A.N.D. - Through the Looking Glass

He was naked in the middle of a very messy nest of pillows and blankets, lying on top of an equally naked Virginia. Must have been quite the night. Why didn’t he remember? Oh. Right. Cycle. Wolf blinked up at the skylight. It looked like very early morning. The next morning? The morning after that? His memory was fuzzy, but he thought only one night had passed. Wolf looked at his own hand-human, pale, with blunt nails. The cycle was over quickly this month. He couldn’t remember clearly, but he must not have fought the change. It was always quicker when he just gave in.

His mate shifted and murmured beneath him; Wolf rolled off her quickly. His creamy, dreamy girl was still pretty creamy-there weren’t half as many hickey bruises to explain away to Doctor Frasier this month. That would make things easier.

He bent and kissed Virginia. “Awake, my sleeping beauty!”

She blinked, smiled up at him, and then pulled him down for another kiss. “Mmmmmm... I love you, Wolf.”

“I love you too, Virginia,” he whispered, so close he could see nothing but her face, smell nothing but her skin. All he asked out of life was to stay that close to her until the day he died-or, failing that, at least the rest of the day until dinnertime.

But Virginia shoved him off after another kiss. “If your cycle is over, we should go to work.”

Wolf whined. “I want to spend the day with you!” He kissed her again. “Like this. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

She had the grace to sigh and look longingly before she shook her head. “We need the money, Wolf. In fact, I think one of us is going to have to find a second job. Even with the Murrays paying our rent and utilities, Chrissy just can’t pay us enough. Not for us to buy food and prenatal care and baby stuff at New York prices. We’re just making it from paycheck to paycheck now. What if something happens? We need more, Wolf, we need to be saving money against the cost of the birth. And what if there’s an accident? What if something goes wrong and I have to stay in the hospital? What if-”

Her voice was starting to break. Wolf leaned over to silence her with another kiss. “What if you let Destiny take care of us? We’ll find a way. There’s always a way.”

She started to say something, thought twice about it, cocked her head, and asked him, “Is it something you can wish for? You have one last wish left, don’t you?”

“Um... no.”

“No? What did you wish on? What...” she looked around as if she expected something to pop out of nowhere.

“It’s something good, don’t worry. I didn’t wish on you, I didn’t wish on me, I didn’t wish for something too much for the magic. Well, I don’t think so. But it won’t come back to bite us or anything.”

“What was it?”

“It’s a secret. A good secret. You’ll see. It’s something I wished for later.”

“Later? What’s later?” She clutched her stomach. “You didn’t wish on the baby, did you?”

“Not since Dr. Fraiser said it was healthy. It’s a good wish, Virginia. It will make you happy.”

“But you won’t tell me.” She didn’t look very happy right now, so he leaned in to kiss her one more time to reassure her. That, and because he just liked kissing her.

“It’s something nice. It’s a wedding wish. You are still going to marry me, aren’t you?”

At that she had to smile. “Yes, I’m going to marry you, Wolf.” But she had to go and ruin the romantic moment, and right when he was about to kiss her again too. “And that’s something else we need to save up for.”

Even without a bean you could wish, or at least hope very strongly. Wolf had been wishing that Chrissy would get more work in so that he wouldn’t have to get a second job. (He refused to even consider Virginia having to work harder in her condition but his darling lambchop was being her usual stubborn and contrary self about that. He caught her looking at the help wanted ads far too often.) He’d done his best too, making up lots of recipes, flattering and persuading as many women as he could get to hire them. But it wasn’t enough.

His next idea was to simply ask Tony to bring them something through the mirror to sell-a little gold perhaps, or minor jewels. Why should he work as hard as if he was back on the chain gang when there was a grateful king just a dimension away? But Virginia didn’t like that either. She completely refused to “be a sponge” and started hiding the hand mirror when she caught him trying to use it beyond her weekly chat with Tony.

He even thought about going back through the mirror with her, and making a life under Wendell’s protection. Virginia had been so set on coming back to New York, but now that she was back, maybe she saw it so differently that she would be willing to leave again. But even if she wanted to leave-did he?

That was a thorny question. But the nice thing about being schizophrenically torn between two natures was that you could have long discussions with yourself, at least as long as you didn’t talk out loud and didn’t cut yourself as you chopped vegetables. Chrissy had given him 25 pounds of potatoes to peel and chop, so he had plenty of time to think. As usual, he was of two minds on the subject.

