Page 4 of Bitter Discord

“Don’t you dare say they’re bland like the mashed potatoes.”

I meant he’d burned more than a few in the early weeks but decided not to bring it up. He had refused any help making them, so we all had to suffer through it. He loved making this breakfast every weekend, and I could quickly turn the conversation away from any possible problems with it.

“I would never! We’ve just expanded our pancake offerings. We have chocolate chip, fruit toppings, and whipped cream now. We might as well open a restaurant and make a menu. You already take everyone’s order without complaint. Why not?”

“There’s already a restaurant chain that specializes in pancakes. I don’t believe we could compete with it.”

“We would do fine. It sounds like a great idea.”

“Says the woman who ran a bar that made no money for six years,” he countered. “Get out of here so I can finish prepping for the unruly horde.”

“I’ll make sure Carey is up by nine,” I promised as I left him there. We let her sleep in but not that much. If we didn’t keep a semi-early wake-up time, she would be up all night and sleep until noon.

It was wonderfully normal to have our Saturday breakfast. I checked my phone as I hunkered down in my office to pass the time and looked at Zuri’s morning update, confirming the security measures on her end. She was finishing up her packing and would leave soon, flying out of Mozambique. Jabari lived there with his mate and son now, in his mate’s territory. Kushim and Subira were staying there, as well as Amir, the bubbly toddler who could sleep through a bomb going off. Between all of them, Zuri was confident she could get away for a week. It was her first official trip away from her son. Full moons out of the house for one night didn’t count.

I smiled. The week was going to be long and stressful, but I would have my sister with me every minute. I was going to need her because I was playing Hasan’s game. All of this was because of him. I was bringing over a dozen werecats to my state to talk about the world and the place I held in it because he’d dared me to, because he had no faith in me or Heath. He had no faith in what we believed in.

It’s not like it’s the only thing on my plate.

Why can’t he see this would be easier and safer if he could just trust me?

It was a question I came back to every day. I saw the cracks in his façade with every word that came out of his mouth. It wasn’t all directed at me, either. I told Heath why I went to Mozambique, everything that had happened with my brother, but hadn’t told him about the role Hasan had played. I wasn’t ready to think about it myself. I’d spent months trying not to think about it.

My feelings were so conflicted, I kept them to myself, not breathing a word to anyone, including my fiancé. I wanted to use Zuri’s visit to talk to her about it. She was smart enough to know it was coming without me saying anything. I needed help, advice. Anything. I’d considered the problem for months, but I couldn’t get over what Hasan had been bold enough to say to me. It was driving me to do this entire desperate fucking scheme to win over the werecats and prove to him I could do it.

I was spooked by someone knocking on my office door at eight-thirty.

“Come in,” I called.

Carey’s head showed up in the door, her morning smile sleepy but bright.

“Good morning, Jacky! Are you ready for pancakes?” Seeing my expression, her smile dropped. “You’re working?”

“Yeah. I was… uh… getting some last-minute stuff done before breakfast.” I dropped my phone on the desk before rubbing my eyes. “Your dad helped and gave some of the small errands to the pack. I was confirming Zuri’s plan. She gets here this time tomorrow.”

“Well, come get breakfast. Dad is going to start cooking soon.”

“You know, I was supposed to wake you up. Why are you up early?”

“It’s pancake day, and I didn’t stay up very late last night. Makalo couldn’t talk long. There’s a lot going on at his house.”

“Ah…” I nodded and yawned as I stood, then stretched, trying to loosen up after sitting so long in my chair and losing myself in my thoughts. “Yeah, I know there is. Jabari, Zuri, and Kushim have been finalizing the security plans for everyone while Zuri is here.”

“They won’t be in danger, though. Who would attack Jabari and Kushim while Zuri is gone?” She stepped all the way in and closed the door, telling me she wanted more of an explanation than I could give her on the way to the kitchen.

“No one, but that’s not the point. Zuri has never left Amir for a long period of time. Everyone is making it easier on her. They don’t need to intensify security, but no one is going to stop her from putting it in place. It harms no one to be safe.”

“Someone else could have come, like Jabari. Then she wouldn’t have to leave Amir.” Carey crossed her arms as she walked closer to my desk.

“Zuri is the best for this. She’s politically intelligent and less likely to pick a violent route if she can talk someone down. That doesn’t mean she’s not dangerous or deadly. The world already fears her for being as old as she is, which makes her a damn strong werecat. Add in that she’s going public as a witch, and she’s a force to be reckoned with. She’s the complete package for this sort of event. Jabari would just put everyone on edge and potentially say the wrong thing,” I smirked. “Do you want to see Jabari more than you want to see Zuri? You know, out of all my siblings, those are the best, but I like Zuri a little more. I know you had a bit of a crush—”

“That’s not the point!” Carey said, her head falling back as she groaned. “Jacky, don’t be weird.”

“You spend all night on the internet, talking to his son. I don’t know if Makalo has sent you a picture or gotten on video or—”

“Stop,” Carey demanded.

I did, but my smile was still fighting to break out and give away how much fun I was having with her. I knew she had seen what Makalo looked like. He was a clone of his father. She shook her head when she looked at me again.

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