3. Chapter Three

My world changed in that instant and I knew it. I held her to my chest, comforting even while I began to do my Duty. My magic roared in answer to my call, telling me every living thing that dared walk on this night. For the moment, there were no other supernatural predators to worry about. The moment any dared to come into my territory, I would know, and I only had one way to properly respond while protecting humanity from the threat of my cousins.

I would have to kill them. Brutally and without mercy.

"Come inside," I whispered. "Come in. I have an apartment on the second floor. I want you to go up the stairs and into my apartment. Get comfortable. I'll be there as soon as possible."

She only nodded, still curled into my chest, holding me like her life depended on it. It did, really. I removed myself, though. If her life was really in danger, and she was behaving like it was, then we couldn't stand outside the bar all night.

Once I was able to untangle from her, she ran up the stairs. I took a deep breath, locking my back door the moment I knew she was up and waiting on me. I turned back for the bar and walked in, knowing I probably didn't look like happy-go-lucky Jacky Leon anymore. I went straight for the radio, ignoring everyone talking to me, trying to stop me and find out what was wrong. It took ten long strides and I hit the power button with force, breaking the machine.

"We're closing early!" I roared. "I need everyone to leave now!"

Silence greeted me.

"NOW!" I didn't have time for this, and thankfully, my patrons realized. They started pulling out their wallets and I shook my head. "If you have an open tab, it's on the house tonight. I have a family emergency and I need all of you to leave so that I can go deal with it."

"Jacky…" Joey was the only one who dared come within five feet of me now. "Um…"

When he came closer, I could see it. I cursed, covering my face, rubbing my eyes. I could see the gold glow that had been reflected back at me. I should have realized that was going to happen.

"I'm not a werewolf," I whispered to him, looking back up at his face, hoping he knew to drop the topic and drop it now. "Please, Joey. Get everyone out of here."

This was a mess and there was no way I was going to be able to clean it up. I had better control than this, but the stress was already weighing on me and my feline was clawing and spitting to get out and defend its new charge, the crying human girl that I could hear in the apartment. Hopefully they only saw the gold and not the cat pupils that normally came with it.

"Let's go everyone! Jacky's got family problems and we need to let her handle them."

I watched them leave. I watched the glances over their shoulders, curiosity in their eyes. Most were harmless. Some were suspicious, wondering what monster was hiding in their community. It was a mess I couldn't clean up yet. Protecting humanity was higher on my to-do list than keeping the Secret. It had to be, especially if a little girl's life was possibly on the line. I locked the door behind the humans and watched their cars leave. All the while, I kept in touch with my land and my magic, hoping nothing crossed my borders.

"God damn it," I whispered, closing the blinds next. I turned off the TV and the lights as I walked out, heading for the back staircase that led to my apartment and office. I hauled myself up in record time, taking several steps at a time. The girl was still crying, and that drove me faster.

Werecats were protective to the point of insanity. Being solitary creatures, when we made a claim, no matter how temporary, we defended that claim to the death. It was part of what led us to the role we now played in the supernatural community.

I didn't burst into my apartment. I had more sense than that, even if the tears had me wanting to go in and destroy my own furniture for offending my charge. I walked in quietly, searching my dark apartment for her. My night vision was perfect. It wasn't in color, but it was perfect. I knew from the glow around my eyes that I hadn't been able to go back to my human eyes. There was probably going to be very little that made me feel safe enough now to calm down.

"Carey?" I called gently. "We need to talk." I knew she was on my couch, but I wanted her to know I was coming. I wanted her to feel safe enough to tell me where she was. I had never been called to Duty before, but I knew instinctively how to handle it. Kind of.

"I'm here," she answered, her voice gentle and broken. Scared. She was so scared. Her fear filled the air in my apartment, soaking everything with it. It would be weeks before I lost all traces of the fear she felt.

"Hi," I whispered, rounding the couch and sitting on the other end. She was a scared little doe and I couldn't invade her space without risk of her losing her ability to trust me. "We're safe right now, but we need to talk about a few things."

"Will we stay safe?" she asked, sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest. She seemed so small. There was probably a time in my life that I seemed that small, but those memories were gone now. Becoming a werewolf or werecat came with risks. One of those was that sometimes holes appeared in the human memories. No one knew why, and many were lucky it didn't happen to them. I wasn't one of the lucky ones. I didn't remember any time of my life from six to twelve. Her age.

