Page 84 of The Bull's Head

She got the biggest smile Teddy had ever seen. “I think Councilman Damon Walker has a nice ring to it.” She hugged him and he melted in her embrace. “You’re the perfect man for the job, baby.”

“Then it’s settled,” Teddy announced. “Damon will take a council seat.”

“Hold on there. Seats aren’t elected positions. They don’t have to let me in.”

Alp chuckled. “Lemme talk to my mom. She’ll get everyone busy working on getting you a seat.”

Damon looked down into Cece’s adoring eyes. “Are we really doing this?”

She nodded. “As long as we survive what’s coming our way.”

Sweat trickled down Byk’s neck. He hated having everyone staring at him like this. Why couldn’t Teddy have done this?

Those arms Byk love wrapped around him, held him tight. “I’m right here, Byk. I’ll always be with you.”

And those words, coupled with a need to protect Wald and the people who lived within the walls, the ones who’d taken him in and showed him what a family truly was, gave him the strength to speak.

“Thanks to Gwyneth and Dr. Lydia, I was able to go into my memories. Or, more accurately, those of my brother.” He tapped his forehead. “Hyde and his people somehow implanted part of Cooper’s brain in my head. I think they were breaking down, though, which is why I went a little crazy. Cooper’s memories were overriding my own and my mind couldn’t handle it.”

He picked up a cup and took a sip of water. This was harder than he thought it would be. The people were staring at him, some with their mouths open. He understood. What they were talking was science fiction made reality.

“I saw them operating on me and Cooper. I know what they did to us. Before I woke up, I heard Cooper’s thoughts. His dying memories. He told me that Hyde wasn’t working alone. He said the government had a hand in it. Then he told me to beware of the Chimera. He didn’t know what it was, but said that I held the key to giving the government what they were looking for.”

A murmur rippled through the room.

Mal stood, his hands splayed on the tabletop, his expression grim. “We knew this was a possibility, and thanks to Byk—and Cooper—may the Maker keep him always by her side—we have a chance to prepare.”

“Prepare for what, exactly?” Alp asked. “We don’t know who to deal with. This isn’t like us killing the scientists. We’re talking the government of the United States.”

Damon slammed his hand on the table, which rattled everyone. “They bleed like anyone else,” he snarled. “They’re threatening our people. They’ve all but declared war on us. This will not stand.”

Teddy pulled Byk into a hug as the discussion raged around them. Dark times were coming, and Byk was sure they all knew it. The question was how to protect shifters while keeping the humans at bay.

Byk hoped to the Maker someone had an answer before things went to shit.

He leaned into Teddy’s embrace and let the comfort flow over him, even as everyone else in the room discussed and debated what they could do. No matter what it was, with Teddy and his new family surrounding him, Byk knew they’d come out on top.

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