Midnight Whispers - Paranormal Romance by Catherine Bullard

yet.
I haven ‘t decided.”
    Leah raised
her eyebrows as she stepped back. “So Bryce has told me. Why don’t the two of
you come inside? I have a loaf that’s going to burn, and another one that’s
ready to be baked.
    Kyra followed
Bryce inside the two-room cabin—one spacious area that had the kitchen and
living area, and another room separated by the door she assumed was the
bedroom. Leah moved past the counter, where a mound of dough was set out, and
bent in front of the hearth to pull out the loaf. Her eyes were drawn to the
loom set in the middle of the living area, where a woolen blanket seemed to be
in the works. Her feet carried her over to it, and she allowed her fingers to
play over the colorful threads.
    She looked up
to see Leah standing a few feet away, watching her. “It’s beautiful,” Kyra told
her.
    Leah smiled
slightly. “Still in the works, I’m afraid, but it’ll be a work to be proud of
when I’m done with it. You’ve done weaving before?”
    Kyra shook
her head. “I’ve only ever worked with a needle and thread—embroidery and
some mending.”
    Leah clapped
her hands together in a prayerful gesture and looked up. “Praise the gods, a
woman that can use a needle and thread! You would be amazed at just how many
women in our village come to me for this kind of work. They’re plenty good at
other things—pottery, cooking, even carving—but the needle and
thread are elusive. This alone, in my opinion, should get them to forgive you
that you’re human.”
    “Leah.” Bryce
coughed even as Kyra’s lips twitched. “I don’t…”
    “… know if
that’s the wisest thing to say?” Leah finished, propping her hands on her hips.
“Maybe not, but you know I’ve always spoken what’s on my mind, and nothing is
going to change that. Would you like to learn how to use a loom?” she asked,
turning her attention back to Kyra as though her brother had said nothing.
    The lip
twitching became a full-on smile. “I do believe I would like to.”
    “Then let me
wash my hands.”
    The two women
sat at the bench together, and Leah showed Kyra the basics—how the warp
was loaded and the yarn reefed and layered. Then she showed her which levers to
pull when and how to send the shuttle across, and soon Kyra’s fingers were
flying, the yarn seeming almost to weave itself as she guided the loom.
    “She’s a
natural,” Leah said to Bryce with a grin.
    Shaking his
head, Bryce couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad you think so, but we really
didn’t come so you could put Kyra to work.”
    “Of course
not.” Leah patted Kyra gently on the shoulder. “Why don’t you and Bryce have a
seat, and I’ll bring out some tea.”
    Kyra rose.
“It’s really no trouble at all. I think I would like to try using your loom
again sometime.”
    “Be careful,”
Bryce said, laughing. “If you keep saying things like that Leah might decide
not to let you go.”
    Leah brought
out tea and biscuits, and Kyra bit into one of the warm, sugary pastries,
sighing. It had been awhile since she’d had anything like this. “These are
wonderful.”
    Leah smiled.
“Not what you expected is it?”
    Kyra frowned.
“I’m not certain I know what you mean.”
    Leah sat,
then picked up her own cup and sipped the steaming hot tea. “You were expecting
a crude lifestyle—tasteless food, sparse décor, harsh living conditions.”
    “Leah,” Bryce
began, the word both a warning and a plea, but Kyra shook her head and held up
a hand.
    “It’s
alright,” she said, keeping her eyes on his sister. “You are very perceptive,
and it unsettles me that you could see past my polite façade to my thoughts
within. To be honest, on an intellectual level I really had no idea what to
expect. I’d never once imagined how a hidden village would function, having
never had a reason to think about it before now. But in the back of my mind,
knowing that everyone in this village is part animal, and knowing that you keep
yourselves