He packed away his intense curiosity, deciding not to make it easy for them to win him over after wrecking his weekend. He crossed his arms and glared at Greer.
Greer nodded at him. “Sorry, man. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’s something. Whatever it is, it hasn’t hurt us yet. Not sure if that’s an indicator of intent.”
“Jesus, Greer,” Max growled. “Could you be more cryptic?”
At least Greer looked remorseful. “Yeah. So, I thought this would be a nothing weekend. Perfect time to catch up on some routine tasks. I decided to go through the last couple of weeks of videos so we could overwrite them with the new feeds.” He rolled a few short clips of video. “I started to come across a lot of static. Thought some of the cameras were acting up, but it was happening on all of them.” He added more of the short clips to those already on the big screen, stacking them over others. “I checked the cameras anyway. They were fine. At first I couldn’t see a pattern, until I lined the anomalies up by date stamp.” He rolled a feed, watching as the footage started from the farthest camera out all the way up to the house. Feed after feed.
Max took the tablet from Greer and went back through the feed. “Could be they’re using a localized EMP.”
“Would have to be some sophisticated stuff not to blow out our cameras,” Greer said. “But how do you explain their ability to disable our locks and get inside?”
Max straightened as he watched the screen when Greer showed the feeds of the disturbance moving into the house, around it, and back out. “It stopped at the Ratcliffs’ door.”
“Yeah, but they were already gone,” Owen said. “They left with my dad and Jax the day after Thanksgiving.”
“It went on to Selena’s door, pausing there.” Greer showed that footage.
“Same thing.” Max shrugged. “EMP to knock out the electronic locks and associated alarms, then simple lock picks to free the bolt.”
“I’m not convinced,” Greer said. “The cameras only falter momentarily.”
“Nothing showed up in our check for fingerprints other than those we’d expect to see,” Val said. “Look, did anyone else think Selena was acting odd tonight?”
“Yes,” Kelan said. “She told me she was fighting a migraine.”
“That why she’s not here?” Kit asked.
Kelan shrugged. “Something weird did happen out there tonight. Selena pointed out some footprints in the snow that led into the woods not far from where Max was with Hope. I checked them out. Thought they were just deer tracks. Even took a photo to prove it to Sel, since we were arguing about it.” He opened his photos and showed the image of static. “I saw deer tracks. She saw human tracks.”
Max frowned. “Same thing happened to me. Coming back to the cabin last night after a snowmobile run, I saw footprints where I didn’t think there should be any. When I went to check them out, they looked like mountain lion prints.”
“What do you make of that?” Blade asked the group. “This thing playing with our minds?”
Val shook his head. “Not sure. Sel did say whatever it is, it was a man, not a thing.”
Blade frowned. “How does she know that?”
“Greer, get her down here,” Kit ordered.
“Her comm’s off,” Greer said. “I’ll call her… No answer.”
“Let’s go talk to her,” Max said. “If she can communicate with this thing, we’ve got a leg up on it.” The room started to empty out. Max clapped a hand on Greer’s back. “I get it. I’m not angry anymore.”
Greer shook his head and shrugged free of Max’s arm. “I just did my job. I am sorry, though, that it wrecked your weekend.”
Max laughed. “Fair enough.”
“That thing was out there with you. Who knows what it wants.”
The team took the elevator in two shifts, then took the backstairs up to Selena’s room. Kit knocked. No answer. “Sel, open up. We need to talk to you.”
“Go away. I have a migraine,” Selena called through the door.
“We’ll whisper,” Val said.
There was no sound for a moment, then the door opened. Selena stared at them, her expression going from feigned disinterest to almost horror. She backed away from the group, all the way to the opposite wall of her bedroom.
Her eyes looked awful, weepy and ringed by heavy shadows. Val went over, caught her arms, and tried to lead her to a chair at the table in the corner. She jerked free and pulled back. “Don’t touch me.”
Val held up his hands. “Okay. Okay.”
