Chapter 2

2

P ushing thoughts of Rush from his mind, Raydon entered Indy's office, nodding to the woman outside, and closed the door. Indy pointed to the chair without looking up from whatever he was reading, and Raydon sat, nodding to Balor, and waited for Indy to speak.

"How are things with your mate? I saw you talking."

"He has informed me that we will not mate. He doesn't want to watch his daughters grow old and die."

"It is a difficult decision to make," Indy murmured. Sitting back, he pushed the papers away and stared at Raydon. "But the pull to mate is hard to ignore."

"As I recall, you succeeded for five years."

"I had this to deal with." Indy pointed to the remaining chair. "Sit, please, Balor. You know I don't like having you look over my shoulder. I pass you everything anyway." Indy smiled. He turned to Raydon and offered a small smile. "It is a difficult decision for him. All he has is his brother and his children. I look at it as when my parents, brothers, and sisters have gone, I will be here to protect their children." Shrugging, Indy moved the papers, sliding one over the other, then exhaling. "It is hard. I love my annoying as hell family, but the thought of one day not seeing them…" Moving his hand away, he sighed again. "This is an extremely hard decision for him considering what he went through with his parents. He only has Sax, and they are incredibly close. Give him time."

"I have nothing else to give him, and I give that freely. Whatever he needs, I will provide. For him and his children. I already consider them mine, so I will protect them. I'm sure Balor has told you we don't have many children. The fact my mate has two fills me with an emotion I find difficult to describe. I will do everything to keep them safe."

"That's all he needs to know for now. In time, he'll be more open with you, and eventually your relationship will progress."

"I'm certain it will. I left him earlier because I believed it was the right thing to do. He appeared upset when discussing demon longevity. I don't wish to make him feel that way. When we mate, we'll be together for many years, and I want those years to be happy ones. I am aware of matings where things are less cordial. I can think of a specific mating now."

Indy grunted. "You're talking about Manu and Preston, aren't you? I have no idea how they are mates, but from what Deac and Eli said, they communicate far better when they're having sex." Indy shrugged. "Whatever works, I guess." Stacking the papers on his desk once more, Indy continued, "We asked you here regarding Senator Williamson. You have met him, right?"

"Once. He wasn't aware I was there. He has an interesting mind. He loves his wife and will do everything in his power to ensure her safety. His children also."

"Do you think he'll double cross us?"

Raydon looked at Balor, who shrugged. "Your mate will likely have told you what I am about to tell you. From what I saw, he has no intention to double cross you, but he is a politician. He will use this to his advantage to position himself for a bid at the presidency. Depending on how the general population has been misinformed, it could do him well."

"I thought so, too, and I guess in his position, I might do the same thing."

"I would suggest asking for a shifter on his team. That will tell you how serious he is."

Balor arched an eyebrow. "That is a good idea. I agree."

Indy pursed his lips and nodded. "Not sure who though."

"I would suggest one of your brothers, but I wonder if DC would be prepared for one. The twins would be an interesting fit."

"Good god, no." Indy stared, his mouth falling open. "I wouldn't even stick them on my parents, and we share them."

"Teal, I believe, would suit," Raydon suggested.

"Because of the way he looks?" Indy glared at Raydon. "I won't have him used like that. In case you're not aware, he's our only livestock vet."

"You need more staff in Salutem. After you have revealed your existence to the world, there will be shifters who want to live here away from humans. Safety in numbers."

"Anyone but a Dubois—and I say that as a Dubois. I know my family. We would not do well there."

"I agree that the humans need a visual reminder of what shifters have suffered. They tend to forget things if not reminded on a regular basis." Balor rocked on his feet. "Someone with military background who has been involved. Discuss the idea with Deacon. I'm sure between you, you can come up with a suitable candidate."

"Wonderful." Indy leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his face. "Demons."

"You require more for defense. I agree, especially when you shifters are out in the open. Some humans will not take kindly to your existence. Some still struggle with vampires. Crimes against paranormals has begun to decrease, and much of that is due to the hard work the vampire king has done."

"Well, Jacques had his work cut out for him."

"Back to the Senator. You both believe we should do what he wants? Yes or no?" Raydon nodded as Balor said yes. "Ok. Demons will help us here while we all adjust?" Balor nodded. "So, we need to make sure we have the place protected—which means security. We'll need a meeting with them to arrange patrols." Indy looked at Raydon. "Things will work out with Rush. He may be human, but he will feel the pull like everyone else who is mated. Next?" Indy shuffled some of the papers on his desk. "Supplies and staff." He threw a look at Raydon. "You are correct in that both Salutem and Morefield are short on staff. Nothing new there, and if what Balor says is true, we'll need more."

"Ask the shifter community. I believe they have a website." Raydon smiled, then let it slip away when Indy stared at him. "You know the one I am referring to."

"No. I don't. In fact, I have never heard of a website before." He grabbed his phone and dialed a number. "Hunter. What do you know about a shifter community website?" Indy paused, then asked Raydon, "What's it called?"

"Oncetherewasacow.com, I believe." Indy slow blinked. "I came across it by accident."

Indy repeated the website to Hunter, then slowly closed his eyes. "Do you by any chance have log in details? I'm assuming we can't just go on and access it."

"I do, yes." Indy simply stared until Raydon gave them to him. "I was under the impression you knew about it, or I would have said something earlier. It has a lot of traffic. There has been some discussion of the situation with shifters going missing."

"I guess because we've have had our minds on security here and at Morefield Village, plus all the fighting, and investigating those who hunted us, they may have overlooked it."

"Understandable." That made sense to Raydon. No one could keep an eye on everything.

"I see. Okay, Hunter, let me know what you get." Indy put the phone down, inhaled deeply, then blew his breath out. "He's going to create an account and go information gathering." He pointed to the wall. "I need a wall chart or a white board or something so I can keep track of everything."

"I assumed you had assistance." Thinking about it, Raydon had only noticed a single female outside when he entered the building.

"I did. I fired them after the whole council being complicit in selling us out situation occurred. I haven't gotten around to hiring anyone."

"May I suggest my mate. You know he has taken on a job here with a local attorney. He's part-time, so I'm sure he would be able to assist you here."

"And he is mated to you, so you want to help him." Indy tapped his fingers on the table. "Fine. I'll ask him to come in for an interview the same as anyone else." Glancing between Raydon and Balor, Indy asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes, but for council members."

Hearing Balor say that, Raydon stood. "Am I still needed?" Indy shook his head. Raydon disappeared and reappeared by the apartment block Rush lived in. The light was on, so he knew Rush was home, and he stepped back so he wouldn't be seen. Considering how their meeting went, he didn't want to give Rush the wrong impression. However, as Rush's mate, Raydon had the strong urge to protect him—so here he was. And here he would remain no matter what happened between them.

He would protect his mate and his family for as long as he lived.