by K. N. Banet
“I do know what a good whiskey is,” I snapped, offended.
“Fine, he classes the joint up a little.” Now he was grinning. “He makes me want to spend more money than you did.”
“So, my good looks didn’t get you drinking more, but his do? We need to have a long talk, Heath Everson.” I gave him a smug look.
“Your good looks make me want to do a lot of things. Drink more isn’t one of them,” he fired back, looking at my face. When his eyes dipped down, I hissed softly, a warning not to push his luck. When he looked back into my eyes, I could see the victorious little light dancing in his eyes, thinking he had won.
“You shouldn’t flirt so much. It’s only going to get us into trouble.”
“I find it impossible to resist. Flirting with you is fun.”
“You just like seeing me flustered,” I retorted.
“I like seeing your emotions,” he said softly. “You’re an open book, and I like seeing what’s going on in that head of yours.”
“That’s not fair since you barely ever give me a sign of anything. You lock it all away and leave me hanging.”
“I’m trying, though. I really am.” He didn’t stop smiling. “I can’t explain it, but I’ve had so much control for so long, it really is an active choice for me in some situations to let it go and expose my scents.”
“I bet,” I mumbled. “I just wish I could do it.”
“It wouldn’t help you. You have the tendency to show what you’re thinking all over your face, and I think it’s refreshing.”
“You like to see me flustered,” I said again, back to that point. “And it’s mean.”
“I am never mean to you,” he murmured, leaning close.
My face heated as I leaned away. “Heath.”
He shifted away, looking to the woods. “Sorry. Sometimes it’s harder to…”
“Control yourself?” I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Yes. I want you, and I know we can never…I should have never teased you about it. I should have never brought up how I feel.”
“I find myself thinking the same thing sometimes,” I admitted. “It’s like having it out in the open means we can act on it when we can’t.” I went to take a sip of my water, staring out into the woods too.
“I was at the store the other day and saw Valentine’s Day chocolates and gifts and nearly bought you something.”
I choked on my water, thumping my chest several times as I coughed.
“Jacky? Are you okay? Give me a thumbs up, please.” He was hovering over me as I doubled over to cough. I gave him a thumbs up and nodded, trying to talk.
“You what?” I asked, coughing afterwards, my throat feeling raw.
“I nearly bought you something for Valentine’s Day,” he said again. “I had to remind myself it was a terrible idea.”
“It is,” I agreed, rubbing my chest that ached a little from accidentally inhaling water. “Let’s just not talk about it. Heath, we can’t keep indulging this flirtation, and you know it.”
“I do, but do you really want me to stop showing up every Saturday?”
“No. No, I don’t. Do you want to stop coming by?”
“Not at all,” he said, sighing heavily. “We’re in a tough place, Jacky.”
“We should see other people, or you should, and I’ll go back to being a shut-in with no friends.”
“Well, now we’re both shut-ins with no friends, remember?” His expression was sad.
“Do you miss them? Being with other wolves?”
“Yes and no.” He didn’t elaborate.
I didn’t get the chance to ask him, stiffening as my magic picked up on another intruder.
Then a second. And a third. A fourth. I was certain there was at least one other, but there were so many now, all in different locations, my mind felt like it was being yanked in different directions.
All hovering at my borders before disappearing.
“You should go,” I whispered, standing up slowly.
“What?” He stood up with me. “Jacky?”
“Go home. Pack a bag, and don’t come back until after the full moon. Actually, don’t come back until I tell you it’s safe.” My heart pounded with the implications of what I had just felt. I had no idea why they were doing this but knew what this had been.
I knew a warning when it was so obviously written on the wall.
12
Chapter Twelve
“Excuse me? You want me to leave?” He seemed confused and hurt. “Jacky, what the hell is going on?”
“I’ve been lying to you,” I explained softly, my eyes directed to some distant point at the edge of my territory.
“About?”
“The rogue werecats.”
