Page 94 of War Games

“I think I can, but we’ll play it by ear,” Heath said, kissing my cheek. “Where’s Carey?”

“Inside, playing video games with Arlo and Benjamin,” Teagan answered.

Heath let me go and went to find his daughter, who shrieked in excitement to see him. She would have known he was out here, but I had seen her dip out while he was being healed, unable to look at him torn up by Callahan. Hasan and Subira went to have a conversation privately by the trees; no one, not even Niko and me, could hear it. Heath didn’t come back to me, having to check on his werewolves and explain changes thatmight happen. Niko helped Dirk and Landon haul my entire bed—frame, mattress, and everything else—out of the house.

“Where am I going to sleep?” I demanded.

“We’ll figure it out,” Heath said loudly, chucking out the pillows that had specks of blood on them.

“Wow.”

“Jacky,” Hasan said softly. I turned quickly, not realizing he had snuck up on me. I was watching so much happening that I hadn’t been paying attention to my magic. His eyes looked sadder than they had when he went to talk to Subira.

“Yeah?”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, no longer with gold eyes, but human. “I know we might not be able to repair everything, but I want you to know that I am going to do my best to. If I can’t, I won’t force it, either.”

“Did she tell you about what happened when I was young?” I asked, hugging myself as I looked away from him.

“She said that if you wanted to tell me, you can now, and I know the warning when I hear it. I won’t pry.” Hasan sighed. “She did tell me what you saw from her memories.”

“You were there, so that’s fair,” I said, swallowing. “It was your life, too.”

“Any questions?”

I searched his face, seeing pain and vulnerability. This was a man who did not share everything, nor was it easy for him when he did. I understood the mystery of him and Subira better now.

They had lived through nightmares they didn’t want to hurt their family by sharing.

“Just one,” I admitted, knowing I couldn’t ask everything, not right now. “Are you okay?”

“Are you?” he asked in return.

“I’m doing better now.”

“Me, too.”

Not broken, that was what Subira had yelled at me. The family wasn’t broken, and she wouldn’t let it break. It had been battered and bruised. It was still healing, but I knew too much now to look at Hasan and think he was just an asshole. He knew too much about me to think I was just being petulant and disobedient.

“Want to walk with me?” I asked him. He nodded and followed me as I went toward the trees. Niko and Subira were hanging out on the porch and waved as we passed them. Hasan and I didn’t talk on the walk, but it felt good, a reminder of our earliest days when we would walk around his island together.

When we got back over an hour later, Corissa was there with two of her own werewolves. I had felt the arrival of the three unrecognized werewolves, but their location hadn’t made me fret. Subira and Niko being at the house saved the werewolves from needing to fight if one had broken out.

“Are you waiting on Heath?” Hasan asked Corissa as we passed by her.

“We already spoke for a moment. He told me the theory you all had about Callahan and my plan,” she said, not looking directly at Hasan.

“Oh?” Hasan’s tone reminded me of an older brother. “And?”

“You all were right… except we had been considering Heath to be Callahan’s successor for years now. A stable man, family-oriented, willing to take on larger opponents…” She finally looked at Hasan. “But then he decided to step down from Dallas.”

“Oh, a pity,” Hasan said, chuckling.

“You accused us of sending him to seduce your daughter. What’s stopping me from accusing you of sending her?” Corissa asked, and that made me raise an eyebrow.

“It pisses them off when you start saying that, trust me." Hasan made a face, one that seemed a bit silly with an eyeroll."Considering Heath is the winner here, maybe you shouldn’t start that line of discussion?—”

“Do you two ever turn it off?” I asked them, wondering why Corissa was even still there. “And can I help you? Do you still need something?”

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