old dogs and new tricks

Deathbelle’s insistence that she didn’t deserve forgiveness brought a soft scoff from the giant, dual-toned man. “I don’t need your permission to give it,” he informed her. “Besides, he left all of us.” She would know the wolf that he referred to. It was no secret that one wolf alone had wronged the Klein family. The children had been a mess just as their mother had but in the end, they all survived.

Chimera would hold onto Belle for as long as the woman wished, the stiffness in his big frame lessening as his mother relaxed into him. “Siren is well,” he spoke again. “You’re a grandmother eleven times over.” Chi wondered what she would think about that. Deathbelle was old now, so grandchildren weren’t unexpected. Still, eleven from one child. Would she be happy or appalled?

“Where have you been?” He asked abruptly, looking down on the woman before him. “You never tried to find us.” She looked pretty horrible, so wherever she’d been, she hadn’t been living in luxury. He wasn’t exactly looking his best either and still had a bit of weight to put back on, but the speckled fae lacked her former luster. Her eyes and coat were dull, she looked thin. It was obvious that she had suffered. That was her penance, he supposed. Her appearance and disposition made it easy to forgive her.


"Chimera Klein"