by K. N. Banet
“Fae are known to meddle if they feel it might benefit them down the road. They walk roads we can’t understand, and some of them are known to see the future,” Hasan explained carefully. “What was the gift?”
“Pack magic,” I whispered. “I can communicate like a werewolf while in my werecat form.”
“Oh.” His eyes went wide. Others in the family weren’t much different. “And you’ve had this for…several months now.”
“Yeah. Only a few trustworthy people knew before Jabari, and that was because I used it while we were rescuing Carey. They’ve kept it quiet, and I don’t have much reason to use it. I figured…if it got out, it would be bad. They all agreed with me.” I could name those people on one hand. The only people alive who knew about the gift were Heath, Landon, Carey, and Tywin, the current alpha in Dallas.
“If a wolf pack you didn’t trust learned that, they would hunt you down,” Niko said plainly. “We’ll keep it a secret, but that’s really useful. Really useful. Hasan, the ways we could—”
“We’ll discuss it another time. Did it help you deal with the vampires?” He was leaning on a hand now, much like The Thinker.
“Yeah. It just made communication easier. It’s not like I am suddenly a superhero or anything. Being able to talk in werecat form is useful.” I shrugged. “Should have told you sooner, Hasan. Sorry.”
“You live and learn,” he said, dismissing my apology and forgiving me at the same time. “Who was the fae?”
“Nope. Not telling you that. Don’t need or want anyone tracking him down. He might remember he gave it to me, and I might suddenly owe him something.”
That made half of them laugh, including Hasan.
Before I could continue, Jabari was out of the bathroom and clean. I narrowed my eyes on him.
“Really? You were in there like…five minutes.”
“I don’t need an hour to get clean,” he retorted. “Move over so they can also see me.”
“Put some fucking clothes on!” I yelled, pushing him away before he could sit down. “And actually dry off! Don’t get my shit wet, asshole!”
Jabari backed away, his hands up. He went to get a towel, dried off as I asked, and put on some clothes. When he came back, I moved my chair over and let him bring the second chair around to sit next to me. The entire time this was happening, our siblings either sat with horror on their faces or snickered, nearly an even split between the two. Hasan just had an indulgent smile on his face.
Right as Jabari sat down, there was a knock on the door, and I sighed.
“Let me get that. It’s probably Heath.”
I jumped up before any of them could say otherwise and went to the door. I was right. When I opened it, there was Heath, still dirty from the forest, the rain, and mud.
“Hey,” I said softly, leaning on the door frame. I had missed him a little, realizing it as I saw his tired grey-blue eyes. He felt sane compared to the ones I left on the video call.
“Hey. I just wanted to let you know I got in safely. I’m going to shower and order some room service. Want to join me? Some real peace and quiet while I give you an update on what Geoffrey wants?”
I glanced back at Jabari, watching over the top of the laptop, listening to our siblings talk about the last couple of weeks. When I turned back to Heath, his eyes had narrowed, and he was looking over me at Jabari.
“Yeah, I’ll come over. Just knock on the dividing door when you’re ready.”
“Thank you.”
I closed the door as he walked to his own. I didn’t sit next to Jabari on the call, lying out on my bed instead, trying to stretch tired muscles.
Jabari and the family talked about what they thought was the best course of action to reprimand the Master of the Seattle nest. There was a chance that could go sideways, but I only half listened. He would probably drill me on it repeatedly before we went.
When Heath knocked on the dividing door, I jumped up and ran out of the room.
29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I felt at home sitting at his table, watching him sigh in exhaustion as we waited on food to arrive. On his way back to the hotel, he’d bought a case of cheap beer, which made me laugh, but I totally took one.
Jabari better not give me shit when I go back over there. I fucking earned getting a little tipsy before passing out.
“Have you called Carey and Landon yet?” I asked as I cracked it open.
