Page 36 of Secrets and Ruin

“Well, here in Dallas, you only have a handful of options. There’s not a single community in this city you don’t have tension with. The werewolves choked out many other supernatural communities from moving. It was accidental, at least on Alpha Everson’s part, but it’s the truth. However, in the eyes of the fae, we have no ill will to you and yours. That was decreed by King Brion shortly after he reclaimed his throne. So, out of fae and witches, we thought you’d rather work with a fae for a moment.”

“Our pack was large enough, we brought too much attention,” Landon said, nodding. “Father and I never wanted to keep most supernaturals out, but we lived public lives and got a lot of scrutiny compared to other large packs in the United States. Also, our pack was large enough that even though we never wanted to fight others, we couldn’t always prevent some in the pack from causing trouble. That happens in most cities, but we established a large pack faster than others could build up their own networks. It was always a bit imbalanced in our favor. A small incident became a big one quickly.”

“Exactly. So, our communities are small. We’re one of the few cities in the nation without a vampire nest, in fact.”

“They can’t be exposed under any circumstances. How some of the nests manage to operate where they do astounds me,” Landon added. “Like Boston and Phoenix… or New York. Seems impossible to keep anything a secret in that city.”

“The Master of New York is Isaiah, a member of the Tribunal, so he can get away with a lot. He settled in the city when it was still young,” the fae replied, flexing some political and historical knowledge. “But setting up here in Dallas, we’ll probably never see vampires. We might draw some rarer supernaturals now, though. Others who want distance from the werewolves or a smaller population to deal with.”

The light conversation continued as we reached the hangar bay. It was a decent distraction for a moment, hearing that I hadn’t totally broken the city by chasing out the Dallas pack and not allowing a new Alpha to rebuild. The others adapted and finally found space to build up their own communities, which would continue to do the city good.

Supernaturals had their own economy, and I didn’t want to lose access to it, though I always made Heath the one who dealt with anything I needed from other supernaturals. I knew I would eventually allow Dallas to have a pack again. I only preemptively refused Callahan because of the recent events and didn’t want to risk anything in the immediate future.

“Thank you for the conversation and for escorting us. You and your team do a great service to the family,” I said politely to the fae, bowing my head. Landon pulled out several large bills from his wallet.

“All in a day’s work, Miss Leon. It’s an honor to work with any ruler of the supernatural, and thank you for continuing to trust us with your travel. We hope to continue building that trust in the future. If anything happens in this city against you, let me say, from the fae staff here, it will never be one of us or endorsed by us in any way. Our King knows that as well.”

“I am grateful to hear that.”

“Yup. You guys have always been good to me and Father,” Landon said, holding out those bills.

The fae took them and stowed them away without counting.

“I shall split this with the others who have helped get your jet in the air,” he said before leaving us to head back to his work.

I was silent as I boarded the jet, the staff continuing their preparations for takeoff. I didn’t know any of them, but Landon was familiar, shaking their hands and thanking them for being able to lift off at a moment’s notice. As we sat down, I gave Landon a questioning look. He figured out my question without me needing to say anything. The crew was kept on retainer and took mandatory days off to get their flight hours in outside of their work for us, which were staggered so we always had the crew necessary to leave even if some were gone. All of them knew the secret of the supernatural and kept it. Landon and Heath had quietly handled it all while I had been dealing with the rest of Dallas’s properties and resources. Mostly him, since his father had managed the closures and takeovers of the various businesses of the previous pack.

“Thank you,” I said, trying to put the weight into it I felt it deserved. “I wasn’t prepared for how much was going to come from the Dallas takeover.”

“It’s all in your name, with Father and me only doing as much as we’re legally allowed to.”

“Some of it’s in Heath’s name. I gave him rights to a bit of it.” Shrugging, I settled in, getting as comfortable as I could. I had flown on this private jet before, but it felt like a lifetime ago. A distant memory of wanting to get to my sister and Heath following me even though he didn’t agree with my decision.

It was Ranger and Sheila, wasn’t it?

Shaking my head, I tried to dismiss the memory once again. Sheila was Ranger’s longtime partner, both romantically and professionally. She was dead. Heath killed her when she, Ranger, and several dozen other werewolves were forced to attack my territory, particularly Heath and his family protected within my borders. Ranger was lucky to live that night, but he wasn’t whole. He couldn’t regrow the leg I had damaged enough to force amputation.

Most days, I tried my best not to think about that night just a year ago. Now I couldn’t stop, knowing it was the night that had led to Landon and me in the seats we were in.

One attack from a paranoid Alpha, his mind breaking under the strain of the magic keeping him under control. A series of simple decisions on my part to help those who needed help. Uncovering a plot that was far too close to succeeding…

It was also the night Dirk had been bitten by a werewolf, leaving us all waiting with bated breath to see if he would wake up. He’d survived to be a werewolf.

I checked my phone, seeing that no one had reached out yet. I was hoping to hear from Niko or Dirk. Even Niko’s staff or assistant would be a blessing, but I had no missed calls, no texts, not even any new emails.

“Rainer Brandt,” Landon softly growled, but it wasn’t directed at me. Landon was looking at his phone as he read something. “Fenris…”

“Does Fenris have a last name?” I asked, frowning.

“A long list of fake ones,” Landon said, shaking his head. “Nothing telling, though. I can easily see why he wouldn’t want anyone knowing his real name.”

“Yeah…” Bitterness flooded me as I considered the last year. There had been warning signs. There was no missing them. I had trusted that crazed werewolf and trusted how Heath liked to run his pack. I had agreed with Heath in the end, knowing that to foster a sense of trust, we had to let them have secrets to reveal in their own time.

I had never dreamed he would end up revealing his secrets like this. Had never dreamed he would be who he seemed to be.

“How do you think they’re related?” Landon asked. “Is he Niko’s cousin or something?”

The plane started to move as he asked. I could only shrug. After remaining silent, I noticed Landon was frowning at me, causing me to sigh heavily.

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