Chapter Sixteen

Heath watched his phone as he sat in Jacky's chair to keep her scent close. He felt something in him tighten as he saw the notification that Jacky had been able to take off at the earlier time. He'd done that just in case, knowing she would have started going stir-crazy sitting in the jet while it was on the ground. He already missed her, knowing it was too late now to beg her not to run off into this, to leave it to her older and experienced family. He had been battling the urge since the situation had fallen in her lap, and he finally won against it.

He sent a text to his son, giving Landon the update that he deserved, then he waited. It was only ten minutes. Ten silent minutes until all three of them barged into the office.

"So that's it. She's running off without any of us to help her," Landon snarled. Heath didn't react, staying still as his son finally let off the steam he had held back for two days now. He'd been so careful. "I can't believe?—"

But Heath needed him to keep being careful about everything for a little while longer. He could release some, but not all of it.

"Hey, Carey. Sorry about needing you to stay with your brother last night. I hope he made sure you were comfortable," he said, looking at the youngest of the children in front of him. The moment he said Carey, Landon froze, his son trying to quickly contain himself before he attempted to speak again.

"It's fine. They have a nice place," she said with a one-shoulder shrug. "Are you going to tell me what's really going on now?"

"I already told you. It's just some werecat business that?—"

"Dad, Landon is pissed, and Dirk is jumpier than my horses when Landon is pissed. They hush when I walk into a room. I know when something is being kept from me. Please don't lie to me," she retorted quickly.

Heath studied his daughter. She had grown up with one foot in the human world and one foot in his. He had tried so hard to give her some years where she could fully embrace her human life, going to school and being out of the spotlight. He had tried so hard by leaving the pack and giving up so much of everything he had built.

He'd also fallen in love with Jacky Leon, and so did his daughter.

Trying to keep her firmly in the human world was a losing battle he didn't understand why he kept fighting. She was too deep in their world. As his daughter, she was too publicly a child of a werewolf, and she knew too many supernaturals, counting more of them as friends than humans her own age. She was too bright, and now, he was seeing, too tough to be pushed into the human world if she didn't want to be.

He wasn't losing the battle. He had lost it before today, though he couldn't pinpoint a proper day.

Jacky asked me to keep fighting this time.

He sighed. He could honor the wishes of the woman he was going to marry and spend eternity with if he had the chance, or he could give up the battle he was never going to win. Dragging it out was only going to hurt his daughter at this point because she would learn, now or when Jacky got back or if something happened.

He had to consider, as well, the possibility of Jacky dying in Alaska and how his daughter would react if she didn't even know Jacky could be in danger.

"Dad." Carey stood like a soldier, her chin up, and Heath couldn't see her biological mother in the look. He couldn't see that woman in his daughter at all. She would have run, grateful for being on the outside. While she had her mother's blonde hair and his eyes, the expression on her face came from the woman everyone silently considered her real mother.

"Something bad happened. A werecat has lost control. Jacky and her brothers need to stop it before it claims any more victims," he explained, knowing that neither option he had was a good one. Keeping it from her would only lead her to do something to find out. She could find those pictures while he wasn't looking, which were too graphic for him to consider showing her ever. She could finally catch Dirk and Landon talking about it in less forgiving terms.

"Oh…" Carey sat down across from him. Heath caught how Dirk and Landon relaxed a fraction. Dirk had been rubbing Landon's back, helping his son keep his cool. It was a real blessing to have Dirk there, full of understanding and love for his son.

"Yes. Don't worry. Niko and Davor have handled situations like this before with their family. Jacky is in good hands. The Tribunal has already started an evacuation for supernaturals and their people in the area for safety."

"No wonder you're pissed," Carey said, looking over her shoulder at her brother. "She'll be fine, though, right?"

"She better be," Landon growled, staring out the window.

When Carey looked at him again, Heath wondered if his own eyes got so stormy like hers were now.

