Page 9 of Secrets and Ruin

“Maybe if we put people in it, I wouldn’t think it’s a waste of real estate, but it just sits empty and spends my money in the form of property taxes right now.” I crossed my arms, daring him to argue. We hadn’t used it since the gathering last year, and I had no plans to use it any time soon. Just like the jet, it sat around, reminding me of events I didn’t want to think about and didn’t want to deal with.

“I think you designed it so your family could come visit you, and that makes it worthwhile,” Heath replied, a loving smile softening everything.

“Good point, and one that might be more valid if my family actually wanted to visit me,” I mumbled.

“Don’t feel alone in that. I understand all too well. My family doesn’t visit me either,” Teagan said kindly. “And they never will, so long as I throw my support behind Heath. I’m not sure there’s any way for me to fix that now. It’s okay, though. I have the boys, Fenris, both of you, and this pack.”

“You have family out there?” I wasn’t the person who asked. Heath was just as surprised as I was, and the words left him faster than I could summon them.

“A couple of siblings and a cousin,” Teagan said with a mysterious smile. “Jacky, you know I’m an expert in Tribunal Law, right?”

“I do…”

“My last few relatives are members of Corissa’s pack,” he said. “Which I left some centuries ago, but not before the Tribunal was formed. I was the person who spent time memorizing every line, every nuance, every little piece I could. Corissa and Callahan leaned on me for a time, but the entire thing became too much, so I left for a quieter life, away from all that.”

“Wow.” I leaned back, thinking. “I can’t imagine why you don’t tell that to people.”

Teagan laughed, nodding in agreement. My sarcasm landed exactly as I’d hoped.

“I tend to avoid talking about it because of the obvious implications. I never wanted Alphas coming to me to get them a conversation with Corissa through my family because that meant I would have to talk to my family. Before you ask, I wasn’t important. Corissa and Callahan didn’t use me as a confidant. I was someone good at understanding the fine print. It was also a peace treaty in the beginning. I wasn’t the only person asked as counsel to get insight on the writing. They had dozens of other werewolves they discussed things with.” Teagan shrugged. “I left for personal reasons a very long time ago. Cut my ties with the pack entirely. Even before I joined a rogue pack, my family didn’t speak to me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Heath murmured. “I’ve been your Alpha for decades, and….”

“They don’t acknowledge me, and I don’t acknowledge them. It’s better that way. We might as well not be related,” Teagan said with his characteristic gentle smile. “Now, enough about me. Maybe later, I’ll tell you more stories, but you should probably get on with your day. Heath, I’m fine with the new group. I understand your reasoning. Maybe next time, I can leave Fenris at home and get Shamus and Ranger out.”

“I like that plan. I already asked Jenny and Carlos to make sure they were free. Thank you for not giving me any trouble over this.”

“There’s no reason for trouble. I hope you two have a nice day,” Teagan said, picking up our drinks and taking them to the sink as Heath and I left.

“He’s an interesting guy. I wish he was more open,” I said as we got into the truck once again.

“This is the most open I’ve ever seen him,” Heath said as he put the truck in reverse and pulled away from the country home. “There’s no world in which I thought he would ever start talking about the life he had before coming to Dallas. He arrived shortly before Fenris after I took over the pack. His file from his previous pack was sparse, but it was enough that I didn’t dig. I was still restructuring the pack from my takeover, and having an older Beta like him was a good addition. Someone calm and experienced helped me smooth over the rough edges of the transition.”

“It wasn’t an easy transition?”

“Not at all,” Heath murmured. “The smoothest part was Landon claiming his position as my second.”

There was a faraway expression I knew too well. Everyone got it when they thought of distant memories, especially the unpleasant ones.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked softly.

“Not today. There’s only one thing I could say about it. When I tell people I will do anything to protect my children, I mean it.”

I didn’t bring the topic up again for the short drive to Fenris’s home.

5

CHAPTER FIVE

Fenris didn’t hear us coming as Teagan had. Teagan had modern security that would alert him when someone was entering or leaving his property. Fenris had none of that. I knocked while Heath looked around the property, standing on the drive as he inspected. Fenris didn’t live in squalor. There were no dead decades-old vehicles sitting in the fields, but there was something run down about his property. It wasn’t refurbished the way Teagan had cleaned up his home. There were no new coats of paint or someone consistently maintaining the fields, which were now overgrown to the point of going wild.

Beyond all that, I saw he had a well-cared-for riding lawn mower, and his actual yard was clear and clean. His driveway had fresh gravel, leveled, so there were no potholes. Everything within fifty feet of his home was cared for, A small area of very specific care, indicative of the man who owned the property.

We had a complicated relationship. He annoyed me with his jokes, oftentimes inappropriate in their nature, timing, and delivery. He scared the shit out of me sometimes because I knew he was unstable. His instability was one of the highlights of our initial meeting years ago.

I also liked him, understanding he held a deep pain inside him. I understood being the outcast of my own kind, and Fenris was certainly an outcast among his own. Like Landon, he was considered a fundamentally broken werewolf. He couldn’t manage the community nature the way most werewolves did. He didn’t crave it. In fact, like Landon, he didn’t trust it. Most werewolves needed their community. Not those two.

The door swung open with a growl from the feral werewolf.

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