Ace came around him and led Selena to the chair that Val had been going for. She sat next to her. “Sel, you don’t look like yourself.” She pressed her palm to Selena’s forehead, checking for a fever. “Maybe you should lie down.”
“I can’t. You have to leave. All of you. You have to go. Right now.” Selena cupped her hands around her forehead. “My head is about to crack open.”
“Just tell us what happened to you tonight,” Max said.
* * *
Selena thought about Greer’s discovery and the whispers she’d heard—and interacted with—in the woods. None of it made sense. All of it could just be a figment of her imagination. Maybe she had a brain tumor. Her current migraine sure felt like that.
“I just don’t feel well, that’s all. Nothing happened to me.” Nothing that made sense, anyway.
“Kelan thought you saw something out there,” Kit said.
Selena looked from him to Kelan. “I saw deer tracks. The low light tricked me into thinking they were human footprints. My mistake.”
Val stepped in front of the team and held his arms out to his sides, ushering them to move out of her room. “Let’s just let her get some rest. We’ll see how she feels when her migraine’s gone.”
Ace lingered behind everyone else. When the room was empty, she gave Selena a worried look. “I can stay with you tonight. You shouldn’t be alone when you feel like this.”
Selena shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong with me that a good night’s sleep won’t fix.” Or a neurosurgeon, maybe, she thought. “Really, I’m fine.” But if she was still feeling things and hearing things, she definitely was going to get herself checked out.
“All right. Come get me if you need me.”
“Thanks, Ace. I will.”
8
After breakfast the next morning, Max opened the door to the den for Hope, curious why Kit had summoned them to a meeting. He wondered if it had anything to do with Selena—no one had seen her yet this morning. Hopefully, she was feeling better.
He led Hope through the den to the hidden bunker access.
“This place always makes me nervous,” Hope said. “What do you think this is about?”
“No idea. And it’s best not to jump to conclusions. We’ll find out soon enough.” Downstairs, Max opened the door into the bunker’s big conference room. Everyone was already down there—with their women. Everyone, that was, except Selena. They looked as perplexed as Max felt. Owen pushed off the wall he was leaning on and came around to the front of the conference table. Damn. He looked serious.
“S’up, boss?” Max asked him.
“We need to make some decisions about Lion and Hawk and the rest of the pride.” Max held out a chair for Hope at the table, then sat next to her.
“There’s something that I’ve had on my mind for a while that I’d like to discuss with you,” Owen said.
Hope sent Max a worried look. He squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her, all while giving Owen a hard glare.
“We’re listening,” Max said. He and Hope had been riding a wave of euphoria since their engagement, even after having their weekend cut short. He’d be damned if he was going to let Owen crash that. Not yet. Not now.
“Let’s start with Lion and Hawk,” Owen said. “They’re both of an age where they should be in college. I think we should consider getting them into a university that has a curriculum that interests them. Maybe start with a community college. Maybe we just spend th
e next semester prepping them for going to a university. It’s possible they could even get into one of the military academies.”
He looked around at the group. “I’ve brought you here because, while Val, Hope, and Fiona are Lion’s siblings, this affects all of you. I want you to know you have a say in how we help shape Lion’s future—and that of all the cubs. They’ve lived their entire lives in a cult. It’s time they moved into mainstream life—or at the very least, time we gave them a chance to experience it.”
Owen looked at Fiona. “You’ve put your life on hold too. It was necessary for this past semester, given the dangers the team was up against. Your situation is very similar to that of the pride. Selena and the men on my team have chosen their paths. But you and Ace—and the pride—haven’t. I think we have a window of time where the Omnis are going to be less active. They need to regroup and rebuild their infrastructure. That’s not going to happen overnight, which works in our favor.”
“I would like to finish my degree,” Fee said. “I’m a little more than halfway through.”
Kelan nodded. “If the boys went to Colorado State University or Front Range Community College, they could stay at our apartment in Fort Collins. I’d feel better if Fiona wasn’t alone there, hours from us.”
