20. Chapter Twenty

Iwas sitting in a large circle as everyone argued about how this should play out.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't go in with just the werecat as back up!" Shamus snapped. Then he glanced at me. "Sorry."

"Oh, no. I agree. I'm not a warrior. I am not, and never was, prepared to be the sole defense of anyone. I would love to take all of you and crush them with overwhelming force, but that might just get Carey killed."

"Exactly. I think we follow their rules, to a point." Heath was pacing in a circle. "Jacky and I will be driven in by a small group. A couple of guards and a driver, who will wait outside for us—"

"So you aren't planning on actually sacrificing yourself? That's good." I couldn't resist making the comment. Should have, but couldn't.

"No, of course not!" Heath furrowed his brow and I found it kind of cute.

Bad Jacky. "Good. I just figured since it hadn't been explicitly said yet, it might be good for the class to hear that."

"You have a mean little attitude over there right now," he said softly, narrowing his eyes on me.

"I'm stressed out and possibly going to die tonight. It's the only way I can deal with it. If it helps: no, I never acted this way in front of Carey. For her I was a stoic, strong source of support and only cried and freaked out by myself in the shower while she was sleeping." Well, not exactly that way, but close enough.

"That's reassuring," someone said darkly. "Our so-called trump card is an anxiety-ridden mess who has no real experience. Heath, you sent your daughter to her to be protected."

"Well, it wasn't a bad idea of his. I did kill over ten werewolves in something like three days," I retorted. "I've just never walked into a wolf's den with the specific purpose of killing one of the wolves before. On top of that, even being a werecat should have deterred them. Obviously it didn't…but don't think your Alpha's plan wasn't sound."

"Jacky, do you want to be in werecat form or human?"

"Werecat," I answered immediately. "I have training in self-defense and hand-to-hand techniques, but I'm more comfortable in a fight when I'm in werecat form and less likely to die from a stray bullet."

"Communication wouldn't be possible, though."

"Let me worry about that," I said. Brin had fixed that problem, and while I would never be comfortable with the gift, it was handy. I didn't want to use it, by any means. It would make me a target of the werewolves if it got out that their major advantage was suddenly being used by a werecat, but if push came to shove…I had the ability now and would use it.

A few of the wolves gave me odd looks and I shrugged. "I'm good at pantomiming," I explained. I mean, I am.

"Fine. That gives us a very powerful combatant in the fight."

"Wait. Her? Powerful?" A wolf snorted.

"I'm four feet tall at the shoulder in werecat form and over four hundred pounds, and none of that is fat," I informed him, yawning. "You really need to start educating your wolves better on werecats. I can tell you all sorts of things about werewolves."

"We don't run into your kind much anymore, so it's fallen to the wayside. The vampires are more of a problem these days." Heath seemed patient, but I could tell he was tired of everyone interrupting him. "Jacky brings up a good point, though, you do all need to start respecting her a bit more."

"That's not my point…"

"Werecats are larger, stronger, and faster than our kind. If you ever encounter one, make sure you have friends. Not a few. More like ten and even then, you'll probably lose a few wolves in the fight. That's what I'm counting on with bringing Jacky." He smirked my way. "While she's a bit of a hot mess, she is a werecat. She knows how to fight wolves. It's in her bones. She just needs to listen to them."

"I've fought before in my werecat form. This isn't new to me. Well. This particular case is, but I've fought other werecats. I'm not a pushover when I'm in my werecat form."

"Good," he said softly. "And you've had quite a learning experience with wolves recently. When do we need to let you Change? Before the trip, or…"

"I can Change when we get there. Doesn't take very long."

"Okay." He stopped staring at me now and turned to his advisor. "I want you to stay here, Shamus. Just in case."

"Heath…You think I'm going to let you—"

"You don't have to let me. I'm ordering you to stay here in case I die," Heath snapped. "Don't try to put our long friendship over the pack. Everyone left here will need a leader if I don't make it out."

Shamus lowered his head, displeased but respectful.

There were moments I was glad werecats were loners. There was really no one I had to worry about if I died. Carey was the exception, but if I died and her father lived…well, I didn't have to worry about her either. I didn't have to think about how this would leave Hasan without anything because he had other children, more family. He would lose another daughter, one who didn't like him all that much. Oh no. Lani would lose a friend who was off breaking the Law anyway.

No one would miss me. Not really. And my being gone wouldn't ruin anyone's life.

Not that I want to die, but hey, at least no one will be bereft of anything important if I'm gone!

Can I get any more pathetic?

"I'm going to pick who is guarding us next," he said loudly. "As honor dictates, I'll ask first. Are there any volunteers?"

Every wolf in the room stepped up.

I sighed. Wouldn't it be nice to have so many people willing to jump in front of a bullet for you? Scary, but nice.

I left the room after that, not needing to know who was chosen or be involved with the process. I shoved my hands into my hoodie pocket and left through the back of the building, enjoying the warm sun on my face.

Someone followed me, I could smell them, but I couldn't see them. I sighed. I wished I was home for a moment. At least on my own territory I would be able to pinpoint the exact location of my mysterious companion.

Then I caught the scent of human on the air, one I knew now.

"Stacy, come out," I ordered. "I don't like people sneaking up on me, and I would have hated it if I'd accidentally hurt you." And it was a real possibility. If I hadn't smelled her humanity first, I would have roughed her up like a werewolf, and it might have killed her.

"Sorry…" She stepped around the corner. "I got tired of being there, useless."

"Me too," I said, exasperated. "Now we just wait for the wolves to make their plans and follow along. You just have to wait out the storm."