“No. I had Geoffrey send them a message I was safe as I flew in with Carter, but I haven’t slowed down enough to call them yet. I don’t want to be yelled at.”
I looked over my shoulder and sighed. “Yeah, I took a long shower, so Jabari had to deal with the brunt of Hasan’s anger. I’m sure he’ll remember that he hasn’t yelled at me soon and demand my presence, but I’m safe for now as they discuss the last couple of things we have to do before we go home.”
“Like?” Heath frowned.
“We’re going to talk to the Seattle vampire nest.”
“Ah, fuck, Geoffrey was mentioning that. He doesn’t want to send his wolves because he doesn’t trust them at all. He wasn’t sure what to do about them.”
“Would you like to represent him and come with us?” I asked, sipping on the beer.
He shrugged. “Let me text him and see if that works for him.” He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to the Seattle Alpha. His phone dinged immediately with a reply. “That’s an affirmative. He would love an outside wolf to go represent him.”
“Doesn’t it make him look weak?” I leaned back in my seat, kicking my feet out.
“Sure, but his wolves are all wary now. After I debriefed him, his inner circle passed the news. He’s going to keep it from going to violence by imposing a ban on seeing vampires until tempers cool. If one of his pack went, there would be a fight, and that makes him look stupid. I’m a safer bet since none of my wolves died,” he growled softly.
“Carter. That’s our living wolf’s name?”
“Yeah. He should survive. They put a feeding tube in him and half a dozen IVs. He didn’t have any major organ failure, but his body was eating away at his muscles. He’ll be in rehabilitation for months. I’ve never seen a werewolf that starved, and it was only a month.”
“A month where a naturally high metabolism body was also being depleted of his blood at a rate that would have killed most things,” I reminded him. “As an EMT, I would have rushed him to a hospital, but where we were made that impossible, and we had things to finish. Once we were in the car, I kept an eye on his vitals, but it was all I could do.”
“I figured that’s why you sat in the back with an unknown werewolf,” he said, smiling a little. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” I murmured, pulling my beer to my chest, a little uncomfortable. “Right now, the plan is we take a day to eat, rest, and heal. Tomorrow night, we’ll go to the nest and handle it, then leave in the morning.”
“Good. Only two more nights until we get to go home.”
We get to go home. We. I smiled at him.
“I miss Carey. Call her before the food arrives. I’ll answer the door.” I slapped the table a couple of times to rush him. He chuckled and started dialing while I waited impatiently. It only had to ring once.
“DAD!” she screamed. “Dad, you’re okay! We were so worried!”
“Hey, baby girl!” he said happily. “I’m fine. I’m safe. A little bruised and cut, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“You promised everything would be fine! That you would be back before the end of the weekend and…” I heard her sniff, and my heart broke a little. “You promised.” Another sniff and I knew she was crying.
“I know. I did promise,” he consoled her gently. “This is life sometimes, baby girl. It’s going to be okay. We’re only going to be here for two more nights, then we can come home, and everything will go back to normal.”
I hadn’t told him Jabari was planning on following us home for a short time
, so I let him keep that delusion for the moment. I would break it to him after we finished our business in Seattle. No reason to piss him off unnecessarily when we had shit to do.
“And where’s Jacky?” she demanded. “She promised not to get hurt too! Landon couldn’t tell me anything!”
“Where is your brother?” he asked softly. “And Jacky is fine, she’s right next to me. We’re waiting on dinner.”
“I’m behind her. She grabbed the phone before I could.” I snickered at Landon’s annoyed voice. “Are you really well?”
“I am and should remain so.” He eye-balled me hard as he said that. “But I would like to talk to you about business when you send Carey to bed.”
“Dad! Let me talk to Jacky, at least! I’ve been so worried!”
He held the phone out to me, sighing heavily and dramatically—the man who was jealous of his daughter’s best friend. I took the phone with a smile.
“Hey, Carey,” I greeted happily, not the fake cheerfulness I had used on my werecat family. The joy was genuine for her—always.
