“How is he?”
She smiled, but it was a little tight and strained. “I think he’s better… a little.” She fussed with the watch on her wrist. “Sometimes when he watches TV, he laughs and seems to enjoy himself. He’s upstairs in his room.”
George glanced up the stairs. “Has the new alpha come by… or done anything?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m not even sure he knows Nathan exists. Not that he could do anything anyway.”
“You never know. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. He’s not like Victor was. So they say, anyway.” They were saying a lot of stuff about the new alpha. And really, even if there was nothing he could do, what was the harm in asking?
“I don’t know. Since the accident I just haven’t tried to get involved with that stuff. I was stupid once. I don’t intend on repeating myself.” She shook herself and smiled. “Go on up. I’ll make you something to drink. Tea? Coffee? I think I have some lemonade.”
“Lemonade would be great, thanks,” he said.
He took a deep breath and stared up the staircase a moment. It was hard coming back here in some ways. So many memories, both good and bad.
He made his way up the stairs and knocked on the bedroom door, still painted black from their teenage years. There was no response, but he didn’t expect one. He opened the door a crack and peeked inside.
The room was still painted black as well, with posters of the TARDIS and more than a few of the Doctor’s hot companions. Band posters and a big TV were hung on the wall.
Nathan was staring at it from his bed, his face slack, making it impossible to tell if he was actually watching TV or not.
He hadn’t changed since the last time George visited. He had gotten a little thinner, maybe, but the accident, as his mother called it, left him little more than a shell of the young man he once was.
“Hey, Nathan,” George greeted and stepped into the room.
Nathan turned and stared at him, blinked a few times, and turned back to the TV. His heart sank a bit, and he wondered if Nathan even recognized him.
He forced a smile and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “It’s Georgie, Nathan. You remember me?”
The TV blared a commercial about some cleaning product, but he seemed to be giving it his full attention.
“Georgie Porgie,” Nathan whispered after a long moment. He smiled, but his eyes were still focused on the screen.
His voice was slurred a bit and very slow, as if he had difficulty pronouncing the words and he had serious motor skill issues. Getting him help was even more difficult. He wasn’t human, and taking him to any doctor but a shifter or stray was out of the question. And those who were around were expensive and hard to find.
George frowned. “What are you watching?”
“A car show.” Nathan’s eyes remained transfixed on the TV.
“Is it good?”
“Cars are nice. Go fast,” Nathan said softly.
George nodded and watched the show host explain something about his shop. “Do you remember me, Nathan?”
“Yes. You ’ere gone. Gone long, Georgie,” he said slowly as he tried to pronounce the words without a slur.
“I told you I would be.”
“Okay,” Nathan said and continued watching his show.
George tried several times to get him to talk, asking about his show and his favorite cars, but he didn’t seem like he was in the mood, or maybe just didn’t want to struggle to speak.
“I’m going to be around for a little while.” George ran his hands over the blanket beside him, smoothing out the wrinkles. “I can come by and visit again.”
“Yeah,” Nathan said.
George wasn’t sure if that was a yes to come visit or just acknowledging what he had said. He scrubbed his hands over his face and waited, hoping for something more, but Nathan just kept staring.
He patted Nathan on the shoulder and smiled. “I’ll bring you some manga tomorrow, okay? I brought a bunch from Vegas but forgot them at the hotel.”
Nathan smiled and pulled his eyes away from the TV to look at him. “Not crap ones?”
George smirked. “Dude, I got you covered, man. You might not want to show some of these to your mom.”
Nathan grinned. “Cool! Come tomorrow?”
“You bet.” George got to his feet and went back downstairs.
Mrs. Sawyer had a glass of lemonade waiting for him and looked up at him uneasily. “How was he?”
George shrugged. “He seemed really into his car show until I mentioned the manga I have for him. I’ll bring them by tomorrow.” He sipped the drink and sighed. “I’m gonna look into a few things while I’m here—”
She shot him a stern look. “Look, I know that you’re probably still hunting. It might not be a good idea to cause trouble.”
“I don’t hunt because I’m angry or vengeful. I hunt because I remember what happened to Nathan. It was so bad. You don’t even know—” George broke off. Old pains stabbed at him, and he shook his head, shoving the memories back into the past where they belonged. “It hit him late, but it hit him hard. There was nothing I could do. If you think he’s bad now—” He ran his hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. “The madness is so much worse. The things he did…. He wasn’t Nathan. He was something else. At least now he’s sort of Nathan again.”
Mrs. Sawyer said nothing and stared out the window, her eyes distant and unfocused.
He set down his lemonade and tossed her a weak smile. “I gotta go. I’ll be back tomorrow, if you don’t mind.”
She nodded. “That’s fine. Nathan will like the company.”
“Have a good day, Mrs. Sawyer.”
“You too, Georgie,” she said and started upstairs to check on Nathan.
George saw himself out and picked his way through the city.
