12. Chapter Twelve

Dallas was a beautiful city, one I wished I visited more but never did. Werecats didn't find comfort leaving their own territory and were definitely not comfortable in the territory of a large werewolf pack. Or really any werewolf pack. I had only been in the city once in the last six years, and the visit had been rough on my mental state. Just a two hour drive away from home and I'd hated every second. I hadn't been able to do anything since I had been terrified wolves would find me and put me down for encroaching on their space. I hadn't liked leaving my territory undefended either, constantly worried about it.

What could I really say? I was a homebody.

I drove through downtown looking for a place where I could essentially dump my car for the entire time and finally found a grocery store parking lot and parked in the very back. With my luck, someone would tow it anyway, but it was the only place I could think to drop it. I popped my trunk and took stock of everything I had. I tucked my knife into my boot and considered what to do with either of the stolen guns. Gun laws in Texas were more lax than other states, but I still didn't have any sort of carry permit.

Hell, up until recently, I barely used the damn things. Hasan always told me to practice, just in case I needed to defend myself…

I groaned, thinking about the ancient werecat and how he'd now called over a dozen times. They were more spaced out as time passed, but he still called, trying desperately to convince me not to do what I was doing. Probably. I was his ‘daughter' and he was protective of his family.

I grabbed one, checking its ammo, and then the second. The first, also the first one I grabbed from the dead, had a lot more ammo, so I decided to take it, tucking it into my jacket pocket. I checked my reflection in my car's window, then shook my head. That was way too obvious. I couldn't put it in the waistband of my jeans either. I didn't own anything loose enough to handle that and didn't want to shoot myself.

"No gun, then…" I didn't like the decision, but I didn't want to get arrested either. I put it carefully back into the trunk of the hatchback and closed the trunk.

With a deep breath, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began the haphazard research I was planning as I walked to the nearest place to find some food and coffee. Coffee sounded great. I was out for ten hours and it was already past dark. If anything was open on a Tuesday night, it would be quiet.

After dark, the werewolves would be out too.

I kept my nose trained on any scent that might come by, my eyes on my screen, and my ears listening for anything interesting.

"We should probably get home, love. With the werewolf thing happening, the governor thinks it's too dangerous to be out and about," a woman said to the man next to her.

"They should call in the fucking National Guard and put those animals down. It's all fine and dandy until someone gets turned, or even better, gets their arms torn off." The guy was cruel, but I could admit he had a small point. Werewolves were great for a community and its economy, being long-lived, nearly immortal, and sometimes incredibly rich. Wolf packs were generally self-sustaining. They employed most of the pack and a lot of humans on top of that to manage their day-to-day lives and the myriad business Alphas and many old wolves ended up with.

Until they went and pulled something like this and turned a city into a war zone.

There's always a trade-off when humans play with monsters. The wolves were about to learn what trade-off they were going to get by picking a fight with a bigger monster. I let that settle my nerves. I was a god damn werecat. I was built for fighting werewolves.

In full werecat form. Don't get overconfident, Jacqueline.

Oh god, even that thought was in Hasan's voice. What is wrong with me?

I stopped, smelling not werewolves, but coffee. I was near Union Station and followed the scent and frowned when I realized it was a hotel.

Fuck me, I guess. No coffee for me.

I continued walking, hoping to find anything. As I walked down the street, another scent hit my nose, one that had me grimacing and baring my teeth.

Werewolf. Got your number, asshole.

Coffee and food would have to wait. Now I was hunting.

I tracked the scent down an alley and onto another street. It was fresh, maybe only minutes old. Lucky me. I continued, casually looking at my phone still, trying to learn something about Dallas as I walked. I needed to appear like a casual tourist because I couldn't go running if I couldn't see who I was chasing. There was no fear in the wolf's scent, or really any obviously discernible emotion. He seemed like just a guy on a walk, that baseline everyone had when they were just having a normal day.

I followed it down the street, wishing I knew more about the city. I didn't know anything, honestly. The tall buildings could have been from any major city, and the little restaurants dappling the streets could have been New York or Seattle or Atlanta for all I knew about Dallas. I was never a city girl, but then again, I was never really a violent person either. Things were changing fast on me.