“Werecats?” he growled. “As in more than one?”
“As in at least five,” I said, turning to him finally. “Constantly toying with the borders of my territory.”
“That’s why you’ve been losing sleep. You’ve been edgy and distracted when Carey’s been with you. You need to explain, Jacky. Why do I have to leave?”
“Not just you,” I corrected. “You, Landon, and Carey. Fuck, can you take Oliver and Dirk with you?” I asked, running my hand through my hair, trying to push the brown flyaway pieces from my face. “Please?”
“Yes, I can but—”
“Heath, I don’t know how to explain what’s going on, alright? I’ve asked my family. My sister, Mischa? The Rogue as everyone calls her? She thinks they’re toying with me, but…”
“But what?”
“For weeks, they’ve been stepping in and out of my territory faster than I could reach them, always only one of them. Just now? Five of them came in, and I don’t know who they are or what they want.”
I watched as he lost some of the color from his face. Even a proud and powerful Alpha werewolf had a reason to fear five werecats.
“Are they gone?” he asked softly. “Or should I run inside, grab your humans, and get moving?”
“They’re gone, but I don’t think they’re going to stay that way.”
“Tomorrow is the full moon,” he mumbled, nodding as he seemed to agree with me. “You’re coming too, right?”
“No.”
“Jacky—”
“I have to stay. They might just want everyone around here out of the way to talk to me, or they might attack me. I don’t know. I’m betting on the latter at this point since they’ve had weeks to talk to me.”
“Then you need to—”
“I can’t go anywhere until I know what they want,” I snapped. “I can’t.”
“And Hasan? What does he think?”
“He and I are of the same mind on this. If he or any of my siblings come to help, it’s a sign of weakness on my part.”
“Are you not even a little worried something could happen to you?” Heath ran a hand through his dark, curly hair, exasperated and deathly afraid. “Jacky, five werecats could…”
“A little worried?” I laughed bitterly. “Heath, I’m terrified. Finish that statement. Five werecats could easily kill me, you, and Landon. Could easily take over my territory. Could easily do a lot of things. I’m not a fucking idiot. I wish Mischa could figure out who they could be, but she hasn’t been able to figure out anything. Werecats don’t do this. We don’t group hunt. One rogue playing games with me would have been easy to solve, but I’ve caught four definite scents, and just now, there were five stumbling into this territory. What form they’re in, I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s safe for me to even leave my territory, Heath. I don’t.”
“Because they could be laying traps for you outside your borders,” he said softly.
“Yeah…” I had that worry when I had felt the first one, but now, I wasn’t sure what to think. The only thing I knew for certain was my territory wasn’t going to be safe soon and possibly already wasn’t. There was no way for me to defend my home against this many werecats.
“Did you talk to your fami
ly about the possibility of them attacking?”
“Yes, but I need them to attack before backup can be called. It’s complicated, it’s…”
“Politics,” Heath finished for me. “I understand. A wolf pack can’t go after another wolf pack unless they have a definitive reason to. It looks bad to attack another pack without grounds, based on paranoia or a feeling the other might be planning to encroach. Since we’ve decided to congregate in cities, fighting like that doesn’t happen as much anymore. It keeps us away from each other and cuts out our need to fight for land.”
“Hasan told me if they all attack, I just need to run,” I said, swallowing. “It would be an unfair fight, and no werecat, including him, could possibly win a fight against so many of our own kind. Once I let them know it is an attack, they’ll come to me, then it’s on, but not a moment earlier.”
“So, you have to potentially risk your life for proof,” he whispered. “Jacky, this is stupid.”
“I know, but it’s the right way to do it. Tell me you wouldn’t require the same thing as werewolves? Evidence the other party is in the wrong.”
I could practically hear his teeth grinding together.
“Let me stay—”
“No.”