“That would be great,” Fee said. “We could take care of each other.”
“For me,” Ace said, “I’m not interested in going to school. I’m right where I want to be.”
“That’s fine,” Owen agreed. “You have a place here as long as you want.”
Hope’s hand tightened in Max’s. Her face was tense. He could sense the maelstrom brewing inside her. “We only just got the pride back, Owen,” she said. “They haven’t even had time to adjust to being here, and now you want to get rid of Hawk and Lion?”
Owen shook his head. “I don’t want to get rid of them. This is their home. Their whole family is here. But they’ve lived their entire lives for the pride. It’s time they lived for themselves, made choices about their own lives, had a chance to do some growing up. If they want to be part of the team, they need to be strong. Setting them free lets them find their strength—and with that, their niche in the team.”
“I agree,” Val said. “I hope they come back to us afterward, but this will give them a chance to see some of the world and decide for themselves if this fight we’re in is one they want to take up.” Val nodded toward Max. “You were backed into this fight without your knowledge, without choosing it. At first, anyway. And now, you’re locked in. It isn’t fair to do that to them.”
Max heaved a sigh. It was true. They had to set the boys free. If they wanted to return and fight the fight, then they could, but as mature, honed weapons, knowledgeable in the skills and tools the team needed. He sighed. “I think it’s a good idea, Owen.” He looked at Hope. She was searching his eyes, no doubt looking for a reasonable argument, but there was none.
“Will they be safe?” she asked Owen.
Owen nodded. “They’ll be safe. If we can eventually get them into one of the military academies, we can have a few friendlies inside watching out for them. No favoritism, of course. They sink or swim on their own, but I believe they’re up for the challenge. And they know what to watch for as far as enemies are concerned. Plus, this is a good time to get them out there. The Omnis will be quiet for a while as they lick their wounds and regroup.”
“Hawk and Lion aren’t the only boys soon to be of an age to go to college,” Val said. “There’s Badger who’s sixteen and Crow who’s seventeen.”
“I think we should focus on successfully getting the oldest two into college,” Owen said. “Wynn can begin prepping the next few. If she feels a specialized tutor should be brought in, we’ll do that. When they’re ready, we’ll do the same for them and for all the boys who remain in our care when they turn eighteen.”
“Then I agree,” Hope said. “It is the best next step for them. But I want an understanding from you. If they don’t want to return and do what you guys are doing, we set them free to find their own destinies.”
“Agreed,” Owen said. “But I will make it clear that there’s a place here for them.”
“There are several fields of study they can take that would make them even more of an asset to us,” Val said. “We can help them review their options, see where their curiosity takes them.”
Val was unusually serious—the one time Max wanted his smart-ass wisecracks to break the tension.
“We’ll make it clear their options are open, and yet guide them to find what works for them,” Kit said.
Hope nodded. “Okay. I don’t ever want to hold them back or have them be less than what they might be.” She looked at Max. “But that makes it even more important that we get married before they leave. I want Lion to walk me down the aisle.”
Max grinned. “Sooner absolutely works for me. When were you thinking of sending the boys off?” he asked Owen.
Owen’s lips thinned. Sonofabitch. He already had this figured out. “We can review everything together and make different choices, but I’ve already made some phone calls. They can start at Front Range Community College for the winter term, then go to a full university in September.”
“Have you already spoken to them?” Hope asked.
“No. I wanted to talk to all of you first, get you on board, then broach the subject with them.”
“And if we’d said no?” Hope asked, pinning the boss with a hard look.
“I knew you wouldn’t. It’s not the sort of thing one says no to. It’s good for the boys and good for the team. It’s a rare opportunity for them. They won’t need to worry about the pride—the boys are here and safe and will be following the example Lion and Hawk set. It’s the best of everything.”
