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"Settle down, wildcat," he said and sighed. "Meet my grandfather, Joseph Redwolf. Grandfather, this is—"
"The assassin. " Black eyes crinkled with a smile as he shuffled forward slowly, his head tilting, his gnarled hands pushing inside the wide pockets of his pants. "She does not look like a killer, Grandson. Perhaps in this case, the winds have not whispered all the secrets to my old ears. What do you think?"
"I think I'm ready for a drink," Lance said and sighed again. "A very long, very stiff drink. Anyone want to join me?"
CHAPTER 11
"She is a beautiful woman, Grandson. The earth has done well for you," Joseph commented as Lance poured his second drink and wondered when the hell this day was going to end.
"Don't start, Grandfather," he growled.
Joseph chuckled, a rough rasp that reminded him of his grandfather's age. He turned back to the old man, watching him closely. Joseph hadn't been moving around much lately. He'd been spending a lot more time than usual at home.
"Ah, it is good to see you finally settling down. " Joseph nodded firmly. "The earth whispers her name with yours, and the music of its pleasure bodes well. The journey you travel together will be one that will challenge you. "
Lance snorted at that. He was glad one of them could make sense of the whispers in the wind, because he sure as hell wasn't making any headway.
"But it is one that brings danger. " Joseph watched him closely now. "It whispers death but not of blood. There are times the winds are not as giving as others. " It was one of the reasons Lance had fought the messages carried on the winds. There were never answers, only more questions.
"Do you still fight the secrets it would bring you, Grandson?" Joseph finally asked sadly. Lance sighed wearily. "I'm trying, Grandfather. " He stared back at the old man. "But, like you said, sometimes the winds aren't as giving as others. "
Joseph nodded slowly. "But you can hear what is important. You know she is your woman, and that danger follows. Heed them and they will see you through this. "
"Or see me dead," Lance muttered before tossing back his drink.
"I hear no cry of your death. " Joseph shrugged. "Should you end up dead then it will be at your own ignorance, not the will o
f the earth. "
That was his grandfather, sympathetic to the end.
"It's nice to know something is still left in my hands," Lance growled in frustration. "I was starting to wonder. "
His grandfather chuckled at the comment.
"I wished only to stop by and meet your young woman," Joseph said then. "I know now why I heard the cries in the winds though. She is a woman wounded, yes?" Wounded was a mild word for what he felt inside of Harmony. Sometimes, he could sense her nightmares, sense the pain that drove her and her fear of ever needing anyone.
"Yeah. She is. " He smacked the glass to the bar before grimacing tightly. "Jonas brought her here, and I have a feeling he's playing a very dangerous game with her. "
"Ah yes, Jonas Wyatt. " Joseph sighed. "He is a difficult one, that young Lion. He fights what he is, and what his soul yearns for. When a warrior fights such an elemental part of himself, he is bound to often hurt others. It is his destiny to learn his lessons the hard way. "
"At the end of my fist if he keeps this up," Lance snapped. "I'm growing tired of his games. Especially this game he's playing with Harmony. "
"There are many forces I think that would see her taken from you, Grandson. Not just Jonas. The question is, will you allow them to take what is yours alone?" Joseph asked him then. "Understanding is a fine quality in a man. But sometimes a man must show his woman he is indeed a man strong enough to match her. Sometimes, it teaches the woman what she must know when danger comes whispering her name. Perhaps you should think on this. "
Lance stared back at his grandfather, once again cursing, albeit silently, the riddles Joseph Redwolf was prone to talk in. He couldn't just come out and tell you anything. Everything had to be a lesson, or a puzzle to figure out.
"How about dinner?" Lance suggested as a way to lighten the mood. As usual, the answers would either come to him, or life would kick his ass with enough force for him to see the point his grandfather had been trying to make.
"Dinner is good, but I promised Megan I would eat with her and her young Breeds after seeing you. She worries for you. Staying away from you at this time is not easy for her, but I understand now why you have asked this of her. The emotions trapped within your young Lioness would overwhelm her. "
"Yeah. They would. " Hell, they nearly overwhelmed him, and he wasn't empathic. "Give Meg my love, Grandfather. Tell her I'll see her soon. "
"I will do this. " Joseph nodded as he moved for the front door. "And you keep your young woman close to your side, Lance. Do not give the danger stalking her a chance to strike. She has no true friends other than you. Yet. "
And with that final cryptic comment Joseph made his way to the front door and let himself out. Lance poured himself another drink. It was going to be a long evening. _________
There were times when Harmony blessed her animal senses, and there were other times when she cursed them. Walking into the house and realizing she had missed the presence of Lance's grandfather was one of the times she cursed herself. There were some people who should be avoided at all costs, simply because they were so much a part of nature, of the land around them, that the earth spoke to them. The Lion part of her recognized that in Joseph Redwolf. He was a child of the earth, completely in sync with it and, as such, able to see beyond what others couldn't. Like his granddaughter, Megan Arness, and yet unlike her.
