Cernunnos - 51. Chapter 51

A week of silence went by. Cyn watched as Arric paced between the living room and his office, only deviating to be comforted by Kieran in the bedroom. Seeing the skinny wolf more often made the cernunnos smile. They seem happy!

“All right, Mister Farren.” His thoughts were severed as Melinda spoke, “There’s many ways to cook an egg, but Mister Claude usually likes his fried with butter and pepper.”

“How else can they be cooked?”

She smiled and grabbed a decent-sized bowl from a cabinet. “A lot of people like them scrambled because you can add other ingredients easier. There’s an onion and green pepper in the crisper drawer in the fridge. Could you grab those and dice them up?”

After a moment of confusion as to what a crisper drawer was, he found the vegetables and was handed a small knife. Chopping them, he created piles of both. “Excellent! There’s enough eggs for everyone, other than the three fried ones. We’ll take these and fry them a little before pouring the eggs.”

Cyn watched as Melinda scooped a handful of both piles and tossed them into a deep skillet. The sizzle caused him to smile. It smells good! Turning back to the bowl, he watched Melinda whisk the eggs while pouring a small amount of milk into the mixture.

Just as they poured the eggs in, Shea came down the stairs. “There you are! Keep sneaking out of bed like that and I’ll put a bell on you.”

“Sorry, Sheamus. I heard Melinda come in and thought she could use some help cooking breakfast.” The buck walked towards his mate and stood on his toes to kiss the wolf.

Shea hummed as he held him, “You’ve been helping her a lot recently. Are you having fun cooking?”

“Yeah, she’s teaching me how stuff works and what goes with what.”

“Hey, Mel? Could you use another staff member?”

The chef chuckled lightly, “I suppose so, but if I’m following your thoughts, Mister Farren, then you’ll have to talk to Mister Claude.”

The wolf smirked, tossing a glance towards the hallway. “It might be a while, but I’ll ask him if you don’t mind. Anything I can do to help?”

Melinda shook her head. “I have the meat and biscuits covered, and your mate is about to season and stir the eggs.”

Taking the cue, Cyn grabbed the salt, pepper, and wooden spatula. From yesterday’s meal, he remembered not to use too much due to the wolves’ taste buds. Thinking about Shea’s question to Melinda, he smiled. Is Sheamus trying to have me work with Melinda? I wouldn’t mind that. I get to see her and Arric more, and Sheamus can be near him to do his job. Folding the eggs, he turned to Melinda. “I’d really appreciate it, Miss Melinda. You and Kieran have taught me a lot, and I like cooking with you.”

She smiled and peeked in the oven. “And you’ve learned quick. I’d love to have you as my assistant.”

Together, Melinda and Cyn finished cooking for everyone. As they began loading the plates, Arric and Kieran strolled in, both with messy hair and hands held. The alpha was all smiles until he approached the island. “Melinda, I count four plates.”

“Because there’s four of you.”

“Yes, but there’s five of us.” He let go of Kieran and grabbed another plate from the cabinet. “Please start preparing enough food for everyone. Let that be a lesson to you,” Arric glanced at Cyn. “And your new assistant.”

After some convincing, Melinda joined the four shifters at the table. It had become a recent tradition for Arric to offer Kieran the first bite as the alpha’s mate. The conversation had been light. Arric announced Kieran would be moving into the manor within the week. Shortly after, Shea gave yet another blank report in regards to finding Eike.

Once Melinda and Cyn collected the dishes, he heard the three speaking again in the dining room. I wonder what’s going on.

***

“So it’s true?” growled Shea. Hearing the news infuriated him, but he kept his head straight.

Arric sighed and nodded. “Wendel informed me last night. Donovan and his police force have been blatantly ignoring the finer lines of the FP law. Most of the crimes that were reported are minor, but they're all petty charges that were exaggerated. The amount of speeding tickets compared to predatorial shifters was the first flag. A leporidae was ticketed for going three miles over the speed-limit on a highway while a bear was going fifteen over in a school zone. Care to guess the difference in the money paid?”

Kieran crossed his arms. “I’m assuming the ursus was slapped on the wrist while the other got slammed? Is it all leading up to speciest behavior on the police’s side?”

“Yeah, and there were some questions raised about the FP disappearances within the territory. Kaminsky saw a stack of files on a detective’s desk involving disappearances. Needless to say, some of the cases matched Eike’s MO and went unreported to the SFBI. I’m just glad Kaminsky’s on our side.”

Shea raised an eyebrow and muttered, “Why’s that?”

“He popped off! Apparently, he used to be a detective back in New York. Wendel let him climb down the rabbit hole and they found the Chief of Police made a sizable donation to the political opposition of the FP Law when it was being debated in the lycan government. Kaminsky found enough evidence for the SFBI to charge the Chief.”

