees. “He followed because he wanted to protect her and he knew only a force of nature could stop her.”
    “Because she’s alpha too.”
    Travis nodded. “Do yourself a favor. Don’t cut him out of the loop. Don’t order him around. If you want him as badly as I know you do, make him want you. But most of all, never, and I mean never , get between Jeffrey Grimm and his siblings or he’ll root out your balls with a dull spoon and feed them to an alligator.”
    The intensity of Travis’s stare almost unnerved him, but Fen had stared Odin himself down and laughed in his face. “They are his family.”
    Travis nodded. “Yeah. We are. And now we’re yours, too, if you’ll let us be.”
    Fen laughed, the sound bitter. “I thought you were once before too.” He closed his eyes, still trying to reconcile the man he’d hated for centuries with the urbane, twenty-first-century Travis who ate pancakes and loved the crazy redheaded twin of his mate. “I’ll try.”
    It was the best he could do at the moment.
    “Thank you.” When Fen opened his eyes he was startled to see tears in Travis’s. “I know you don’t believe me, but I loved you like a son. It’s why I volunteered to save you, even though I knew you’d probably try to kill me the moment you were free.”
    Fen couldn’t look at him anymore. He had thought about killing Travis more than once since he’d been freed. Only Jeff’s presence, his trust in Travis and his twin, had stayed Fen’s hand.
    “Like I told your fathers, justice has been a long time coming for you and your siblings, but I’m going to do my best to fix that. If you’ll let me.”
    He stared at Travis’s stump and suddenly realized why Grimm had been able to defeat Travis. If his sword hand had still been there Grimm would at least have been damaged. “I’d say we’re almost even.”
    “Almost?”
    The cautious hope in Travis’s voice was something Fen had to respond to if he was ever to heal the breech the way his mate wished. He sat up and stared into Travis’s eyes. “Save my siblings and any bad blood between us will be erased.”
    “Done.”
    The ring of magic in the god’s voice sealed the deal, as the God of Justice glowed so brightly Fen could no longer see him.
    “Damn it. Logan threw out my mistletoe again. Shit.”
    Fen blinked and turned to find Kir, hands on his hips, his bottom lip between his teeth. “Trav? Think you can hook me up?”
    “Planning on committing seppuku?” Travis darted a look at Fen, the look full of cautious affection. “Um. That means ritual suicide.”
    Fen smiled. “Thank you.” Fen tilted his head and, for his mate’s sake, decided to take the first step in forgiving Travis. “Could you tell me