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Eventually, Halian took Jules to the little boat house. He got a key ring with a single key upon it and opened the door. After, he handed the key to Jules. It was a demonstration of his ownership of the charmingly beaten little cabin. Jules smiled, and put the key in his pocket.

Inside, wicker furniture greeted Jules. A large, st.u.r.dy table sat in the center of the room. Aside from a fireplace, a stack of wood, and the mantel, nothing else cluttered the place. It had a shuttered window, though. The shutters were held down by a long bar of wood.

Halian put the wine and gla.s.s down on the table. He got the candle out and lit it, then shut the door. Jules watched him start a fire. Kindling and wood already lay inside the rack between the andirons. In very little time the fire caught, and a blaze of warmth knocked the chill out of the room. Jules could take his coat off now. He laid it across the wicker couch for padding, and sat down.

His alpha opened the wine and poured. He set the Cashews out. "I can"t tell you where I was," he said. "I wouldn"t share that with anyone, Jules. My safety could be compromised. I don"t like keeping secrets, I really don"t, but this one isn"t negotiable." He sat beside of Jules, joining him in staring at the fire. "And, every six months, I"m going to disappear for a week. It can"t be prevented."

"So, you"re going to go missing in May," Jules said.

"Yes. The last week." Halian took a sip of wine, then another, the second of which he offered to Jules. Jules got on the floor to make it easier for them both, because he was slightly taller than Hal.

"I don"t have to like it, do I?" Jules asked.

"No. You can hate it all you want to. I certainly do." Halian put a Halhew between Jules"s lips. "What I do isn"t enjoyable. And, if it helps, I"m completely alone the entire time."

"You"re not a twice-year werewolf or something, are you?" Jules asked, slightly Joking.
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Halian smiled. "No. Thankfully, no. I"m pleased to report there are no werewolves at Tales-Vier. We have a few witches, but no werewolves."

"Wait. Those actually exist?" Jules asked.

"Yes." Halian nodded at him. "My family and I eradicated them here, though. They were bad for humans and livestock."

Jules drank three more times from Halian"s mouth before all that could sink in. "Are you in any danger?"

"Not truly. I go someplace very secluded. I wish I could tell you, but..."

"It"s better I don"t know," Jules finished for him.

"Yes. I ?? sorry."

"Well, I can"t pretend it"s okay, but I can quit pouting about it," Jules relented. "It helps to know you have a schedule for whatever it is."

"I thought it might relieve you to know it"s timed specifically, that I"m not going to pull a disappearing act very often," Halian said. "I didn"t think you were pouting, either. Felix said you deserved better from me, and he was right. He"s always right."

Jules grinned as he gazed at the fire. "I do like him," he said.

"I do, too," Halian grumbled. "He"s a charismatic, cultured little beast. I"m not entirely sure he"s really an omega. He acts like a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic beta." He fed Jules a few more Cashews. "I"ve never mentioned to you how I met him."

"Right," Jules agreed.

"Oh, it"s a good story," Halian said, chuckling. "I was overseeing repairs to the cathedral in town. It was built a long, long time ago, and withstood the wars that took humanity back to humble simplicity. None of the other landed alphas in town wanted to take on the financial drain, so I was alone with my carpenters and stonemasons."

Halian took a sip of wine, and gave it to Jules. "There"s a population of Christians in the poorer part of the settlement. They wanted the cathedral rebuilt for a place to worship, and I liked the idea that I could give them that. A large building can shelter the very poor people in winter, you know. It ?????? be a home."

"Yeah," Jules agreed.

"While cleaning up debris I discovered a wine cellar under the cathedral. I hauled the vintage out crate by crate, thinking it must be spoiled. Wine doesn"t keep forever. It turns into vinegar."

"Oh. Ew," Jules said. "But the bottles would be valuable. Gla.s.s."

"Yes." Halian smiled. "Imagine my surprise when I cracked one open to find the most divine taste. It hadn"t spoiled. I sold it all to Mrs. Prince as a way to fund the repairs. Recoup some of my loss."

"Sensible," Jules commented. He liked the cadence of Halian"s voice, and the coziness of having a story told to him in this solitary little cabin. "Didn"t you keep any of it?"

"No. But, it inspired me to go into wine making at Tales-Vier," Halian informed. "I found the recipe for that wonderful wine while moving it out, and I make it here, now. You"re getting it fed to you."

"Oh." Jules leaned and asked for another drink of it. Halian smiled and obliged him.

"Now for Felix," Halian said, smiling again. "The cathedral is very close to his old shop. He hated the noise we all created while restoring it. Every day he made it a ????? to stand on the street and heckle us. Most of my workers were so amazed that the lowly omega tailor had a smart mouth. They couldn"t match his insults, either. I mean, he was ????????."

Halian paused to chuckle, shaking his head. "I think he believed he could drive us away with his vitriolic invective. Under ordinary circ.u.mstances he might have succeeded. I lost five workers by the end of that first week."

"Wow," Jules said, starting to smile.

"Yes. Like I said, ????????." Halian gave him more Cashews. "I went back to Madam Prince, and bought five of the bottles I"d only just sold to her. Of course, the price had gone up. But, armed with incomparable alcohol, I went into Felix"s shop the next morning and lined those bottles up like little soldiers on his desk. I didn"t say a word and neither did he, but he stopped hara.s.sing us."

Jules laughed. "That"s funny, Hal."

"It is," Halian agreed. "Later on, I started going to him for clothing. I already had a tailor, but Felix"s work sold me on his expertise. When you brought him here to liven up the manor and the people in it, I felt pleased. Like I said before, Pennyweight had too much of a predilection for dressing me in leather."

Jules leaned against Halian"s right leg and relaxed, smiling and thinking about Felix"s audacious behavior. Halian stroked his hair, which further caused his body to ease up.

A good half hour went by.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Halian asked. "I can arrange blankets and food to be brought to you."

"No. I want to sleep with you, Hal," Jules answered. "But this is nice. I like that we can talk and not be overheard."

"Yes, it"s private. I used to come here before I discovered I could skip my ruts by indulging in violence. I could scream all I wanted, and there wasn"t anything in here for me to destroy." Halian let his hand drop to the back of Jules"s neck.

Jules shivered. "Hal, I"m going to tell you something that will make you pull your hand back, so please don"t, because it"s really okay."

"... all right," Halian said hesitantly.

"That whole back of the neck thing you"re doing? That"s a presentation demand."