“Jacky—”
“No,” I snarled. “They’ll crush you. I can at least dodge and avoid them in my territory. Damn it, Heath, this is not the time for the good guy to play hero for the lady he likes. This is the time where I tell you to help me get everyone out, so I can be prepared for this. If I’m alone, I only have to worry about avoiding them and getting out of my territory. Once I know for sure they’re a threat, I call in the family, and we clean this mess up without looking weak.”
“Why would they be doing this?”
“I don’t know. It’s been over a year since everything in Dallas and the Tribunal, and other than some increased tensions with overeager werewolves, no one has been hurt. No one has suffered for my actions or the actions of anyone in my family. This might not be violent, but I really think we need to treat it like it will be.”
Werecats don’t have pack magic. If they’re going to come during the full moon, it’s not going to be to have a chat. If I keep saying it, maybe I’ll believe it.
“You think it will be, and that’s good enough for me,” he said, reaching out to run a hand over my cheek. “Do you want me to leave now and take them with me?” He nodded toward the back door. I pulled away from his hand and looked back to the closest place a werecat had been, wondering if they would come back in tonight or if tonight was the final show of force to fuck with me before tomorrow. This could all end up a bad, mean-spirited prank. Maybe I was too paranoid after everything I had done for Heath and my need to protect Carey.
“Go now,” I ordered. “I’ll come in and explain to them that they’ll be staying with you, then I need to contact my family and let them know about this escalation before the full moon begins to claim them around the world.”
“Okay.” He opened the back door, letting me step inside first. I walked out to the packed bar and sighed.
“Damn it, this is going to look bad,” I whispered to him.
“We can wait until closing,” he reminded me. “If you get a feeling they’re back, I can text Landon and tell him to go with Carey and meet him with these two as soon as I can.”
“Let’s do that,” I said, frowning. “I really hope this is a bad prank.”
“What are the chances it is?”
“In Mischa’s opinion, very high. I just don’t have a good feeling about any of it. It’s too unusual with there being a group of them. Fuck, the roads might not even be safe for you to leave my territory.”
“Let me handle that,” he said sharply. “You don’t worry about anything but keeping yourself alive, Jacky. Okay? And if they do attack me, Landon, or Carey, they risk another open war with werewolves all over the world. I’m the chosen peaceful liaison, remember? I should be the one wolf in the world safe from werecats because I’m trying to keep the peace.”
“Don’t tell any of the werewolves about this. I don’t want this to seem like I’m weak outside the werecats.”
“I’ll keep it to myself,” he promised.
We waited and watched. I was tense as the minutes ticked by into hours, and people began to leave. When Dirk called closing, some tension left me but not enough. I wanted them packed up and gone by dawn.
“What are you two waiting on?” Dirk asked as he locked the front door. “You’ve been standing there, a little too still and quiet for a couple of hours now.”
“You need to leave with Heath to a safehouse,” I said quickly. “I want you and Oliver out tonight.”
“Is our safety at risk?” he asked.
“Yes, but it could only be a situation tomorrow night, then you’ll be able to come back. If things don’t go well, Heath will make sure you get on planes and home safely,” I explained. “Five werecats just breached my territory borders and sent a very clear message. I want all of you gone before the sun comes up.”
“Let me…let me pack a bag.”
“Hurry.”
Dirk ran upstairs, and I heard him talk to Oliver, who must have left the office when he realized it was closing. The young manager didn’t come down. I heard both sets of footsteps moving in the apartment above me, half jogging as they grabbed whatever they needed.
“Thank you,” I finally said to Heath, who waited patiently with me.
“It’s no problem, but I feel I should say, I absolutely hate this and want to stay here and help you.”
“That sucks,” I muttered. “I…I wish this wasn’t happening, but it is, and I need to make sure everyone around me who can be, is safe. You included. You have Carey and Landon, and they need you.”
“Landon is a grown-ass werewolf,” he growled.
“And I’m a grown-ass werecat,” I hissed back. “Carey is more important than all of us and she’s twelve-year-old human girl. I am not. You’ll protect your daughter.”