All homesickness aside, he was here for a reason. The whispers about the new alpha here were encouraging, and though Mrs. Sawyer had little faith in any shifter these days, George thought he was Nathan’s only chance at getting help. If there was help to give, the alpha would know, and George had found something he was sure would get him at least an audience with the big man himself.
3. The Hunter
THE SIGHTS and scents of the city sprawled out around him as Dante frowned down at the list of things Ivory sent him. Cory and Kip were shouting back and forth in the back of the SUV like a pair of squabbling cubs, and River was pissed off at them both and refusing to get into the car.
“For the love of Creation, stop it!” Dante snarled and spun around to glare at the two youths. “I’m sick of this stupid bickering. If you two don’t start acting like brothers, I’ll tie your tails together until you do.”
The car fell silent, and Dante caught River shooting them a smug look from just outside the car.
“And you,” he snapped at her. “Get in this damn car.”
She winced and scurried to get inside.
Dante climbed out of the car and gave all three of them a hard look from the front window. “You three had better settle yourselves right now. I won’t have this shit on the way home. Understood? You’ll be walking home if I hear one more problem out of any of you.”
The trio nodded mutely.
Dante shot them one final warning look before stepping away from the car beside Trevor. “Remind me not to take all three of them out again without muzzles handy.”
Trevor chuckled. “They’re just feeling caged up. A run would do them some good.”
“For them and me both. The city always does it to me.”
He was just glad his pack was back to normal. The winter had been long and exhausting. It had taken weeks for the pack to settle after the attack, and then they had all gone through a bout of the phase. The sickness had made everyone testy. But things were good now that the common shifter illness had passed and he intended to keep them that way.
Dante glanced down at his phone. “Ivory wants me to pick up some things for the green room.”
<
br /> Trevor frowned. “She’s still avoiding Michael during her heats?”
Dante shrugged. “I’m not worried about it. I understand why she doesn’t want cubs right now. Michael’s fine as my current heir. I don’t need cubs anytime soon. The ones I have are just fine.”
He double-checked his phone for the list Ivory sent him. He could get most of the items at the drugstore across the street and hopefully not have to make a dozen stops on the way home.
“Hunter,” Trevor said suddenly and nodded across the street.
Dante turned and followed Trevor’s gaze. A young man stood in the display window inside of the bookstore beside the drugstore. His thick black hair was cut short and round features hinted at Asian heritage. He was young for a human. Lloyd mentioned a hunter had come back to Boulder, though no one was sure why.
Before Dante took over the pack, Victor’s dislike of strays had hunters coming and going without any real protection for the stray who kept a low profile. If strays disappeared, he didn’t care so long as hunters stayed away from his pack. Policies had changed since Dante took over.
Dante grimaced. A young hunter, that couldn’t be good. Possibly extremely dangerous for his strays; it just depended on what kind of hunter he was.
He crossed the street and pushed open the door to the bookstore.
The young man smiled at him. “Hi,” he greeted.
Dante had to admit it irked him a bit to be greeted so informally. He wasn’t usually so easily annoyed, but this one knew better, and if he didn’t, that was a problem.
“Hello.” Dante eyed the hunter cautiously. “Do we need to have a discussion?”
“I’m always open for discussions,” the hunter said and flashed him a smile. “I’m George.”
Dante inclined his head. “Good day, George. You’re in my territory and not needed here.”
“Oh, I know that. I was just curious and happened to be in the area. Boulder doesn’t have any problems. You run a tight ship.”
Dante wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not. “Then your reason for being here is?”
George hesitated. “I thought we could talk.”
Dante eyed him suspiciously. “Concerning?”
“A private matter.”
Dante frowned and glanced around the store to be sure they weren’t being overheard. “If this isn’t about any… trouble, I really don’t have time for it. You’re taking time out of my very tight schedule as it is.”
“What if I said I found something you might be interested in? Something… new. Would you have time for me then?” The hunter flashed him an easy smile. “Lots of rumors going around. I didn’t really believe them until recently.”
Dante stared at him a long moment, sizing the young man up. He didn’t seem capable of handling something like a hybrid, if that was what he had found.
“It’s something new. Something in-between.” George shrugged and twirled a lighter in his hands. “Maybe I can show you where it is and you can give me a few minutes of your time to talk a bit.”
Dante wasn’t quite sure what to make of the little hunter, but if he had found a hybrid, maybe he had clues to finding the nest. Since the attack on the pack gathering, that was all he and the other alphas had been doing. Searching for the nest, with few results.
After some discussions with the Nephilim, Odin finally admitted to knowing a bit more about the hybrids, but not enough to give either of them any indication where a nest might be. They agreed that the hybrids were a problem that was not likely to go away anytime soon, and that pooling their resources was their best option.
Odin finally managed to get him an audience with the clans, hoping to get their help taking care of their own business: August’s mysterious Nephilim Mistress, who wasn’t as mysterious anymore, since his talks with Odin. Her name was Eveline, and it seemed she had caused chaos before.
Dante had been working hard to try to find them for the past six months. If the hunter had really found something, he needed to know about it.
