Page 35 of Scarred Resolve

“And these rules technically apply to werecats as well,” I said, sighing. “But we don’t have that sort of power structure to enforce those sorts of things.”

“No, you don’t, but that only means helping the victims gets a little harder and roundabout. It doesn’t make it impossible.”

“You want to go to the family of these people and give them money for this couple,” Davor said softly.

“It’s rather nice of werewolves to do that. It must be done quietly since I never see a big show about it,” Niko said as he leaned forward, his eyes lit with curiosity.

“It is. There’s nothing political about it. We’re not trying to buy anyone or shake hands for cameras. For all our faults, we werewolves do want to live with humans openly. We also know we’re dangerous. It was something the NAWC voted on very early on as we started trying to think of all the possible outcomes of our choice to go public and how living openly would turn out. Different Alphas and werewolves already did these sorts of things, knowing in secret we couldn’t actually do anything else. We knew this couldn’t be a stunt. Some tried to make it into one, but I was one of the werewolves that debated for it not to be.”

“Why not?” Niko asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair again.

“We do similar but for humans that work for our family in the world if they’re hurt by a supernatural,” Davor interjected, but I didn’t think he was going to stop the exchange between Heath and Niko now.

“Why would we want to make a stunt out of cleaning up a mess we created?” Heath asked in retort but without heat. I was grateful that Niko’s prying didn’t upset him, as though he might have thought Niko was questioning his integrity. “It only highlights that someone was hurt by a werewolf and that we’re patching that wound and trying to buy our way back into good graces with the humans after it. No, we have to deal with it and try to stop it from happening again. We announce that the werewolf was punished according to the laws agreed upon between the federal government and the NAWC. That’s all the public needs to hear. The family can say they got money if they want, but I think only a few have told the public.”

“That’s smart. It would be too easy to try to spin something like that into a positive,” Niko said, leaning back again.

“A false thing. It would look like a spin, and that undermines everything,” Heath replied as he relaxed a fraction beside me.

“I think you should do it,” I finally said, reaching out to grab his hand. “Use my accounts to fund it. You know what sort of numbers you paid out as an Alpha for different things. Use those for this. I have no doubt it’s a lot of money.”

“It is,” he confirmed, his eyes soft as he looked at me. With a squeeze of my hand, a gentle smile spread. “Thank you. I’ll do what I can for the family while you’re dealing with this.”

“I’ll tell Subira that you’re dealing with this for us,” Davor said, pulling out his phone. “She’ll have some thoughts on it, and maybe Jacky’s wealth can be restored once it’s done.”

“My wealth is fine,” I said, groaning.

“You’re the poorest member of the family who has done the least with the wealth to help it grow,” he said, typing on hisphone with thumbs faster than any I had ever seen. “Wealth is important as an immortal. It’s not a status thing. Live however you like; we all do. It’s important because you need to be able to rebuild if something happens.”

“He’s not talking about something small like someone throwing a Molotov cocktail into your bar either,” Niko said, sighing as he looked away. “He means someone is dropping bombs sort of bad. Fall of a nation bad. Losing all your businesses, losing a lot of your money tied up in a dead economy. That sort of bad. You have to have wealth, and it has to be everywhere.”

“I know, but… I don’t like—” A simple squeeze from Heath made me stop. I looked at him and saw his expression. He believed in the same thing. He had done it before. I knew that.

“Let them recoup the cost,” he said softly as he pulled up my hand, placing a small kiss on the back of it.

The table was silent for a moment, and I sighed.

“Okay. Thank you for doing this. Davor, thank you for thinking of me and my future.”

Davor nodded and went back to typing on his phone at a speed I could never reach.

“Do we have their names?” Niko asked, tapping the picture of the couple again.

“We do. I’ll deal with it. You three should focus on the trip you’re about to take.”

With that, the three of us snapped into action, knowing that was what we needed to do. Grabbing our bags, we did last-minute checks of our gear, making sure we didn’t forget anything. When Davor busted out a two-page-long checklist, I knew we’d be fine on the preparation front. We loaded up my car, and I kissed Heath goodbye. It was shorter than I wanted but long enough to make my cheeks warm.

“I won’t be stupid enough to ask you to be safe. None of this is safe… but remember your promise,” Heath whispered against my lips.

“I will come home,” I promised him one more time before letting him pull away. “I love you. Tell Carey I already miss her, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I will, and I love you, too,” he said, stepping back a little farther.

I opened the door and sat down in the driver’s seat, Niko in the passenger, and Davor in the back. I moved quickly, knowing I couldn’t linger. If I lingered, it would get harder and feel worse. Once we were on the highway to Dallas, I let my hands relax on the steering wheel.

“This sucks,” I mumbled, not paying any mind to the men in the vehicle with me.

“It always does,” Niko said, leaning as he stared out the window. “Do you think the BSA will see us at the airport? They’ll figure out Davor is a werecat immediately if he’s with us.”

---