8. Chapter Eight

"Lasagna is in the oven, and Carey is coming out to check on the pony. Might want to drop the conversation about Russia," Landon informed us, grabbing a third chair from beside the house and pulling it closer. Heath and I nodded as Carey walked out, waved at us, then ran to the small barn. We watched her in silence as she disappeared inside.

"There. She won't be able to hear now," Landon said softly. "I didn't know we were okay with telling Jacky about the Russia thing." He pointed at his father but didn't seem upset, just curious.

"I'm not going to do anything," I said, hoping to ease his fears.

"She's fine," Heath tried to say at the same time.

"I know. Well, since you and Father are now an item-

"We're not an item," I cut in, but my protest was ignored. Heath's shoulder shook with silent laughter.

"Which I figured was going to happen, I'll tell you how I feel. The Russian pack situation is…" Landon growled. "I hate that Alpha. When I heard he got stabbed, I nearly celebrated."

That shocked me. Landon never seemed celebratory, and with that statement, I was certain he hit his talking quota for the day.

"Have you met him, or do you hate him from afar, based on rumors?"

"I hate him very up close and personal," Landon said with a snap of his teeth. "Being Father's second, sometimes I have run-ins with other Alphas. Some try to sway me into their packs, some try to kill me when no one is watching. Some just call me a few derogatory names behind my back and play nice to my face. Alpha Vasiliev is the type who isn't afraid to call me the ‘n' word because he's smart enough to know America's history with it. Or a faggot. Not that he's unusual for our community. I've gotten it a lot over my years. He's just particularly venomous."

I glanced at Heath and noticed how dark his eyes were as though he was ready to murder whoever would dare hurt his son. It didn't matter that Landon was a powerful werewolf in his own right, Heath wanted to kill anyone who walked over his son.

And he's judging me right now. He wants to know if I'm going to accidentally hurt his son.

"She doesn't know, Landon," Heath said softly, his eyes lightening a little. "I never told her."

"It's not my business," I said quickly. The last thing I wanted was to shove my foot in my mouth. "You don't—"

"You never told her I was gay?" Landon huffed like an exasperated wolf, then turned to me again. "Well, now you know. That's beside the point. Alpha Vasiliev is a piece of work, who needs to be put down like a rabid dog. He's known among the submissive wolves for being cruel, even to those outside his pack. He tends to think of women as his playthings and his submissive wolves as whipping boys for his temper. Anyone who doesn't fit into his narrowly defined view of what a good wolf is doesn't survive in his pack for long, but he has a stranglehold on Russia. If a werewolf is Changed or born in that area of the world, he makes it a point to keep them. It's ballooned the size of his pack, and that's how he gets away with what he is."

I had never heard Landon talk so much, especially not so passionately. I was pretty certain my eyes were the size of dinner plates by the time he was done. When he noticed, he gave me the exact same smirk as his father, and the relationship they shared was never clearer.

"Father, I broke your cat." I had never heard someone joking and annoyed at the same time until that moment.

"I see," Heath murmured, amused.

"I didn't know you could talk so much," I said, trying not to give a weak laugh.

"I don't trust many," Landon softly reminded me, leaning forward. "I can't, being a gay, black werewolf. We've had people challenge me for my position, try to kill me on principle when I visited other packs. It's gotten better over the years, but it's taught me to take my time with people." He looked me over. "But you're good." He nodded as he came to some sort of decision. "You would have made a good werewolf."

"Ah, you missed the chance by a few years," I said, smiling. "Just missed it."

Twenty minutes later, after a round of chuckles and jokes between father and son, Carey came out of the barn, dirty and grinning. Heath followed her in, and I was left with Landon. I didn't miss how Heath had gently patted his son's shoulder before leaving him alone with me.

"I'm sorry I was so off-putting for so long," the werewolf said as I stood to head inside as well. "It wasn't polite, and I never made a good impression."

"It's fine. You never hurt my feelings." I had joked about Landon's distrust of me, but I had never let it hurt me.

"I wanted to hate you for killing Richard. He understood me and taught me it was okay to be who I needed to be. He protected me when I was young when people tried to hurt me before I could defend myself. He was everything a good older brother was supposed to be. And then you killed him." He sighed, shaking his head. For a moment, I saw the weight he carried. I wanted to say it was okay if he did, but he continued talking before I had the chance. "But…Carey loves you, and my father…" A small smile formed. "It's idiotic what you two are doing. One day, Carey will find out, and I don't know how she'll react."

