29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

Iwas nearly in the dining room when Collins came running after me, broken out of his shock.

"I need more of an explanation than that," he snapped. "How often do the werecats and werewolves nearly go to war? What sort of tensions are we dealing with here? Do I need to call in a better negotiator? Someone who can talk this down?"

Heath was in the kitchen and dropped what he was holding. Landon caught it. Miller sputtered, spitting his drink out.

"Depends on who is involved," I answered, "and who finds out. Hotter tempers are an issue, and there are some. There's a lot of animosity between the two species of moon cursed. Heath and I are the exceptions, not the rule, remember?" I turned to him, stopping where I was as he barreled toward me. "The worst thing you can do is get more humans involved. If you expose the fact werewolves and werecats are enemies, you'll destroy the trust people have in both kinds once the werecats are revealed. Plus, it'll make the werewolves look like bullies."

"We do have the larger force," Heath agreed. "How did this come up? Why are we talking about war?"

"I was explaining to Collins the problem we have on our hands. I accepted the BSA deal," I explained. "My family was for it, so I decided to pull the trigger. My family's identities aren't revealed, though, so let's keep being careful."

"I'm lost," Miller declared. "Can anyone catch me up?"

"Jacky and Heath have a theory the humans were hired by werewolves to kill her," Collins explained quickly to his partner before glaring at me. "Because she's not just the ruler of werecats in the United States, she's considered the daughter of the ruler of all werecats. This is the kind of important information we need before we make deals with political powers!"

"Which is exactly why I didn't tell you," I fired back. "So you couldn't play hardball with me and try to get to my family. The deal is final. If it's changed before it comes to me to be signed, or if you call your people and tell them any of this, I'll make sure this goes wrong for everyone involved. Are we clear? I'll frame this as the BSA being incompetent, leading to extremists at my door, trying to kill me, and nearly killing a human girl. You can ask anyone in this room. I care for that human girl more than anyone here, and I'm willing to die for her. So, try me." I leaned toward him, shorter by a long shot, but still intimidating.

"She's got you in a corner," Heath said, exuding patience and calm. "If that goes public, it doesn't matter what the truth is. There won't be a werewolf Alpha in the country willing to work with you. There won't be another supernatural species willing to broker deals. We can disappear if we need to…all of us."

"I can tell." Collins' jaw was clenched so tight, I wondered if his teeth were going to crack under the pressure. "Look, I just don't want this to potentially jeopardize human lives, okay? If there's a war—"

"There won't be," I cut him off, disregarding whatever worry he had.

"If there's a war, my people need to know who to talk to when it comes time to stop it before it hurts too many people. I need to tell my bosses exactly who you are." He pulled out his phone again. "I understand you don't like this—"

I grabbed his wrist and held it. He struggled, but I didn't budge. He looked up at me, his eyes going wide.

"Bigger, meaner cousin," I said with a small smile. "Werecats are stronger and faster than werewolves. A single werecat can take down ten of them before our injuries start to hurt. Entire packs go hunting when a werecat is the objective. They can't get into our territories, so they have to catch us outside of them. Don't you dare walk back on me now and break our deal, Special Agent Daniel Collins. You won't like my family when you've made us your enemy."

"For years, werewolves were so scared of her siblings, we called them by nicknames. We didn't want to say their names. Most werewolves still won't," Heath said from behind me.

"I would tell you there's some you need to worry about more than others, but they're all dangerous." I nearly laughed, thinking of my siblings as anything less than extremely worrying. "My identity wouldn't be disclosed to the media, which was a funny addition since obviously someone disclosed it somewhere. You made a deal. Honor it or destroy everything you've tried to build with the BSA. The problems between werecats and werewolves are fixed by better minds, ones who have fought for centuries, then sought peace when they had to reckon with the devastation war left. Anyone who tries for war now is put down with extreme prejudice. There won't be a war."

