Page 32 of Scarred Resolve

“Oh, damn,” I whispered.

“It was a good effort to learn. The call not to try it again was made by Callahan and Corissa, and at that time, I agreed with them. In that, I can’t say my opinion has changed since I fell out with them. Hasan probably knows about it. It was reported to the Tribunal since it would have helped all supernaturals deal with a Last Change werewolf if one showed up.” Heath paused for a second, then looked around. “You’re all going to take silver, right? You were looking at my armory yesterday. Again, take whatever you need.”

“Absolutely,” Niko promised. “When the hunt gets to the fighting, we’ll have a system. One of us will be in werecat form. In this group, it’ll be Jacky, most likely. Sorry, you don’t have the weapons training we do.”

“I know,” I said with a shrug. “I can also talk in werecat form, and it’s sturdier.”

“She’s vicious as a werecat,” Heath said, a compliment that reinforced my going as a werecat that wasn’t just to protect me or because I was bad at something else.

“Yeah, so Jacky will be a werecat in the fights. She’ll get the most attention, being in her werecat form. Her goal is to taunt,keep it coming for her, and move around whatever our arena ends up being. I’ll be attempting to get some good hits in with silver in the melee, while Davor offers ranged fire with silver bullets. While I would love to say we discovered that we can just put a bullet between its eyes and be done, it doesn’t work that way for werecats.”

“Of course not. Even with werewolves, relying on a single good shot is foolish. You have to see someone going through it to get lucky enough to do that, while they’re wrapped up in the pain and might not be reinforced by the physical changes of the Last Change,” Heath said, running his hand through his hair. “After that, you just have to be lucky to hit it. A moon cursed in their Last Change can be very fast. Do you have practice hitting one?”

“I won’t hit Niko or Jacky,” Davor said quickly. “I’m a fair marksman. I would rather take a miss than hit a sibling or any ally. The hardest part is making a shot that hits the werecat in the right spot to do enough damage. Thick skulls, packed on muscle… I’ll have to pick my shots carefully if I want them to help.”

“Good, good. I’m going to leave you three, then. I need to check on the wolves, make a few business calls. You know.”

“The work never stops,” Davor agreed.

He swooped down to kiss me as he left, leaving me smiling. I knew he wasn’t too busy today. I was glad he was making an effort to focus on his projects instead of hovering over me and this, but it was just a tactic to get him from stewing on this too hard. He’d asked his questions about how this was going to work, and he needed to leave before he tried to join us or, worse, fell to the urge of trying to convince me to stay behind. I knew he would still think about it all day, though, no matter what he was doing. He would tell us if he thought of anything when we saw him again. I was certain of that.

However, with his departure, an awkwardness settled on my living room. I was used to Niko in my space. Davor, on the other hand, was new, and I didn’t realize how comfortable Heath made me until he was gone.

“So… you two worked this out?” Niko said, gesturing between us. “I see you’re acting more like your old self. It’s really good to see, Davor.”

“I’m doing my best,” Davor said with a tired smile as he stared at his glass. “Everything still hurts, but…” Davor glanced at me before focusing back on his drink, the sad smile fading as he did. “I’ve learned enough to know how to get through the day without destroying my life any further. It helps that some things have been put to rest, and I’m getting second chances I don’t deserve, both of which I’m grateful for.”

“Yeah, it’s hard going when the source of the pain feels so unresolved,” Niko agreed, reaching out to rub Davor’s shoulder.

“I know I’ve said it before, but thanks.”

It took me a second to realize Davor had directed that at me. I raised my glass in a silent toast—to resolution, to healing, to gratitude, and to family.

I barely knew this Davor, but I was glad to finally start meeting him.

“No need to thank me,” I said with a smile.

14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

It was well after dinner when Niko, Davor, and I got word that Subira’s offerings to the mission were ready. A text woke us all up, and my brothers were at my house only five minutes later. Davor was spending the night with Niko as they finished the major prep of our things. I was waiting for one more werecat in Alaska to get back to me, all the others letting me know it wasn’t them and that they didn’t know who it could be.

“How do you think she’s going to get stuff here? Should be any second now,” I asked absentmindedly as my brothers did an inventory of the bags they had brought over to kill time. We would each have a giant hiking bag and a second item. Davor’s was his case that held the computer and satellite phone. Mine was a duffle of medical equipment we could need at any moment. Niko’s was a mystery to me.

“Oh, shit,” Niko whispered, his eyes going wide at my question. I didn’t realize what he was going bugged eyed about until I heard the doorknob turn.

“Oh, gods damnit,” I snapped as it opened.

Hasan stood there silently, and once he had the door open, he turned to not look at any of us. Subira stepped into view,holding a large bag. She looked exhausted, with dark bags under her eyes, her cheeks a little sunken. I was positive she hadn’t slept at all since the call.

“This is for you,” she said, stepping into my office. “I can’t stay long. Hasan didn’t get proper approval for me to step through the Tribunal’s domain.” Hasan quickly closed the door, leaving her with us.

“I… Uh…” I pointed at the door. “How do you plan on getting home?” I asked as she walked toward me and put the bag in the middle of my desk.

“It’s still open even though the door is closed,” she explained. “I can’t stay in there for a meeting, though. It was something the others voted on a long time ago. When they initially wrote the rule to keep me out of power, I would sit in Hasan’s office and talk to him about what was going on, especially in those early days when every small choice mattered so much. Setting precedent. They didn’t like it. Now, he has to get permission for me to go there for any length of time.”

“Or what?” I asked, crossing my arms with a frown.

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