I followed the scent down another alley and up another street. It went on for nearly an hour, but I was slowly gaining, walking a little faster than my target.

By the alley, I could see him. The back of him, anyway. He was broad. Really, he was fucking huge, and I was going to have to play this one carefully, injured as I was. My thigh was burning from the walking now, but I knew what I had to do.

As the shadows covered both of us, I started running. He looked over his shoulders, first confused, then his eyebrows went up as shock hit him next. Once that was done, I was only ten feet from him, but my thigh wasn't ready for me to make that sort of jump. He took off, and suddenly the hunt was really on.

He turned right at the end of the alley, and I followed. When he shoved through a pack of people, I followed through the hole he made. My thigh screamed in revolt, wanting me to slow down and stop the madness, but I wasn't having any of that, so I pushed through it until my legs began to feel more like gelatin. Maybe not much of an improvement, but it was better than pain.

He tried to duck into another alley, but I was too close to him for that to work. As he tried to scramble over a fence, I grabbed the back of his jacket and pants, yanking him back down as hard as I could, snarling viciously.

"Who are you loyal to?" I demanded. "WHO?"

"Fuck you, cunt," he growled at me from his back.

I put a knee on his chest, pulling my silver dagger and pressing it to his Adam's apple. That brought fear to his scent.

Good boy, pup. "Answer the fucking question," I whispered. "Or I'll end you right here. Not even our kind can come back from a fucking open throat. I would know. I've torn enough of them out over the last few days."

"Why the fuck are you even in this city, cat? Huh? You're breaking some serious Laws, taking me down like this."

"So were the wolves who stole Carey Everson out of my protection and threatened her life enough for her to come to me in the first place," I snapped, digging my knee into his chest until he screamed.

"Hey, what's going on back here?" someone demanded from the light of the street. I looked over to the human, knowing my gold eyes were glowing and my pupils were feline slits. I definitely wasn't human.

"Werewolf business. Get out of here. This doesn't concern you or the mortal police," I answered. The human, a smart man like I hoped he would be, took off running after a second. When I looked back down at my werewolf, I grinned. "They're so easy to appease, aren't they?"

"Like you're a fucking werewolf. If you kill me, every werewolf in the city, probably the state, is going to come after you."

I had to give it to him; he had some real balls for the wolf with a silver knife slowly poisoning and burning his flesh, one that could kill him the second I decided to.

"Did you not hear me? My name is Jacky Leon. I live outside of Jacksonville, Texas, and have for the past six years. A few days ago, Carey Everson—the human daughter of werewolf Alpha, Heath Everson— called me into Duty and I became her oath-sworn protector. Werewolves took her from me before I returned her to safety. I'm not here for werewolf business, just her. So if you're a good boy, you're going to tell me who has her and where. If not, you can tell me whatever you know."

"I can't help you. I've had no idea where she's been. Not everyone in the pack had even met her before shit went down. Heath is really protective over his little girl. If anyone knows where she is, it'll be someone higher up than me," he answered.

"So, back to my first question. Who are you loyal to?"

He didn't answer, baring his teeth.

"I'm going to take that as…not Heath Everson."

Again, he stayed silent.

I'd never thought that I was capable of torture, but I moved the knife a little, creating a small slice across the werewolf's skin, just under his Adam's apple. A scent hit my nose as I realized he'd lost control over his bladder.

"A little human girl, all of eleven years old, is in danger, wolf. It's against the Law to use humans against other supernaturals, or endanger them in any way with the purpose of causing distress to them personally. Accidents happen, but nothing that has happened to her has been accidental. They came with guns and silver bullets. They're going to use her to get to her father, who has the right as a supernatural being to know his daughter should be safe with a werecat, thanks to the Law." I was bordering on the edge of violence just by speaking. My rage grew. Part of me, a very big part of me, just wanted to end it and kill the wolf underneath me.

The wolf, bless his damnable heart, had the smarts to realize he was underneath a very dangerous, very mad, and maybe a little crazy, werecat who was tired of the fucking games.

