Chapter 8: How a Duke Dresses

Chapter 8: How a Duke Dresses

Patch POV

In the mirror in Jiro’s and Garnet’s room, Patch saw a stranger.

Jiro fiddled with the clasp on the dwarf-made collar that he’d just fastened around Patch’s neck. The dwarves could create jewelry and beautiful objects like no one else. The collar even had matching wristlets.

“What do you call these? Wristlets?” He held up his forearms and gasped at the light bouncing off the gold bracelets or wristlets or whatever they were named. “Are they magic?”

“The cuffs have protection spells, yes,” Jiro said, admiring the way the turquoise, lapis lazuli, and ruby caught the glow from the lamps and candles in the room. 

“Like what?” Patch asked. “Because if someone comes at me and Anneliese, I would think I’d be able to blind them with these.” He flashed the cuffs before Jiro’s face. “Hey, Mr. Footpad! Footpad is a funny name. ‘Robber’ is better.”

Lilia stepped back to admire Patch, playfully pretending to shield her eyes. “Oh, there are all kinds of names for criminals. Cutpurse. Burglar. Bandit. Highwayman. Pickpocket. Ratsbane for some reason. Crime isn’t as common in Wildefell as in the capitol of Lugdunum or some of the bigger cities, but you should be on your guard, and avoid shifting whenever you can, especially if you don’t have privacy.”

“DANE shifted to protect you,” Patch pointed out. “To stop Cyran’s rogues in the first place. To get your riches back.”

Lilia blushed. “I know. But it was dark and no one was out on the streets.”

Azandra tapped her on the shoulder. “And even if it hadn’t been dark and if there had been a throng of humans about, Dane would still have shifted because his fated mate was in danger and she and her mother had been robbed … not to mention … well, everything else.”

Patch coughed, seeing Garnet’s eyes darken until they looked like ancient amber rather than the polished jewels they normally were. Dane had dealt with Cyran stalking Lilia and harassing her with amorous but threatening notes and unwanted flowers. 

“Garnet, how did you come up with these for you and Jiro?” he asked, stroking his collar and feeling the smooth coolness of the gold. It was hard, he was sure, but it felt as light as leather armor. 

He thought jewelry would be really uncomfortable to wear because all the lords and ladies in the paintings in his books seemed like they would scream in pain if they laughed. Maybe it wasn’t the jewelry that weighed them down. Maybe they were just unhappy people for all their wealth and luxury. Should he pretend to be unhappy too?

Garnet smiled. “I wanted something special. Your brother thinks it’s a bit much at times …”

“But my Garnet has excellent taste,” Jiro said. 

Patch admired the cuffs and collar. “I definitely feel like the Duke of New Moon in this.”

Kyon grinned. “As opposed to the King of Pranks.”

“Can’t do pranks as a duke.” Patch lifted his nose in the air. “Because all those nobles in the paintings look like they never heard a joke in their lives.”

“Anneliese says that’s true in real life too,” Lilia quipped. “Honestly, you two sound alike.”

Patch tried to fix the shock of blond hair that just wouldn’t lie flat today. “I guess that’s good news if we’re traveling together and staying together.” 

He turned away from the mirror to look at the three successful couples in his life. He knew others, of course, but for his money, they led the pack.

“It’s going to be just her and me,” he said, his lip quivering. “I mean, not when we’re surrounded by the witches and working to help Cyran, but all the other times. I’m happy about it, I really am.”

“It’s about time,” Kyon said in his gentle way. “There’s one thing you and Anneliese haven’t had that all of us have had.”

Patch tapped his chin, thinking. “Well, it’s not Tulaska telling me to unleash my inner wolf and mark my mate, because she did that already. And we’ve gotten a fair dose of advice and being pushed together … and if you’re referring to, ahem, more pleasurable–”

“This is my best friend you’re talking about,” Lilia said lightly.

Patch saw his opening and pounced. “And how is it that I’ve never heard anything about my potential competition in Wildefell?”

Lilia rolled her eyes. “There IS no competition. Anneliese talks a big game, but I think you’d know if she still had someone who was interested–”

“Aha. ‘Still.’” Patch scowled. “Lilia, I practically softened Dane up for you. Whoever it is, even if they just say hello to each other at witch events, I need to know.”

Lilia covered her face. “I slipped.”

Patch wasn’t looking at Lilia. He noticed Jiro in the mirror, with those eyes sharper than the turquoise gems on this fancy dwarf jewelry piece. He scowled. “SPILL. You know. I know you know because you know everything.”

Jiro shrugged and didn’t bother with the mask and the excuse of his job. “I had to know about her because it was obvious that she was going to be a big part of our lives, and Dirge couldn’t wait to tell us about you two flirting and joking on the way to Evenhide the first time. It’s not that I don’t trust Anneliese … I trust her completely.” He glanced at Lilia. “I wasn’t trying to dig into her life … although she and her parents are about as scandal-free as you get, minus a few spiteful accusations from certain rivals at the witch circle and one wrestling match in Mr. Chalice’s glorious wild youth where accusations flew about match fixing. I’ve seen Mr. Chalice spar with a few of our shifters. Those accusations came from sore losers.”

“You could have asked me,” Lilia said quietly.

“I could have, but you’ve always kept quiet about her romantic past,” Jiro said. 