Dante hesitated a moment before pulling a card from his pocket and handing it to the hunter. “Call me tonight, and we’ll see how much time I can spare.”
The hunter took the simple white card and tucked it into his pocket. Dante wasn’t sure if a human could actually smell his scent on the cards, but it had his name and a number where he could be reached.
“I’ll talk to you tonight, then.” The hunter flashed him another smile. “Nice meeting you, Alpha Dante.”
Dante watched him go and sighed. Just what he needed: hunters wandering around, scaring his strays. He had worked hard to make sure the city was secure. Countless hours working with Lloyd and the other strays to give them a safe place and help his own territory stay safe. He was not going to be a happy male if that hunter started causing trouble.
Dante stepped out of the bookstore and glanced at Trevor behind him. “Have someone keep an eye on him.”
“They already are. I could have Lloyd escort him from the territory,” Trevor suggested.
“No, I don’t want to put Lloyd in harm’s way. If something goes wrong with the hunter, keep the strays back. We’ll deal with it.”
“All right,” Trevor said and hesitated a moment before speaking. “You know, he could be lying about the hybrid—”
“It doesn’t matter if he is or not. I have to look into it.” Dante rubbed his forehead. “Creation, the last thing I wanted was to leave Michael with problems while I was gone.”
“Michael can handle one little hunter, Dante.”
Dante turned and smiled at Trevor. “I’m not worried about Michael being able to handle the hunter, Trevor. I’m a little more worried about this potential hybrid nearby. It’s been so quiet since the attack on the gathering. Only two attacks and then nothing since. It’s worrying. They’re gearing up for something big. I can feel it.”
It ate at him, the not knowing, and made him nervous to leave. Just over six months had passed since the attack on his pack and five since any attacks at all, but he didn’t have a choice. Odin arranged for this meeting in England, and the major pack gathering was happening almost at the same time in France. He couldn’t go meet with the clan and then not show up for the gathering. That would look bad, and they needed all the help they could get.
He shook the thought away and finished the shopping he needed to do before returning home. He couldn’t let himself worry about it, or he’d drive himself crazy. Fighting to work out the tension building between his shoulder blades, he scrubbed his hands over his face. He needed a run in a bad way. Hopefully he’d be able to squeeze one in before Master Étienne called from France.
Dante’s trip to the major clan meeting and pack gathering in France was growing ever closer, and he felt like all he was doing was scrambling to get things done. Odin was calling him, Angel was calling him, and the pack alphas from France and the States were calling him. He might as well have his phone glued to his ear.
Master Étienne had called while he was on his run. He was supposed to get it cleared to bring Odin and a few other of the Nephilim to the gathering, but that was turning into a monster of a problem. No one liked the idea of Nephilim at the gathering. He couldn’t blame them, but this problem was far bigger than just the packs.
Dante stepped outside onto the back patio with his phone pinned between his shoulder and ear. Faith, his youngest cub, had a predatory look in her eye and a mischievous twist to her smile as she sat crouched on the picnic table, staring at something on the other side. She crouched farther down, prepping to pounce.
He frowned and peeked around the table to see what she was prowling after. Kent, the eldest of the cubs, was lying half-asleep in a spot of sun, oblivious to his sister’s plan. Quinn, Kent’s twin, was watching them both with a grin, waiting for the inevitable explosion of anger and fighting that was sure to ensue.
She launched herself at Kent, and Dante jumped, snatching her out of the air before she landed on her brothe
r. Quinn looked up at him with surprise and a little disappointment that he hadn’t been able to watch the chaos.
“Stop that,” he whispered. She opened her mouth to speak, and Dante quickly laid a finger over her lips. “I’m on the phone.”
Dante shot Quinn a dark look, and the cub flushed and raced away with his brother Brady to play in the yard.
Jesse chuckled softly, scooped Faith out of Dante’s arms, and carried her well away from her brother out into the backyard. He had grown to be a true part of the pack over these past months, not just his lover and pet. The intimacy of the pet bond through the weave had grown deeper, something he had never experienced before.
Dante’s eyes lingered over his pet as he walked away with the cub. His ashy-brown hair had grown longer and his body much more sculpted with the daily training he had taken up. He could watch that man do absolutely nothing for hours.
“Bonjour, Meute Maître Dante” came a smooth voice in French, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Good day to you too, Master Étienne,” Dante said. “You called earlier?”
“Oui, I would like to know how many you and your Master Angel are bringing. We have room for as many as you bring, but there are rules for the number allowed into the hall. Two only. This is for your other guest as well.”
Dante hesitated. “You realize two people can’t represent the whole of the clans, right?”
“This is true, yes. But this is all the other packs will allow.”
“Two representatives and a guard each?” Dante asked and heard Étienne’s strained pause. “There will be over a hundred packs there. Are we so afraid of them that we can’t give them a bit more? What are they going to do—?”
“Yes—yes, this is the argument I make for you. You may fight when you arrive. The alpha will hear you more than me. There is time to change this for your others.”
“All right.”
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