Page 24 of Scarred Resolve

“We had many leave Europe. While the fae and witches are the strongest populations in Europe, the werewolves won’t be driven to extinction like their natural counterparts in some nations. Europe is crowded, and even werecats born in the region weren’t enjoying having supernatural neighbors right at their territory borders.”

“I can draw up a list of werecats we knew left the region,” Davor said quickly. “We can cross-check it with names Jacky has heard.”

“Good idea,” Subira said, clapping her small hands together. “And I think Davor would do the best going with them. There’s no reason to think this werecat would be able to handle all three of you. If it’s someone you and Niko knew before they left Europe, then you might understand what led to this.”

“We could be making a fatal mistake. We’re hoping this werecat has a territory,” Zuri pointed out.

“Wait, this could be a rogue werecat that’s running around with barely any way to know where it might be going?” Landon asked, breaking his silence.

“Yeah,” Dirk muttered. “That would make this a lot worse.”

“Holy shit,” Landon growled, beginning to pace.

“Living that remotely, they have to have a territory,” Jabari said. “They might not have a permanent residence, or it might be off the grid, but rogues require running across civilization sometimes. A werecat that remote probably counts on a yearly shopping trip in town then hiding in the wilderness again.”

“Or a group of humans helping them. We saw that in Washington years ago.” I couldn’t forget the open secret that was Gaia and Titan, the mysterious couple living near each other in that park, and how the park employees knew about them.

“This is all theory until we know more.” Subira stood up, her posture and tone telling all of us that she was in charge. “Davor, I want you to go to Jacky and Niko. Put your heads together and see if you can find out some names of who lives in that region and if Jacky has received any word from them or about them. While you do that and prepare for the trip north, I’ll work with these two about gathering any sort of equipment you might need from us. We need to move swiftly, but not without proper planning and caution. If you rush up there and pick a fight without preparing for it, you’re only increasing your chances of not coming back.”

“I can be in Dallas in twenty-four hours,” Davor confirmed, clicking with his mouse as he stared at a side screen.

“Perfect. I will speak to Hasan once we’re done here. He’ll probably have some things to say about the Tribunal’s information on this as well. Callahan might already have gone to talk to him concerning this situation.”

“I don’t mean to cast doubt on the Tribunal, but are we sure Callahan will respect Hasan enough to inform him of this?” I asked cautiously.

“In this matter? I do,” Subira said, though she also needed a few seconds to think about it. “This is a substantial risk, not just for us or humans, but for werewolves as well. It’s a risk for most supernaturals. We don’t need to hear of every Last Change werewolf, but… well, they aren’t as dangerous as a werecat that’s been lost to the curse. This situation is different, and I trust Callahan remembers how important that difference is.”

“The Tribunal could also assist in helping keep others from entering the region or asking those they know there to leave,” Zuri mentioned. “Maybe Father could work on that?”

“Yes. This is all good. I will bring it up to him. Now, I want everyone to take a deep breath. Two humans are dead. I hope there’s some way to help bring their memories peace when it issaid and done. There’s nothing else we can do for them. If this goes well, they will be the only two lost. Preparations shouldn’t take longer than forty-eight hours. We’ll reconvene when Davor is in Texas.”

With short goodbyes after that, we all started hanging up.

11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Landon and Dirk left quickly because someone had to tell the pack that nothing was happening in my territory. I hadn’t considered that when I had them head home, but I knew those two could smooth everything over with the pack. Already, Heath’s phone was starting to vibrate, but he didn’t check it. After a few minutes, the texts and calls stopped, probably because Landon was getting the word out that everyone was safe and the emergency wasn’t the pack’s concern.

With only me, Heath, and Niko left, I didn’t know what to say or do, letting the silence persist for a long time. I was a little fidgety but tired at the same time, laying my head down on my desk to close my eyes even while my leg shook and my fingers drummed the desk. I was already exhausted but too wired for a nap.

“She’s right,” Heath said as we sat around my office, the one brave enough to break the silence.

“About?” I asked, not lifting my head off my desk. I knew I was muffled by my arms, but I was able to hear just fine.

“Thanks to the remote area and low population density, it’s better to take your time in response to this, making sure youhave the right type of supplies and weaponry. If this were near any sort of population center, even a town of a hundred people, rushing to get into the fight would be necessary, but there’s a lot of space out there.”

“So, we have a chance to plan with minimal risk to others, and we should take it,” I said, pushing myself all the way up. “I agree. I didn’t argue at all with Subira.”

“I know you,” he said as I saw the sad smile he had. “You want to go right now and save anyone you can.”

I couldn’t deny that, but I also knew that Subira was slowing down my instinct to run off to fight, not only for my safety but the safety of Niko and Davor. She was right that any one of us could be killed if we rushed in without gathering more intel or preparing properly.

“Yeah, I’m fidgety. I want to get up there and do something now, but I promise not to run off when no one is looking. If this is how the family wants to do this, then I’ll wait for Davor to join us.”

“Work with me about who you know up there,” Niko said, pulling a chair around the desk to see my desktop. I pulled up a small spreadsheet I had made ages before, noting the names and emails I got from werecats. If I knew a rough idea of where they were, I noted that, too. I had them labeled as business contacts, so no one would jump immediately to thinking they were werecats if they opened the document. That meant I didn’t use their full names, human or werecat, only their first names for my own reference.

“Three of these are from the Yukon,” I pointed out. “But the Yukon is a region of Canada. Close to Alaska, but the reserve where the killings took place is on the other side of the state.” I pulled up a quick search for a map to show him the distance we were talking about.

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