.Chapter Thirteen .

Deven tossed his jacket into the backseat of the rental car. "That went more smoothly than I expected."

"Did you really expect problems? The Coyote Clan"s been working hard to get themselves right."

"They have. But experience has shown that there are usually leftover problems that start to arise in the six months to a year mark. I"m glad to see Jose and his supporters seem to be making a good go of it."

"That man will be fine. He"s smart and sensible."

His brother wasn't wrong. The young alpha was trying his best to strengthen his clan and help them overcome the terrible things the former leader had done. "I appreciate all his hard work. Now we can return to headquarters."

Zeven chuckled.

He bristled a bit. "It isn"t as if you want to be away for long either."

"Truth."

His brother wasn"t one for a lot of words, but he could easily imagine what he was thinking. Having a mate changed everything. He was starting to understand that himself. Damn she"d been amazing last night. Or rather, this morning. How could that crazy tech nerd turn into such a sexy vixen in his arms?

Even remembering that moment as she sank down over him... aw, dammit. He was hard again. And grinning like an idiot.

Not at all appropriate for traveling with his brother.

"With a little luck we"ll be back home in three or four hours." Even as he said the words, they felt like eternity. Just an hour to the airport and then a quick two-hour flight home.

Strangely, he was getting used to having Zeven beside him. Family. What a strange and alluring concept.

What was it Quinn had told him about family? It"s not about blood. Family comes from faith. It took more than a couple years for him to even understand what the old vamp had been trying to express. Back then he hadn"t had faith in anyone or anything. He sure as hell hadn"t trusted the undead bastard who occasionally drooled when eyeing him.

Faith.Over time it developed whether you wanted it or not. Might have been more than a decade, but eventually Quinn became a constant in his life that he unintentionally relied on. Family. He"d become family.

Then came Tessa.

And now Zeven. And packaged with Zeven came Harley.

Did he trust Zeven completely yet? Probably not. The faith just hadn"t been given time to grow. But he wanted to trust him, wanted to have faith, wanted him to become family. Maybe just wanting it was enough. What would Quinn say? He"d probably say, shut up and do your job. But his meaning would be something a fair sight deeper. Under the gruff and growl, Quinn would be telling him to give it time and have faith.

And if it all fell apart? If the faith was misplaced?

Quinn would shrug it off and move on. Somehow the old bastard managed to hold onto his ideals and optimism even when it didn"t go his way. If Zeven did try to screw them over, if he did run roughshod over their faith, it would still be okay, wouldn"t it?

He"d still have Quinn and Tessa by his side. He wouldn"t be left alone again. For the first time in a long time, he accepted that his biggest fear probably wasn't the storm. No, far worse than the water had been the loneliness. The wild coyotes had helped him stay alive. But with them, with the hunter and with the zoo… he'd always been alone. Only when he'd found Quinn had that changed. He'd been changed.

Once Quinn decided to assimilate an individual, he wouldn"t let them escape easily. Maybe he was actually a borg... You will be assimilated.

Just like Zeven was now learning.

He might not yet have full faith in Zeven, but he did completely trust Quinn. If he said Zeven would become family, then he would. He'd said the same about Tessa and that had certainly happened.

Tessa... Damn, he couldn't wait to get back to her. One thought about her and he was shifting uncomfortably in the seat. Yeah, he needed a distraction.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask." He waited until Zeven turned down the music. "How is Harley handling it all?"

"The pregnancy?"

"That and the move? It's been a lot of change for her." He'd intended the topic as a distraction but once the words hit the air, he realized he'd never really asked before.

His brother's face changed completely. "She's amazing. I'm no catch but every day she tells me she loves me. I never thought I'd have something so precious in my life."

How was he supposed to reply to that bones-deep honest shit? Of course, he wanted the same for himself someday. Tessa's face flashed into his mind.

"I need to be by her side now."

He could easily identify the spiral Zeven was about to take. It was the same one he was trying to avoid. "Now that you're moved in, do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah, you and Quinn have been good to us. Did you know he brought us a bunch of baby clothes as a gift? Harley loves the little outfits, but I was more impressed by him giving us access to the agency funds."

"Funds? Oh yeah, he mentioned he was going to set up an account for you." Maybe the old man was slipping a little. Zeven had been with them a while and was only just getting paid.

"We still have plenty of cash since our living expenses have been almost nothing, but it was nice of him to make it official. Caught us both by surprise."

"I'm sorry that I didn't notice. I'll make sure the agency covers all the back pay from when you started until now."

"No man, you misunderstood. Quinn has been paying me in cash from the beginning. This was just an account to make it easier. It felt like maybe this was his way of saying I passed my training period."

"Good. That makes sense." He should have known better. Quinn wasn't the kind to take advantage. He was responsible and thoughtful. About the gifts too. He should have been thinking about a proper gift before this as well.

"Do you remember us talking about looking for a ranch to set up a home for our clan?"

"Yeah…" He remembered but the topic change had come out of nowhere. "Are you thinking of moving out?"

"No, that's not it. But Harley and I were talking, and it still seems like a nice thought to claim something in the area of our clan even if we don't move there anytime soon."

He wasn't sure about the value of owning land that wouldn't be used. But it wasn't his place to make decisions for Zeven.

"The land that our clan used to live on was part of a reservation. It isn't available for purchase, but there is a little place near there that just came onto the market. I'm thinking about buying it."

"I suppose that makes sense."

"Not just for me and Harley, but for you too. For our clan." Before he could object, Zeven stopped him with a heavy hand on his shoulder. "I know you won't leave Quinn. It might be strange to say about a vampire, but he feels like part of our clan too. I'm not planning to leave you or him."

There was something more behind Zeven's words.

"None of us age like humans. It's not like we can live in the same place for our whole lives unless that place is private enough to protect us. I want a place like that, a sanctuary for our people."

The idea bloomed within him. Everything Zeven was saying was true. He and Quinn had moved several times during their life together already and that was over only a few decades. As comfortable as the mansion was, it would stop being safe eventually.

"Will you help me give our clan a permanent home?"

"Yeah, it's a damn good idea." He hadn't even been able to think long-term about their family or clan. Zeven was the amazing one. He was already setting goals and creating workable plans to make it reality. He was no match for Zeven. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Looks like I have a good big brother after all."

Zeven joined in the laughter for a moment before growing serious once more. "Deven?"

"Yeah?"

Zeven's voice was low and serious. "Thanks for saving my ass."

For a second, he wasn't sure what his brother was talking about. "You mean way back then?" It may have only been a little more than six months ago, but after so much had happened, it felt like a different lifetime.

"My life was a quiet hell back then."

So much had changed. But he was very glad he'd taken the chance on Zeven. "That wasn't me. Harley is the one who got you on the right track."

"But it was you who showed me the fork in the road. I'm never going to forget it. I just want you to know how much it means."

"We're family." Now, they were anyhow. Back then he'd only had a slim hope and Quinn's promise that it was possible.

"Deven, we're more than that. We're clan."

"Clans have territories and alphas and more than two members." Or so he'd heard and seen. What they had wasn't even close to the same. "I'd settle for having you be in my family."

"Call it whatever you want. All I know is that I've never been happier than where I am now."

"Just wait until the twins are born."

"Now, that terrifies me."

"Probably should. But you know we have your back. Not just in the field. Division Eight isn't just a place to work. It's a place to belong." Again, he was repeating words that he'd inherited from Quinn. Seemed he was doing that a lot lately.