Lilia sighed. “To be honest, I don’t even know everything about what happened between them … she wouldn’t talk about it, even to me. I only know that after he broke her heart, Mama Chalice and I slipped into the restricted section of the library looking up the worst hexes before we got chased off with a lecture. And you don’t need to worry about encountering him, because he’s long gone. Probably getting his hooks into some other young witch. But he didn’t get another chance with Anneliese. Mother, Mama and Papa Chalice, and I made sure of that. I’m glossing over the entire history, which I think should come from Anneliese rather than me.”

Although Patch wanted to lock her in a room and play her least favorite music, shifter “scratch” music, until she talked, he respected her loyalty to her best friend. Besides, not even Hades deserved the “scratch” music, which was a passing fad in his opinion. It was just noise. And not very creative noise at that. Kyon wanted to outlaw it, and Kyon didn’t like too many rules and regulations. 

Garnet’s eyes narrowed. “Jiro, our sources warned us about this idiotic man, Xidorn Reynard.”

Dane bit back a curse. “He’s dangerous? Worse than Marcus Mond?”

Patch raised eyebrows. Apparently Lilia hadn’t even told Dane about this man. 

“Dangerous AND charming,” Lilia confirmed. “And yes. Marcus at least had something of a sense of honor … and he’s got more humility these days. Xidorn Reynard is widely known in witch circles as a con artist who gets by only because he comes from a family at least as ancient as the Rolfes.”

Patch’s wolf wanted to rip the man to shreds and dump the remains in the rubbish. Preferably goblin rubbish. No one would ever find him there.

Garnet rested a hand on Dane’s shoulder. “But he slunk out of Wildefell over a year ago and no one has picked up his stink or even seen a trace of his fur. I’m more worried about Hades’ followers and whatever magical servants he can conjure up.”

Dane glowered at Lilia. “You could have told me. We share everything … and she’s family.”

Azandra folded her arms. “For trust to grow, people must sometimes be allowed to keep the secrets of their heart.”

Kyon lightened the mood. “Well, THAT sounded more like Tulaska.”

Azandra grinned. “Oh, I’m just getting started.”

Moon Goddess, he loved Azandra as Evenhide Wise Woman. He missed Tulaska desperately, but seeing Azandra’s vivid hazel eyes full of insight, he was grateful for a preview of how she’d be when Tulaska stepped down for good … when she was healthy and conscious and he and his brothers were being driven to distraction by their own children.

“So, if you’re Tulaska, are we fated mates or not?” he asked. “Because she told me to stop wasting time. She wouldn’t say if we were mates, but she did say I shouldn’t ‘act like I was playing with her heart,’ which I didn’t get until Lilia and Jiro finally decided to spill. But are we fated mates? You saw Jiro and Garnet clearly. I have to know.”

* * * * *

Kyon POV

For someone who’d arranged his brothers’ love lives, Patch had taken an eternity to press Azandra on that question. Unfortunately, he’d chosen to do so when she was trying to out-cryptic Tulaska … and when she was as unsure of the mantle of Evenhide Wise Woman as Dane or Jiro had been assuming the throne. 

Azandra sighed. “I saw many of our pups playing together. I noticed yours, Patch.”

Patch perked up, stroking Jiro’s collar. “‘Cause it was the best looking one?”

Azandra hesitated. “It had a pink patch on its face.”

If she announced that they’d found Fenrir’s fabled treasure hoard, it couldn’t have made Patch light up any brighter than he did. He hugged Azandra. “So we are fated mates!”

Her arms closed around him. “Most likely.”

With a growl, he bared his teeth, but one look from Azandra made him step back. “Most likely? That's what you said before. What does that mean?”

Kyon hoped that Azandra wouldn’t lose herself in this version of Tulaska she created. Her eyes even looked different, more distant. He preferred his Azandra with her gaze that would pin you to the ground. But if this was what she needed to grow into her eventual role. Then so be it.

“It will be revealed on your journey,” she said. “Because there are too many distractions that come from being Patch Cresta and your normal life in shifter lands.”

“Which is exactly what we were getting at,” Dane said in that mature deep voice that had Kyon turn and look to see if their dad was still around. “I took Lilia off through the woods alone, twice. Azandra and Kyon had their trip to Brighmere.” He nodded at Jiro and Garnet. “These two locked themselves in their bedroom for three days and the only person they saw was Sarina when she brought food. You and Anneliese are overdue.”

Those were NOT tears right now thinking of their dad. But if they were, he didn’t give a damn. 

“Dane, you sounded like Dad,” Patch murmured, blinking back his own tears.

And instantly he was at the center of a brotherly group hug. Dane stroked his hair, Kyon surrounded him with his big reassuring arms, and Jiro rested his head against Patch’s.

“He’d be so proud of you, pup,” Dane murmured. “Mom, too.”

“We all miss them,” Jiro said quietly.

“Only on the days that the sun sets and the moon rises,” Kyon added. 

“You’re ready for this adventure, Patch,” Jiro said.

“D*mn right. Anneliese and I will leave before dawn so that none of the revenge-obsessed people in the pack can interfere with us,” Patch said.

Kyon knew that he, Dane, and Jiro would all sleep lightly tonight, because they would make sure Patch and Anneliese got away safely.