"Why aren't you with her?" she demanded, and he could smell the tears. "You're stronger than her. Landon is stronger than her now, too. You both could have gone with them. Dirk and I would have been fine. Ranger and Shamus could handle the pack for a week or something."

"Because while I may be stronger than Jacky, I'm not a werecat," he answered, hating the words himself, regardless of their truth. "I would be in the way. So would Landon. Last Change werecats aren't the same type of fight as a Last Change werewolf. They are still territorial and would know our every move. They are still dangerous enough that we have to leave it to the werecat ruling family to deal with. Not even older and stronger Alphas than me try to take on that fight, not without a pack of a hundred behind them."

"That's not good enough, Dad!" The bridge of her nose scrunched, and all he wanted to do, like he had since she was very small, was put his thumb there and smooth it out for a second.

"It's the reality of it. Not only that, but if it's not good enough for you, there's a point where we all need to remember and accept that Jacky is the leader of the werecats in the Americas. This is her responsibility, and she is allowed to do these things with her brothers and sisters. She is not allowed to deal with a werecat with me or Landon or even Dirk."

"But—"

"That would be asking for trouble none of us would survive," he said firmly. "Carey, we're already in danger every minute of every day. I cannot add fuel to that fire by killing a werecat, especially not when it's been established that only Jacky's family ever goes after these werecats. I would never be seen as the merciful leader, releasing that werecat from its misery the way they will be seen. I would be a murderer."

"It's not right," she mumbled. He opened his mouth to say more, but she lifted a hand and groaned. "I know, Dad. It's not right, but it's the way others decided the world would work, and we can only keep doing our best to change it every day until we finally reach a place where everyone can live peacefully side by side."

He wanted to be mad that she cut him off, but he couldn't bring himself to be. She wasn't the first child he let get away with it in this type of conversation. He'd had it with all three of his children at some point or another.

"If you weren't in classes all summer, I would offer you a trip. I'm going to visit some people related to this like I did for the pack, remember?"

"Yeah…" Carey slumped. "So, this werecat has already hurt people."

"Killed them," he said honestly but gently. Carey only nodded, her tears coming back. Anger and sadness. She was feeling a lot, and he understood it.

"Do you need help with that, Pa? And did you even get permission? Do you think Jacky's family will be okay with us stepping in like that?"

"I ran it by Jacky, Niko, and Davor. Davor sent word to Subira. I haven't heard back yet, but the moment I do, I'll let you know if they approve or not. If they approve, wonderful. If not, I'll pay for it myself."

With that said, he saw something spark in his daughter. She caught his meaning, and Landon's huff and chuckle said he knew, too. Dirk was harder to read, and his scent was so soft that Heath wasn't sure, but he also knew Dirk was smart. He could get it. There were lines that Heath was more than willing to ignore entirely for the right thing. He couldn't ignore all of them, but he could ignore some, especially when those lines didn't really hurt anyone. Who was going to be angry at a man giving money to a family who lost people they loved? Who was going to be angry that he even knew this was happening when he was engaged to the werecat they expected to deal with it?

He wished he was a little more like Jacky, but even when she ran afoul and killed werewolves, it was always in terms of them starting it or her getting pulled in by her other family, both reasonable excuses. This situation was no place for him. His children weren't in danger. His pack wasn't in danger like it had been when the werecats visited Dallas to meet with Jacky and Zuri. His fiancée was off to deal with it, and that wasn't a good enough excuse for him to join the fight, not if he wanted to keep his children from being victims of his pushing the boundaries. If they were already married, or better, had a mate bond, then no one could ever question it. He and Jacky had neither. They hadn't even started planning the wedding.

"Carey, I know this is hard, but please… Jacky really didn't want you to worry. She wants you focused on school and life. You deserve that. You are still too young to be carrying this sort of weight."

"Dad, I met Jacky after running from werewolves who were trying to kill us," she reminded him. It dug into his chest like a knife. "I watched her get shot. I thought she was dead as they dragged me away, and I cried even when they put me in a cage next to Landon." She threw a thumb at her brother. "Richard tried to kill me…"

He couldn't look at her anymore, knowing too well how much he had failed to keep his daughter safe.

