I rise from the table, pulling Sage aside, out the door and onto the deck for a private talk, or as private as we're going to get. Piers stays behind, though from the belligerent frown he gives me as I glance back, he would rather follow and maybe do something permanent to make Sage go away forever.
This independent streak of his seems to have triggered more than I expected.
Sage is just as stiff as my sorcerer friend, anger in his face, his stance, the scent of him as his wolf argues without speaking.
"I thought you understood," I say, keeping my voice low. "But now I know I've failed to explain clearly. That's my fault." My chest heaves in a sigh, heart hurting as I think of him and his family, waiting for him to visit at Christmas, loving their son, their brother, just the way he is.