"But—"

"Just because I said we have to worry about it doesn't mean we're on the edge of one right now. It's always what our lives come back to, especially for Heath and me, two people going against the grain of the problems in our world. War is always on our minds. You're the one blowing this out of proportion. You'll be my handler, right?"

"Well, no, someone else—"

"Then get used to this and warn whoever comes next. Get used to the fact you might see things play out you can't do anything about. Humans won't die. We won't bomb half the country to kill each other. We're more sophisticated than that. You'll see random deaths all across the country. You'll see werewolf packs be destroyed from the inside, entire homes massacred but not a human among them. We'll wipe each other out before humans even know what's happening. You have to trust our rulers, people like me and Heath and the North American Werewolf Council, to work through these problems the right way. You didn't even know about them until I said anything, so don't pretend it's a pressing issue now."

"You're asking me to keep this to myself until the day I die."

"You and Miller." I glanced over my shoulder to see Landon holding a phone, Miller glaring at the werewolf.

"And what happens if we expose you and Heath?" Collins asked softly.

"You'll lose your werecat," I answered, squeezing his wrist just enough to add pain to the equation. "And none of my family will ever talk to you. You'll be lucky if there's a werecat who would even consider it a century from now. They might hate me, they might even be the ones to kill me, but they'll know you can't be trusted."

Collins dropped his phone, and I slowly released his wrist.

"I didn't expect things to be so…precarious," he admitted. "War is a touchy subject since that's what the BSA works so hard to prevent. When we initially started our policy of working with supernaturals, we realized how easily the werewolves had hidden from us and how easily they could have taken over our major cities without us having a chance."

"You're not the only one working every day to prevent a war," I growled. "But a war between werewolves and werecats isn't your business. You humans went centuries, forgetting we even existed, not knowing we were maneuvering right under your noses. Don't act like we're suddenly a threat you need to deal with."

"You have a good point." He didn't reach for his phone. I leaned down and picked it up, checking for any recording being done, then broke it in half, meeting his stare.

"Just in case," I said softly.

"Please don't break mine," Miller pleaded.

"I won't because I'm going to point out something important," Landon said with a huff. "This is all just a theory, and it's a wild one at that. No self-respecting werewolf should hire amateur humans for a hit on a politically valuable target. If they did, they deserve what's coming to them."

"Landon…" Heath softly chastised. "I agree, but do we trust Miller not to run and tell his bosses everything? He's ex-CIA."

"If he's with the BSA now, he wasn"t very good CIA," Landon said, snorting in humor. He didn't break the phone, but he did give me a chance to deescalate this.

"If you two are going to blow this out of proportion, you can both leave…without your phones. Expect us to frame this as if the BSA sold us out and abandoned us. If you want to stay, your bosses don't get to know any of this. If this turns out to be a werewolf, you'll follow the cover story we prepare, and my deal with your agency will remain the same as it was. There's a chance when we catch these guys, your job will be done, and you'll just have to be okay with that."

"Think about everything you can learn if you just follow along," Heath pointed out. "Instead of being reactionary to something that's a daily part of our lives, you can be the men who got the werecats to the table, instead of the ones who ruined the reputation of the BSA."

"We'll follow along," Collins agreed through clenched teeth. "You know I hate this, Heath."

"Yeah, Daniel, we all hate things, but we move on and work with it," Heath countered. "We don't get to decide how the world works. I don't, Jacky doesn't, you don't, and this is one situation where the status quo is very important."

"Then that will be our job," Miller agreed. "As your handlers during negotiations, Jacky, we'll maintain the status quo, so long as you don't keep us in the dark. If anything goes sideways, we do need something to tell our bosses afterward. Right, Daniel?"

Special Agent Daniel Collins, a by-the-book man, as Heath had said, was staring at me. I didn't really know what to tell him or what to say at this point. I had all the cards.