There’s nothing to hunt here. No big game, just rabbits and squirrels, and then only when the park police aren’t looking.

There’s nobody hunting wolves, either. You can go anywhere you want and be welcome. And the food! All you can eat restaurants open 24 hours a day!

Wolf likes that part.

Wolf certainly does.

Wolf likes the lights and the people and the plays too.

I know. I do too... I mean, I do.

Smells funny here.

The stink and dirt of the city was the hardest thing to get used to. But it was all worth it to be with Virginia. What was that song the ring kept singing from Scarlet Pimpernel? “You are my home.” Wherever she was, was home. Even if he was back in prison, he’d be happy if she could be with him.

Wolf doesn’t want Virginia to go to prison!

No. There’s no prison here. Not like that. Better to stay on this side of the mirror. Who knew if Wendell would change his mind and rescind the pardon? Royals were always changing their minds and changing the rules. Better to stay here and be safe. New York is full of strange things. Bet I could even keep my tail out and nobody would say anything.

Okay, he’d stay. But that meant he had to find more money. Wolf whined and scratched his temple. How come every time he tried to think things out, he always ended up right back where he started? It wasn’t fair. Even Chrissy didn’t think it was fair.

Wait, why was Chrissy talking about fairness? “I’m sorry, I was thinking about something. What did you say?”

“I said, things are going to be slack for the next few months; we’re between holidays and it’s too hot for outdoor parties. Would you and Virginia be willing to handle the big gig for me instead of these smaller parties?”

“What’s the big gig?”

“Feeding the cast and crew of the Renfaire. You know-the Renaissance Festival. You’d have to live on site at least two days a week, but that would put you on hand to do some other odd jobs for them if you want.”

“What’s a Renaissance Festival?”

“You don’t know? Talk to Virginia. She worked there for years.”

Virginia explained it in great detail. Apparently there were a whole bunch of people who liked to dress funny and pretend it was a long time ago, except that there were lots more shops and they ate food they didn’t have back then, and everybody was a lot cleaner. At least they were at the beginning of the day.

“I don’t understand. Why do people do this?”

“Wolf!” His little lambchop was flushing in a most unattractive manner. “It’s fun.”

“You just said it was sweaty and hot and dusty.”

“It’s still fun.”

“I don’t like sweating.” A sudden exemption struck him. “Well, not when I’m fully clothed and in public.”

“Think of it like a really big village festival. Only with plays instead of contests.”

“Like Little Lamb Village-where they tried to burn me alive? I don’t understand why you think this is a good idea, Virginia! We’ll be out away from the city-”

“You grew up outside the city!”

He ignored her. “A wolf of my talent-a caterer of my reputation-and I’ll just be ladling out soup and bread between shows? Virginia, this isn’t good. You don’t want this, not really. Chrissy’s going to let me do follow-up talks with our clients, I think I can be very... persuasive, if you know what I mean.”

“Wolf, you don’t get it. This is the answer to our problem! I think I can get my old job doing costumes again, and maybe help out at one of the booths. If you do lunch and dinner on faire days for Chrissy and maybe some short-order meals like breakfasts for the people who live at the camp-well, their pay isn’t great, but if you add all the little odd jobs up and we’re careful, we’ll have enough money by the end of the summer for the baby and the wedding as well.”

“What about the doctors? How will we see Dr. Horovitz or Dr. Frasier out in the middle of the woods somewhere?”

“We’ll ask if we can move our appointments to Wednesday. We could live at the camp from Friday through Tuesday night, then come back here for the middle of the week. It’ll be perfect. You’ll see.”

“This is perfect?” Wolf asked with more than a little sarcasm. The hall was full of little groups conducting business, with what seemed like hundreds of children of varying heights running around madly, screaming and squealing as they played.

“You get used to it,” Virginia told him, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him reluctantly into the mob.

“Remind me why minimum wage is worth this?” Wolf muttered.

“Because if you play your cards right, the real bonuses have nothing to do with money,” Virginia replied out of the side of her mouth. “Watch.”

Roz the Wardrobe Mistress wasn’t too hard to find in the mob. After a little catch-up conversation, Virginia got her old costuming job back. After a little more conversation, including a heavily edited version of “where she’d met that gorgeous hunk of humanity” Virginia also had Roz’s blessing to take leftover fabric and trim scraps to sew into baby clothes. With a last sunny smile, Virginia promised to make the next meeting, bringing some design sketches for updating the Robin of Sherwood skits, and steered Wolf away.

