Page 73 of Bitter Discord

“A few of them are wondering if we’ll end our gathering early, though I bet it’s something all of them are thinking. They want to get out of the city and go home. No werecat likes a cage, no matter how gilded, and they were shaken by the murder,” she said, crossing her arms as she stopped beside me. She eyed the werewolves, then looked at me again. “Others want to know how the hunt for the young werewolf is going. They remember the deal from yesterday but haven’t seen him show up on the local news yet. I told them there was something in the works, and they would have to wait for you.”

“How did they take that?”

“Surprisingly well,” Zuri answered with one shoulder rising in a small shrug. “In the first twenty-four to seventy-two hours after a murder, things can evolve quickly, and any werecat who’s been around for a few centuries understands that. The initial shock has worn off, and considering there was no second murder since we asked them to stay here under our protection, they’re calming down. Lonan continues to be the prickliest, and I think that will come back into play today with you back, but he didn’t give me attitude after dinner.”

“It’s a power thing,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s older and stronger than me. He knows you would win easily. Plus, I’m the werewolf fucker, remember?”

“One of them…” A deeply furious growl overtook what Heath had hoped to say.

“Lonan wouldn’t shake her hand when he arrived,” Zuri added, rolling her eyes. “There are werecats like that. Just like there are probably werewolves who would look down on you for being with Jacky. There’s a lot of animosity between our kinds, and it runs deep for some.”

Heath’s growl grew louder.

“He’s angrier someone insulted Jacky than he is about why,” Landon said, standing beside his father. “Pa, your bad mood is going to get us into a fight. You can’t go in like that.”

Heath quickly reined it in, the emotions in his scent becoming invisible. He said nothing as he schooled his face and took a deep breath. It was strange to see Landon be the more rational of the two. Heath was normally more reserved.

Is it the pack in general or the circumstances of Arlo being a kid? Is it the total combination of circumstances pushing his buttons in a bad way?

I didn’t have an answer, but I was watchful. I loved Heath with everything I was, but I wasn’t blinded by that love. He was acting a bit out of character today.

“That’s better, Pa. We’ll get through this for Arlo. We’ll get him back.”

“Other than Lonan, has anyone stood out?” I asked my sister, getting back on topic.

“The ones who have stood out for me aren’t relevant to what you need,” she answered, looking back toward the mansion. “Marcia and I got a little loud at one point. We’re known to when we cross paths. We had people taking bets on whether there would be a fight. Marcia remembered I’m a witch… so there was no fight.”

“Can you do any tracking spells?” Heath asked, looking at Zuri. “Why haven’t we considered that?”

“I can’t. It’s not a spell I’ve learned. I have to be careful about what modern spells I attempt. The results I get are sometimes… different because I’m ancient, and witches from my time are vastly more powerful than the witches of today. While we have raw power, which lets us do many things easily, we have to develop our own solutions to the problems modern witches have worked out in their own way.” Zuri looked apologetic. “I would have done it if I could. I wasn’t trying to hide the possibility. Do you trust any other witches to try? We can still enact this plan, and—”

“No,” Heath said quickly, shaking his head. “The last thing we need is another group added to this. There are no other witches I can trust, not right now.”

“I’ll add a proper tracking spell to my list of spells to develop. I’m sorry I didn’t have one at the ready.”

“It’s amazing you hamstrung yourself for thousands of years and never used your magic,” Landon said, walking toward the mansion without us. Following, his words hung in the air until we reached the door.

“My father hates witches,” Zuri said simply. That made Landon frown in her direction.

“That’s it?” Landon’s frown went deeper as I caught anger in his scent. “You hid just because of that?”

“When a man like Hasanhatessomething or someone, you do your best not to be associated with it.” Zuri met his gaze. “Do I regret not embracing my magic fully after so many years? Yes. In moments like this, I can’t help regretting it. Can I go back in time and tell my younger self she shouldn’t be so scared of her father? No. He’s a terrifying man, and while he can soften it for a time, he will always be terrifying. He threatened to kill the mother of Jabari’s child because she wanted to raise him outside the influence and pressure of the family. He’s killed his own brothers and sisters. It was never unreasonable to think he could kill Jabari or me if we stepped too far over the line.” She waved toward the house. “It was also never unreasonable to think other werecats would want us dead when they found out.” She opened the door and led us in, making it clear the conversation was over.

I caught the soft pain in her scent as I followed her inside.

27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Downstairs, we stood at the front of the room once again. I shook hands with Everett as he walked in.

“Care to throw me a hint about what’s coming?” he asked me. I shook my head. He shrugged and moved on to sit with Coyotl.

When Marnar came in, she shook hands with me, Zuri, then even Heath and Landon.

“This is rude to ask and possibly very sensitive, but is it true you lost your wife during the Civil War?” she asked Heath, the question delivered kindly. “And you fought on the side of the Union.”

“My second wife and yes to both,” Heath answered, taking the question in better stride than I thought he would. “Have you been reading up on me?” That question had an edge I expected of him from how the morning was playing out.

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