"I get it, Dad. Werewolves attacked on my birthday, though. I just want updates. My classes will be easy to focus on. I'm used to using them to keep my mind off stuff. I have to be. If everyone else can keep moving with their lives, so can I." She stood up and nodded firmly. "I'll go work on my paper right now, actually."

She marched out, sixteen and proud. Powerful enough to overthrow the government if she wanted to.

"She's tough," Landon said as he sat down. Dirk did as well, looking uncomfortable.

"She is. I'm proud of her. I just wish I was a better father who could keep her safe and out of… this. She doesn't need all of this, and I hate every time it keeps brushing against her life?—"

"She asked for it this time, Pa. She figured us out and called you out. I will burn the world to the ground for her, but even I know you're losing this battle to keep her away from it. Lost a long time ago."

"Dirk, did you ever try to stay out of our world?" Heath asked him, putting his son's mate on the spot.

"Yeah, after I got tired of it and tired of trying to fit in when Hasan had already made it pretty clear I wasn't good enough," Dirk replied, looking away. "Can I speak out of turn?"

"This is your family, too," Heath reminded him. Heath respected and loved the young man in front of him as much as his own son. He was maintaining a bit of distance now that they were mated so they could bond more and enjoy their time, but Dirk was a son to him.

"I think you need to put Carey into therapy," he said in a whisper, as though he was scared to even suggest such a thing.

"I know… I know I do. She seems like she's strong enough to deal with it, but it's so unreasonable to think a sixteen-year-old should have to. Or that it's fair to her. Or that…" He leaned back, closing his eyes.

"It's not really your fault. She doesn't blame you. I would bet my life on that. I don't ever really blame Niko for it. We live in our parent's world. How can we not? But I think someone needs to just check in with her who isn't… one of us. Has she gone before?"

"We have gotten her sessions before, but they fall off as she gets busy with school, and she says she doesn't need it. All of that. It's difficult finding a therapist who can be told all the supernatural things, works with human children, and might be a good fit for her."

"Make them mandatory once you do find someone because…" Dirk trailed off, and no one moved. After a few seconds, their ears adjusting to the soft sounds of the house, Heath could hear it.

His daughter was crying in her room. Heath's body tensed, needing to find out what hurt his little girl, but he knew. He already knew, and there was so little he could do about it. Before he or Landon could get up, Dirk was out of his chair.

"I got her. I'm the kid of a werecat. I get it. Landon has something else to ask, anyway."

"Thanks, Dirk," Landon said. With a nod, Dirk left and went to see Carey, leaving Heath staring at Landon.

He would check in once Landon was done with him. He had to. He knew Landon was going to do the same thing. Both of them fought to stay in their chairs until they heard Dirk, unable to make out his exact words, begin talking to Carey. It was still a battle as Heath opened his mouth.

"What was it? What did you need to ask me about?"

"More like throw out some situations and ideas. We should tell Shamus and Ranger the full story about what's going on, just in case," Landon said quickly. "Plus… with Jacky gone, I think you need to talk to the pack about what's going on with her. They notice, Pa."

"Then that's what we'll do. Call Shamus and Ranger. We'll talk to them first and plan something for the entire pack. Let me guess, some of the wolves have approached you about this."

"Yeah, it's a little weird, but they have," Landon confirmed. "They don't want to make you upset. She's yours, but they're worried."

"About what specifically?"

"About whether she still cares about them or wants them here after what happened with Fenris." Landon slowly shook his head. "I think they rationally know that's not true, but the ice out is frying their good sense, as it would anyone who lived in such a tenuous and dangerous situation."

"We'll deal with it. Thank you for bringing this up," Heath said, knowing he now had a much fuller plate than he expected while he mostly just wanted to pray every minute of the day for the safe return of the woman he loved.