"You'll always be safe with me," I promised. "I swore to protect you. If anyone wants you, I can and will stop the threat to you. You have to understand that a werecat takes the Duty more seriously than our own lives. We honor the Duty and nothing will ever stop me from fulfilling it. I will see you to permanent safety, Carey. Do you understand what that means?" It was hard asking a small child that. I was asking her if she knew I was going to kill anyone who came for her if they meant her harm. Not just defeat them. Not just scare them away. I would kill them, and I wouldn't feel guilty for it because she placed herself in my care.

From the blazing look that came into her eyes, she understood. "Yes."

I resisted a smirk because it was inappropriate, but I wanted to. She was the daughter of a werewolf Alpha. No amount of sheltering would ever protect her from the harsh realities of our world. It was a sad thing, but it also made her strong. She had come this far, which reminded me that she already had steel there in her spine, even if she was afraid.

"Okay, now I need you to answer a few more questions for me. How did you even know I was here?" That was important. No one outside of the werecats knew where I was, and most of them just stumbled on me, shocked at who they found in the borders of the territory. The werewolves should have never known. I was so careful.

"Daddy told me you were here. He gave me this." She thrust out her arm, holding that business card I had seen her read off. I took it slowly and read it, flipped it over and read the back.

What I read made me growl softly. Not because it was bad, only annoying. Her damn father had given her a business card with the words of Duty, which I had already guessed, but he'd also put on the Rules of Duty. She knew exactly what she was going to get out of this new…relationship we were about to have. I eyed the girl and her big eyes seemed fearful again.

I shook my head, handing the card back. "Smart father of yours," I said politely. "Did he think there would be trouble?"

"A smart and wise Alpha always thinks there will be trouble, but never gets paranoid. He trusts his pack fully, but always keeps his most trusted at his back, because if he didn't, he would be seen as arrogant. He must be strong enough to stand on his own, but know to use the strengths of the wolves around him so that he doesn't insult them." She recited it as if it came from a book. For all I knew, it did.

"Who am I protecting you from?" I had a very good guess, but if she knew any names, that would be swell. Once I was done talking to her, I had to consider a game plan. I was officially her werecat and she was my human and a child. Legally, there was no one who could stop me from whisking her out of the country until I felt it was safe. I wouldn't do that, but I had to recognize that I could. I had to keep on my toes and remember that this could go terribly wrong for someone, most likely her.

"There were wolves. I didn't see any of them in their human forms and I don't know their wolf forms well enough because I'm too young to be around too many werewolves. We were having game night and they came in. My daddy wasn't home, working late on pack business. It was just me and my brothers. Landon told me to run. I heard fighting. I don't really know, but it sounded bad. I started running, grabbing my bag for this like my daddy taught me, and I knew I had to get here somehow. I saw on my phone that my dad was missing and my brothers, like me. That means you're all I have."

"Because you don't know which of your old guards are trustworthy," I stated plainly. She was a damn smart kid, that was for sure.

She only nodded and the tears came back. "Why would they do this? We were all a family! Daddy said a wolf pack is a family and family never hurts each other."

"Oh sweetie, it's okay. You can cry. Come here." I reached out for her and she half-crawled and half was hauled into my lap. I rocked her gently, my protective instincts flaring up. It wasn't helped by the fact that I was female and she was a child. All I could feel in that moment was the need to kill whoever made the tears come. I needed to protect this child. It was my sworn Duty and I wouldn't stop until every single one of those wolves was dead and ash.

While I rocked her, I began to consider my options. The best bet was to hide her in my territory and contact the werewolf government when things settled down. They would understand that I was keeping her hidden for her own protection until they cleaned up their mess. I couldn't go to the city and fight the war to protect her. No. Caring for her was my utmost priority, and the wolves would know it.

I grabbed my cellphone and texted Lani, telling her I was called to Duty, and knew she would text me back soon, probably offering any aid she could. I sent a second, requesting any phone number to the North American Werewolf Council that could be safely reached by supernaturals. If she didn't have one of those, any number would do. There were codes that any supernatural could use to get onto a secure line if needed. It was already past midnight, so all of those things would need to be dealt with in the morning. Right now, I just needed to lay the groundwork. She would be safe for the night, because if any wolf dared to enter my territory before I called anyone, I could and would just kill them, no matter what faction they might be in.

She cried herself to sleep, which was both good and bad. I laid her out on the couch and tucked her in with a blanket, hoping she didn't get too hot. The AC in the bar wasn't as good as the AC at the house, but it was the safer location in the end. It had the road access my home didn't and that would come in handy if a hunting pack came for her.

I waited for Lani, hoping she would answer soon while I watched the sleeping little girl on my couch. Of course, the damn werewolf Alpha had known I was here. How could I be so stupid to think that just because I never caught surveillance that there was none? In the end, it didn't really change my life too much.

