Chapter 95

The next morning I woke with more than two bed warmers. All those who had been involved in Mundo's inquisition were still in bed with me and still sleeping. I was spooned up against Ameliea's beautiful backside and somehow I managed to get over her and out of bed without waking anyone. I was sure they had been up late with Mundo and I wanted them to get all the rest they could.

After dressing I went to the table and sat down. Shelalliea brought me a mug of coffee and a delightful ass to fondle. She even gave me a big kiss before she left. Raalto and Racaato came in and sat down at the same time and after Gema coffeed them we were about to talk. Then Bigglieo came in with his mates and Barago and Britta seemed to be right behind him. We all waited until everyone was present before starting the talk.

"Have you heard any of Mundo's story yet?" Racaato asked.

"No. His tormentors are still sleeping and I want them to get their rest. It will be soon enough to hear from them when they wake."

"But where did they leave him?" Raalto asked.

"I don't even know."

"I do, look back near the entrance to the practice cave," Waaya said, pointing.

She was right. Mundo was tied sitting in a chair near the practice cave's entrance. All the wolves were lying around him. He shifted in his sleep and then moaned slightly. When he did Prince got up and growled at him, waking him fully. Mundo kept very still for several minutes and satisfied, Prince settled down again.

"I would hate to be in his position," Racaato said.

"I'll bet he likes his current situation much better than he liked the one last night," Raalto laughed.

"You can bet he was glad to tell them anything they wanted to know. Ameliea even scared me," I told them.

"What will we do now John?" Raalto asked.

"I haven't decided yet. The easiest thing would probably be to go kill Cardiato for this. Then maybe the next leader will think twice before sending spies. Letting them keep on might not be a bad idea either though. If we don't go and tell them they will not know what happened to their men at all."

"It will cause trouble in their camp. It will make it even harder to get men for another try," Racaato said.

"It will cause even more trouble. The uncertainty will cause talk to start behind Cardiato's back," Raalto added.

"It couldn't be bad for us. Maybe we should just try to capture the next men he sends."

"It will be a lot of trouble, but it will also cause him the most trouble. I wonder if he will send more tonight?" Raalto asked.

"Maybe my mates will know. We can wait until they get up to find out."

Women came with plates of food then and we let the talk go as we ate. What to do kept churning around in my head though. I didn't want to keep up this game forever, but I didn't want to go down and kill someone if I didn't have to.

Thinking of causing even a minor revolt from within Cardiato's own camp had its appeal to me. Using Argent's help for information only wasn't so bad and if no men were coming we could just go about our business as usual.

I noticed Danlo, Nadlo, and Jonoco weren't at breakfast yet, then remembered I hadn't seen them during meals for the last few days. I wondered if it was just coincidence or if they were staying away for some reason.

"Dalia, do you know why Danlo doesn't seem to eat breakfast with us anymore?"

"Danlo, Jonoco, and Nadlo thought since all your main helpers ate with you each morning they should wait until you were done eating and talking," she said.

"Do you have time to go tell them we are getting tired of waiting for them to drag their lazy asses in to eat whenever they feel like it?" I asked, but made sure to make it seem like a joke.

Dalia and Shelalliea both left to tell them.

"I'm going too, I'll let Shallea and Shaala know that you've noticed they can't seem to get their mate out of bed and off to breakfast on time," she said, laughing a little.

While Dalia and Shelalliea were off to fetch the youngsters I asked the men at the table for volunteers to kill Cardiato if it came to that. Raalto and Racaato were quick to ask for a break here.

"Of course I will do it if there is no other way or even if it seems the safest way, but I would rather not have another mate just now," Racaato said, and then Raalto voiced the same thought.

Bigglieo was the next to beg off and it was a wonder to me the look Suleita and Daleana gave him didn't make him change his mind at once. The others all seemed to want to dodge the task then.

It was a little odd to me since most of them only had one mate - maybe they knew their limitations. Of course I hadn't seen Cardiato's mate and they might know she was ugly or disagreeable in some other way.

No matter, someone was going to have to take her unless I was misreading the situation, since I was pretty sure we would need to kill him sooner or later, but I promised them all I would try to make sure none of them had to.

"Will we need to post guards again tonight John?" Bigglieo asked.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think so. I doubt Cardiato thought his men could travel here, find out anything, and travel back in just one day. He probably won't decide they aren't coming back until tonight. We may know more when the rest of my mates wake."