“That’s the sort of thing,” she whispered, but Wolf was already nodding. Of course he would be-he’d probably spent his entire life making deals like that.

“So,” he asked speculatively, looking out over the crowd, “what other jobs do they have around here where we can get perks?”

“The last year I worked at the fair, there was a handyman who helped with booth repair. He got paid entirely in barter-by the end of the faire, I don’t think there was anything he didn’t have a sample of.”

Wolf nodded again. “Start with the carpenters, and keep my ears open. I can do that.” He smoothed his clothes and strutted into the crowd.

With a silent prayer that he wouldn’t get waylaid by the Wenches’ Guild-she could see Maggie and her cohorts practicing hip swings and attitude in a corner-Virginia turned back to the crowd herself. Okay, she had a job, but most of her work would be before and after faire hours. What could she do while the faire was on? She couldn’t be a performer, nor did she want to be a wandering huckster. By the time the faire opened she’d be three months pregnant, and by the time it ended she’d be just entering her fifth month. What could she do-and more importantly, what could she still do as she swelled that would keep her away from the smell of cooking food?

Negotiations with the face painter didn’t go well. The pubs already had hired waitresses. Drench a pregnant wench was out-and she could just imagine Wolf biting anyone who actually managed to dunk her! The petting zoo had possibilities if she could keep Wolf from eating the animals; the keeper told her she could take a shift until she started really showing if she wanted.

Maggie suddenly appeared beside her. “Hey, Ginny, I hear you’re looking for an extra job.”

Virginia blinked. She had been slightly starstruck by Maggie when she’d last worked at the fair; the big, bluff actress had been “doing these things since God was a pup” and had taken Virginia under her wing. But Virginia had left three years ago, and now was stunned that Maggie even remembered who she was. “How do you always know what’s going on? I just started asking.”

Maggie smiled, throwing a strong and capable arm over Virginia’s shoulders and steering her towards the waving wenches. “Where there’s a wench, there’s a way. Buzz is that you’ve come back and brought someone tall, dark, and gorgeous with you. Now you know any wench worth her bodice is going to notice anyone fitting that description!”

“Well, hands off, he’s mine!”

Maggie snorted softly. “Don’t tell me, tell Angel. We just flirt; she’s the one who thinks potting other women’s men is a sporting event.”

“She’s still here?”

“Honey, she’s assistant manager this year! And rumor has it she’s into brunettes these days, as a change of pace from Larry the Lance.”

“Larry’s here too?” She knew Maggie felt her shoulders tense and waited for a snarky comment.

Instead, Maggie just said “I thought so,” very quietly. Before Virginia could challenge her for that comment, they had reached the cadre of wenches. “Look who’s back, girls!” Maggie shouted. “Now who’s got wind of a nice relaxing sit-down job and advice for a mother-to-be?”

She’d forgotten how oddly maternal the wenches could be. Underneath the cleavage and flirtation, they were a friendly, close-knit, competent and compassionate group. Furthermore, many of them were mothers and had long had to deal with combining pregnancy and Renfairs. In seconds they were all debating the merits of Virginia booking the massages, helping Morgan keep her tarot appointments straight, or helping Nantucket Nan do hair braiding. They showed every intention of absorbing her into their guild when the conversation was suddenly interrupted by a long, clear howl.

It was, of course, Wolf. He was really throwing himself into it, back arched, head back, eyes closed, nose to the ceiling.

Oh no. Oh no! What is he doing?

“Look at that!” Nan marveled.

“Um, yeah he... well he...”

“He’s got those damn kids mesmerized,” Maggie said, standing on her toes. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen these renrats sit so quietly.”

Virginia had to stand on a chair to see. Wolf was surrounded by children hanging on his every move, and he was moving a lot. Whatever he was telling them took elaborate body language. It was almost like watching a dance; although they couldn’t hear him she could almost follow along with the story just from his motions.

Then he mimed swinging on a rope, flourishing one hand, and Virginia felt herself flushing to her toes as she recognized that particular story. Yup. Now he was bending over an invisible chair.

Maggie grabbed her arm. “Does he know a lot of stories? Can he learn more?”

Virginia thought about the rich fairy-tale heritage of the Nine Kingdoms. “He knows tons of stories in ways you’ve never heard them before.”

“Perfect! Angel! Angel!” Maggie didn’t have to raise her voice very much; the whole crowd was watching Wolf in fascination.

