Algar answered for them. "Not yet." He gave Lexi a pointed look that Kamryn didn't miss seeing. "Kamryn has some questions she wants me to answer and I decided to take you up on your offer to help with them."
Garrick snorted. "You mean you chickened out."
Algar shot Garrick a hard glare.
Lexi shook her finger at Garrick. "That will be enough out of you. You can keep your smart-ass comments to yourself." She then turned back to Algar. "Sure, we can talk, but why don't the two of you have something to eat first."
Algar led Kamryn to the one empty chair. Before she could wonder which one of them would take it, Brand, who sat next to it, stood. "Take mine. I'm done." He then said on his way out of the kitchen, "I'm going out."
Given Brand's abrupt manner, Kamryn said, "I hope I wasn't kicking him out of his chair before he was done."
"It's fine," Lexi said as she once again sat next to Raed. "Brand is a man of very little words. He doesn't mean anything by it."
Once Kamryn took Brand's chair, a clean plate was put in front of her and a large platter with bacon and eggs was pushed toward her. Her stomach growled, reminding her it had been a while since she'd last eaten. She helped herself to the food and passed the platter to Algar. She barely managed not to stare when he mounded his plate high.
"So, Kamryn," Raed said. "Algar said you were from Niagara Falls, New York. I bet you see a lot of tourists who come to see the falls."
She swallowed a mouthful of food and nodded. "A fair amount. Not so much in the winter, though. Plus we get quite a few Canadians who cross the border to shop at the outlet malls."
"Have you crossed the border to Canada?"
"Yes, more than once. I hate to say it, me being American and all, but the Canadian side of the falls has a much better view than we do. Plus, they have the Maid of the Mist boat tours that take you right to the base of the American Falls and into the basin of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. I've been on that a few times."
"I've heard of the boat tours," Lexi said. "You're supposed to get soaked when they take you to the falls."
Kamryn chuckled. "Pretty much, so it's a good thing disposable rain ponchos are provided. But getting soaked is just part of the thrill of the ride."
"I guess. What do you do in Niagara Falls?" Lexi asked next.
"I'm an assistant to a wedding planner."
"Considering where you live, I imagine you have a lot of weddings to work on."
"Sometimes I feel as if I do nothing but run around booking halls and picking flower arrangements, but I like what I do."
"I used to be a teacher's assistant back in the States. I don't miss it that much."
Lexi put her hand on her stomach. "Though four months from now, I'll have my hands full and will be glad I don't have to go in to work every day."
Raed pulled Lexi close and put his hand on top of hers. "With all the uncles this baby will have, I'm sure you'll have lots of help."
Garrick had just taken a sip of coffee when Raed had spoken and now started to choke on it as if it had gone down the wrong way. Once he cleared his lungs with a few loud coughs, he shook his head. "Don't be expecting me to change dirty nappies. That I won't do, even if you order me to do it."
Raed chuckled. "Rest assured that will be one order I won't be issuing. You'd probably do a terrible job anyway."
Obviously pretending to take offense, since Garrick didn't sound too upset by Raed's comment, he went on to say how he would probably do a better job than the rest of the uncles. Of course, the others then had to put in their two cents.
Kamryn silently ate while the conversation turned to good-natured, male ribbing. Even Algar joined in. She also noted no one seemed to think it out of the ordinary for Raed to be issuing anyone 'orders'. It made her wonder if this 'family' had some sort of hierarchy to it. If it did, she could quite easily see Raed in the role of head of the family. He seemed to have a more authoritative presence about him than the other men, though Algar seemed to come in a close second.
By the time Kamryn had finished eating, the conversation had started to wind down. Algar, who'd emptied his plate quicker than she, leaned in and asked, "Did you have enough to eat?"
"Yes, thanks. It was just what I needed."
"Good." He looked toward the end of the table. "Lexi, if you're ready?"
"Sure. Let's go." She gave Raed a quick kiss before she got to her feet and walked over to them.
Once Algar and Kamryn stood as well, Lexi led them out of the kitchen and down the hall to a large living room. She took a seat on one of the leather couches and waited for them to join her.
Lexi looked at Algar. "I think it would be better if you went first."
Kamryn, who sat between Algar and Lexi, looked from one to the other, with her gaze finally settling on Lexi. "You know about Algar's little . . . problem."
"Yes, but like I said, I think it would be better if Algar told you what he is first."
She turned away from Lexi to look at Algar who shot up and started to pace in front of the couch.
"What you are?" Kamryn had no idea what Lexi had meant.
He stopped pacing and took a deep breath. "Let's see if I can do this without causing too much upset. I'm not like other men you have known."
"If you're talking about what happens while we're in bed together, I already know."
"That isn't what I mean. Damn, this is hard." Algar looked at Lexi. "Now I know how Raed must have felt when he told you."
"Just spit it out, Algar," Lexi said. "Like removing a bandage, it's better in the end not to go too slowly."
He nodded. "All right." He then moved so he stood in front of Kamryn before he squatted and took her hands in his. "You asked what I do for a living. Well, I guess my job description would best be described as immortal werewolf warrior." When Kamryn opened her mouth, he stopped her before she could respond. "Let me finish. I can already tell from the look on your face that you don't believe me. It's true. I was born in the Fifth Century here in East Anglia. I'm over a thousand years old. Raed was my king.
Actually, we still consider him our king. The Anglo-Saxon god, Tiw, chose Raed and the rest of us to protect mortals from the werewolves sired by Fenris the wolf, the son of the god, Loki. Tiw gave us immortality and the ability to shift into what we hunt to better help us take down Fenris' get. As for what happens when I sleep with you, I think it's because you're my mate. That has never happened to me before, only with you. This is still new to us. Lexi was the first to become a mate to one of us warriors."
From the serious expression Algar wore, she didn't question that he believed what he'd told her. All she could think was he had to be kidding her. He couldn't expect her to believe a story like that. What'd he take her for? A gullible moron?
Kamryn looked at Lexi. "This has to be a joke. Right?" When Lexi said nothing, Kamryn continued. "Come on? You can't tell me you believe this . . . this make believe story about werewolves."
"It's true, Kamryn," Lexi said with pity in her voice. "All of it. When Raed first told me, I felt the same way you do. No way could it be true, but when he showed me the proof, I couldn't deny it."
Kamryn shook her head and shifted her gaze from Lexi to Algar. "You've had your joke. It's time to stop trying to pull one over on the new girl."
Algar sighed, let go of her hands and moved to stand at his full height. "Shit. I'm going to have to shift."
"Make sure you start off with the wolf first," Lexi said quickly. "I would have freaked less if Raed had shown me that before the other."
Shift? Wolf? They couldn't be serious.
But then Algar's body started to blur and she felt her heart trying to beat out of her chest when a wolf with brown fur, the same color of Algar's hair, took his place. The shift had happened within a matter of seconds. The wolf took a step closer and nudged her shin with his nose. Kamryn pulled her legs up onto the couch.