Page 65 of Bitter Discord

“I’m your fiancé, and I know just how far you’re willing to go to do what you think is right. No one is going to accuse you of not doing enough fast enough.” He didn’t back down. “This is different from what we’ve faced before. I know it’s hard.”

“We’re stuck in the same position every family is when a child is kidnapped,” Teagan whispered. I looked around Heath to see him coming closer. “We looked for any signs about what happened. We searched the area as far as we could with our manpower. Now, we have to hope for a new clue. You’re not the only one wishing there was more you could do right now, Jacky.”

I leaned on my office door, wanting to close my eyes and wish for it all to go away.

This is a bad dream, right? I can wake up any time.

Heath took my hand and pulled me away from my office, sitting down on the couch with me. Landon and Dirk arrived a short time later, pulling out a deck of cards to keep people busy.

When the food arrived, he and I ate at the table with Carey, Landon, and Dirk. Everyone else was scattered around my house except for Piper and Roselyn. They grabbed their meals and went home, promising to get some sleep once they ate.

An hour after dinner, no one else had left yet, and I realized what was really happening.

The pack was vulnerable, but they felt safe with Heath. I told him as much as he and I stepped outside to get a moment’s peace.

“This is what packs do, isn’t it? You descend into a group when something bad happens. Strength in numbers.”

“Yeah, but it’s not just me they’re here for,” Heath answered.

I shook my head slowly, refusing to indulge what he was implying.

I’m not a member of the pack.

“You might try to keep yourself at arm’s length, but remember, you’re the only reason there is a pack.” He kissed my cheek. “And they know that.”

24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

When midnight rolled around, I was standing on the front porch, staring at the dark forest that bordered my home. It was peaceful and less crowded than my living room, where I had a similar view from my floor-to-ceiling windows.

Heath and I tried to clear out the house, but werewolves ended up sleeping on our floors. Landon and Dirk went to the security building with an air mattress. Carey was letting Stacy bunk with her. Kody and his father were on the living room floor near Teagan. Benjamin had the couch, and Ranger was propped up in the armchair, snoring lightly.

“You should come get some sleep,” Heath whispered, holding a glass of whiskey in his hand. I had already finished mine. While a human would have raised eyebrows, he and I didn’t get inebriated easily. We could go through a bottle together and feel fine. It was a ritual to have late nights together over a glass of whiskey, everyone asleep while we talked quietly.

“You never told me how Fenris was doing,” I said, having avoided the question through dinner and the rest of the evening.

“You never told me if Zuri finished interrogating the werecats,” he said in reply. “Fenris is having some difficulties. He hates that one of the boys is missing and wants to help but knows why I won’t let him out of his confinement. He’s convinced it’s a werecat, one of yours we missed. He wouldn’t outright say it, but he knows your sister is the only person who officially met any of the pack before today.”

“I understand why he came to that conclusion. It would be an effective bit of meddling,” I said, nodding. “Steal one of our boys, ruin your reputation, and force us apart because that’s what my father wants. Too bad Zuri has her own issues with Hasan right now, which are making her dig her heels in to help instead of hurt us.”

“How bad?”

“It’s not entirely mine to tell, but she’s strongly disagreed with how Hasan has handled recent family events,” I said, sighing heavily. “As for the werecats… Zuri is certain they’re all innocent. Luckily…” I pulled out my phone and showed him the most recent texts. Zuri got all the werecats in the mansion to agree to stay for the night. Just one night. We couldn’t have a second murder. She’d sent it during their dinner when they must have discussed it. “We should be safe for the night.”

“That’s the best news we’ve had all day,” Heath said, looking relieved. “If they’re not out and about, the murderer will need to look elsewhere. They might even come here to kill a member of the pack.”

“The murderer will know we’ve made assumptions and may not take that gamble. Whoever it is won’t be able to kill so freely again.” So long as everyone locked their doors at night and stayed together, there wouldn’t be a second killing. The only people I worried about were Piper and Rose on patrol. I could feel them circling, sometimes leaving my territory and coming back moments later. They were part of the reason I couldn’t bring myself to sleep. The constant leaving and returning was like being sprayed with water every twenty minutes, impossible to ignore, but I didn’t tell Heath that. I didn’t want him to feel guilty. The plan to have patrols was a good one. It was an early warning system, and they needed the freedom to leave and come back to make sure no one was stalking the outside, just out of my magic sight.

“What’s your plan for tomorrow?” Heath asked, leaning on the railing, swirling what remained of his whiskey.

“Go back to Dallas, try to find clues to Arlo’s location. Come dawn, we have to tell the BSA. You’ll need to come with me for that.”

“So will Teagan and Benjamin. The BSA will have a lot of questions,” Heath said, sighing heavily. “More than the werecats, no doubt. You won’t need to be there for all of it. I’ll handle it.”

“Done it before?”

“Not like this, but yeah, I’ve had a few werewolves go missing. We normally find the bodies later. It’s never been a dangerous situation with a body… It’s always sadder than that.” He looked down at his whiskey, his eyes shifting to ice blue. “We’ve only found one before they did the deed.”

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