24. Chapter Twenty-Four

When Landon arrived, he helped Heath push together several tables. There was a question hanging in the air of what would happen next. When I sat down, Heath sat on my right while Landon sat on my left, an odd place for him.

"You okay?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be seated at Heath's side?"

"Carey asked me to make sure you were okay. So did Dirk and Oliver," he said simply. "Instead of getting in your face about it, I decided to stick close and make sure you don't fall over."

"Why don't you go get her and me some clean clothes?" Heath asked around me. "Make yourself useful. We're both fine, and you can pass that along."

Landon growled but got up and left. Landon was temperamental, but he'd follow his father and Alpha to his dying breath.

"Your son?" Cassius asked as he sat across from us.

"Yes, Landon. My middle child and my second, in terms of werewolf rank." Heath gave the noble a lopsided smile. "He looks like his mother."

"I wouldn't say that," Sorcha said diplomatically. I could see her working to avoid the obvious. Landon was biracial and did take mostly after his mother, but there were pieces of Heath in him. It had taken me some time to notice them, but they were there. "He has the same eye shape as you and jawline. Those are both yours, but yes, it does appear he has mostly taken after his mother. He seems like a good young man, though. You have a fine son."

"I wouldn't call him young to his face. He was born in eighteen sixty-three, and sometimes, I think he feels every one of those years," Heath said with a chuckle, Sorcha joining him after a moment.

"Yes, some days, the eternal youth of immortality doesn't seem much like a blessing, does it?" she pondered, nodding as she grew more relaxed.

"We'll wait for him to get back and you both to change before we go further," Cassius said, pulling out a phone I hadn't known he had. "Then we'll discuss what we can do about this situation."

It only took Landon fifteen minutes to return with changes of clothing for me. Dirk arrived five minutes later with clothing for Heath. Carey wasn't with him, and he gave me a sympathetic look.

"I left her with Oliver at Landon's house. Do you need anything else, boss?"

"No, I'll be fine. You get back there and keep your head down." I patted his shoulder and sent him on his way. He was barely out the door when I turned to Landon. "You should go, too."

"She's right," Heath said softly, looking at his son. "Carey is going to need someone if this finds any more ways to go sideways."

"Yes, sir," Landon agreed, nodding his head once, then he was gone as well.

"So, what's next?" Heath asked once his son was gone with Dirk, their trucks rolling out of my parking lot like a convoy.

"I have a solid idea, but I'm still thinking of ways to go about it," Cassius admitted.

"You can just help us protect Fiona," I said, shrugging. "That would do enough for me."

"No. If Oisin has sent someone to grab her, the best option is to contact Alvina and my father. They need to come together to defeat Oisin. I'm sorry to say it, but your territory might be the best place," Cassius explained as he sipped his water. "If not, this could drag on for several more months, if not years. Fae politics can go either very quickly or very slowly. The last thing we want is for them to disappear into one of the deeper realms or trap each other there. If we convince them to meet in this realm, where you can manage the protection of the meeting, we would be able to handle this quickly."

"Are you sure Alvina is loyal?" Heath asked.

"Positive. She hates Oisin. Learning about Brion, she's made it very clear she wants the rightful king back," Sorcha said mildly. "She had to move fast because if Oisin kills Brion, he has a more legitimate claim to keep the throne." Sorcha reached out and played with her husband's hair, duller and more natural with his glamour up. His blue eyes were the same way. He was still a beautiful, almost inhuman man, but it was subdued. He could blend in as a model. "Cassius, you're going to be a target now."

"I already was," he whispered, taking her free hand and holding it. They sat in silence for a moment until he lifted her hand and kissed the back. "The only reason we haven't seen too much trouble is they're my lands, not my father's. I'm my most powerful there, and my people are loyal. It would be too much of a fight, which is why we stayed there." He looked back at us as Sorcha continued to run her fingers through his hair. "Alvina is loyal. She's the rightful queen and has always worked to live up to the legacy of my mother and Titania. She does well in the role and hasn't fallen to any of the temporary or not-so temporary insanities that plague my family."

"The people of Cassius' family are very good at going insane," Sorcha said lightly.

"Hm." Cassius nodded at her in agreement. "Now, should I just text her and tell her what I know, or do I try to contact my father first? Decisions to be made. Protocol doesn't have much about this, and I'm not sure I want to deal with my father, but Alvina will expect me to have a way to get ahold of him."

"I like Alvina more than most of your family," Sorcha said softly, reaching out to take his phone. "But I'll do you one better. Why don't we reach out to known allies of your father's and ask them to pass along word if they see him? Then we'll contact Alvina and tell her everything, including that we've already made an effort to find Brion and are waiting to hear back."

"Good idea, my love. I'm not sure why I didn't consider it."

"You're under a lot of stress," she whispered, brushing his hair off his forehead. The endearment and love I saw between them was beautiful. Every time Sorcha had the chance, she was touching and comforting him.

"Neither of you asked Rian or Fiona if they know how to get ahold of him," I pointed out, trying to take my thoughts off their intimate relationship. I turned to the other half of Brion's family in my bar.

"We don't," Rian said softly. "Mom?"

"No. He promised he would check in, but for safety purposes, there's no way for me to reach him."

"That's backward," Heath said impatiently. "You're the one in the most danger. He knows where we are, what we're doing, and how to get here or to contact us. You're vulnerable, and you have no way of reaching out?" he growled. I knew he was frustrated with the perceived flaws of Brion's plans.

"It's the cold and self-serving part of his nature," Cassius said mildly to my werewolf. "My father knows this is the weakest link in his plans, whatever they are. Fiona or Rian being taken is likely. Either of you dying is likely. He won't risk the big picture. My father knows how to manipulate the chess pieces on the board. Whatever his plans are, he intended this. This was not an oversight on his part."