“What?” the shout came back.

“You’ve got your last storyteller!” Maggie shook her arm. “Go, introduce them.” When Virginia hesitated, Maggie shoved her. “C’mon, he’ll meet that succubus eventually, might as well get it over with.”

She felt like every eye was on her as she went and fetched Wolf from the disappointed children, even though she could tell from the rising hubbub that most people had gone back to their discussions.

“What were you doing?” she hissed as she pulled Wolf to where Angel was holding court.

He shrugged. “I asked about odd job work, they said yes. I asked about short-order cooking for the camp and they said yes. So I got bored, and all those kids screaming was giving me a headache. So I decided I’d keep them occupied.”

“Well, it’s gotten you another job.”

Angel was sitting on the prop throne as if she thought it was real and her rightful place. Unlike the curvy wenches and toned actors, she was the very essence of New York chic, all black leather clothing and skeleton thin.

She didn’t say anything for a moment, just gave Wolf an appraising look that started at his toes, lingered at his crotch, and finally made it to his face. Wolf had looked at bacon sandwiches with less lust, and Virginia could feel him shifting uneasily beside her. She put on a very insincere smile, but it didn’t matter; Angel’s eyes flicked to her for a nanosecond and then dismissed her as unimportant.

“You’re a storyteller?”

Wolf shrugged. “I can be. I know lots of them.”

Angel slid off of the throne and walked around him appraisingly. From her expression she liked the look of his shoulders and his butt-all of him, really, except for the arm he put around Virginia.

“We’re trying something new this year. Wandering storytellers dressed as fairy tale characters. Think you know the tales well enough to improv like you lived them?”

Wolf laughed. “There’s no question of that!”

“We’ve got a Cinderella and a Snow White and a Red Riding Hood and a Beauty.” She had circled him and was now staring at his face. “Be a shame to cover that up with Beast makeup.” Angel shot Virginia an insolent look and wandered back around to stare at his butt again. “We could still use a Big Bad Wolf, though.”

Wolf stiffened, but Angel was still staring at the seat of his jeans and missed it. “Would you be willing to wear a tail?”

Virginia held her breath. Was he going to explode in lupine solidarity or laughter?

His chin went up a notch and he cocked his head, as though he had to think about it. Then, with the barest of winks to Virginia, he said with dignity, “I think a tail can be arranged.”

She’d never been more proud of him, but the noble moment passed. Wolf huffed and scratched, obviously getting into character. “And Virginia can make my costume! Huff puff! You and me and a measuring tape... getting my biceps... getting my hips...” His voice lowered lasciviously. “Getting my inseam.”

Angel got the message. With a toss of her long hair, she put her back to Wolf and her nose in the air as she flounced back to the throne. “Go talk to the other actors, and if you need me to sign anything for your union card, let me know.” With a wave, Wolf was dismissed.

“Who was that and can I bite her?” Wolf whispered as they beat a retreat.

“She’s the assistant manager and don’t, because if the rumors are true she’d only enjoy it. Wolf, this is wonderful! You’re a performer!”

“I’m reinforcing a negative racial stereotype.”

“The other wolves are a mirror away. What they won’t know can’t hurt them. And now you’re making a hundred dollars a day just for talking.”

“Oh. Oh!” He thought that over for a moment. “Okay, but I’m not going to tell any stories where the wolves are bad guys. Let their Red Riding Hood commit slander. It’s what she does best anyway.” He squinted at the actors, who were waving them over. “Wow, she’s kinda dumpy, isn’t she?” He sounded delighted. “And her face is blotchy. Oh, I hope she’s the one playing Red! That would serve Her Royal Clotheshorse!”

“Good morrow, fair Master... carrot. And the right honorable Mistress Potato! You are right welcome here! How fares thee-I mean thou... I think... Let me check...”

Virginia held her hand over her mouth so Wolf wouldn’t hear her giggling in the hall behind him. Ever since they’d gotten their improv packets from the Faire he’d been practicing Elizabethan phrases to the food, to her and Chrissy’s amusement.

Things were looking good. Nan had hired her to help with the hair braiding booth, an arrangement that pleased them both. Virginia would be able to sit down and stay in the shade all day, while Nantucket was now freed to road-test her pirate singing act at the tavern once a day.

