Page 5 of Bitter Discord

“Why are you like this?”

“I don’t know,” I half-lied. I enjoyed seeing her grow up and teasing her. It was hard to watch sometimes, but it was fun. I was adjusting, and now that we lived together, I didn’t feel her drifting away as much. The things she did every day with Heath, she now did with me as well. He thought of them as normal, and I had a feeling he never really understood I missed what he’d always had. Breakfast most mornings, seeing her do her homework every afternoon. Taking her to school sometimes. They were small things, but I cherished every one of them.

He still saw her growing up and moving on with her life, but I thought she was finallyinher life, not just a tangential piece of it, but truly in it.

It won’t last long, but at least I can enjoy a few years.

“Let’s go get pancakes,” I declared, walking around the desk, feeling a little more energized. “I’ve been up without breakfast. I’m hungry.”

“But I wanted to ask more about the werecats coming.”

“You’ve had weeks to ask about them. Why this morning?” I stopped beside her, frowning.

“I don’t know. They’re about to show up. I kind of want to meet them—”

“No.”

“But—”

“No.”

Her expression was hurt by my second no. I sighed heavily, knowing she understood why it was no. I also knew she loved meeting the interesting ancients who walked through the world. Her heart was open to it in a way most could never allow themselves to be. If there was even one werecat I trusted in this group, I would say yes.

“Carey, I barely know these werecats. They’re coming to hold me to task about the things I’ve done and changed. They’re coming to question my position in the world. They’re not here to be friendly. They’re here to make sure I’m still fighting for their interests and not betraying them or Hasan’s idea of the world. I can’t promise they won’t be hostile to your father, brother, or anyone else in the pack. Fights could break out, and I’m not putting a teenage girl in the middle of it. I don’t know if they’ll respect your humanity… or use it against us.”

“Yeah, I figured,” she mumbled, defeated.

“Zuri has plenty of stories I’m sure she’ll love to share when we have time,” I reminded her as I slowly ushered her from the office. “And maybe a few of these werecats will become friends or allies. Maybe they’ll listen to what I have to say and agree. If they’re trustworthy, maybe they can visit, and I won’t have to worry about the danger.”

“Dad used to make sure of the same things before he let other Alphas into our house. He would meet them at his offices if he didn’t want me to meet them. I just hoped werecats didn’t have the same reasons to fight each other, so maybe I could meet one or two while they were here.”

“We don’t fight as much as werewolves, but that doesn’t mean we don’t fight.” I had my own disappointment. “If I were a normal werecat, fights would be rare. I’m still a young werecat. I had a few rogues test me in the beginning, curious more than anything else, testing me. Now…” I shook my head as my thoughts turned to the problem. “I have a position of power. I’ve accidentally exposed our kind to humanity. I did my best with it, but it should have never happened. I never should have agreed to rule the region for Hasan. It’s brought more problems than helped, but I’m part of Hasan’s family, which meant I couldn’t get away from it. This week is me finally doing something with the position I hold. I have to, or it will get worse.”

“Yeah, but…” Carey’s frown was as deep as mine.

“You can tell me what you think.” In the back of my mind, I realized Landon and Dirk were coming down the drive, nearly here for Saturday morning breakfast.

“If you weren’t part of your family, everything you’ve done, fighting to help people. Werewolves, humans… even just me, they would have killed you for it. Dad never would have had the time to fall in love with you. Those witches might have taken over everything in April. Your human family could have been killed in Russia. Alpha Price might have found a way to hurt another one of your family or continued to get away with murdering Liza.”

I was so impressed with her maturity. At fifteen, she had lived a life that made her look at the world differently. She saw beyond things right in front of her and saw how interconnected the world could be.

“You’re right. Thank you for reminding me of everything at stake.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong. Your family kind of sucks,” she pointed out with an attitude that reminded me of her age. “I mean, Zuri is amazing, and Jabari is cool, although he’s tough on you. Mischa and Davor, though? They’re pretty bad.”

“I don’t need to be reminded of that,” I said quickly, chuckling as I opened the office door. “Let’s go get some breakfast. Your brother is here.”

“All right.”

By the time we got to the kitchen, both men were there, watching Heath with intent and hungry eyes. Dirk looked over at us first and gave me a simple nod as a greeting before he went back to staring at the stack of pancakes Heath was building next to the electric griddle. On the stove, there were two pans cooking bacon, and I stepped in to help with those to keep Landon from doing it.

Heath spared me a glance, telling me exactly how he felt about me helping when his son could.

“Landon will eat the bacon while he cooks it,” I whispered. Landon’s growl from across the kitchen made Heath and me laugh.

“You will!” Carey said loudly and with confidence.

“So?” Landon seemed confused, but I couldn’t see him as I focused on making sure the bacon wasn’t burned.

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