“Are you really okay?” she asked softly, the worry in her voice making me feel loved.
“I am, kiddo. It was messy, but we did it. No, we’re not going to give you the details.”
“Was it bad?” She was so quiet.
“It was pretty bad,” I answered. “But we’re all okay.”
“Good. I guess I should let Dad and Landon talk now that I know you’re both okay, huh?”
“That might be good. Don’t worry, we’ll catch up when we get back. You might be interested in something when I get home.” I eyed Heath, who gave me a narrowed-eyed stare.
Oh, that makes you curious, wolf? Wait until you find out I’m talking about introducing her to Jabari.
“Good night, Jacky.”
“Good night, Carey.”
I handed the phone back to Heath, and he told her good night as well, then launched into an explanation of the last few days to his son and what we were planning next. When room service knocked, I got it and separated our food out, the same order we had last time. I heard another knock right after, and Jabari received his own food.
I started eating and tuned out Landon and Heath, focusing on Jabari alone in my room. Oddly, I heard my siblings still, meaning the family meeting wasn’t actually done yet.
“Where is she? Why are you eating alone?” Zuri asked, her voice a little tight.
“She’s having dinner with Heath and talking to his family. He’ll be going with us to the nest tomorrow night, it seems.”
The walls were so thin. I didn’t think Heath could hear as well as I could, but I figured it was common knowledge among the group now that nothing said was secret. Maybe Jabari thought I was too preoccupied to listen to him because he continued.
“Heath is protective of her. She’s very protective of his daughter. It’s not normal. I’ve never seen a friendship quite like it before, but they trust each other beyond measure.”
“Interesting. I figured it would be a phase, and they would go their separate ways, eventually.” Hasan sighed. “She’s treading ground none of us have before, allying with a werewolf so closely.”
“She is. After I was Changed, none of them would accept me, and I tried.” Niko that time.
“Is it appropriate? She’s a member of this family. It’s funny to tease her about it, but she’s eating with him and not Jabari.”
“He understands her better than I do,” Jabari admitted. “Much better than me. She’s probably spent more time with him than I ever did with her. It’s really our fault. We neglected her, and now, we must suffer the consequences.”
“Everyone calls Niko the traitor,” Davor mumbled. “I wouldn’t even protect a wolf’s kid—”
“Davor, I swear on everything I am, if you do not stop, I will come, claim your territory, drag you home, and reeducate you,” Hasan snapped. “She isn’t Liza. She doesn’t try to be Liza. You must stop hating Jacky for something out of her control.”
“No, she has more backbone than Liza,” Jabari said. “She’s tough when she needs to be and righteously angry when it’s called for. Not what I was expecting. Not the naïve girl I thought she was, just still learning.”
“Now you’re on her side,” Hisao pointed out with a bit of bitterness I didn’t expect. “I should have been out there with you.”
“It would have gone smoother, yes, but she was effective and followed orders. No reason to be angry at how it went.” Jabari paused, and no one cut in. “She said I was heartless.”
“Excuse me?” Zuri sounded offended, the precursor to a rant.
“She was angry,” he said before his twin could continue. “And she was correct, in a way. We were all callous about the death of her human fiancé. We’ve all lost people and learned the hardships of this world over the centuries. We never gave her the chance to grow and learn. We expected her to be like us immediately, and she wasn’t, so we thought she was a failure.”
I finished my food and walked to the dividing door. Heath frowned at me as I sat down, my ear angled at it to hear better.
I didn’t want him to see the tears in my eyes.
The silence stretched out before one of them sighed. Another coughed for a moment.
“And there’s one last thing I wanted to discuss before letting you go for the evening.”
“Please, Jabari, then yes, you need to rest.” Hasan was back in concerned father mode.
