It took Nyell a moment to put himself together, but he somehow managed to do so. Now wasn't the time for yet another existential crisis. They had things to discuss.
"I have many questions," Corriel admitted, remembering the sight of a naked Myrven giving a piggyback ride to a bloody Layla, "but I won't pry. I know you did us a great favor by making Myrven's existence known to a not-so-friendly tribe."
"Well," Allen smiled, hints of mischief in his voice, "we had our reasons for reaching out to your tribe in the first place, though I admit I'd never have imagined that I'd met my destined mate here. Now that I know he belongs to your tribe, turning our backs on you when we can help would be shooting myself in the foot. I also don't want him to stab me to death in my sleep."
Corriel nodded, his expression solemn. It was a fair point: his son would stab Allen if given the chance. The White Moon tribe's chief had it rough.
Allen's smile deepened. Corriel was aware of the special relationship he had with his son. It was obvious, considering his lack of reaction after Rymnev called out their bond yesterday and how he seemed to pity him. Nyell had told his father. And to his surprise, Corriel didn't seem against it.
"So," Nyell gritted his teeth, "if I hadn't been around, you'd have turned a blind eye to my sister's disappearance."
"Of course. Why would I scream on rooftops my aide's secret and jeopardize his safety for a stranger? Think about it: Would you put Isa in danger for my tribespeople? You wouldn't. I mean, I'm pretty sure you'd feed me to saber tooth tigers if you could, and I am your destined mate."
Nyell clicked his tongue. The man wasn't wrong. But it still didn't settle well with him: they were talking about his sister's life!
"Who is whose destined mate…?" A groggy voice resounded, drawing everyone's attention.
Nyell snapped his head toward Isa's bedroom, where he saw his sister standing against the doorframe. Conflicted feelings sprouted inside him, sending butterflies flying in his guts. There was joy for seeing her up and about but also deep-seething despair. Why did she have to wake up now? Why not five minutes earlier or five minutes later?
"Me and your brother."
"Bro, you met your destined mate?!" Isa was suddenly wide awake. "And you didn't even tell me!"
Nyell threw daggers at Allen, who responded with an innocent smile. You just wait!
Feeling betrayed, Isa readied herself to jump onto her brother, but her knees suddenly felt weak, and her legs gave up. She fell headfirst, too surprised to react and hold onto the doorframe. Thankfully, Corriel had good reflexes and caught her in the nick of time.
"You should take it easy. Go back to your bed and sleep a bit more."
"Why?" Isa asked, confused. "Gosh, my head hurts."
"I bet it does," Allen commented. "Looks like she doesn't remember anything. I had a hunch, but your shaman knows how to hide her trail."
"Ex-shaman," Corriel corrected. He kissed his daughter's forehead before adding, "Go back to sleep. I'll tell you later."
"What later? I want to know what's going on now."
Anxiety crept onto Isa's face. Her father wasn't the kind to kiss her forehead for no reason! The last time was when her mother died, and she was bailing her eyes out.
"You can now be counted among the victims of the disappearance case," Allen revealed, not minding the glares the two men threw at him. "If she is as stubborn as Nyell, I doubt she'll obediently go back to sleep without an answer."
"I'm not stubborn," Nyell grunted.
"Uh-huh."
Isa's eyes bulged.
"We were just discussing what happened last night," Myrven said, his voice gentle. "If you remember anything, please tell us."
The teenager pursed her lips. She had a hard time believing the men, but since her father wasn't telling them off, they must be speaking the truth. Was that why her mind felt so foggy?
"I'm ok, dad," Isa cleared her throat. "Let me sit with you. Even if I don't seem to remember anything, I may be able to help. You can't keep me out of it now."
The teenager gently pushed her father away and then wobbled to the group sitting on the mammoth rug. She eyed the small space between Myrven and Layla before deciding to sit between them, not caring whether there was enough space for her butt or not.
She glared at her brother. "Why aren't you sitting next to your destined mate? You're taking too much space."
"Do I ask you questions?"
"No, but you should."
"Do I want to know the answers?"
"Probably not."
"Alright, now you've piqued my curiosity." Nyell played along. "What are you hiding from me?"
"What d'you think?" Isa pulled her tongue out. "The same thing you hid from me."
"What? I didn't hide anything. I just haven't told you about my-" Nyell paused before gasping, "Holy fucking crap, you must be kidding me!"
"No." Isa puffed up her cheeks like a squirrel as she peered at Layla. "But my destined mate doesn't seem to have realized we're destined mates yet."
Layla blinked her big, round eyes, then, unsure, pointed at herself.
Isa nodded.
Layla blinked again.
Isa rubbed her temples, wondering what to do.
Allen burst out laughing; both Corriel and Nyell were stunned silly; Myrven raised a brow; they all reacted differently to the news, but no one had a negative reaction, and no one doubted Isa. Teenager or not, she was a werewolf, and she was old enough to understand what the "butterflies in the stomach" and the "I want to howl to the moons" meant.
"That's why you asked a bunch of questions about Layla yesterday," Myrven said loud enough to cover Allen's laughter. "I did find it a little odd."
So, the stars-filled eyes weren't aimed at Myrven but at Layla, who stood by his side? Isa was only looking at Myrven because he was telling her stories about her destined mate. Nyell felt his worldview shatter, but who could blame him for thinking his sister had been interested in Myrven and not Layla? As far as he knew, Isa preferred men.
"I'm warning you," Corriel said to Allen, "I'm not marrying off both of my children to your tribe. Layla stays. You can take Nyell."
"What the heck! You're selling out your son?! You're trash!" Nyell cried out, offended. "And what's with this blatant show of favoritism?!"
"Well, you're an adult, and Isa is not, so I do want to keep an eye on her until she's old enough to marry. Also, I can't exactly ask the White Moon tribe's chief to leave his tribe for ours…"
"Why the fuck not?!"
Maybe because Corriel knew the conversation that would soon follow would be heartbreaking, he couldn't help but tease his children and the White Moon tribe's delegation. He wanted to lighten the mood for as long as he could, and as if on cue, Allen added oil to the fire.
"Don't worry. I'll buy you at a fair price."
"Oh, you shut it!"