"Or the rest of the world," I commented under my breath.

"Hm." He nodded slowly. "But it's okay. I know what it means to be with someone the world tells me I shouldn't. What I want to say, though…I don't hate you for killing Richard. I respect you, Jacky. You protected my family from a threat we weren't prepared for. He betrayed us. Father and I were too blinded to see what was happening, and Carey was too young. I don't hate you for killing him. I hope we continue to prove to be as good allies to you as you have been to us."

"Landon?" I almost touched his arm as he stood up but pulled away at the last moment. He looked down at me, curious. "Um…thank you."

He nodded, then left me on the back porch by myself, following his family inside. A moment later, Heath walked back out, smiling.

"He's been preparing that speech for a few months," he explained, leaning down to kiss me. "He finally realized it was time to let you in."

"I wasn't prepared to have a deep conversation today, much less with Landon."

The Alpha only chuckled as he kissed me again.

"Let's go in and eat dinner," he murmured on my lips. "Let's stop talking about Russia for the evening. There's nothing we can do. Better minds are working on it."

"Of course."

We went inside together, and I helped Carey set the table, my little rebellion. Heath made his displeasure known with good humor, and Landon went back to his quiet self as he worked on a side dish for dinner.

It felt like a home.

By the time dinner was on the table, we were all ready, finding our seats and digging in without preamble.

"Landon, teach me this recipe," I said, pointing at the serving on my plate. "I've never had lasagna this good."

"I can do that," he agreed, smiling when I caught him looking up from his plate. "If—"

A phone started going off, and for a moment, I sat confused as both the wolves checked theirs and frowned as the blaring, repeated noise continued. It took four rings for me to realize it was my phone. It was the ringtone I set for any werecats who weren't my family.

"Shit. I'll be outside," I said, jumping up and pulling my phone out as I went. I answered before I made it out the door and was able to shut it before the person calling me could respond.

"Jacky speaking."

"Jacqueline, this is Everett. We spoke before, after…"

"You're the werecat in Minnesota. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to come up here. Bring your wolf. I'll see you—"

"Wait. Why? Everett, what's going on?"

"I was called to Duty, but it's more complicated than that. The human is lying, but I don't know what she's lying about. She reeks of werewolf and blood. I figured your wolf should come up here to help…I don't know, but this seems like it's going to get me killed."

"If she's lying…"

"She has no right to my protection," he finished for me. "Jacqueline, this human asked for you, and I think you should come. I can't tell you more on the phone. It might not be safe."

My heart skipped a beat. If that wasn't a sign I needed to get on a plane, I didn't know what was.

"Okay. I'll head out now and catch the first flight available. I don't have access to a private—"

"Figure it out because I'm not keeping this human beyond dawn tomorrow. I want her out of my territory, in your custody or not. I'm calling you instead of Hasan out of courtesy. If you're not here when I throw her ass out of my territory, I'll call him." He hung up on me.

I was shell shocked for a second before heading back inside.

"I have to leave," I announced. "There's something going on, and another werecat wants me there and…"

"Carey, will you step out? Finish dinner in your room, please." Heath's request was in the tone of an order. Carey stood, cast a worried glance, then walked out of the room with her plate.

"Jacky?" Heath stood up slowly.

"I don't know. I was asked, and it seems like I need to go up there, but I don't know what's going on. There's a human lying to a werecat, trying to get protection. This human asked for me."

Right on cue, Landon and Heath's phones started going off. I watched as they answered them, and Heath's eyes went dark while Landon got a vicious smile.

"What is it?" I asked, swallowing. Minnesota. Everett was in Minnesota. I tried to make a mental map. Was he the closest werecat to…

"Alpha Vasiliev died in surgery," Heath answered in a whisper. "From what Alpha Harrison said, he's been dead for an hour, but the Russians don't want to announce. A werewolf loyal to us found out at the hospital and spread the word."

"Everett, a werecat, is in Minnesota with a human asking for protection," I repeated to myself, things beginning to click, puzzle pieces falling into place. "She smells like werewolf and blood. What if she was part of the surgery team?"

"Oh, hell," Landon growled. "Father—"

"He asked me to go up and take her off his hands. He also wanted you to come." I wrung my hands. "I wasn't going to ask…"

"I'm going," he growled softly. "If the Russians think she or anyone on the surgery team killed their Alpha, there's not a pack close by strong enough to stop them from killing a lot of innocent people. If there's a werecat involved, we could be—"

"Looking at war if they move on him," I cut in, nodding. "This is our job, isn't it? Stopping things like this before they get out of control?"

