Words from Day 14 of Writing - Lunar Wolves:The Unwanted

I've started focusing on one project at a time whenever I can, and this leads to some really nice writing days...like Day 14, for instance:

Starting Words: 49,568

Finishing Words: 56,540

Words Written: 6,971

Other Words:234 (Notes)

Other Project/Project Aspects Advanced: 0

Excerpt: In which Oliver and Lewis begin to understand just how criminally-inclined their two young 'mistresses' might be:

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Lewis didn’t need Oliver’s look of askance to know he might have screwed things up, but neither of them got a chance to argue.

It was astounding how much noise two small determined children could make.

Rohim stared at the door, and then turned pleading eyes to Oliver and Lewis.

“Can you shift back, now… Please?” he whispered. “I need to dig out some treats and…and dog brushes and pretend…”

Lewis gave him a look of disgust, caught Oliver’s sharp nod, and did as he was told. It was poor comfort when Oliver did the same, even if the alpha leapt neatly onto Rohim’s bed and sat there giving the man an imperious look.

“Fine… Fine… I have treats,” Rohim told them, raising his voice so it carried beyond the door, “but you’re telling them what you’re doing here.”

More pounding came from the door, and he raised his voice even louder. “I’m…coming…”

Somehow Lewis didn’t think that level of frustration could be feigned, and he dropped his jaw in a wolfish smile as Rohim slammed his hand on the access panel to open the door.

Oliver snickered in his head. “I could get to like these kids.”

“Shadow!” Giselle ignored her uncle, sliding past him to reach Lewis’s side.

“Shadow?” At least Oliver sounded a little bit mortified by the child’s choice of name. “That’s gonna be awkward.”

“Yeah, Comet, I know,” Lewis snarled back.

He hadn’t meant for the snarl to come out, and Giselle snatched her hand back.

That response was only temporary, though. She just as quickly lashed out, wrapping her hand around his nose and pulling his head around to face her.

“Bad dog!” she told him, shaking his muzzle. “Don’t you ever growl at me.”

Oliver’s snicker became a laugh. “You are such a bad dog…”

His laughter stopped, as the other girl spoke.

“What are you doing with our dogs in your room?” Angelie demanded, and Rohim raised his hands, turning hurriedly for one of the cupboards.

“You might not have noticed,” he said, “but neither of them had been fed or watered and I was trying to keep them quiet while I found their bowls.”

Lewis cocked his head. They had bowls? When had the man found the time to do that?

“And they need brushing,” he added. “The amount of time they’ve spent in that crate, they need a good brush to keep their coats in good condition.

He pulled a bag out of the cupboard. “Between getting you fed and settled, and your mother’s fussing, I haven’t had time to organize anything for them.”

“Between slipping chloezone in our chocolates and soothing maman’s guilty conscience, you mean,” Angelie argued, and Lewis winced.

Man, the kid had sharp tongue!

“It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it,” Oliver observed. “I wish we could get a look at these kids’ IQ and skill profiles.”

That caught Lewis’s attention. “Why’s that, bro?”

“Because they’re a lot smarter than your average twelve-year-old and I want to know how likely it is they’ll see right through their uncle’s little fabrication.”

“You don’t think…”

“Yeah…I do think it’s a possibility, so you need to be at your doggy best, okay?”

“My doggy best?” Lewis asked, alarmed. “What in all your darkest fantasies makes you think I’ve ever had anything to do with dogs?"

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Thanks must go to my cover artists, from left to right: Mihaela Voicu, Jake at JCaleb Design, and Moonchild Ljilja at Fantasy Book Design.