"It's cruel," Heath snarled. "I would never leave…" He shook his head and got up, pacing around the bar.

"Neither would I, but neither of us is King Brion, who has ruled the sidhe since shortly after he reached adulthood," Cassius reminded him. "He has taken every mistake he has ever made and turned it into a lesson for himself, growing adept at turning his failures or missteps into advantages. Jacky, you were telling me my father didn't know who you were when you met. He had no idea you were Hasan's daughter. Correct?"

"Yes. No one knew who I was outside of the family. It was closely guarded information."

"Then you went public, and he would have caught it. Of course, it's stupid for him to use you now to protect Fiona, but he's done it, anyway. He considered how this could play out and thinks you're too important to lose. It probably has to do with your father." Cassius sighed heavily. "This is how my father thinks. He'll know Rian can't control his powers very well, which could lead to uncertainties. He also knows fae magic is wild, emotionally driven in many cases, and has a mind of its own, as much of a curse as a blessing."

"You think your father thought Rian would find you accidentally?" Sorcha leaned back in her chair. "It's very much his sort of play. If Rian needed help, he would look for family. If Brion and your other brothers were unavailable, the magic would only have one option."

"Wow," I huffed. "You think he considered all that?"

"He's the oldest and most powerful of our kind. He'd have tried to think of everything." Cassius stood and walked to a window, peeking through the blinds, staring into the bright sunlight pouring over my parking lot. It wasn't the most majestic of views, but Cassius made it feel as though he was looking over a kingdom.

"He can be a loving man, fun, charming, and kind, but none of that can erase what he is. He's sidhe. Not even Oberon and Titania knew what their children would be when they had him. He was the first. He will have thought of all the ways his plans could go wrong. I just need to catch up with him. He knows everything I don't." Cassius turned to his wife. "Start going through the people we know will be loyal to him. Send them word I'm with…the protector. He'll understand that message, but it won't mean anything to others. I'll contact Alvina."

"Of course." Sorcha stood and pulled out her phone, typing quickly.

"What do I do?" I asked, looking between them.

"Protect Fiona," Cassius said with a small shrug. "Truly, you shouldn't be pulled into the political problems of this. We'll handle that."

"Tell your family you're okay," Heath said, coming to my side quickly. "Have you checked your phone to see if they've reached out? They might be worried, which would be bad for us. We still need to find a way to…"

"Yeah." I nodded quickly. "I'll work on that." I searched for my phone. Heath started helping when he realized I didn't have it in my pockets or in the bag we had carried my clothing in to leave my home. The hunt for the phone led us to my home, and I found it buried among living room furniture. Whoever had torn up my home hadn't been stealing anything. It seemed like a fit of fury. A smart attacker would have taken the phone for their own use.

The phone was dead, so we went back to Kick Shot. I knew Fiona and Rian were safe with Cassius and his wife, so I went upstairs, letting them keep an eye on the silent pair. Heath followed, staying quiet, and sat across from me in my office.

"Anything on your computer?" he asked softly.

I opened my emails and had nothing, then went to the program Davor had made for the family, seeing only a reminder from him that I needed to hurry to get my security back up and running. I resisted deleting that message, leaving it to think about later. Zuri knew why my security was off-limits, so I would have to press the issue later with her privately to get her on my side.

"No, nothing except Davor being a bit…well, he's been nicer than he was, but he's pushy," I said, closing out of the message. "You know, when we go public, he's going to be one of our biggest detractors."

"I do." Heath seemed unconcerned, but I could catch the soft smell of his worry, underneath the love and pride, under his conviction. "Ask me if I care."

"Heath—"

"I don't want to lose you, Jacky."

"Everyone, if they don't try to kill us, will be waiting for us to fail," I reminded him. "They'll wait for our separate natures to drive us apart because…" I tried to continue that train of thought but faltered. I didn't want to lose him for any reason. "And the moment that happens—"

"Only if we let it happen," he whispered. "Yes, what we are is woven into the fabrics of our souls, but I like to think what we feel for each other is as well." He stood and leaned over the desk. "Are you getting cold feet?"

"No, I'm just worried one day you're going to leave and never come back," I answered honestly. That was one thing I loved about my relationship with Heath. We could be completely honest with each other, and there was never any judgment. We were both too old for games and didn't have time for them, not in our situation. "One day, you'll go get a pack again, and there won't be a place for me in that world. I could handle living alone in my territory, the natural state for me, but I don't think I could handle knowing you're out there and never coming back."

"Jacky, I'll never take a pack unless it's willing to make a place for you." His blue-grey eyes darkened. "For as long as you'll have me, I'll always find a way to keep you in my life. Even if I have to put a pack right outside your borders, I'll do it. I don't care what the situation is. If they won't have you, they don't get me."

I smiled. "That's bold of you, Alpha Everson. That's asking a lot from werewolves."

"Just like asking your family to accept me as your lover is a lot for werecats. Especially those werecats," he said, leaning in closer. I met him halfway, and the gentle kiss was a promise. He was right. We were asking a lot from everyone. When he pulled away, there was a heated twinkle in his eye. "Feeling better?"

"I am," I promised. "It's been a hell of a week, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has." He sat back down. "Zuri knows about us and has accepted us, from what you've said. Why don't you tell her our predicament?"

"Good idea," I agreed, going back to my computer. "Since we're in a bit of a lull after getting home from the fae realms, I can do it now."

"Do you want me to go downstairs?"

"No, stay." I eyed him as I hit call on Zuri's name. "She knows, so what's the point of hiding you?"