The ring was equally pleased-Virginia taught it to sing madrigals and folk songs, which it warbled in a happy if tremulous soprano while she wore an old, broken walkman to explain the music. Aside from the time Roz mortally offended it by telling her that “your walkman has that thin, cheap sound” it was delighted to be able to finally do its thing in public without getting Virginia or itself into trouble.

And Wolf... Wolf was fitting in even better than she’d hoped. The actors had been standoffish at first, but once they figured out he wasn’t going to be competing with them for any roles outside the faire, they accepted him happily. Since their profession made them used to flamboyant personalities, it wasn’t a huge surprise to them when he irresistibly interrupted Little Red’s rehearsals with a howl of “Oooohhhhh, that’s a lie! The wolf was framed!”

Little Red was a pro; she’d started improving off his protestations, and the other actors started laughing so hard that Angel came over to see what was up-not that she was ever too far away from Wolf in the first place. In the end, she’d allowed Little Red to work “the new bit” into a court show parody that could be used as a replacement act. Rumor had it that the script to “Paw and Order” was shaping up nicely.

The thought of Angel wiped the smile off Virginia’s face. It hadn’t taken long for Angel to wander over in her predatorial, languid way while Wolf was rehearsing and tell Virginia-in front of all the other costumers!-that Wolf would be hers by the end of the Faire. Virginia had heard of Angel pulling stunts like that before, but she still couldn’t believe it when it happened to her.

If it were any other man she might have worried, but the sun would rise in the west before I’m-your-mate-for-life Wolf could never betray her. “Not a chance,” she’d told Angel. “He won’t look twice at you. We’re going to get married at the end of Faire, you know.”

“If he doesn’t change his mind,” Angel said nastily. “Do you really think he’ll stay just because he knocked you up? I bet he’ll be doing plenty of looking and lots more when you’re waddling around looking like an elephant and I still have my figure.” And then she’d slinked off, leaving Virginia more shaken than she wanted to admit. Wolf was loyal, she was sure of it, but there was no denying that he had an eye for pretty girls. What would he do when she was all fat and had to pee every five minutes?

She was so nervous about it that she sewed the next sleeve not only wrong side out, but upside down. While she ripped the seam she snuck glances at Wolf, who treated Angel with the same wary courtesy he’d given the Evil Queen.

Okay, except possibly for the part when he stuck his tongue out at her when she turned her back. Christine would have beheaded him for that.

She’d been reassured at the time, but every now and then, Angel’s words came back to haunt her. She wanted to ask Wolf for reassurance but... what could she say? And what would she do if he said he would find her unattractive? Better not to ask. Better to just live in the moment and not borrow trouble for the future. It was still a more cheerful way of living than she’d ever had before. Even if she’s right, it will be a long time before I have to worry about other women, Virginia thought to herself as she went back to Chrissy’s accounts.

She would later think how ironic it was that her father’s call came through that day.

She’d been in the bathroom, trying to blow dry her still too-short hair into something that wouldn’t be a mass of random cowlicks when Wolf shouted “Tony’s calling!”

His regular call was days away. Instantly worried, Virginia ran to the next room, where Wolf was talking into the mirror. More accurately, he was whining. “Tone, we just got back from work, she’s all wet from the shower, we’re tired...”

“It’s important!” There was something to be said for magical technology-her father’s voice was clearer through the mirror than through any cell phone. “Come meet me in the park. I’ve got something for you.”

Virginia came around to where she could see him, looking as excited as a child at Christmas. “We’ll be there, Dad.”

“Good! See you in the park in an hour.”

Wolf’s feet must have hurt him; they only waited about five minutes, but he still fussed, fidgeted, and checked his watch ten times.

Suddenly a patch of air flashed and wavered. Tony stepped out of it, grinning broadly. He swept Virginia up into a hug while Wolf grumbled, “So what’s so important that we have to come out in the middle of the night?”

“Oh, hush, it’s only 7:30,” Virginia reminded him as she squeezed her father.

For once Tony didn’t seem to mind his attitude. “It’s coming right now.” He stuck an arm back through the mirror and, with a brilliant flash of magic, pulled something -no someone!-through.

Before Virginia could even get a good look at the person, he... she... it? leapt on top of Wolf with a howl.

“Wow. This wasn’t how I imagined it,” Tony said conversationally as Virginia watched, stunned, as Wolf and the unknown tumbled on the ground. There was an intertwined chorus of howls, croons, whines and other wolfie noises that went from shocked to ecstatic as they watched.

