by K. N. Banet
I glanced at the door, particularly at the windows on either side of it, seeing Heath and Landon each hanging out in one. They could hear her, definitely eavesdropping on the conversation. I narrowed my eyes, and Heath was the first one to notice he’d been caught. I watched him tap Landon, and they moved away from the windows. Once they were gone, I turned my attention back on Carey.
“I can’t imagine how hard it is for you—”
“It’s harder because I don’t have a mom,” she mumbled. “They all notice that, too. It’s whatever, though.”
Yes, you do. It’s not whatever, Carey. I’m right here.
My heart clenched. No. I couldn’t try to fill that role. I wasn’t her mother. I couldn’t be her mother. I could be a fun aunt or a friend, but I wasn’t her mother. The woman who had that responsibility was gone and had never come back. Heath had never lied about it, and she had never reached out to Carey as far as I knew.
Fucking bitch doesn’t know what she’s missing.
“What can I do?” I asked gently, squatting to be on her level. “Do you want me to help out?”
Her eyes went big…very big.
“Do you think you could…come to my school stuff?”
“Um…not parent-teacher conferences—”
“No, like the science fair!” She reached out and hit my arm. I pretended it hurt and rubbed the spot, but in reality, I had barely felt it. “Don’t be dumb. Or like…I want to start playing soccer in school or maybe softball. Or volleyball! I’m human, so they can’t stop me. You could come to my games! Last year, I didn’t do anything because Dad and I didn’t know anyone, and the year before that, I missed like half the school year, but this year, I’m going to do a lot. I’m going into the eighth grade. I need to start worrying about college.”
I tried my best not to be surprised by her ideas of college already. She was thirteen. I didn’t start worrying about college until I was sixteen. Then I remembered my twin. She started worrying about college when she came out of the womb.
If anything, Carey’s a good middle ground.
“I can definitely go to those,” I promised. Then I had to deliver the bad news to her plan. “Carey, it might not help with the fact your dad is a werewolf Alpha. Me showing up…To everyone here, I just own a bar. That might not have the effect you want.”
She shrugged even more. Somehow, only Carey could make one shrug seem even more impactful than the last. It was an entire language done with one simple movement of her shoulders.
“I know I’ll outgrow a lot of this stuff. I’ll get out of school and go to college. Maybe no one will know where I came from or who I’m related to at college.”
Unlikely.
“But maybe they’ll be cool with it if they do know. Right now, it’s just…” She sighed. “I’m fine, I really am, Jacky. It’s always been like this. It sucks, but I’m going to be okay. As long as I have you, Dad, and Landon, and no one is getting hurt, I really like my life, and everyone else sucks. It’s their problem, not mine. That’s what all the other human kids used to say. They said when they got out of high school, it all changed. College was way easier.”
“Okay, then.” I smiled and straightened up, looking to the door. The father in question was back at the window and gave me a weak smile before disappearing again.
Nosy wolf. He’s so protective but tries so hard to give her space.
I somehow got her through the door, and she went toward the kitchen. I turned to see Heath hiding behind the door as I closed it.
“Does she…talk to other kids like her?” I asked softly.
“Regularly,” he said with a tight smile. “She still messages friends she grew up with from the Dallas pack. Once she turned thirteen, I was ordered to create an account on some social media thing for her, so she could talk to them more. She never told you?”
“Nope.” I shrugged this time. “It’s not really my business, though, is it?” I chewed the inside of my lip, something about her having a social media account bothering me. “You monitor her online, right?”
“Me and Landon,” he answered, his tight smile becoming more genuine and relaxed. “Yeah, we would never let her talk to strangers on the internet. We don’t hover, but she knows we know her logins, just to make sure. And when strangers try to add her, we run a quick background check on them just in case, block them from her account, or monitor them other ways.”
