by K. N. Banet
“Your family,” she murmured.
“What?”
“What do you need from me?” Her tone was frustrated, angry. Maybe I was used to people being angry at me and took it as a sign she didn’t want to help.
“Mischa, he threatened to Change a little girl.” I saw red at the thought. No longer physically ill, I only felt rage. I clenched my jaw to keep from Changing to attack whatever I could as my control slipped. “My niece. I need you—”
“I know what the Russian pack does, Jacky. I don’t need an explanation. I’ve known for years. I’m asking you what you need from me to take these motherfuckers down for daring to take humans who belong to you,” she ranted, a growl punctuating more than one word.
“Oh. Well, we’re headed to Russia. Heath knows the location of their main compound, where they’ll probably take my family for safekeeping. I…”
“You need multiple things, then. You need a place to stay, backup, and more information. That compound is their main hub, but they have three small towns around it, all under the radar, where more of their wolves and humans live. Beyond that, they have pockets of population all over the country and several others. Jacky, do you know Genghis Khan?”
“I’ve read a history book.”
“Good. This pack was started by him. It covers most of the ancient area he once ruled. When his human empire failed, the werewolves were still strong, but they went into hiding and worked under the human world like the rest of us. When we were at war with the werewolves, they owned the entire region. It took me four hundred years to convince werecats to move back into the region, and even now, I have to keep them from going too close to the wolves.”
The sense of scale I was confronted with almost scared me. It would have if I didn’t go into a blind rage every time I thought of my niece. I held onto that anger. I needed the rage.
“So, what else do you know about the pack?”
“I’ll text you coordinates where to meet me. They’ll probably fly directly into their compound, which puts you behind. Fly to Tokyo and pick up Hisao’s jet. It’s small, and I have a runway at one of my homes that can support it. I’ll meet you there. Hisao can fly, so don’t worry about needing a pilot.”
“Perfect. What’s the travel time?”
“From Tokyo to me will be eight hours. I don’t know how long from where you are…” I heard fingers on a keyboard. “If you leave out of Rochester, it’s fifteen hours to Tokyo, including layovers…There’s a flight you need, leaving in an hour. Talk to me when you get to Tokyo. I need to get moving if I want to meet you and Hisao at my runway.”
“Thank you,” I said, grateful for such a supportive family. If it weren’t for that, Gwen and I would have to take the deal from Sergey and hope he wasn’t lying. Thanks to Mischa, I could do what I needed to do.
“Never forget, I would do anything for you. No thanks required, little sister,” she said softly, then hung up.
I won’t.
I shoved my phone away and ran inside to find Heath and Gwen. They were looking at flights when I caught them at a kiosk.
“We need a route to Tokyo. Mischa says there’s something leaving in an hour…” I looked at the flights as Heath pulled out his phone and started searching.
“Did she give a total travel time?” he asked.
“Something like fifteen hours.”
“Then we’re flying to Chicago first, then to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. That’ll have to do.”
“What am I buying?” Gwen demanded.
“You aren’t paying. Move.” I gestured for her to step aside, which thankfully, she did. I found three tickets for the next flight to O’Hare and bought them all. It was still early in the morning, and I jumped on the chance to grab the seats in the empty first class. The flight was just over an hour and would most likely be empty.
“Heath, buy our flights to Tokyo. Gwen, do you have a passport?”
“Yeah. I keep it on me…”
“Good.” I grabbed my go-bag off the cart Heath had found and looked through it, making sure I had one of mine—specifically, one that matched the credit cards I was using. “Heath, is anyone going to give you any trouble for leaving the country?”
He looked up from his phone. “Like who?”
“The BSA, the NAWC? CPS?” I rattled off every acronym involved in his life.
“No.” He shook his head. “I invest my money all over the world, and before moving into your territory, frequently traveled by myself. The NAWC will find it odd I’m on an international flight with you, but they won’t ask. Not immediately, anyway. You worry about you and your sister. I’ll worry about the other werewolves.”
But I want to worry about you. You’re my werewolf. You’re only here because I am, and that means so much to me. Let me worry about you.
I kept my eyes on him, wishing I could say what I was thinking, but I couldn’t. It was too public, too possible for a supernatural who might catch our scents or recognize us.
Tickets bought, we all raced through security. We would be separated on the flight to Tokyo, but we would at least get first-class together to Chicago.
I was never someone who enjoyed long flights. There was a reason I never offered or considered visiting my siblings or Hasan once I moved into my own territory. Even as a human, I tolerated flying just to see new places and enjoy a vacation on the rare occasion. As a werecat, they made me itchy. I was getting better each time I got on a plane, but there was something to say about being wealthy. An empty plane was much more relaxing than a crowded one.
After the short flight to Chicago, we quickly found our flight to Tokyo. I didn’t ask about our guns, knowing they had been left behind in Rochester. That didn’t worry me because both Hisao and Mischa would have small arsenals in their territories.