Right when she was trying to decide if she should call the cops or pour a bucket of cold water on them, Wolf struggled back to his feet. The unknown got up too, and was revealed to be a woman wearing peasant-style clothing.

A woman clinging desperately to Wolf’s lapels and standing on her toes to lick his face.

Wolf finally pushed her off, but he was smiling broadly. “Virginia, look who it is!”

The woman turned to face her and Virginia gasped. She wasn’t only a female wolf, she was a female Wolf! Her hair was longer, her nose a little smaller, her lips fuller, and she was about 7 inches shorter-but beyond that, she looked close enough that she could practically be Wolf in drag.

Wolf looked so happy he could burst. “Virginia, this is Littlebit.”

That name, that name, she’d heard that name...

“She said her name was Elizabeth,” Tony objected.

“Not to me,” Wolf said firmly. “She’s been Littlebit to me since the day she was born. Virginia? Meet my little sister.”

Before Virginia could say anything, Littlebit gasped “She’s the Lady Virginia?” They all stared at her for a frozen moment, and she explained breathlessly, “I’m sorry my lady, I’m so sorry, it’s just that you don’t look like your portrait.”

Virginia glared at her through narrowed eyes, hoping against hope that the gesture Littlebit just made was only a nervous twitch and not, as it so suspiciously looked, the interdimensional sign for “big bazongas.” Still, all she said was “What portrait?”

Littlebit squeaked, dropped into and held a curtsey, answering the question while staring at her own toes. “Forgive my lack of manners, Lady Virginia. Your portrait from Kissingtown. There was a souvenir painting of the two of you as Queen White and her prince, remember? You didn’t take it with you. When King Wendell was restored and the story got out, the portrait painter realized he had the only picture of the Lady Virginia and,” her head came up so she could gaze at Wolf in total hero worship, “the noble Wolf who won a pardon for all his people.”

“He’s been making a mint,” Tony chipped in, sounding impressed himself. “Until the two of you get back and let other painters get a crack, he’s got a monopoly.”

“Is that how you found my sister?” Wolf asked eagerly, gathering Littlebit back up in his arms, both hugging her and winching her up from her curtsey. “Someone saw my portrait and recognized her?” He nuzzled her hair happily. “She and Russ are the only family I have left.” He shot a dazzling smile at the unimpressed Virginia. “Except for the family I’m starting.”

Tony snorted. “These days you’ve got enough relatives to fill Manhattan. Every wolf in the Nine Kingdoms claims to be your long-lost brother, sister, grandfather, maiden aunt, and fifteenth cousin twelve times removed. Up to 25 a day were asking for an audience with Wendell until he announced that he wouldn’t talk to any more wolves who said they were related to you. She’d never get through.”

“I didn’t try,” Littlebit corrected. “What king would pay attention to the likes of me? But the stories said that Tony the Valiant had once been a commoner too. I thought maybe he’d give me a chance to talk, and since he’d traveled with you, he might recognize me.”

Tony shrugged, but he was smiling. “There is a slight family resemblance.” He looked at Virginia. “I know how sad it is to be separated from the people you love.”

Oh, Dad, I miss you too! But the warm feeling she got from her father didn’t quite erase her jealousy as Wolf cuddled his sister close, taking in deep gulps of her scent. Wolf shot her a glance, and, to her surprise, eased up on his death grip. He was looking at Virginia when he told his sister, “I never knew what happened to you and Russ when I went to prison. I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

Littlebit laughed shakily, obviously trying to sound casual and horribly failing. “Well, here I am! At least... for now...” She stared at Virginia pleadingly.

She’s afraid you’ll kick her back through the mirror! Virginia realized. And you want to. Selfish! You’re being so selfish! You spend years wanting to see Mother again but you get all jealous when Wolf has a happier reunion than you had? You want to see your father but you don’t want Wolf to talk to his own sister?

But the words “come live with us” couldn’t quite come out. So she settled for a compromise. “Let’s go home and talk, the park’s not safe after dark.” She turned to lead the way.

Behind her, Littlebit whispered “Home!” with heartbreaking wistfulness.

Virginia couldn’t resist peeking at her companions as they reached the street and Littlebit got her first good look at New York. Her jaw dropped and her eyes were as wide as a child’s, but she huddled close to Wolf and clutched his arm as if needing his protection.

Virginia’s jaw dropped too, but she shut it with a click before she was seen. The streetlights and headlights shined on Littlebit with glaring clarity, giving Virginia her first good look at the wolf woman.