“I will, but I want to protect you too.”
“I wish you could, but you can’t. If I don’t get ahold of you on Monday, assume something is wrong. I’ll text you Hasan’s number, so you can coordinate with him if needed.”
He nodded slowly. We heard the footsteps coming back down. Dirk and Oliver were each holding a suitcase.
“Follow Heath’s orders at all times. He’ll make sure you’re safe.”
“Can I take my truck?” Dirk asked.
“Keep behind me,” Heath said. “Let’s go.”
I watched them leave, listened to the trucks fire up, and through the window saw their lights disappear as they turned onto the road and drove away.
I wasted no time locking up Kick Shot and running for my house. I texted Heath the information, then jumped onto my computer, quickly calling an emergency family meeting with whoever could spare a moment. Davor was the first to respond.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded as his video came up on my screen.
“Five werecats breached my borders earlier, then left. I’ve sent Heath with Dirk and Oliver to pick up the rest of Heath’s family and leave my territory until Monday. Just in case. The message was fairly clear.”
As I was talking, Niko and Hisao jumped on, then Hasan.
“You think they’re going to attack on the full moon?” Hisao asked, frowning.
“There are no other possibilities, are there? Unless this is just them fucking with me to have a big laugh tomorrow. In which case, I’ll try to kill them anyway because this isn’t fucking funny,” I snarled at the end. “They’re playing games with me, and I’m tired of it. I’m terrified, and I don’t know what to do.”
“You’ve done what you can,” Niko said. “You sent away the vulnerable people who live in your territory. Are Dirk and Oliver getting on planes?” I knew he would worry about Dirk, one of the reasons I decided to call the emergency meeting.
“They will Monday if Heath doesn’t hear from
me. He has a safehouse somewhere. I don’t know where it is, which is probably a good thing. He’s a planner like that.”
“He’s an Alpha wolf. They have plans for everything,” Hasan commented. “Jacky, if they come into your territory tomorrow, I want you to run. I don’t care why they’re there. You’ll abandon and make it clear you aren’t willing to get into a fight with all of them.”
“That’s my plan, but I figured we should all be on the same page.”
“When do we go in?” Hisao asked. As he was talking, the rest of the family got on. Jabari, Zuri, and Mischa all showed up at roughly the same time with the twins sitting next to each other.
“What happened?” Mischa cut in before anyone could answer Hisao’s important question.
“Five werecats breached Jacky’s territory and sent a clear warning,” Davor answered before I could. “Still think they’re joking around?”
“No, not if they’re doing it as a group so close to the full moon,” Mischa snapped. “Do we have any idea what their agenda might be? Jacky?”
“No, they haven’t exactly been leaving notes for me,” I growled.
“Then let’s start by asking the important questions.” Zuri cleared her throat as someone tried to talk over her before she could continue. “Why Jacky? What’s important about her? Why her?”
“She’s the youngest member of the family,” Jabari pointed out.
“She’s allied with werewolves,” Niko mentioned.
“She’s been in trouble before,” Davor grumbled. When I sighed heavily, he shrugged. “Sorry, it’s the truth.”
“Yeah…” I rubbed my face. All of those things were true.
“She’s vulnerable. If there’s one person in the family who would be easy to defeat, it’s her,” Hasan whispered. “But that would imply this is an attack on the family. On all of us, with Jacky being the first, the vulnerable warning shot.”
There was a long silence after that.
“They wouldn’t. No. We’ve been the most powerful family of werecats for at least a thousand years, and only more so in the last eight hundred since the formation of the Tribunal. With you and Mother being our active sitting members by Law, they wouldn’t.” Zuri seemed as if she couldn’t wrap her head around that. “Why would they attack the family? Everything we’ve done has been to protect our kind and keep us from utter annihilation by the werewolves. We’ve protected other werecats for as long as we’ve been a family.”