Page 25 of Scarred Resolve

“What do you know about those three?”

“They know each other and talk often. If it was one of them, the other two are either dead or… yeah, probably dead.” I didn’t like to consider that. These three had never been a problem for me. Each of them emailed me a few times to let me know of their loyalty to the family. There was always a line about how they were just with another one, doing something or another, like a fishing trip or helping build a greenhouse. Realizing he couldn’t see the names from his spot, I read them out loud. “Their names are Leopold, Jean, and Pierre.”

“Oh, the trappers,” Niko said, leaning in. “I knew them for a short time. Pierre was still human when they left Europe, only seventeen or so. I’m glad to know he made the Change and they’re still near each other. Good group.”

“What else do you know?”

“Ah, Leopold and Jean are brothers by blood and Change, and Pierre is Leopold’s biological son. I wouldn’t doubt if Leopold did that himself. Send them an email and see if any of them reply. I hope this isn’t them.”

“Yeah,” I said, pulling up my email to check in on them.

“Say it like Subira did. Someone lost their control of the curse. You don’t need any more detail than that,” Niko suggested as I typed. “They’ll be concerned because no one likes news about this, but they’re close enough to it that they should know. They might have others running through their territories to get out of the region.”

“We’re talking about hundreds of square miles, Niko. The likelihood that anyone runs into their territories…” I didn’t want to start a panic. I didn’t want to make these werecats paranoid about others coming through their lands. I didn’t want it to sound like we had supernaturals running for their lives.

“Here, let me,” Niko murmured, reaching over to slide my keyboard into a place he could use it. “The goal is to let them know that plans are being made to contain the situation and howunlikely it is that they find themselves involved. While unlikely, they should be ready to help anyone who might pass through but stay cautious in case others might take advantage of the situation. Do you know any other werecats in that region?”

“No. I have no idea who lives in Alaska. I’m sure some do, thanks to how much rural out-of-the-way space there is, but none have reached out to me directly or admitted that they live there.”

“Then we’ll ask them if they know any of their neighbors in that area…” Niko kept typing and hit send before I could read the email myself.

“Niko, I might want to check an email being sent out with my name on it,” I hissed softly, frustrated he didn’t clear it with me.

“I signed it from both of us. If they don’t like it, they can find me and throw a fit,” Niko replied with a shrug before standing up.

“That’s not what we agreed on when you moved here.” In fact, we had agreed he would advise me when necessary, but I was still the one in charge. Writing an email and sending it without giving me a chance to read it felt like overstepping. Saying they could throw a fit to him wasn’t in the spirit of what we had talked about. The werecats were supposed to come to me, not him.

“It’s fine, Jacky.” He went across the office and leaned on the wall. “Where do you keep your weapons?”

“There’s a gun shed in the security building. I can show you,” Heath said, standing up. As he waved Niko to go with him, he looked back at me. “Deep breath. Go through what you know. If nothing comes to you in the next hour, go for a run. Use that energy. Don’t bottle it up. That’ll only make you anxious.”

“I will,” I promised, beginning to click through all the files I had gotten from the BSA. The door closed softly, the tiny click telling me I was finally alone since I woke up.

That was when I couldn’t stop the fear from rushing up and taking me. I followed Heath’s suggestion. Deep breaths. I needed my hands to stop shaking. I needed my vision to clear because seeing double didn’t help me read the report written by the rangers. I needed my chest to loosen up.

I had just fought a moon cursed in the Last Change. There was no way this was going to be any easier. There probably wasn’t any fae magic involved this time, but I knew that wasn’t going to make this simpler than dealing with Fenris and Rainer.

That had nearly killed us—me, Landon, Dirk, and Niko.

Continuing to attempt a simple deep breathing exercise, I looked at my hands in my lap. I studied my nails and considered how they looked when I fought that old mad werewolf.

Is this going to push me further? Should I tell someone? I can’t just expect someone else to deal with this. I have to go out there and help. I can’t let Niko and Davor do it by themselves. I can’t pull Jabari and Zuri from their children again and risk leaving my nephews as orphans.

Curling my fingers in, hiding those nails, I growled softly.

I won’t be a failure. Not to Subira. She believes in me. I might always be one to Hasan, but I won’t be one to her. I can’t. Not with her unconditional support of my choices. I won’t let her down.

Being trapped in the house while alone clearly wasn’t working for me, so I got up, going wherever my feet felt like taking me. I left the house, ignoring how the werewolves were slowly trickling back in. Landon and Dirk were talking to Ranger. Heath was with Niko right outside the security building, looking over Heath’s rifles, silver knives, and a number of other things.

I kept moving, breaking into a jog before I reached the trees. I was at a full sprint by the time I entered my forest. I kept running.

I wasn’t someone who worked out or ran regularly with some leggings and nice tennis shoes. I was running full speed in an emotionally comforting leather jacket. If I were still human, it would have been a nightmare, but it didn’t bother me because I wasn’t human. It didn’t matter what I was wearing. If I wanted to run, I was going to run. While I didn’t push so hard that anything ripped, I knew my clothing would give out before I did.

Almost instinctively, I reached the edge of my territory and made a sharp turn, having to grab my balance with my hands to keep moving at that speed to follow my border. I couldn’t follow it far, not in broad daylight in my human form, because it ran through a few backyards. I could go far enough, though.

I stopped before I reached a point where I really had to worry about anyone seeing me. I had no idea how long I had been running, but it wasn’t so long that I was tapped out. I could get home at a reasonable jog; that I was sure of.

I’m not ready to head back, though… not yet.

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