Apollo was also there, keeping a beady eye on the rest of the menagerie and occasionally reproaching one of its members for an imaginary infraction with a sharp peck.
Once everybody was free of the tent （which collapsed in the excitement of Jack’s arrival）， the hellos were exchanged, and the children were cuddled and kissed to their satisfaction, Jack crouched down by the griffin.
“Hello, Apollo.” Jack stuck out his hand in greeting. Apollo immediately placed his talon on top of it.
Apollo’s long tongue came out, and he touched it to Jack’s hair, his ear, his nose, and his cheek as if he was getting to know the newest member of the pack. He began to cluck, bobbing his head up and down in approval.
“Jack!” Becca held up her stuffed parrot. “See. Bird. Mine.”
“Nice, Becca. I’ll come play with her in a minute.” Jack narrowly avoided getting a griffin tongue up one nostril. “Can he fly?”
“Oh, yes,” Sarah said. “Ysabeau carried Apollo around like a hawk and trained him to catch mice in midair.”
Jack laughed.
Becca, who felt Apollo was getting her fair share of attention, flung her parrot at Jack. It hit him in the shoulder and he reared back in surprise. She snarled, her lip curling.
“Rebecca Arielle,” Matthew said, voice firm. He swooped down and picked her up. “We’ve talked about this. No throwing.”
Becca opened her tiny mouth. I thought she was about to yell. Instead, she lowered it toward her father’s hand with the quickness of a striking snake. She bit down. Hard.
The silence that followed was absolute as we all stared at father and daughter in astonishment.
Matthew was white as paper and his eyes were black.
The bite had set Matthew’s blood rage alight.
“And definitely no biting.” Matthew stared down at his daughter with an intensity that caused Becca to raise her blue eyes to his. As soon as she saw the expression on her father’s face, she opened her jaws and released him. “Diana, please take Philip and Apollo back to the house.”
“But—” I began. One wild, desperate look from Matthew had me swinging Philip into my arms. I headed toward the house without a backward glance.
After a moment, Matthew sent the rest of the family away.
“What’s Matthew going to do?” Sarah asked, joining me and Philip in the kitchen.
“Dad’s shunning her,” Jack said, sounding unhappy.
“Do I smell blood?” Marcus asked, entering the kitchen with Marthe.
“Becca bit Matthew,” I replied.
Through the thick, wavy glass, I saw Matthew say something to Becca. He then deliberately turned his back on his daughter.
“Wow,” Jack said. “That’s harsh.”
“When an older, more powerful vampire turns his back on you, it’s both an insult and a rejection—a sign that you’ve done something wrong,” Marcus explained. “We don’t like to be at odds with the leader of the pack.”
“That’s an awfully subtle message for a toddler to grasp,” Sarah said.
The expression on Becca’s face suggested that she understood it perfectly, however. She looked devastated.
“Milady Rebecca must apologize,” Marthe said. “Then sieur will forgive her and all will be well again.” She gave me a comforting pat.
“Becca isn’t good with apologies,” I fretted. “This could take awhile.”
“Sorry,” Philip said, his eyes filling with tears. Our son, on the other hand, apologized all the time—even for things he hadn’t done.
“Thank God,” Marcus reported, sounding relieved. “She apologized.”
Matthew picked Becca up and kissed her on the top of her head. Then he carried her into the kitchen.
Becca’s expression was worried as she faced her family again for the first time. She knew she had done something terribly wrong, and wasn’t sure of her reception.
“Hello, princess,” Jack said, giving her a wide smile.
“’Lo, Jack,” Becca said, her anxiety evaporating.
Feeling unsure of what to do in the midst of all these vampires and their unspoken rules, I stood with Philip and waited until the rest of the group had welcomed Becca back into the fold. Philip squirmed to be put down and ran off in the direction of the pantry with Apollo, no doubt in search of congratulatory Cheerios for his sister.
Finally, Matthew put Becca in my arms. I kissed her and held her tight.
“Brave girl,” I said, closing my eyes for a moment in silent thanks that this episode was over.