She was a mess. Oh, she was clean enough, but her clothes were little more than patches on patches (although each was beautifully embroidered) and every bone showed through her skin. Some of what Virginia had thought were shadows turned out to be fading bruises.

Wolf always talked about the persecution of his people but... what happened to her? Why didn’t Wendell’s pardon protect her?

They managed to get up to the penthouse before any of the Murrays saw Tony. Once up there, Wolf spirited his sister off to the kitchen and started pulling out all the food. Virginia poured some of the coffee they’d already had ready for Tony and went with her father into the living room.

“Where’d you find her, Dad? Aren’t all of Wolf’s would-be relatives bugging you too?”

“Oh, yeah! I finally announced that anyone who claimed to be a relative had to work for me for a week before I’d talk to them. That got rid of a lot of the fair-weather wolves!”

“Dad!”

“I’m not sending them to mine Siberia! Just a little housework or something, to prove it’s important to them. And I pay them a fair wage too. You’d be surprised how many will say they’re related to Wolf just to get a little work; that pardon may have ended shoot-on-sight laws, but it couldn’t wipe out years of prejudice. Anyway, my secretary-he’s a wolf, by the way, and very good at details, he says it’s part of the hunting instinct-told me that there was a new relative, and that she claimed to be good at sewing. She made me a whole new suit in just a week, with very nice embroidery.”

“I never knew you were the type.”

“Not like that! You’ve seen how fancy the clothes are over there, even for men. It’s nice. Showy without being ostentatious. I know good clothes, Virginia. There was a time when I lived in the world where clothes made the man, you know. These were nice. So nice that Lord Rupert said he wanted her to work for Wendell. I thought, great! A good job, prestige-even if she wasn’t related to Wolf, she’s found her niche, right?” He stopped to take a drink from his mug. “Then I saw her and, well, there’s no mistaking that face. But when I told her Wendell wanted her to work for him, she almost wet herself. Oh, she couldn’t bother the king. Oh, she wasn’t good enough. Oh, the likes of her should never be in a palace.” He shook his head. “I finally dragged her to his castle and the second Wendell came in the room, she dropped down in a salaam and never got up. Who knew that someone as outgoing as Wolf would have a painfully shy sister?”

“So what happened?”

“She asked Wendell to grant her one favor, and he said he would as soon as she made him a suit nicer than mine. She must not have slept, because that thing was in his hands in three days and I tell you, Virginia, it was gorgeous! She delivered it-on her knees again-and Wendell took one look and doubled the salary he’d promised her if she’d be his tailor. But she said that all she wanted was to go through the mirror and see Wolf again. Of course Wendell kept his promise. I said I’d call you, and here we are.”

“While you guys were making her dress you, why didn’t you let her make new clothes for herself? And what’s with the bruises?”

Tony shook his head. “I don’t know. She showed up like that, and won’t answer questions. As for the clothes-I offered. Rupert offered to have his tailors make something for her if she’d embroider something for him. Wendell offered. When she turned us all down, Wendell even ordered her to make something decent for herself, so Wolf wouldn’t think we weren’t taking care of her. But she wouldn’t do it, wouldn’t even touch the fabric that Wendell gave her. You’d’ve thought it was one of those magic clothes that burn people who wear it or something. She just kept saying over and over that all she wanted was to see her brother and she’d do anything-and she meant anything, let me tell you-if we’d just let her go through the mirror as soon as possible.” He swirled his coffee, looking at the dregs. “I’ve never seen anyone so scared, Virginia. It seemed kinder to give her what she wanted right away.” He looked up. “But Wendell still means it. If she feels more comfortable here, then I’m authorized to ask you to ask her if she’d consent to sew for him on this side of the mirror and send things through.”

“That might help.” Virginia bit her lip as she mulled the options. If Littlebit stayed with them, she could at least earn her way-if they could find a way of converting gold wendells to green dollars. But then she’d have to find a way of feeding two rapacious wolves. And what about her own privacy? It was hard enough to learn to live with Wolf on a daily basis, it was going to be twice as hard with someone else too. She looked out the window, hoping for inspiration and only finding another objection in the crescent moon outside. What would happen when the full moon rose?

She was happy that Wolf found his sister, but she really, really didn’t want another wolf in her life. Or another woman in his.

Both wolves were still eating and talking when Virginia said good night to her father. She left them to it and tumbled into bed.