"I support the bid against Heath, but you-you have to understand. I never knew they were going to take Carey. I thought we were going to do it right. That our leader was going to challenge the Alpha and it would be a clean fight."

"Who?" I demanded.

"I don't know! I take orders. It's kind of like the military in a wolf pack, lady. Sometimes you don't know who's above the guy, only that they're going to make things the way you want them."

God damn it. Fucking morons. I would never let orders come down from someone I didn't know. "Who do you answer to?" I asked.

"A guy named Timothy. We call him Little Tim. He's a wily shit, but he's a good man."

"Obviously not," I growled. I had three options now. Let the wolf go with a message, kill him, or follow him into some shit that I might not be able to handle. Since the last two options were both potential trouble I couldn't afford, I pulled the silver dagger and stood up. "Get out of here, and you tell Little Tim the werewolf that big, pissed-off Jacky the werecat is in town and I'm coming for whoever took my girl. I'll kill anyone who stands in my way and anyone who tries to stop me from keeping her safe or taking her back."

He nodded as he stood up, touching his neck. Then he started running, a single werewolf who was smart enough to know that he needed reinforcements if he wanted a piece of a werecat.

I was somewhat proud of him. Most meatheads saw women like me and thought they could handle me.

With him gone, I stood in the alley for a moment, catching my breath finally. I thought back on what he said. He had no idea who led the charge? I actually was wrong. When I was human, I didn't know the names of all of my coworkers, or all of my bosses. There were tons of middle men and things coming down the pipeline, and I didn't have any idea where they came from.

As for the rest…Little Tim. Hopefully the werewolf took my warning seriously. I had no belief they would just hand Carey over, but they had the small right to know that if they killed her, I was going to eviscerate them. Probably in terrible ways.

I started walking, tucking my knife away and shoving my hands in my pockets to keep them from shaking any worse. I went back to that hotel using my phone's map and went to the front desk.

"I need a room. I do have a credit card, and I don't know for how long I'll need it. Family emergency," I told the woman at the front counter. I pulled out my wallet and held out the credit card while she took in my words and probably my appearance. The bruises on my face. I'd forgotten about them. I was suddenly self-conscious. Now the words family emergency had a strange and more concerning meaning. The woman probably thought I was having trouble at home.

She took my card silently and glanced at her desk phone.

"Don't call the cops. I'm fine."

"You have strange eyes," she said softly, glancing over at me again. "Contacts?"

"Yup." The best lie was something easy to agree with and believable. The human woman had given me the best lie, even though it made me feel morally bankrupt. "My man didn't like me going out, with the werewolf drama, and decided to let me know. I'll get it sorted. The cops already know. I'm just looking for a place to stay until everything cools down."

"Of course. You're all set up. You'll be on the third floor." She handed the card back to me and I tucked it away. "Here's your room key for room 304, and if you need anything, please let me know."

"If I get any visitors that don't have official uniforms or badges on, don't let them know I'm here," I told her softly.

"Of course, ma'am."

I walked away, heading for the door again. I could bring my Nissan to the hotel parking lot now.

It took nearly an hour, but I managed the streets of Dallas and parked. I went straight to the twenty-four hour coffee place and grabbed one for myself, then headed up to my room with my single suitcase and gym bag, the guns were in the gym bag just in case I needed them. It was better than leaving them out in my hatchback.

When I got into my room, I knew I needed to look over my injuries and take a shower, which I got started on immediately, leaving my cell phone on the bathroom counter. Hasan had tried to call five more times since I had left my car, and I was still unsure about answering. He was wearing on my patience, though. Lani called once, and so did the number I used to call Harrison. None of them could have known I was already kicking the damn hornet's nest in the city, so they must have called either with information or to try and talk me out of it again.

I sat down on the queen bed in the middle of the bland hotel room and went back to my research. So far, I knew that Heath Everson was on a few boards of directors and that seemed to be all he had or did. He was always the guy on the side, never the one in the middle. The pack itself had a variety of businesses and holdings all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area and outside it.