Max looked at Hope. He knew she wanted what was best for her brother and Hawk, but he also knew that she’d been looking forward to having some time with him, after all she went through to find him. And now Owen had just asked her to give that all up.
“You know,” Max said, hoping to make her feel better about this new development, “the boys are going to need something to drive at school. We could get them a used truck or SUV. You could crawl through the mechanics and make sure they’re solid.”
Hope nodded, brightening a little. “They’ve been ready to take their driving tests for a while. We should do that next week.”
“We can take them down to Denver after they get their licenses. You find the vehicles, I’ll buy them,” Val offered.
That cheered her up. “I’ll see what’s available on the web. We’ll pick some to look at.” She smiled at Max. “This could be fun.”
“And while we’re down there, we can stop at my friend’s shop for your wedding dress,” Val said.
“And you can wait in the car while she shops,” Max said to Val.
Hope tugged at his hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. I need him to help me pick one out. I know cars, but I don’t know dresses.” She looked at Val. “Really, I could just wear jeans and a nice top.”
“And that’s why you need me,” Val said. “I’ll call ahead and have my friend pull some dresses aside.”
“You don’t know her size,” Max said.
Val met his look, then laughed. Owen even chuckled with that one.
“You can’t come with us,” Hope said to Max.
“The fuck I can’t,” he replied.
“Well, you can’t see my dress before the wedding.”
Val gave Max a smug look. “Looks like you’re the one who’ll be waiting in the car.”
“I’m going with you,” Max said. “But I’ll find something to keep myself busy with while you shop.”
“That works.” Hope looked at Owen. “Thank you for watching out for Lion and all the boys. I did want more time with him, but I realize we’re not going to make up for a lost lifetime in just a few months. It’s going to take time, and I want him to have whatever it is that he wants, which he won’t be able to figure out until
he’s been on his own for a while.”
Owen nodded. “We’re going to take care of all of them, Hope. Which brings me to my next topic—the rest of the pride. I’ve been thinking that they also need to step into mainstream life. We can’t keep them isolated here—it would just raise questions about them and us from everyone in town. Kit and I have talked about sending them to the local schools. There’s no shame in having been rescued from a cult. We can talk to the school administrators and teachers to let them know about the boys’ backgrounds—all in a general way that won’t shine a light on the Omnis or what we’re doing. Remi can help us with that.”
Kit looked at Ivy. “Casey can return to her classes now. Life could get back to a new normal. Wynn could be on hand to tutor the kids as needed. And be the afterschool care for the younger ones.”
“I’m fine with that,” Wynn said.
“I know Casey will be thrilled,” Ivy said. “But what about Zavi? He won’t be going to kindergarten until next September.”
“Wynn will still be his teacher and nanny,” Rocco said.
“I know that you would like time to work on your master’s degree,” Mandy said to Wynn. “Maybe Ivy and I could take a couple afternoons with the kids to free you up for your studies. We’ll be busy with the babies for a while anyway.” She looked at Ivy. “Wynn didn’t sign on for the extra work.”
“We’re all adjusting as we must,” Wynn said. “I’d love the two extra afternoons to study, but I’m flexible.”
“Let’s figure out an arrangement that works for everyone involved,” Kit said. “If we need to bring in more help, we can.”
“We’re going to fill half a school bus with just a stop at our house,” Wynn said. “We have a lot to do to get the kids ready for school. I’m assuming that they’ll start up after the winter break?”
“I think that would be best,” Owen said.
“They’ll need vaccinations, identity papers—we don’t even know their real names,” Ivy pointed out.
“I’ve talked to Lobo about that,” Owen said. “He agreed with me that we make Pride their last name and their animal name their first name. That will give them a sense of cohesion when they join the bigger community at school. And while it might be odd in the beginning, people will get used to their names. The only exception will be Augie, who will have his regular first name and Addy’s last name. I’ve filed paperwork to formally adopt both Troy and Augie, so there will be a change for them down the road. Addy and I will be getting married soon, once things settle down a bit.”
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