“Wow. Okay.” I wasn’t expecting all that. My parents hadn’t monitored my sister and me on the internet. We were a little older when it became available to us, and no one really understood the dangers of it yet. Somehow, I had half-expected Heath not to understand either, though it was a stupid assumption. He wasn’t one of those ancients who was behind the times. He stayed up to date, just like my werecat family, and took advantage of everything new technologies made possible.
“I noticed when I looked into you years ago, your human accounts were still active,” he said slyly. “There are a lot of old pictures of you still on the web.”
“Yeah…” I sighed. “Hasan and I left them because of my human family. If I had suddenly disconnected everything, they would have noticed. Instead, I’ve let them go dead, killing them off slowly through the years. What about you?”
“Hmm, that makes sense.” He nodded slowly, then looked in the direction Carey had run off to. “Landon and I don’t have them. We can because people know what we are and all of that, but it’s never seemed safe when it comes to werewolves, so I had a blanket ban on werewolves in the Dallas pack. Carey is human. Imposing my personal ideas of werewolves and the internet on her didn’t seem fair.”
“Makes sense. Let’s go before they get suspicious.”
“Oh, Landon will keep her busy for however long is necessary,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss me. “He’s got us figured out.”
“Of course he does,” I mumbled, stepping back and heading for the kitchen. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to give you what you want every time you want it.”
The growl I got in response made shivers run down my spine, but I didn’t stop moving. I went into the kitchen and started helping with dinner until Landon stole a spoon from me and silently pointed for me to leave. Carey’s laughter followed me out.
“Come on. We can hang out on the back porch while those two destroy my house,” Heath whispered, leading me away.
“I can never do anything here.” With an eye roll, I obliged, heading into the backyard. As I did, I decided to strike up a normal conversation. It was better than playing with fire while Carey was just inside. “If you don’t mind me asking, how’s the werewolf doing? The female from Russia?” I found my favorite seat on his back porch as he grabbed two drinks from a new mini-fridge. He was obviously setting up his backyard for future barbecues. With who, I had no idea, but he had the entire set up built-in now.
“She passed away Tuesday morning,” he answered, sighing heavily. My gut twisted. That wasn’t the news I had expected. I had been hoping to hear a story about how she was recovering. “Last night, a submissive member of the pack stabbed the Alpha. Silver knife, to the heart, human form. He’s not dead, but he was flown into Mygi for emergency surgery.”
“Shit,” I breathed out. “That’s…”
“Yeah, it’s not looking good for Alpha…” Heath growled softly as he held out the drink. “I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”
“I would never tell my family what you tell me,” I reminded him. “I’m sorry you lost her.” I didn’t reach for the soda, watching him as he finally gave in, put it on the small table between us, and sat down.
“He probably deserved getting that knife,” Heath said, the animalistic growl still in his voice. “That knife should have killed him, but since they could stabilize him and get him to the hospital here in the States, he’ll probably make it. A good surgeon and some magic can fix fucking anything.”
“You hate him,” I whispered. “Heath, did that Alpha kill the female?”
“If he didn’t, he allowed it to happen.” Heath turned his drink around in his hands. “An Alpha sets the tone and pace for the pack. If my pack had seen me hitting Landon to put him into place, they would assume it’s okay for them to hit their werewolf children or possibly any wolf not as dominant. If they saw me hitting Carey? They would hopefully report me to the NAWC, but the bad apples would possibly…”
“Hit their own kids,” I finished, letting a harsh breath out. “And you think the Alpha…”
“The Alpha is not a good man. He never has been. It seems like things are finally boiling over with that pack, and it’s going to destabilize the entire region.”
“Don’t think I don’t notice you won’t tell me his name,” I murmured, narrowing my eyes.
“Don’t think I’m foolish enough to think you would stay out of it,” he replied softly. “You have dangerous siblings, and if you go back to Hisao and say, ‘This Russian werewolf Alpha is abusing his submissive wolves,’ I don’t know what your brother would do. That’s scary.”