"We've never done it before, but…from my understanding, yes," he said, nodding. "I agreed to be a go-between for werewolves and werecats because of my association with you. You work for Hasan and represent his interests and the interests of all werecats in this part of the world. If we're going to use our connection for anything, why shouldn't it be this?"

"Okay." I nodded in return. "Let's go to Minnesota and find my werecat and whoever this human is. The sooner we get answers, the better."

"I'll start calling around to see if the hospital is willing to release the identities of the surgery team," Landon said sharply. "Once I know who they are, I'll send them your way."

"Try. They probably won't, but please try," Heath said. That made me curious, but I resolved myself to ask in the car. Heath grabbed a light jacket and walked out, talking over his shoulder as he went. "Let's take my truck. I'm grabbing a go-bag. Do you have one at home you want to pick up?"

"Yeah," I answered, calling after him as he disappeared from view. I turned to Landon and sighed. "Sorry I keep getting your father into sticky situations. Are you going to be okay alone with Carey again?"

Landon looked up from his phone and nodded. "We'll be fine. Just don't bring the Russians down this way. If push comes to shove, I'll take her, Dirk, and Oliver to my safehouse, where they'll never be able to find us."

"If you need any help, those two will help you," I reminded him. I didn't question that he had a safehouse or that he could hide all of them indefinitely. "They work for me and are quick learners. Plus, they need something to do."

"I know. If it would make you more comfortable, you might want to tell them to come here and stay in our guest rooms while you're gone. Or I can check up on them every day with Carey."

"Check up on them. I don't want to rip them from their house just yet." Heath walked back into the room as I spoke, and I waved at Landon before joining his father. "Carey—"

"I said goodbye to her from both of us," he said simply. "She understands."

Once we were in his truck, I turned to him. There was more I wanted to ask him, but I hadn't wanted to get caught up talking before we were on the move.

"Why wouldn't the hospital tell us who worked on the surgery team?" I demanded. "We can—"

"Because of cases like this," he answered. "If I were in that hospital, they wouldn't tell Landon or Carey who was working on me. If I die, people are at risk of angry supernaturals lashing out at them. No one is at risk of failing if my son didn't know who they were. Normally, once someone is out of surgery, the team will meet the family, but why would they risk someone taking revenge if someone died?"

All of that made sense. I hadn't paid attention while I was there with my family, too consumed with everything happening to ask many questions. Though there was a case that Hasan being the werecat Tribunal member had different privileges than the average Alpha werewolf.

"Why are the Russians trying to keep it a secret?" I couldn't stop asking questions. This was a new puzzle, and I didn't know enough to draw the right conclusions or any conclusions, really. What I did know, I wanted Heath's confirmation.

"Alpha died. The pack is technically gone. They need to get ahold of the second, deal with challenges, probably a small civil war in their territory. The loyalists are going to put that off for as long as they can to maintain control and figure out which one of them will continue in Alpha Vasiliev's stead."

"Because he didn't die in a challenge…" I realized what Heath was trying to say. "He died due a knife wound from a submissive in the pack who could never take over."

"Exactly. We might be looking at the complete collapse of the Russian werewolf pack. They're going to be violent and angry. It's likely the hospital is already worried about the pack lashing out."

"And somewhere in the middle of this is a werecat with a human who smells like werewolf and blood," I said, taking a deep breath. "This wasn't how I expected today to go."

"I don't think this is how anyone expected this to play out. At least we haven't been completely blindsided."

"No, but Everett has been. I don't think he follows werewolf politics. He probably doesn't know what kind of bomb he's sitting on. There are so many ifs. If Everett has a human who was involved with Vasiliev's surgery and if the werewolves from Russia find out, there's a chance they'll go after her. Everett is already at odds. He's guarding her until we get there, but he doesn't want to keep her. Apparently, she lied to him when she called him to Duty."

"What could this human be lying about?" Heath asked, frowning.

"I have no idea, but we're not required to protect humans who are lying. At the same time, we're not going to let a pack of werewolves kill her when a failed surgery wasn't her fault." I groaned and hit the door in frustration. "We don't know enough, and I feel like we're walking into a war zone."

"I'm right there with you," he said, his eyes trained on the road.

We made it to my home in record time. I ran for my pack and made it back to the truck in less than ten minutes, tossing it into the back with his.

Then we sped off for Dallas, resolved to figure out what exactly was going on.