It didn't make a lot of sense to me, but I was thankful for the laws governing werewolves in the United States. A lot of their information was public, even though it was unsafe for their kind. It made it easier for me to learn about them.

The impression I got? Heath didn't want the spotlight—strange for an Alpha. From my understanding, Alphas liked to be in the middle. They owned things, ran businesses, and were good in charge. Heath was never that guy in any of the businesses I saw his name attached to. He seemed…quiet.

Always the bridesmaid but never the bride, huh, Heath? I feel you. When I finally had the chance to be the bride, I got into a car accident and became the family pet.

I snorted, but I still dropped the phone as the memories assaulted me. All the things that had changed in my life since that accident. EMT to werecat. Engaged to single and alone.

My hands were shaking as I covered my face, the tears coming. What was I even doing? I was jumping into the middle of a werewolf civil war for a girl I barely knew. My shoulders and chest hurt as I fell to my side and cried.

Ten years ago, I was on a road during a storm, my fiancé in the driver's seat. We were singing, not caring about the weather. We went over the edge of a cliff.

Now I was in fucking Dallas, Texas, between two factions of werewolves and trying to save a little girl because I was honor bound and couldn't bring myself to let go of it.

My phone started ringing and this time, I saw Hasan's name and felt pure rage. The tears stopped flooding my eyes as I answered. "Stop fucking calling me, Hasan. I'm doing this!" I snapped immediately.

"Have you already caused trouble?" he asked quickly. "If you haven't, you still have time—"

"It was the first thing I did when I got here. Found a werewolf, roughed him up, and told him to send a message back to his fucking master. Obviously, I caused some trouble."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked quietly. "Why are you taking this so far?"

"Because they took her and she was mine."

"If you wanted a human pet, I would have—"

"No," I snarled. "No, Hasan, this isn't one of those cases where you throw some fucking money or your connections at it and make the problem go away. She…" I took a deep breath as I realized my own problem. "She filled the hole for a minute," I whispered. "She filled what he left. She filled what you lost for me." My throat tightened as I remembered Hasan's role in my life. Doting werecat ‘father', who gave me a second chance in life and opportunities to make it a long, healthy, immortal one.

Who let my fiancé die by only saving me.

Complicated didn't begin to describe him and I. Fucked up was a better description.

"For the first time in ten years, I had something that was mine. That I could take care of. That I could treat as family—"

"I'm your family!" he growled. "Don't forget that I would do anything for you, Jacqueline. How dare you—"

"You let him die, remember? You took my broken body out of that car and Changed me, but you didn't even try for him." My love. We were going to be married only weeks after that vacation, deciding to have our honeymoon first. We were trying to have a baby, too. We'd been trying really hard, actually. It was fun and wonderful, and then it was over.

"He was too far gone. How many times do I need to tell you that?"

"Until you stop lying and tell me the truth," I answered. "So yeah, I'm here in Dallas because for a fucking short moment in this fucked-up world, I had something again with a human being. She's someone's daughter, Hasan. She could have been mine. She's nearly the right age. I'm not letting this go, because it's the right thing to do. These werewolves are going to learn never to fuck with me. Respect that. If I'm a sinking ship, then fine, save yourself and tell the other werecats to do the same, but I'm doing this."

"I love you, Jacqueline. Just as much as any of my other children. You know that, right?" He was quiet, so quiet. "But I can't come and help you do this. I was there when the Laws were written. I know what the Duty is. I don't know how to justify you doing this."

"I do," I mumbled, the heat gone now. "I never fulfilled my Duty. That's what I'm going to say to the Tribunal. Carey left my protection due to the illegal actions of the werewolves, who are equally as guilty in this as I am."

"That means you failed—"

"No, it doesn't. It means I need to step up my game and fight harder." I hung up on him, turned my phone off, and pulled a pillow over my head.

I had failed. I let them take her.

Now I needed to get her back.

After I got a needed short nap, because there was nothing else to do for the night except roam the streets looking for more werewolves to rough up and I hurt, a lot. Healing was harder when I was awake.

A short nap.