"I can help, but…"

"You can't," I said softly. "Don't get any foolish ideas."

"But—"

"People could die. Accept the lesson the easy way. Please don't risk learning it the hard way." I rubbed my face as she stepped up next to me. "You're human and your body is fragile. You'll be Changed when it's time, whenever the pack has a chance, and then you can get into the bloody mess with all of them, but you're not a wolf yet."

"Yeah…" She stared out over the terrible view with me. Other warehouses. So majestic.

"It sucks, I get it." And soon it won't be my problem.

"How? You're a werecat."

"I was once human, remember? I was an EMT. I saw…humans break all the time. I know exactly how fragile they are. Let's not give Heath or your father any reason to worry about you breaking, please? I'm not sure I can protect two human girls." Hell, I've already failed at protecting one.

"Good point. I just want…"

"What are you ladies doing out here?" Shamus said from the door.

"I was enjoying the sun for a minute. Stacy was keeping me company," I answered. "Any decisions made?"

"He's got a top five to choose between, which is where I step back. He likes making final decisions by himself."

"Of course he does."

"Stacy, come inside. It's not safe wandering outside as a member of the pack right now." It was a tone I knew from Hasan and my human father. Chiding, soft, loving. A father who wanted his daughter to do as he asked without an argument.

"The door is right there!"

I resisted a snicker. "She's fine, Shamus."

"No. You're safe out here, but they've come through this place before and we barely stayed hidden. I don't want to see if they might have plans to try and find us right before we're done with this mess. If they catch you out, they might just assume you're squatting without us." Shamus stepped out further and motioned to the door. "Please, Stacy."

"Fine! Be safe out here in the dangerous world, Jacky." The amount of sarcasm in those words made me grin.

"I will." Shamus didn't follow his daughter inside, stepping to stand next to me. I leaned over and whispered, "Hypocrite."

"I wanted to talk to you alone, actually, and my daughter beat me to it," he said. "Are you sure you can handle tonight?"

"No, but I'll do my best," I answered, becoming as serious as he was, my humor dying.

"If you have to shift back to human, do you know how to use any weapons?"

"I can shoot a gun and I'm trained for self-defense with a silver knife." I threw my hands up as I remembered one thing I should have told the wolves about already. "Damn it. I'm sorry for not telling you this soon, but I stole a couple of sidearms from the wolves that attacked me. They're in my gym bag. You might be able to track—"

"None of the pack's firearms are registered. Thank you for finally telling me, but don't worry. They would be useless." He smiled kindly. "A silver knife, huh? Not what I'd expect."

"A gift from the werecat who Changed me before I moved out," I explained. "So yeah, I should be handy around a weapon if I get my hands on one. If I need to have hands."

"Good. I'm trusting you with my Alpha's life. It's not an easy thing for me to do, but you came here, got our attention, and offered help. When this is all said and done, he's probably going to rush into retirement so there's no chance of it interfering with his daughter's life again." Shamus took a deep breath. "Please make sure he has the chance to enjoy it."

"I'll do my best," I promised again, swallowing. "Let's get back inside." The sun didn't feel warm anymore.

He held the door for me and as we walked inside, I noticed it was much quieter than when I had left. Heath was standing with five wolves in the middle of the room, having a quiet conversation. I didn't interrupt, taking a seat nearby and watching. Whoever he picked were wolves I was going to have to rely on tonight. An odd place for a werecat to be. I couldn't forget that, no matter how hard I tried. I was a werecat in a warehouse full of werewolves in the middle of a werewolf war.

I'm an idiot and I'm going to pay for this. The Tribunal I'm going to face once it's all over…

"I have a question," I interrupted. Heath turned to me and waved a hand, beckoning me to say more. "When does the Alpha Council step in?"

He froze, letting his hand drop. "You're worried about the Tribunal, and which one of the Alphas here in North America sits on it."

"I didn't know that, but yeah, I'm worried about the Tribunal," I conceded. "Who sits?"

"The Los Angeles Alpha. He's incredibly old. You know, we could try to minimize your involvement in this—"

"I was already in contact with the Alpha Council before arriving in Dallas. He will have told someone with the Tribunal that I've broken the Law, if I'm still alive when this is all over," I said, rubbing my face. "Too late, Heath. It's too late."

"I'll speak on your behalf," he said carefully.

"Just answer my question. When is the Council going to step in? It's going to be their responsibility to take me into custody."

"You could run," he offered, then shook his head, dismissing it before I could. Running was psychotic. "I was going to call one of my trusted friends on the Council after this. They should be ready to come in at dawn, to help rebuild the pack and to help me finish transitioning into retirement—which I'm going to make effective as soon as the traitors are dealt with and I have Tywin back."

"I'll stick around then, until they show up. No reason to make this hard."

"I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I'm grateful for you coming here."

"You've made that clear." I huffed. "I'll quit interrupting," I promised, waving at the wolves who were standing ready for him.

"Cats," he mumbled to them. "Everything is on their good graces."

"My niece wants a cat," one of them replied. "I'm trying my best to convince her it's a terrible idea."

"Good luck," the Alpha said, chuckling sadly. "Get her the cat, though. You never know when she might be gone and you've lost the opportunity."

Oomph. My chest tightened.

"Ranger, Keith, and Sheila. You'll all be with Jacky and me tonight." Heath made the decision quickly, pointing to the wolves he named. "Sheila, you'll be the driver. Keith, passenger's seat. Ranger, you'll be in the back with us." He looked over me next. "Tonight we're getting Carey back."

"I know." There was really nothing else to be done.