Autumn Feast - Charlie Richards Page 0,59

already hitting puberty.

“It’s too bloody early!” He meant both the aging of his kids and getting up.

“Come on!” Alana echoed.

Donner groaned and shook Rory.

“I need coffee first.” Rory rubbed his eyes.

“No lie.”

They got up, pulled on sweatpants, then opened the door. Finley stood there with Ferdinand resting on his head. “Ferdy wants to come too. Are you ready?” More voice cracking.

Donner couldn’t help but smile at their eagerness. They couldn’t put off letting the kids outside any longer. “Come on then.”

When they got downstairs, Alana handed both him and Rory coffee mugs. Bless the child. Both her and Maja wore matching shift-dresses, and their feet were bare.

Rory took his mug. “You look ready.”

“I am. We haven’t been out in, I don’t know, too long. Let’s go.” She hurried through the living room area, past the fireplace, to the glass doors lining the back wall, tugging Maja the entire way.

Finley trailed after them. Like his fathers, he wore loose sweatpants. He held one hand on his head, keeping Ferdinand from falling off.

Donner sipped his coffee, watching them go. “They’re growing up way too fast.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Rory set his mug on a table. “You ready? We’re safe out there, right?”

“Yes. Safe as we can be. There are two guards walking the perimeter. We’ll have them for a while. At least until things settle.”

“You think the war is over then?” Rory asked as he stepped outside.

Donner followed him. “I hope.”

With a quick nod, Rory dropped his pants to the ground. The kids’ clothes were already lying in a pile on the patio table. “Race you!” He winked then shifted right into a run.

Donner had no clue how he shifted so fast, but he liked the challenge. He set his coffee next to the pile, then he added his clothes and took off after Rory.

They bounced around the kids and locked antlers, playfully. Donner noticed Finley had a few tines popping through. They weren’t fawns anymore, but it was hard to reconcile the fact with the way Finley rolled around on his back with his legs in the air. The mouse ran over his tummy, tickling him.

Soon the other deer from their herd joined them. Rocco flicked his tail as he followed Emma into the field. Emma glanced back at him. She’d become a lovely hind, all graceful and poised. Rocco moved forward, and they rubbed noses. Alana and Maja snorted and shook their heads, ears flopping around. Donner wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad reaction to the new couple, but it warmed his heart to see Emma finding new love after the tragedy of losing her mate.

Donner lay in the grass, content to watch the kids play. They jumped and kicked their feet for the joy of it. Rory settled beside him. After a bit, he wanted to talk, so he took his human form and sat cross-legged. He didn’t wait to see if Rory would shift. “There will be fall-out from the council decision. I think it was a power play for Brayton. And I haven’t heard back from my special contact.”

Rory rubbed against his shoulder and sniffed the air. In deer form, Rory was huge, almost as big as Donner, and with Donner in human form, Rory towered over him.

“I worry about it. Our family means everything to me.”

Rory jerked his head, both antlers slashing the air—he knew. He understood. Then he got up and grunted, lifting his nose high in the air. Someone was coming.

“Kids! Come here. Now.” His sharp tone registered with the kids, and they listened, running over and settling into the long grass. It didn’t hide them as much as he would have liked, especially with their colors changing from fawn to mature deer.

Rocco stood between the fawns and the edge of the woods, head lowered, protecting them. A moment later, Eryk joined them. He must have already been watching from the house and seen the flash of Emma’s tail, triggering an alarm. She stood near the children, flanks quivering. Rory stood beside the other two bucks, head up and appearing very regal.

Rustling through the leaves alerted him to the approach of several animals. Then wolves stepped out of the tree line.

“What do you want? We have armed guards,” Donner warned them—or threatened.

“Guns are cheating, you know.” Brayton chuckled, stepping out of the woods in human form.

“I thought you were Prichard’s crew. But you are here unannounced.” He was accompanied by five or six wolves, more if there were some hiding in