We didn’t speak at all as we got onto the second flight and found our seats, barely able to see each other over the heads of all the humans around us. I looked for my sister, making sure she found a good spot. I was grateful we had time in Rochester to let her wash out her hair and get some of the noticeable blood off her. It was something I hadn’t thought about, but Heath had. Now on the second flight, I wished I had let her do more in her own home, like take a proper shower, grab several changes of clothes, and more.
While my sister was behind me, Heath was toward the front of the plane. He had picked the seat, so he could smell any supernaturals coming onto the plane in case someone came after us. He’d be able to warn Gwen and me before there was any chance of an enemy reaching us.
My phone dinged, and I checked it, trying to block the screen from the person beside me.
Heath: Wish we could sit together. I can smell you up here.
I chuckled softly, shaking my head as a small smile formed.
Jacky: After the night and morning we’ve had, you pick right now to try to be cute?
Heath: We’re stuck on a plane. We have a moment to breathe. There’s nothing we can do for anyone until we get to your siblings.
My smile grew a little more. I was lucky enough to get a window seat, so I could lean on the side. It wasn’t the most practical seating for safety or danger, but I liked it.
Jacky: Thank you for sticking with me. I couldn’t do it without you. I hope this doesn’t blow back on Carey or Landon.
Heath: Leaving you to do this on your own wasn’t and will never be an option for me.
I played with my phone, then put it away as the plane started to move. He was so committed, and I didn’t understand why. He had a family to protect, a reputation, and he was walking a dangerous road, betraying his own species by helping me. Sure, the North American Werewolf Council had given him the token job of working with me when the need arose, but I was pretty certain they never intended it to go this way.
As the plane took off, I looked back at my sister again, making sure she was okay. Pale, she gave me a thumbs up from the back of the cabin. I knew she hated flying even more than me. We didn’t grow up traveling
the world, and our first flights were in undergraduate school when we went abroad for a week. We went together, but nearly twenty other students had gone on the trip, so we spent most of it hanging out with our own friends. Instead of a normal spring break, we were in Spain on a field trip and ignored each other.
I couldn’t remember the fight we’d had that time. It felt like we had always been fighting back then.
An hour into the flight, I pulled my phone back out and took it off airplane mode. I looked at Heath’s texts, trying to take my mind off my sister.
Jacky: Why?
He didn’t answer immediately. I looked up to see him looking back at me, a frown on his face, his head tilted to the side in confusion. When he turned away, I knew to expect an answer and looked back down at my phone, hoping he could explain.
Heath: Your sister admitted to what she did, yet you told me to go because you worried about my family. Your family has been taken, and you’re still worried about my family. You’ve always considered the safety of my children and helped me protect them.
You’ve taken risk after risk for me. You’ve tried to give your life for Carey on more than one occasion. You are selflessly driven to do good things and fight for what you love and for what you think is right. It’s my honor to help you.
I’m not in the business of breaking my honor by abandoning you to protect your own family.
I held my phone to my chest after reading those words. He was too good a man, Heath Everson. He was going to get himself hurt, and it was going to be my fault. When my phone buzzed on my chest, I pulled it back down.
Heath: And why the hell would I leave a woman to fight on her own when I want to be with her? You convinced me to make that stupid decision before, and it’s never going to happen again. I care about you, and there’s no reason for you to be alone anymore.
My thumbs hovered over the keyboard. How did I reply to any of that? The words touched me and terrified me. I typed out something and stared at it without hitting send.
I care about you too.
Then I deleted it and tried again.
I’m grateful to have you in my life.
Delete. Type. Delete. I didn’t know what to say. After long enough, I put the phone down.
I could have done a number of things to pass the time. I could have tried to contact Sergey about my family, but I didn’t want to antagonize him. He gave me seventy-two hours of safety before I had to make a decision. If I called him just to try to talk around his options, he would know I was planning something, and the timeline could accelerate. I knew why he wanted seventy-two hours, or I could reasonably guess. He was also on a plane, heading for Russia, and it would take some time for him to handle pack business once he landed. He knew we would follow him because he could dictate the meeting area and held the more valuable bargaining chip.
I didn’t know why I felt so confident in my judgment about Sergey. Something about him seemed just as human as anyone I went to school with. His behavior was logical, I could make sense of it. Just like I could look back at Lani and make sense of her.
“You were always good at this.”
“Good at what?”
“People.”
Was I? I leaned back in my seat and opened my window shade to stare at the clouds. It was a long flight, and I had time to think.
20
Chapter Twenty
This was my first time in Japan. As the plane landed, I wished I could enjoy it. I wished I was on a family visit to see my enigmatic assassin brother.
Regretfully, that wasn’t the case.
I yawned as the plane taxied to its terminal. I had slept on the flight, unable to keep my eyes open after a very long night and morning. I had been lulled into it, and when I woke up, I was grateful to get some sleep while I had the chance.
Heath didn’t text me again, and Gwen couldn’t since I still had her phone, which was blissfully quiet during the flight. Sergey hadn’t reached out, something I was going to take as a good sign for the moment. I had to trust the new Alpha to protect my family from the troubles in his pack. If he let them get hurt, his ability to bargain was gone, and I would make it my personal goal to destroy the entire pack. He seemed like a smart werewolf, so I was certain he knew that was the case.