"I hate doing things like this," he said softly. "I think you hid too much during our negotiations, and I think this situation is much more out of control than it should be—"

"If you think this is out of control, I'm glad we didn't meet last summer." I looked at Heath, who shook his head, only his small smile giving away his amusement at my words.

"And I dislike being blackmailed or held hostage by a threat, but…"

He fucking didn't.

"That's too damn bad. Maybe if you didn't have a video of me on my private property, of my naked body during a full moon, I would have more sympathy. I don't," I snapped. "You violated my privacy and my rights as an American citizen, something I was born as. You exposed my kind to your government and jeopardized my position among the werecats, and there's still a chance this is the BSA's fault. Time for you to suck it up and deal because this is my territory. I deserve to feel safe here. I deserve my privacy here, and you took that away from me. A little blackmail? Consider what you have on me for a moment, then consider what I'm asking you for. I think it could be a lot worse."

"I was going to say that we can make this work," he snapped. "I'm obviously not the one with all the information here; you are. And…" He shook his head, lowering it and breaking eye contact. "You're right, our surveillance did catch you in a vulnerable position, one no person should be in. Miller and I are the ones who blurred you before sending it to anyone. No one else saw it, not even the two agents we had install the cameras."

I stepped back. "Really? There's not an unedited copy floating around?"

"No, I wasn't comfortable with it," he explained. "We've already deleted everything with both you and Heath."

I could smell no lie.

"Then can we go back to focusing on the problem at hand?" I crossed my arms. "If it's werewolves, you'll let Heath and me deal with this through the proper channels without getting your government involved? Let me promise you now, if there's anything I feel the U.S. can do for a situation, I'll let you know."

He nodded. "I can do that. I'll accept that promise."

"You can tell them about who I am later, just not yet. Not until that paper is signed. They don't get my father. They get me. That was my family's decision. Consider me the ambassador of the werecats, with all legal authority to make the deals necessary. Are we clear?"

"We're clear," he agreed. "I'm going to step out and have a smoke."

"You do that," I said, gesturing to the back door. He was gone in seconds.

"Daniel has a hot temper sometimes," Miller commented. "But he believes in people and in the work we do."

"Good to hear," I muttered, watching the back door. "Can we get to work now that Landon is here? Landon, did you learn anything?"

"Um…" Landon rubbed his hands together. "I don't keep in contact with them as much as I used to, but someone slipped."

"What about?" Heath asked, turning on his son slowly.

"Jacky, there are rumors about your…gifted ability," Landon said carefully. "It came up. One of them asked how I was doing, living near the werecat, and if I had any idea if the rumors were true. I asked what rumors. He told me some of the Russian werewolves were saying they could hear her here." He tapped his head. "People are starting to wonder, and it's getting around. No idea if any Alphas are paying it any mind because it sounds crazy. The Russian werewolves were in a bad place when they got to the States, but some inner circles are whispering about it."

"You all gossip like old ladies," Heath accused as he sat down.

"I don't," Landon countered with a smile. "I just listen. Oh, Ranger is fourth in Dallas now. Tywin is still on the outs with everyone. Apparently, the Dallas pack can't keep up anymore. He's trying, and you taught him a lot, but he doesn't have your skill. Some think he stepped up too early."

"He was the only option I had," Heath muttered, shaking his head in disappointment. "Well, you were an option, but…"

Landon growled. "You will never see me be an Alpha. Not because of me, but because I hate the job. Being your second was a nightmare, and the only reason I suffered it was because I only had one other option. Being a rogue was worse." Landon grabbed his light jacket from the back of one of the dining room chairs. "I'm going to pick up Carey from school."

"Be safe," Heath ordered.

Landon didn't reply as he left.

"Once Carey gets back, we're going to get the plans ready for tonight. She can do her homework by herself in her room," Heath declared. Collins walked back in at that moment. "My son is picking up my daughter."

"I heard," he said as he tucked his pack of cigarettes into the inside pocket of his blazer.