Page 24 of Bitter Discord

“Of course,” he answered nonchalantly. “Landon, escort Fenris to his truck. Fenris, you will immediately return to your property and stay there for the duration of the week unless I give you permission to leave.” Power rolled over the room, the full weight of what Heath was behind the command. He was leaving no room for argument from Fenris. I felt it, as I had in his truck that day. It was an interesting sensation.

Can Zuri feel it?

“Yes, sir,” both men said. Landon pushed Fenris to leave through the patio door, one that didn’t require them to pass by Zuri. Heath turned to Zuri and me again.

“Zuri, my werewolves will be armed the entire week, fully loaded with silver. We will be running tight patrols at night to protect our most vulnerable. None of us will leave this territory. We need the security measures in case any of the other werecats feel the need to come here and cause trouble. Please, if there is anything you need, call me, and I will make sure my werewolves know you are coming back without surprising them.” He pulled out his wallet as he spoke and revealed a business card. “This is for a mobile phone I bought specifically for this week. It will be on me at all times, and I will always answer unless I am in mortal danger.”

“I’ll respect your request,” she agreed, taking the card and slipping it into her clutch. I heard a truck peeling out of the gravel parking lot outside, Fenris’s, racing farther away by the minute.

“Fenris is heading home,” I announced.

“Everyone, starting tomorrow, we’re on high alert. Go home and get some rest,” Heath ordered. “Except you.” He pointed at Dirk as Landon walked back in. “Jacky might have questions for you about her personal security.”

We waited as the pack cleared out. Teagan shot a glance Zuri’s way, who waved as he went. He had both boys by the backs of their shirts until Arlo held the door open for him and Ranger to go outside.

Once everyone was gone, I relaxed a bit as Zuri leaned toward me.

“Well, that was fun,” she said, smiling.

“No, it wasn’t, but I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I replied, shaking my head.

“I can’t believe I never noticed,” Dirk said softly, coming up to us. He was an unhealthy pale as Landon went to his side. “Did Niko really…”

“Dirk, it’s very nice to see you again,” Zuri said. “I’m sorry we’ve never properly met before. That short time in the safe house, while we dealt with traitors, wasn’t enough for me to properly get to know my nephew. You make a good werewolf. I’m glad you made it through the Change.” She reached for him, seemingly wanting to hug him, but he stepped away from the touch, silently turning it away.

“Zuri, answer his question. I want to know, too,” I said before catching the pain from his rejection in her scent.

She doesn’t even know him, but he’s family no matter what. I should have warned her he’s not overly affectionate. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve hugged him.

“Yes. If one of our family gave him those scars during the war, it could only be Niko,” she answered as everyone listened, including Carey. “It was no secret Hasan had taken in an Alpha’s human son and adopted him. They were calling Niko the Traitor before he became a man. When he was Changed, he decided he wanted a weapon for his human form everyone would recognize would be him.” She curled her fingers, modeling something invisible on her hand.

“Claws. Davor made them for him. They had leather gloves to protect him from the silver used to make them. When he was in human form, he went everywhere with them. He had a belt…” She shoved her hand down by her side, miming the action Niko must have taken. “They would hang in a position that let him put his hands in them. They would unlatch for him with a certain twist, and he would be ready to fight. He’d been angry during the war, so angry. He felt betrayed by his own kind. He made sure they knew he was coming for them, not as the werewolf he was destined to be, but as the werecat hunting for vengeance.” She let her hands drop, still looking out the windows. “I didn’t think anyone survived a fight with my brother. He didn’t get away unscathed, but he lived. That’s a hell of a thing.”

“Did you have to threaten him?” Heath asked.

“Yes,” she answered simply. “He walked away from one tumble with my family. He won’t survive a second. Niko, until Liza, then Jacky, was the weakest of the family. Highly trained and effective, but the weakest. Also, Fenris pissed me off. I would never betray my sister or what she is trying to build here. Ever. That, to me, is worth killing him.”

“I threatened to kill him for calling Jacky an inappropriate name once, so…” Landon shrugged.

“He has the tendency not to control what comes out of his mouth when he’s upset,” Heath conceded. “I don’t want him to be put down right now when it would look bad. People wouldn’t hear that he was mouthy, and you found it offensive.”

“They would just see a werewolf had to be killed by a member of the family,” I said, sighing. “Zuri?”

“If he won’t be in attendance for the rest of the week, I see no reason to go hunting for him. I’m not here to kill mouthy werewolves.” She looked around Heath. “Now, onto the nice part of this day. Carey, sweetheart. How have you been?”

“Hey, Zuri!” Carey grinned as she broke into the middle of our circle and threw her arms around my sister. My sister’s hug in return was tender and loving, holding Carey like she was one of the family just like she had hugged me. “I really loved the bow for my birthday. Thank you so much.”

“I’m glad. I heard you were courting boys at the time. How has that been going?”

“Well… the human boys don’t really talk to me anymore after werewolves attacked on my birthday.” Carey shrugged. “No dating for me.”

“That might be for the best. Boys don’t tend to become men until well into their twenties,” Zuri said. “If you know any of Jacky and my brothers… we’re lucky if they become men after a few centuries.”

The three men with us looked at each other. Heath was the one who shrugged as if Zuri had a point and went to the bar. Zuri guided Carey to a table to sit as they talked about the human friends Carey had found, then promptly lost.

“Their parents said they could never come back to our house,” Carey said as she leaned on the table. “And I get it. I really do. They didn’t think it was worth hanging out with me at school, either. Or at riding lessons. It’s like they didn’t care that it was really hard for me, too. My birthday where we all almostdied, Jacky and Dad dealing with the witches, and finding out what was happening to my friends in Dallas.”

It hurt to hear, but it was nothing Heath and I didn’t know. I walked to the bar to help Heath with drinks.

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