I nodded, grabbed my drink, cracked it open, then put it back down, a little frustrated.
“Fine, you’re right. If I thought…He probably wouldn’t. My family doesn’t get into werewolf affairs—”
“No, but you don’t see her as just some werewolf who died, do you?” he asked, pointing at me. “You see a woman who died, and you’re hoping that Alpha doesn’t survive. I don’t blame you. In fact, I respect the hell out of you, Jacky. But you’re a werecat, and we both know how ugly things get when your kind sticks its nose into werewolf affairs. Generally, with you nearly being executed.”
I winced. He was right.
“It sucks,” I mumbled, “that there’s nothing we can do.”
“It’s not our business. The only reason I know what’s going on is I’m still a recognized Alpha, pack or no pack. They’ll keep me up to date because there might come a point…If the Russian pack falls apart, there are a lot of wolves who will need new homes,” he finished, sipping his drink. “I wouldn’t bring them here, but there’s a chance I might need to help some.”
“You don’t sound too upset about that.” He didn’t seem to think of it as a burden or a potential problem, just acknowledged the possibility as if it was Carey coming home with a project from school, a thing that happened.
“I’m not. I would keep them outside your territory, help them recover, then find them a new home. It would be a temporary thing. I don’t want a pack yet, not for another decade, at least. I’m enjoying this life where there aren’t fifty-plus werewolves needing me every moment of the day. For the first time in Carey’s entire life, I’m home when she’s back from school almost every day. I won’t give that up for anyone or anything.” He looked at his drink, took another sip, and smiled. “I won’t give up on this either.” He waved a finger between us. “Bringing in a lot of wolves, starting a new pack…”
“You don’t need to finish that thought. I know.”
A new pack would mean he and I would have to distance ourselves from each other. There would be no more dinners at the Everson household, no more Mondays with Carey, no more stolen kisses when no one was watching. Neither of us wanted to stop whatever it was we were doing, but a full pack of werewolves would make everything too dangerous.
He didn’t continue, and neither did I. We enjoyed our drinks, and I thought about a young female werewolf dying in a hospital. I tried not to, but there was a processing time. I wasn’t sure why it stuck out to me. People died every day, and I had killed my fair share of werewolves, werecats, and vampires, but this one bothered me a lot.
“Is there really nothing the North American werewolves can do?” I asked softly, looking over the backyard. I heard Carey’s pony nicker in the barn, and my eyes flicked to it, instincts immediately perking up. I pushed them aside, ignoring the way my stomach growled. I avoided the horse for this very reason.
“Yes and no. We brought up the female to the Tribunal werewolves. They rule all of us and keep the peace between different councils. If they want to do something about the Russian pack which is way too big for its own good, they will. The European Werewolf Council is closer and might have more sway on the matter, and they have older wolves in that part of the world. Not much older, but older. If there was a need for a hostile takeover, the Tribunal would call on those packs. It would destabilize the entire region, though. A massive pack that covers most of Russia would have to be broken up. Alphas would need to step in and take in all of those wolves and relocate them to new areas or move to Russia.”
None of that sounded pleasant. I was about to say so when the door opened, and Landon stepped out.
8
Chapter Eight
“Lasagna is in the oven, and Carey is coming out to check on the pony. Might want to drop the conversation about Russia,” Landon informed us, grabbing a third chair from beside the house and pulling it closer. Heath and I nodded as Carey walked out, waved at us, then ran to the small barn. We watched her in silence as she disappeared inside.
“There. She won’t be able to hear now,” Landon said softly. “I didn’t know we were okay with telling Jacky about the Russia thing.” He pointed at his father but didn’t seem upset, just curious.
“I’m not going to do anything,” I said, hoping to ease his fears.
“She’s fine,” Heath tried to say at the same time.
“I know. Well, since you and Father are now an item-
“We’re not an item,” I cut in, but my protest was ignored. Heath’s shoulder shook with silent laughter.