“Have you ever encountered someone who can block the emotional currents of their scent? Heath Everson’s scent tells one nothing about his emotional state. You can smell the powerful Alpha, his age and sex, but if his face is angry, his scent won’t be. When he shows you nothing, there is nothing to get.”
My heart thudded. This was about Heath. I wasn’t the only person who noticed the intense control my werewolf had over his emotions and scent.
“No, but considering how the body works, those scents should be uncontrollable,” Hasan said, thoughtfully. I heard a weird tapping sound, realizing that must have been him tapping his desk. “Some werewolf lines have Talents much like werecats. It could be possible that’s his, and he doesn’t announce it like I don’t announce mine, and Zuri doesn’t announce her own. I wonder if any of his children picked up the ability.”
“None of us have picked up your Talent, so I wouldn’t put much hope on the werewolves passing along theirs any more successfully. I’ll do some research,” Zuri told everyone professionally. “If that’s all, I’m heading off. Jabari, stay safe dealing with the vampires tomorrow. I’ll wait at Father’s for you after you’re done helping Jacky with the runes of power.”
“Thank you, sister.”
There were goodbyes, and I was left listening to Jabari pull out the mattress in the couch. Heath was watching me, his conversation with Landon finished.
“It’s time to get some sleep,” I said, yawning to punctuate the point.
“Do you want to stay over here?” he asked softly. “You can have my bed.”
I almost said yes. He was more comfortable than Jabari and the family. We fought and nearly died together more than once now.
“No. I’m going back to my own bed,” I said with a yawn. “Good night, Heath.”
“Good night, Jacky,” he replied, his eyes never leaving me as I left the room. I felt that gaze burning into my skin long after I closed the doors between our rooms.
Jabari said nothing from his bed, and I slid into mine without bothering him.
Finally, we were all asleep in relative safety with one last thing to finish up before leaving for home.
30
Chapter Thirty
The day was spent making sure we all had something decent to wear to the nest. For Heath and me, that was easy. We had both brought extra clean clothing and had nice enough outfits for a small political affair. I didn’t have a dress or anything, but I wouldn’t wear one of those into a vampire nest, anyway. Clean black slacks and a professional blouse
worked and allowed for movement in case something happened. Heath went with a black suit I couldn’t help but admit looked dashing on him. Jabari had to run out and find something, unprepared for a political affair, but he was ready by the time we had to go.
We loaded up into Jabari’s SUV, and he drove the winding roads of Seattle. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but we left downtown and stopped at a mansion that had an amazing view of the Puget Sound on one side and a beautiful forest on the other. I had no idea where we were, but it was a place I wouldn’t mind living if it weren’t for the vampires I knew were inside.
“This is it,” he announced. “They’re expecting us. Jacky, what did I tell you?”
“Don’t make eye contact with anyone except the Master for long periods of time. Don’t allow any of them close enough to bite me. Growling, snarling, and hissing are frowned upon but not offenses they can call me out for. None of these vampires will be juiced or riding death highs, so we can easily defeat them if it comes to it. If they threaten our lives, we threaten them with our family and complete annihilation.”
“Good.” He nodded once, satisfied with that. “Heath, all of that also goes for you as well.”
“The North America Werewolf Council briefed me earlier today. I’m allowed to push the Council coming down on the nest if it’s needed. They are also already talking to the vampires of the Tribunal about possible charges being pressed.” Heath yawned, seemingly unworried.
“Hasan is also already beginning discussions with them,” Jabari said. “Good. That means we’re a united front. A first for our kinds.”
Yay! Look, the big boys in the sand box can play together!
I snorted at my thoughts, and we all left the vehicle. Night had fallen a few short hours before, and together, we went to the front door and knocked.
I was kept in the middle of the two men, holding a black bag containing the heads. We had gone over this as well. While I might be stronger than Heath because I was a werecat, neither of the men wanted me in the vulnerable position of flanking another. It also put me in the talking position, something Jabari wanted to ‘test my political skills,’ promising to help if needed.