Except for the fact that it meant I was now the only thing between his daughter and a possibly horrifying death.

Lani didn't text. My phone, at full volume, started blaring the annoying country song I had put for her ringtone. I fumbled with it like a fool as I tried to hit the answer button before Carey woke up.

"God damn it, Lani. I said text me!" I snapped, trying to keep my voice down. Carey was thankfully still asleep. If I guessed right, she had probably been running from the moment her brothers told her to, and that meant she was run ragged. The news of the takeover came out on Thursday. It was now Saturday morning. The poor girl had taken nearly three days to get to me.

"You were called to Duty, Jacky? Explain." The other werecat didn't waste any time, that was certain.

I quickly ran down exactly what I knew. Alpha's human daughter showed up at my bar. I closed down. I didn't tell her anything about accidentally exposing I wasn't human. Not yet. Carey was the number one priority. The rest of the mess would have to wait. It had to.

When I was done, I just listened to silence. Lani wasn't even breathing.

"Lani?" I sounded like a child myself in that moment. When I had run from my ‘father' and claimed this private life in East Texas, Lani, a smaller-than-average female, had shown up at my doorstep. She had been confused at the presence of a new werecat in Texas. She didn't know who I was or who my ‘father' was. She just knew I was new and wanted to get to know me. Since then, she's been my tentative ally, my only werecat to phone when I had questions or needed advice. Since I wasn't keen on ever talking to Hasan, I called her more than him.

"It's been nearly a century since something this big has been invoked for Duty," Lani answered carefully. "Do you understand that the Duty is going to put you in the middle of a werewolf turf war and you will potentially declare the winner?"

I swallowed. "Yes."

"Good. You cannot give her to anyone until they settle this among themselves."

"I know. I was planning on keeping her until the dust settled. What happens if the winner means her harm?" It was an important question.

"You keep her. Your Duty becomes a lifelong commitment. It hasn't happened in centuries, but it's happened. You need to tread carefully. Do you have a lawyer?"

"Yes." Well, not really. I had Hasan's lawyer, who I begrudgingly used when things were desperate. Luckily, I almost never needed a lawyer. Sadly, this was desperate. "I'll get him started on the paperwork needed for the human world once I'm off the phone with you."

"It doesn't have to be real. Just something to keep human cops off your back. What else are you planning?"

"To deal with the ‘she's missing' problem, I'm going to contact the werewolves' council and have them make an announcement that she's been found, to call off the search and continue managing things in the city. They won't be stupid enough to think I can't protect her."

"Don't get overconfident. There's a lot of wolves in DFW. A lot. Last count I heard was seventy-five. Now, this turmoil might break them up, but a werecat your age might be able to handle five, ten if you're lucky. You can't take twenty or thirty. Hell, I've been around for a few centuries and I couldn't take the Dallas-Fort Worth pack."

"My Duty is to protect Carey Everson, daughter of the deposed Alpha of the Dallas-Fort Worth pack. I will do my Duty, Lani. It's not overconfidence. It's fact." I tried my damnedest to put as much truth in those words as I could. I couldn't fail. It wouldn't just look poorly on me. It would look poorly on all werecats—and Hasan. I might dislike the man for several personal reasons, but I wasn't going to fail in this. Not even for him or the werecats.

There was a strong, scared little girl on my couch who outweighed all of them.

There was silence. I could hear Lani breathing now, obviously trying to stay calm. "Be safe. Call if you need any more information. I'll text a number I know for the wolves."

"Will do. Thank you." I hung up first, not worried about Lani like I was with Hasan. My phone dinged only a minute later. I texted the family lawyer first, explaining I was called to Duty by a minor. I needed anything I could get my hands on to make it legal to the humans. He responded instantly, which wasn't strange. He might have been human, but he worked for monsters. He had to be nocturnal because we were. Thanks to client privilege, he wouldn't tell Hasan what was going on either. The last damn thing I needed was him showing up. He would start a damn war no one needed.

Finally, I punched in the number Lani gave me. It rang twice before a quiet and tired woman answered.

"Hello. This is the North American Werewolf Council's office. May I get your name?"

"Hello, I'm Jacky Leon and I need to speak with a wolf," I said quickly. "Fang and claw to fang and claw. Secure line, someone important."

There was an immediate beep. I had no hope I would get someone important, but it was worth a shot.

"George of the Atlanta Pack speaking."

"Are you important?" I asked immediately. "I need to speak with someone who has anything to do with the turmoil in Texas."