“And how does this lead to Donovan?” asked Kieran.

Arric leaned forward. “It doesn’t, but I’m betting it will somehow. Donovan isn’t stupid. Either he’s directly working with the chief, or one of his council members is. I’m not anticipating any direct blowback, but I want you both to get ready for incoming entry petitions. When word gets out, both Green Bay and Sheboygan’s going to see some new faces. Kieran, I want you to work with Greta on preparing housing. Shea, when the forms come in, start screening the background checks.

“Any questions?”

Shea raised a finger. “I’ve been meaning to bring this up. I’d like to take one of Kara’s ideas and put it into effect. The hunting and tracking teams have effectively assimilated, but I think we can expand and utilize members’ skills better.”

Arric smirked and interlocked his fingers. “Go on.”

“Jaime and Kieran did an amazing job digging through Marric’s phone and GPS, so I see a need for a small science squadron, which could double as a paperwork-sifting team.”

“Name some to be on this team.”

Thinking for a moment, Shea counted on his fingers as he listed them, “Jaime, due to his psychology background. I’d include Rel since she went to Colorado Technical for IT, Nora for medical science information, and Anton’s a decent profiler.”

Twiddling his thumbs, Arric hummed. “Get them together, along with three other candidates and collect their opinions. A smart bunch to think and gather information for the teams to use. I like this. It’ll take a load off our shoulders whenever shit hits the fan again.”

“Yes, Alpha. Also, thanks for giving Cyn a job. It’ll really help him get used to the human world.”

Arric waved a hand. “Melinda could use some help. Plus, she’s due for a vacation and Robby can’t cook eggplant parm like she can.”

With the council dismissed, Shea perused the manor and quickly found his mate putting the plates away. “Hey, little man. Those eggs were perfect.” He wrapped his arms around the slender waist and kissed the nape of Cyn’s neck.

The deer whimpered but regained composure and folded a small towel. “You liked them? There wasn’t too much onion or peppers?”

“Like I said, perfect.” He watched as Cyn started scratching his head. “Need some different shampoo? I hope you don’t have lice.”

“No, I think my antlers are about ready to break off. Can we go for a walk?”

Break off? A little late in the season for that, isn’t it? “Sure, but shouldn’t they have fallen off by now? Don’t deer start growing new antlers by this time of year?”

Cyn, still scratching, nodded. “Yeah, but I was born late, so my mom said that’s the reason.”

“Born late, huh? I never even asked; when were you born?”

“Sometime around June. My father mated with my mother during her second estrus period.”

Shea ran a hand over his face. Too much information. “You don’t know the exact date?” Seeing his deer swiftly shake his head, the wolf chuckled, “Well I guess we’ll have to celebrate your birth month instead.”

“Birth month?”

He stopped in his tracks. Oh, you have got to be joking me. “Don’t tell me you never celebrated your birthday.”

Cyn stared at him expressionless. “Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s the day you were brought into this world,” Shea whispered. Tears were threatening to fall. He couldn’t believe such a memorable moment was ignored in his mate’s life. “It’s the day you were given the gift of life. Birthdays are usually celebrated with friends, family, and the people who hold you dearest.”

The cernunnos’ eyes displayed deep thought. When a smile formed on his face, Shea made one as well. “So… when is your birthday?

“December fifteenth. I just turned twenty-six.” He reclaimed Cyn’s hand and led him towards the back door, only to turn towards the dining room. “Alpha, we’re heading outside for a moment!”

“Gotcha!”

The couple left the house and swiftly stripped, leaving their clothes on the porch. After shifting, Shea sped to keep up with his deer. He’s heading for the forest and not the trail.

Reaching the first tree, Cyn rubbed the base of his right antler against it. Just as Shea rotated around to get a better look, the bone fell. That looked painful! Upon examining his mate, the deer seemed to be just fine, aside from the trickle of blood falling down from the fresh pedicle. What confused the wolf was Cyn’s stillness. He’s not breaking the other one?

Despite seeing a wound, Shea couldn’t help but find Cyn’s appearance amusing. I wonder how long he’ll be running around with half a set? The two found a warm, sunny patch of grass in the yard and laid down. Shea gently licked the drying blood from Cyn’s coat and watched the pedicle begin to scab. They rested for an hour before the deer rose and dashed towards the tree again.

With his other antler gone, Shea repeated himself until his mate was clean. Through huffs, yips, and bleats, he learned how deer handle growing new antlers. I knew the basics, but I assumed it hurt like hell. Who knew losing giant bone structures on your head was painless? In two months, he’ll have new ones.

The two decided on a peaceful stroll on the outskirts of the trail. Close to see the occasional human, but far enough away to avoid detection. I think they’d lose their shit if they saw a wolf and deer walking together. Regardless, Shea wasn’t letting the cernunnos out of his sight as they cantered further into the woods.