Ghost's Sight by Morwen Navarre Read Free Book Online

family wanted for little with Mother and Gerry’s skill at hunting, not to mention the goods and produce they received for acting as guards. But without Gerry there to help, Mother might expect Conn to do more, and the kid did not like to work.
    “Maybe the Witch’s pet witched him, with those ghost eyes of his,” Conn said, but it lacked real venom. Mother ignored the remark, as did Gerry.
    Gerry sighed a little. “I don’t even know if Ghost and I will work out, but I want to try. I want to see him again, and see how I feel, how he feels. If we both agree, then I want to offer to be his alpha. I’ll give the Witch a fair compensation. I thought a hand of sind might be fair.”
    Conn made a rude noise. “You think that washed-out little thing is worth a fucking hand of sind?”
    “I gave your sire a pair of sind for you, Conn, and you were only a small thing, begging in the streets to feed the both of you.” Mother gave Conn one of his infrequent frowns. Gerry watched Conn grow pale at that sign of Mother’s disapproval. “Ghost knows much of healing, and I watched him read the ancient words on the Witch’s pots and jars. He might not be a hunter, but he has skills.”
    The kid was near to panic by now, and Gerry felt an unexpected surge of sympathy. Conn was largely what Mother had let him become. If he was unskilled at hunting, he made up for it in bed. Still, it was not Gerry’s place to reassure Conn. It might well have been that Mother wanted Conn to learn a lesson, to understand that others had worth in Mother’s eyes for reasons that lay outside a bedroom. Gerry saw this as another lesson in being an alpha and kept quiet.
    Conn made a last attempt. “Why can’t you take him, Mother? He can be a part of this family.” Conn leaned into Mother, his blue eyes wide and guileless.
    Mother only shook his head, not giving in to Conn for once. “Gerry’s ready to be on his own, and it’s what Gerry wants. He asks for little, and gives a great deal. If he wants to offer for Ghost to become his dependent, then I’m in favor.”
    Conn’s shoulders slumped, his head drooping. “I’m sorry, Mother. I’m just worried about you, and how this will affect you.”
    Gerry tried to mask his incredulity at Conn’s brazen act, all sympathy for his fellow dependent disappearing, but Mother had a weakness when it came to the kid. If the man chose to believe that the little brat was sincere, Gerry was not about to step in and try to discredit the kid. If all went as he hoped, Gerry would be done dealing with Conn soon enough.
    Mother took a sip of his tea, ignoring Conn for the moment. “What are your plans, if Ghost is willing to become your dependent?”
    Gerry was glad to be on safer ground for the moment, gladder still to see that Mother had not fallen for Conn’s ploys. “I might want to strike out on my own as far as taking a dependent, but I don’t see why we can’t work together. If you need a second for guard work, I’m happy to work for you, and you can set my share of the fee. I’m happy to hunt with you as well, and we can share the kills. That way, we’re each free to decide what we’ll do with our share, if we need it for our own larders, or if we want to trade it. Same with pelts and hides, although we can’t exactly cut up a hide or a pelt to share it.”
    The younger hunter paused, his cheeks feeling warm as he fell silent. Gerry could hear the conviction in his own voice, along with a faint note of pleading, but he could not have said what it was that he was pleading for. It could have been absolution, or acceptance, recognition that he was making an alpha’s choices.
    “Would it work for you if we took hides and pelts in turn if an equal split can’t be made?” Mother asked. “And I would think an equal split of the goods received as my guard fee is also fair, since we will each have just the one dependent. If that changes, we can discuss a split that benefits the