“Which I figured was going to happen, I’ll tell you how I feel. The Russian pack situation is…” Landon growled. “I hate that Alpha. When I heard he got stabbed, I nearly celebrated.”
That shocked me. Landon never seemed celebratory, and with that statement, I was certain he hit his talking quota for the day.
“Have you met him, or do you hate him from afar, based on rumors?”
“I hate him very up close and personal,” Landon said with a snap of his teeth. “Being Father’s second, sometimes I have run-ins with other Alphas. Some try to sway me into their packs, some try to kill me when no one is watching. Some just call me a few derogatory names behind my back and play nice to my face. Alpha Vasiliev is the type who isn’t afraid to call me the ‘n’ word because he’s smart enough to know America’s history with it. Or a faggot. Not that he’s unusual for our community. I’ve gotten it a lot over my years. He’s just particularly venomous.”
I glanced at Heath and noticed how dark his eyes were as though he was ready to murder whoever would dare hurt his son. It didn’t matter that Landon was a powerful werewolf in his own right, Heath wanted to kill anyone who walked over his son.
And he’s judging me right now. He wants to know if I’m going to accidentally hurt his son.
“She doesn’t know, Landon,” Heath said softly, his eyes lightening a little. “I never told her.”
“It’s not my business,” I said quickly. The last thing I wanted was to shove my foot in my mouth. “You don’t—”
“You never told her I was gay?” Landon huffed like an exasperated wolf, then turned to me again. “Well, now you know. That’s beside the point. Alpha Vasiliev is a piece of work, who needs to be put down like a rabid dog. He’s known among the submissive wolves for being cruel, even to those outside his pack. He tends to think of women as his playthings and his submissive wolves as whipping boys for his temper. Anyone who doesn’t fit into his narrowly defined view of what a good wolf is doesn’t survive in his pack for long, but he has a stranglehold on Russia. If a werewolf is Changed or born in that area of the world, he makes it a point to keep them. It’s ballooned the size of his pack, and that’s how he gets away with what he is.”
I had never heard Landon talk so much, especially not so passionately. I was pretty certain my eyes were the size of dinner plates by the time he was done. When he noticed, he gave me the exact same smirk as his father, and
the relationship they shared was never clearer.
“Father, I broke your cat.” I had never heard someone joking and annoyed at the same time until that moment.
“I see,” Heath murmured, amused.
“I didn’t know you could talk so much,” I said, trying not to give a weak laugh.
“I don’t trust many,” Landon softly reminded me, leaning forward. “I can’t, being a gay, black werewolf. We’ve had people challenge me for my position, try to kill me on principle when I visited other packs. It’s gotten better over the years, but it’s taught me to take my time with people.” He looked me over. “But you’re good.” He nodded as he came to some sort of decision. “You would have made a good werewolf.”
“Ah, you missed the chance by a few years,” I said, smiling. “Just missed it.”
Twenty minutes later, after a round of chuckles and jokes between father and son, Carey came out of the barn, dirty and grinning. Heath followed her in, and I was left with Landon. I didn’t miss how Heath had gently patted his son’s shoulder before leaving him alone with me.
“I’m sorry I was so off-putting for so long,” the werewolf said as I stood to head inside as well. “It wasn’t polite, and I never made a good impression.”
“It’s fine. You never hurt my feelings.” I had joked about Landon’s distrust of me, but I had never let it hurt me.
“I wanted to hate you for killing Richard. He understood me and taught me it was okay to be who I needed to be. He protected me when I was young when people tried to hurt me before I could defend myself. He was everything a good older brother was supposed to be. And then you killed him.” He sighed, shaking his head. For a moment, I saw the weight he carried. I wanted to say it was okay if he did, but he continued talking before I had the chance. “But…Carey loves you, and my father…” A small smile formed. “It’s idiotic what you two are doing. One day, Carey will find out, and I don’t know how she’ll react.”
