Page 3 of Bitter Discord

“Slightly underhanded, but thanks. Tomorrow morning, Zuri lands. I’ll bring her here to meet the pack during your weekly meeting, then we’ll drive back to Dallas to stay for the week. Before we settle in, we have a meeting Sunday evening.”

“Oh, no,” Heath said with a soft groan. “A meeting I don’t know about. Let me guess… the BSA or the remaining supernaturals in Dallas. Both would be useful.”

“We’re meeting with the BSA.” I gave him a sheepish smile. “She’s willing to give herself away to make sure they stay in their lane for the next week. We considered the other supernaturals in the city, but she’s confident they’ll want to steer clear. The witches know we’d probably kill them for anything they might get caught trying. The fae are too private to be near me. Dallas is a pretty boring city in terms of supernaturals.”

“Because the Dallas werewolf pack had overrun the city with me as Alpha. We were so large and open to the public, only a few supernaturals felt comfortable working closely with us in public. Most slowly left over the decades, with a mass exodus after we went public. When we had dealings, we had to choose from limited options or send guys to the Market.”

“I want to see the Market one day,” I said lightly. It wouldn’t happen this week. I might never get the chance. It was a fae-created dimensional space, like the Tribunal’s offices and meeting rooms. There were ways into the Market all over the world.

If someone from the other side of the globe wanted to kill me, it would be a great place for them to try.

“One day, I’ll take you for a real visit,” he promised. “I could come with you to see the BSA. We’re still looking for the mole from Emma’s fucking family. The one who tried to spy on Carey,” Heath reminded me. “Not that our pack and people can work with anyone who might help, thanks to my rogue status.”

“Yeah, I considered that,” I said, nodding.

“And you never invited me? Please be careful in Dallas during this, Jacky. If anything seems out of the ordinary, tell me and shut it all down. Just because we know a potential tactic of the witches, because of how they destroyed the Dallas pack, doesn’t mean we’re safe. If we can’t smell magic, we’re more vulnerable to the witches. Not just the ones who tried to take Dallas, but any who might have paid them for the privilege to learn their underhanded trick to hide their magic. Witches are dangerous to moon cursed everywhere right now.”

“Well… it’s a good thing I’ll have my own.” With her permission, I had told him this summer about Zuri being a witch. It was still information on a need-to-know basis, so most of the werewolves didn’t know, but Heath, Landon, and Dirk did. The others would soon. “After that, come Monday, at least fourteen werecats will descend on the city to meet two people from their ruling family. The official gathering starts Tuesday and ends Thursday. They’ll all be gone by Friday evening.”

“It’s going to be a long week,” Heath said with a sigh as we watched the sunrise together.

2

CHAPTER TWO

Ifinished my coffee first but let Heath enjoy his without getting up and rushing him. My mind was spinning.

I still can’t believe I did this. I’ve lost my damn mind.

It all went back to what Hasan said. He wasworriedwhether other werecats would eventually try to take me out themselves because I was close to the perceived enemy.

Worried about me or worried about the family’s position of power?

It was a question I had no answer to. I wanted to believe it was only the first, but I knew him better now. I knew Hasan, the loving father, and Hasan, Member of the Tribunal. They used to be very different men in my mind, but the line between them was more blurred now than I thought possible.

He had a lot of choice comments that day.

Heath finished his coffee and got up, heading inside with my empty mug as well. After ten minutes, I followed him, realizing he wasn’t coming back. I found him in the kitchen, setting up everything for the new ritual he was trying. Saturday morning breakfast was sacred. We all sat down for piles of pancakes.

“Carey will be upset if you make pancakes while she sleeps in,” I pointed out, leaning on the island.

“I still need to prep before she gets up. She’ll wake up and want them in the first ten minutes,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Unless her brother gets here early and forces her out of bed so he can have pancakes when he wants them.”

“This Saturday pancakes thing has been a fun experiment, but I’m still not sure why Landon and Dirk participate. Not that I don’t want them to. It’s just… mundane and wholesome in a way I figured those two wouldn’t enjoy. I love them to death, but they were cranky about a birthday party.”

“You know, I thought the same thing when I was telling them about it. I wanted to do it with my favorite women.” Heath smiled over his shoulder at me. “Enjoying quiet Saturday mornings with my fiancé and my daughter, a way for us to connect after our long week. It seemed like the perfect idea. Landon was offended that I would dare say I was having something close to a family breakfast on Saturday without him. Dirk was mad he wouldn’t get free pancakes because they don’t have rings yet.” Heath had that look of fatherly exasperation, annoyed yet loving and good-humored. “Offended and mad are strong terms, but it was all in good fun. They would have let it go if I held the line.”

“What changed your mind?” I asked, a smile playing on my lips. I knew Heath too well and already knew the answer.

“I thought about it, and there was only one thing that beat having breakfast with you and Carey—having the entire family for breakfast. To see you and Dirk rib each other, Landon teasing his sister and her fighting back. To see Dirk and Landon whisper whatever secret inside jokes they have, knowing you can hear. So, I told them they could come. They started backtracking immediately… until Landon realized how much I would appreciate it. It didn’t take him very long to fully get on board.”

“They’ve come every weekend for four months. In fact, I think I’ve missed more than they have.” I’d only missed four Saturday family breakfasts in four months.

“That’s right. I think they genuinely began to enjoy it after the first couple months.”

“Your pancakes have gotten better,” I teased.

His slow turn told me I was in a bit of trouble.

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