The wolf laughed at me. I gritted my teeth. "Like I'm going to give a stranger one of those lines. State your business and I'll think about it."

"How about this? I'm a fucking werecat called to Duty and you'll give me to someone in charge." I knew it would be easier to just explain what that Duty was, where I lived and the like, but I didn't give my information to random phone boys and that's all George was. He was some guy sitting in an office doing his pack's duty to support the council, and that was answering phones.

"Look here, kitten. I don't care if you're the president of the fucking United States. You're a werecat and you're—"

"I have the Duty of protecting the deposed Alpha's eleven-year-old human daughter," I whispered harshly. "You'll give me to who I fucking want to talk to."

"Oh shit."

"Oh shit is right, you mangy mutt."

"One moment, Miss Leon." I was put on hold after that harried correction.

I nearly laughed. He wasn't the first werewolf I'd ever spoken to, and it was always a bit hostile, even though we've been at peace for over eight hundred years. A fragile peace, though. One that relied on two things. First, the werewolves had to stop hunting the werecats. Second, the werecats upheld and did their Duty. That was all that kept the peace between us. Not even the fae or vampires wanted the war to restart. It would spill into their communities, the human world, and probably beyond. It wouldn't end until one side was extinct.

That was why this was an entirely bad situation. If I screwed up, there could be an angry werewolf out there waiting to put a bullet in me, and then the war would kick off. There would be no peace if I got killed because of the Duty. Even failing the Duty wouldn't be grounds to kill me, though I had no intention of failing.

"Jacky Leon?" The voice was rich and calm, but tired. I could read the exhaustion in it, just by those two words.

"That's right. I take it you've gotten my message."

"It was explained to me. Where are you? I can send—"

I pulled the phone away for a second, giving it a confused look. "Excuse me? No? Why don't you tell me your name? Let's start easy here."

"I'm Harrison, Alpha of the Atlanta Pack. Forgive me, but you bring good news and we just wish to secure her—"

"She's secure now, and if you try to find and take her from me, I will consider it an act against her safety," I said softly, dangerously, letting violence roll through those words, knowing they would be clear. "Don't try to take her from me before I'm ready, wolf."

A moment of silence, at least over the call between us. Not complete silence, though. I could hear people talking in the background. I knew the call would have people listening.

"Then let me assist you. We will announce that she has been found and put into protective custody. What would be the terms by which you will accept that your Duty is over?" He was diplomatic and calm, but I didn't trust it. Really, in that moment, there were very few people I would trust. A life was my responsibility. I had no idea what threat level I was facing, therefore everything was a threat.

"There are a few factors," I began, taking a deep breath. "First, peace needs to be established in Dallas-Fort Worth. I don't care who's in charge, honestly, but peace. That way no one is feeling unstable and thinks to strike out against her in the future. Second, I would like someone of her family available—or all of them proven dead. I don't care how long that takes, but I need confirmation, because I won't hand her off to a family friend when I could give her to her father or brother." I considered if there was anything else. "Just so we're clear, I do have immunity from any repercussions that would come from me protecting my charge. That comes from the Laws."

"I understand the Laws," the wolf replied politely. "I will not have you get into any trouble for doing your sworn Duty, cat, unless you overstep them, like getting involved with the war itself. Don't forget your immunity only goes so far." He sounded severe, but sighed. "I agree with your terms, but they could take some time. Are you sure this is the course you wish to set yourself upon?"

I glanced at the little girl on my couch. "I'm positive."

"Okay. Please stay in touch with me. I will let you know if we catch any hunting packs leaving Dallas-Fort Worth that may be of concern to any felines in the state. Your phone number isn't even a Texas number. Did you know that?"

I grinned. "Of course I did. Do you think I'm an idiot?" I got the cellphone in Georgia, actually. He could trace me, certainly, but he also knew that coming after me would lead to dead wolves and a war. Or at least I hoped he knew that. "Don't track me." I figured the warning was necessary.

"We haven't been. I don't know if you keep up with the current Laws as they are applied to modern times, but once a feline on Duty declares they want privacy for their charge, using modern technology is considered just as criminal as using our noses." He was tired now and obviously a little shocked I didn't know that.

"Consider me paranoid." I had known, but it was always worth putting out the warning in my mind. No one could play the fool if the line was drawn early. "Goodbye."

I hung up before he said anything else. I didn't owe them anything more than that courtesy call, and that was all they were going to get. I looked around my apartment and decided it would be a fine time to get some work done. Carey was still asleep, and I left her on the couch so I could see her. I ducked into my office to grab my books and laptop, using the rest of the night to make sure my personal life wouldn't go to hell while I did this.