Page 23 of Bitter Discord

“Is a private man who might not appreciate me telling you about his relationship, but it’s for Dirk’s safety, and the entire pack knows.” I hit the lock button as Zuri grabbed her clutch and reached for the door. “Zuri, is this going to be a problem?”

“Which part?” she asked, chuckling a little wildly, but it faded when she realized my question was serious. “Two men being together doesn’t bother anyone who is family. Niko has had male lovers. Mischa has been with other women. It’s a physical need, and you find whoever you need to fill it. However, Landon is a werewolf. Even if Dirk is also a werewolf now, that might not save him from the trouble of being with another werewolf. Landon Everson being Heath’s son won’t endear him to some of our family. Truthfully, Landon might be more of a concern. He puts everyone in the family on edge. Even Jabari is quite vocal about how Heath’s son feels… dangerous. He appreciates what you and Heath have, but Landon is a shade away from being too dangerous for Jabari to tolerate.”

“So, I shouldn’t introduce Jabari and Fenris.”

“Funny.” Zuri sighed. “You just don’t know how to make things simple, Jacky.”

“It’s all very simple to me. Dirk deserves to live a happy life. Landon does, too. Me and Heath, the werewolves you’re about to meet, the werecats coming tomorrow.”

“I know. Let’s go meet your werewolves.”

I unlocked the car and met her at the backdoor but didn’t get the chance to open it. Heath opened it as I reached for it.

“Welcome back,” he said, smiling at me.

“Thank you, and look, no one tried to kill me.” His chuckle told me he was in a good mood. I couldn’t catch his scent because he had it locked down. “Heath, you know my sister, Zuri, daughter of Hasan. Zuri, you’ve met Alpha Heath Everson. Introductions done.”

“She has no sense of… gravitas,” Zuri said with a sigh, looking past me at Heath.

“I wouldn’t say that. She saves it for special occasions.” Heath pulled the door open more, then held out his free hand. Zuri shook it, frowning as she did, considering my fiancé carefully.

“That wasn’t a sexual innuendo, correct?”

I blinked, wondering why my sister’s mind was suddenly in the gutter.

“No, it wasn’t,” Heath confirmed. When they let go, he stepped back, holding the door for us both. I went inside first, waiting only a moment for Heath to close the backdoor and walk by my side.

I didn’t come to the official pack meetings on a regular basis, but I still saw the entire pack together at least once a month. Meetings were on Sundays, but once they were done, they would clean up Kick Shot and head to my house for a barbeque, or the entire pack would go bowling or some other activity. A month ago, they had given Arlo and Benjamin the choice of deciding the pack event, and we’d gone paintballing.

I still didn’t know them, not well enough to completely trust them with my family. Scanning the room, I made sure there was someone who I could trust to manage the ones I didn’t know as well. I liked Fenris for a few reasons, but I was glad Landon was standing beside him. Both of them were tense, but I knew the reason. Fenris was tense because Zuri was here. Landon was tensed to stop Fenris at any moment. Heath peeled off from my side and went to stand in his normal spot, Carlos and Jenny near him. Shamus sat with Roselyn and Piper. Ranger was with Teagan and the boys. Carey and Dirk had a small table between Heath and Landon.

Everyone was here.

“Allow me to introduce my sister, Zuri, daughter of Hasan,” I said once she and I were in the room properly, side by side for the werewolves to see. While I lacked gravitas with only my fiancé to introduce, I turned it on now. “Allow this to be a chance to remind everyone in attendance that this is my territory. If you act against her, you act against me. You’ll be banished, regardless of how your Alpha feels about the matter.”

“If you’re not killed in your attempt,” Zuri added as she stood beside me. She radiated the power of our family. She was confident there was no one in this room who could touch her. If anyone tried, they would stop breathing. “Alpha Everson?”

“An act on Jacky or those in her protection is a death sentence for any werewolf in this pack. Any werewolf, for that matter,” Heath replied professionally. “However, if you needlessly threaten my werewolves…”

“Of course.” Zuri bowed her head. “So long as we’re on the same page.” She smiled as she stepped ahead of me. “I don’t see any reason to attack your werewolves.” The room eased, and Zuri’s shoulders relaxed. “I missed seeing your territory properly the last time I was here,” she said to me, still smiling. “This is the new Kick Shot, correct?”

“Yeah. The last time you were here, Lani had burned down the little dive bar to draw me out,” I reminded her. She nodded. I knew she hadn’t forgotten those troubling days, so I felt the conversation was meant to let the room relax as we made small talk. “Heath, is there anything you want the entire pack to remain for? I believe the most important thing was for everyone to see her and know her scent in case they see her later.”

“Does everyone feel comfortable that they’ll recognize Zuri?” Heath asked, looking around. Zuri lifted her hands and did a slow circle for everyone. I saw how carefully all the werewolves watched her as she finally came to a stop.

“How was that?” she asked, her smile never fading.

“How can we trust her?” Fenris finally asked with a growl. “She might do the work of her father while she’s here. We don’t know her. Jacky is nice, and it would be too easy for this one to fool her to get to you, Everson. She could slide a knife in your back while you think you’re hanging out with your future sister-in-law.”

“I’ll be doing the work of my father and family in Dallas. Here, I am Jacky’s older sister, and I like what I know of your Alpha,” she answered, eyeing the mad wolf. Her scent subtly changed to one of surprise. “You must be Fenris.”

“I am,” he snarled. Landon took a half step closer to him, and Fenris growled at Landon but didn’t move. He turned his glare back on Zuri. “Is that a—”

“Rebel is a cute nickname for Jacky. Everyone in the family is using it in some way or another. Thank you for coining it.”

At least three of the werewolves coughed to cover up laughter, and Landon fought a smile.

“But if you question my honor again, I’ll finish what my little brother, Nikolaus, clearly started with yourface,” Zuri continued, the tone of her voice not changing. It made the whole room silent. The coughing stopped. Heath was now slowly walking to put his body between Zuri and Fenris. She looked at Heath and sighed. “There’s no reason to fight today. Just making sure we’re all still on the same page.”

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