赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“Welcome back, darlings,” Corrine smiled as she pulled Alice into a hug.

“Good to see you again, Corrine,” Caleb smiled as Corrine moved to hug him.

Alice looked around; Corrine smiled.

“Axel went south a few hours ago. He had to settle a small dispute with Frostbite. He should be back in an hour or two.”

“Good, then I get to torture him about not being here to greet me,” Alice grinned.

“But in the meantime,” Corrine gave a gentle smile. “The representatives of Burning Ember arrived this morning.”

Corrine stepped aside to reveal a woman standing a few feet behind her.

Alice looked up, and there before her, no longer a child, stood the girl from the brothel. The one she had met over and over across the years. The one she had held and comforted. The one in whose hands she had placed a knife and told to make a choice.

Alice swallowed.

She saw the look in the woman’s eyes. She was nervous and concerned.

Alice smiled.

“Hello, Sofia.”

Sofia’s eyes widened for just a moment, and she took a deep breath through her nose. She walked forward to Alice.

“You remember me?” she asked.

Alice smiled and gave a brief nod.

Sofia licked her lips and looked away.

“How did I break my arm in Autumn?” she asked.

“You didn’t,” Alice said. Sofia looked back at her with a fiery gaze. “You tried to protect one of the girls younger than you from someone you knew was dangerous. He broke your arm.”

Sofia swallowed and sniffled.

“What did you give me that last time I saw you?” she asked, holding Alice’s gaze.

Alice looked away.

“A knife,” she said.

Since recovering her memories of Sofia, Alice had wondered about their last interaction. Wondered if she had done the right thing. She wanted to give her a choice in her life. But perhaps all she did was force her to draw blood.

“Wrong,” Sofia said, her jaw clenched and her eyes glassy with unshed tears.

Alice looked at her with honest confusion.

“You gave me a chance to be free,” Sofia whispered.

She closed the distance between them. Hugging Alice tightly.

“I’m so glad to see you again,” Sofia whispered. “I’m so glad you remember me.”

Alice took a shaky breath and smiled. She hugged Sofia like she had done so many times before.

“Me too, sweet girl, me too.”

***

An hour later, Axel returned home, and a surprise guest was with him.

“Good to see ya again, Summer,” Jonas grinned as Caleb walked through the office door.

Caleb paused and glanced at Axel, who was pouring drinks with a hidden grin, then Jonas. He let out a chuckle.

“You too, Jonas.”

“You’re a terrible liar, kid,” Jonas laughed.

“It actually is, surprisingly, good to see you, Jonas,” Caleb smiled, sitting beside him on the couch.

Axel brought over a tray with a drink for each of them.

“So, we really gonna make a deal with rogues?” Jonas asked.

“Not rogues,” Caleb corrected. “Nomadic Wolves.”

“Yea… technically speaking, there aren’t any rogues left to make deals with,” Axel sighed.

“What do you mean?” Jonas asked.

“I mean, reports from scouts all over the territories say that rogue encampments have been abandoned. The last confirmed sighting of actual rogues was weeks ago.”

“Shit,” Jonas sighed. “So you’re telling me Roman’s already got ‘em, right?”

“That’s the most likely scenario,” Caleb confirmed.

“Man, that little bastard moves fast,” Jonas sighed. “At least three more smaller packs have been pushed out of their territory by fire and attacks. We need to get on this. We gotta start fighting back.”

“I agree,” Caleb said. “But we need to know where they are first. Most of our scouts haven’t been able to pinpoint the Autumn wolves until it’s already too late.

“Attacking Autumn directly might not be our best option. We know Spring is their ally, and we suspect they might be involved with the fae resurgence. A direct assault would require a full invasion, leaving all our lands open to attack.”

“True, I agree. A direct assault is not our best option yet,” Jonas said.

“I honestly expected you to argue with me on that,” Caleb said with surprise.

Jonas chuckled.

“If it were just my pack I spoke for, I would. But the others, they need consideration.”

“That is why this alliance with the nomads will be such a huge benefit to us all,” Axel said. “They go places none of us have ever been, and they move so quietly none of us even knew their numbers until recently.”

Jonas and Caleb nodded.

“Securing this alliance, and distributing the weapons from Burning Ember, could be the turning point for us.”

“I hear your mate brought both to us,” Jonas smiled.

Axel cleared his throat.

“She… had a hand in it,” he said, trying to keep from smiling.

“Oh boy, look at the pride on this one!” Jonas laughed, slapping Axel’s shoulder. “Finally found himself a good woman, and now he’s all grown up.”

“They’ll do that to you,” Caleb grinned, taking a sip from his glass.

“That they will,” Jonas smiled. He grabbed his glass and lifted it up. “To the good women in our lives.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Caleb said, lifting his glass.

“Me too,” Axel added, also lifting his glass.

The three clinked their glasses and took a drink. As Jonas took his swig, he grimaced. “What the hell is this?”

“What?” Axel asked.

“Is this some kind of tea?”

Caleb took a sip.

“Jonas, it’s whiskey.”

“My foot, that’s whiskey,” Jonas grumbled. He stood up from his place on the couch and went to a bag that sat against the wall. “Lucky for you two, I come prepared.”

Jonas unzipped the bag and reached in to pull out an unlabeled bottle.

Axel furrowed his brow.

“Jonas, you know Winter produces the best mead in all the territories, right?” he asked.

“Yes, I do know that, which is why you should feel real awful about that piss water you just tried to pass off as whiskey.”

Caleb and Axel both laughed.

“Now, this right here, this came from the Ravagers. They may be bastards that chose the wrong side, but they know their whiskey.”

Jonas set the bottle down on the bar and returned to take the glasses from Caleb and Axel.

“You two just sit all pretty right there. Papa Jonas will set you right.”

“Papa…Jonas?” Axel laughed.

“I’m not saying that….” Caleb stated. “Ever.”

“Just you wait, boy. When you taste it, you’ll be thanking Papa Jonas, alright.”

Axel laughed, watching Jonas walk away to prepare the drinks.

Caleb smiled and glanced at Axel.

“You keep surprising me,” he said.

Axel turned his attention to Caleb.

“I admit, I hadn’t thought to invite him,” Caleb said, pointing his chin at Jonas.

Axel glanced back and then looked at Caleb.

“He was chosen by the other alphas of the lesser packs to represent them all. It seemed strange not to have him here for this.”

“I know,” Caleb nodded. “It makes sense. It’s the exact right thing to do. That’s my point, Axel.”

Axel narrowed his eyes and leaned forward to listen.

“I find myself learning a lot, that my skills are lacking in many ways that I never realized before. So, I’m glad that you can more than make up for my failures regarding the werewolf community as a whole.”

“I don’t understand,” Axel said.

“He’s saying,” Jonas interrupted, setting down two drinks. “You’re doing good, pup.”

Jonas grinned and reached back for his drink.

Axel shook his head and picked up his glass.

“I’m not a pup,” he said with a gentle scoff.

Caleb chuckled and grabbed his drink.

“You’ll always be a pup to me,” Jonas said gently, then glanced at Caleb. “Both of you.”

Axel and Caleb both looked up at the older man.

“Your fathers,” Jonas began. “Strong, powerful men. Stubborn as hell but generally good folk. They’d be proud of you both.”

Axel and Caleb lowered their eyes, each thinking of their father.

“To them,” Jonas said, raising his glass in a toast.

“To them,” Axel nodded, bringing his glass up to meet Jonas’.

They both looked at Caleb. He grinned and shook his head.

“To them, and…” he said as he took a deep breath and raised his glass. “To Papa Jonas.”