It took thirty minutes, but I was eventually able to get off the plane and meet Heath at the end of the ramp. Gwen wasn’t far behind me.
“Where do we go now?” she asked, looking around. “I’ve never been to Japan before.”
“Neither have I,” I said, also searching the surrounding airport.
“Let’s go to baggage claim. Maybe Hisao is waiting for us there,” Heath said, grabbing Gwen’s elbow and leading her. I followed, trying not to stare at where he touched her. It wasn’t a danger thing—it was a jealousy thing. He could touch her in public, and no one would blink an eye. She was human.
I scanned the crowds. From what the pilot said, it was nearly three in the afternoon. What made that hard to deal with? It wasn’t the same day we left Chicago. What had been a Saturday morning takeoff was a Sunday afternoon landing, and apparently, Sunday afternoon at this airport was insanely busy.
I caught his scent before I saw him and noticed the moment Heath caught it as well. With the crowd, we were both struggling.
It’s probably easier for me. He’s probably overloaded with scents right now.
Hisao wasn’t the tallest man, but when I saw him, I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. His severe gaze caught mine, and that relief left me as fleetingly as it had come.
“Here,” I told my group and started walking, weaving through the crowd to my brother. He didn’t move a muscle as I walked toward him. Once I was right in front of him, his eyes left mine, and he looked over at Heath and Gwen behind me.
“Mischa told me what’s going on.” His words were curt. “Let’s go. I’ve prepared the jet—no need to wait. We can take off in two hours. We’ll wait on the plane.”
He turned on his heel and walked away. I reached back and grabbed my sister’s hand, keeping her close. Heath took the back of the group, and we followed Hisao into the depths of the airport, past security checkpoints not meant for passengers. He didn’t look back, talking in Japanese to the staff as he walked. When he gestured back at us, I could only guess he was telling them we were with him.
These people knew him, which made me wonder how often he took the jet. I was privileged to be Changed by an insanely old, wealthy family. From my knowledge, the family owned three private jets. One was maintained by Zuri and Jabari, who used it to hop between their territories in Africa. One was kept here in Japan by Hisao. The last was in Western Europe, shared by Davor and Niko. Hasan rarely left his island by human means, and I had never felt comfortable with the wealth I had, preferring a simple life. Mischa was the enigma. I assumed she didn’t have one because of her lifestyle, roaming the continent like she couldn’t stop her feet.
“Get on,” Hisao ordered in a soft growl when we came to the small jet in the hangar. I jogged up the steps, looking back to make sure my sister and Heath were following. Hisao came up the stairs last and locked us in.
The private jet was simple, understated, luxurious, but not ostentatious. Something about that bothered me. I was expecting more. This was my first time on one of the family’s jets.
“Do you have the evidence Mischa mentioned?” my brother asked, looking down at me as I found a seat.
“Yeah. I was thinking I would go through it while we were flying. Not all of it has to do with the werewolves, so we need to figure out what to do with the rest.”
“Of course. Father might not approve, but there could be something we can keep in the family to use at a later time.”
“Why? He’s got spies,” I said with a snort.
“He won’t approve how you got this information,” he said, sitting across a table from me. Looking away, he eyed Heath. “How did you get pulled into this? Her twin killed someone. That had nothing to do with you.�
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“When we first learned something happened, we hoped I would be able to keep violence from happening between Jacky and the pack. I know Sergey and a few others from the Russian werewolf pack. If I don’t know them personally, I’ve read the files kept on them by the North American Werewolf Council. My son has probably met them, and I can call him.”
“We were hoping this wouldn’t become a huge deal,” I said softly. “We were hoping we could keep Gwen in secret, but then those fucking werewolves killed a girl and…” I shook my head, thinking about how we found ourselves at this point. “They don’t know Gwen killed their Alpha—they can’t—but they do know she was with Sarah, trying to expose the abhorrent shit the pack was doing to their females and submissives. That’s what they’re angry about.”
“How did they find out?” Hisao asked, watching me again.
“Sarah played her hand and tried to dictate the terms of the agreement with the Russians in Minnesota. She was an idiot—”
“Jacky!” Gwen’s insulted, hurt shout echoed in my ears. Hisao didn’t speak loudly, so in comparison, Gwen sounded like she was screaming through a megaphone.
“She was,” Hisao agreed. “Humans don’t dictate terms to us. We’re more powerful in every way. We also have more at stake.”
Well, I wasn’t going to go that far, Hisao. Shit. I was just going to say she obviously had no experience with negotiating. Hell, even I made a couple of mistakes talking to Sergey.
“Bullshit,” Gwen muttered.
“Please, tell me your viewpoint,” Hisao said, looking past me. I heard my sister’s heartbeat speed up. She was close enough, I caught the hitch in her breathing. She probably hadn’t expected Hisao to call her out.