Page 38 of Reclaiming Home

“Oh my deity, am I glad to hear from you guys!” he started the call.

The guys gave me a wide-eyed expression and I smirked.

“It’s good to hear from you, too.” Ben remembered his manners. “I’m Ben.”

“And I’m Max. Nice to meet you.”

“And I’m Brodie, but I’m going to check on the first flights we can get them on while you talk and we walk,” I concluded.

The cousins didn’t stay for dinner but opted to go pack their bags instead. I’d told them I would take them to Pittsburgh to the closest airport that would give them a shorter flight and they’d tried to insist on going on a bus. Rian had even told us he’d pay for a cab, for fuck’s sake.

I put my foot down and told them that it was only a few hours drive each way. I could grab a few hours of sleep before I’d go get them around four in the morning, so they’d make the first possible flight out. I’d be back home for a late breakfast.

“But you’re leaving the pack for us. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that.” Ben frowned as they were getting into their car.

I shook my head. “You’re missing the point. You twoarepack.” That shut them up. Max’s eyes got a bit watery, so I added, “Besides, I’m the Alpha so what I say goes.”

They chuckled and drove off. Mission accomplished.

Since the family room was still a mess, although in a different way now, Kye, Carys, and I sat in the kitchen most of the evening. She cooked dinner while Kye concentrated on his “wolfy research” and I made plans for the renovations.

At one point, Kye moved his feet and bumped into mine under the table. Without looking up from his book, he left his foot against mine. I could see the tiny curl of the corner of his mouth though, and snorted softly.

I liked submissives that were a bit bratty, and he was starting to relax enough to show that in small ways. I hoped we could explore that more at some point once things settled a little.

After dinner, Kye dug out a deck of Uno cards from somewhere and we went to a three-way war. The game interspersed with laughter and the siblings swatting at each other made my whole being hum with happiness.

We wrapped things up around nine, so I’d have enough time to sleep before the drive.

“Oh, I’ll go grab something from my car,” Kye said when Carys headed up to shower first.

I followed him out, glancing up at the sky to see the moon phase. I felt it instinctively, of course, and it worried me a littlethat Ben and Max would only have a few days at the rehab place before the full moon.

Kye closed the car door around the corner and the dumpster, then walked to me with a bundle in his hands.

“What’s that?” I asked, nodding at it.

He unwrapped it and revealed a handgun.

Somehow that shocked me to the core. “I… uh….”

He grinned, his teeth glinting in the moonlight. “Don’t worry. I know how to use it and I follow a strict safety protocol.”

I hadn’t been around weapons much. Werewolves and vampires didn’t need them, after all. Nobody I knew had ever had shooting as a hobby, either.

“Well, I guess it’s understandable you’d have one,” I finally blurted out.

He wrapped it up in the cloth again and shrugged. “I was never into guns and I’m not now, really. But then Carys went missing and….” He gave me a searching look. “Is it okay that I have it? Just for protection.”

It hit me that this was his way to keep his sister safe in my absence if it came to that. Before I had time to speak, he gave me a self-deprecating little smile.

“I know it won’t do much unless I hit someone in the head and if they’re not human, even that won’t necessarily stop them for that long, but….” He searched for words for a while. “This isn’t to kill anyone. It’s to give her time to run.”

The heartbreak in his gaze told me everything I needed to know, right then. He would do anything for her. Anything at all to keep what happened to her from happening again.

I closed the distance between us and hugged him. “You’ll be safe. I won’t be gone for long. You lock the front door and block the bedroom door with the dresser, and you’ll have enough time to act if it comes to that.” I kissed his head. “It won’t, but just in case.”

“Just in case,” Kye agreed.

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