15. Cash

"Ithink they're here," Robbie said excitedly from where he was peering out the window of the Alpha House's front room.

Cash grabbed Ore's hand, holding more tightly than he probably should, but Ore just gripped his hand back. This was it. Liam still hadn't let him know what he'd decided, and depending on how long Cash's parents wanted to stay before bringing him back home, Cash might only have a few hours to let his alpha know what he'd decided.

He glanced over at Ore's nervous face. Everything he'd said in the lake the night before had been completely true. There was no way that he'd stay behind if Ore left. Just the idea made his heart ache and his panther stir with agitation.

"Wait… Why are there two cars?"

Robbie's question drew Cash's attention, and he frowned across the room at where Liam was sitting in a chair, one ankle propped up on the opposite knee. They hadn't wanted Ore's parents to feel overwhelmed or threatened, so they'd decided to keep the group small. Liam didn't look worried, but there was a small furrow between his brows.

"Did your parents say they were going to bring anyone else with them?" Robbie asked, glancing back at Ore.

"No," Ore assured him quickly, shifting on the couch next to him. "I didn't even remember about my sisters until late last night, but even if they brought them, they wouldn't have put them in a separate car."

Robbie looked out of the window once more, holding the curtain out of the way enough to give himself a gap to peer through.

"Why don't you just go open the door? You'd have a better view," Cash said, pushing to his feet. Ore stared up at him with wide eyes, hands twisting in his lap, and he tried to give him a reassuring smile.

Robbie waved a hand at him but didn't look away. "It's just one guy in the other car. He's kind of big and beefy for a bird shifter. The other two have to be your parents," Robbie said, throwing a grin at Ore. "Your mom might be even tinier than you are."

"Pot, kettle," Liam muttered, studying his nails.

Robbie stuck his tongue out at him, which made Ore's half-hearted smile turn genuine.

Cash appreciated that not only was Robbie there for his mate, but he was also doing his best to remain upbeat and keep Ore from spiraling.

Striding across the formal sitting room, he headed toward the front door. He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and then pulled it open before the people on the other side could knock. He pasted a polite smile on his face that didn't show any teeth.

The couple that Robbie had identified as Ore's parents looked a lot like him. His mother was small, just like him, but they also had the same olive skin, and Ore's dark eyes that Cash loved to gaze into so much clearly came from his father, along with his unruly hair.

Cash held out a hand. "You must be Debbie and Harold Whitlock."

They each took his extended hand and gave it a loose shake, pulling away quickly.

"Are you Alpha Amato?" Debbie asked tentatively.

He shook his head and stepped back, gesturing to his right. "I'm Cash Lawson. I'm an Enforcer and a… friend of your son's."

He stumbled over the word, but he didn't want to make some big proclamation before Ore even had a chance to talk to them. They slipped past and headed toward the sitting room, but Cash didn't follow, instead turning toward the man lingering on the front porch.

He could tell immediately that this was an Enforcer from Ore's family's pack, and he wondered if they'd felt unsafe coming to a pack full of feline shifters on their own. Avians weren't exactly helpless, but he knew there was a lot of misinformation spread among their tight-knit packs about canine and feline shifters being highly predatory and uncontrollable.

"Enforcer Lawson," the man said politely, inclining his head. "I'm Louie Gladstone, an Enforcer in the Barney Pack."

Cash had been a little surprised to learn that Ore's pack was the decently sized one in northern California he'd heard about. He'd assumed he was from one of the small, tight-knit ones, maybe near some mountains.

Gladstone didn't extend a hand, and neither did Cash, getting a weird vibe from the guy as he unsubtly tried to peer around him to look into the house. Maybe he was just curious, but Cash's instincts were telling him it was something else, that he was looking for Ore.

"Welcome to Silver Oak," Cash offered blandly and forced himself to let the man into the house as well, though it went against his panther's drive to bare his teeth and keep him out.

He shut the door and followed Gladstone into the sitting room, where Ore's parents still had him wrapped in a tight embrace between them. No one was really saying anything, though Debbie was crying quietly, one of her hands stroking over Ore's hair. Robbie, leaning against his uncle's chair, sniffled and wiped at his eyes subtly.

"Isn't that sweet," Gladstone said with a sneer.

Ore's head jerked up, and all the color drained from his face as he stared at the Enforcer half a dozen feet in front of him. "You," he breathed out, fingers clutching at his parents as they moved to either side of him. "I remember you."

Cash looked between his mate and the Enforcer, not waiting for an explanation before stepping between them. His hackles were raised, a low growl building in his chest. He should have trusted his panther and slammed the door in the man's face.

"I'm glad you remember me, mate. It's time you come back home."

Cash couldn't hold back his snarl, flashing his fangs. Like. Fucking. Hell.

"I'm not your mate," Ore said, voice high-pitched and frantic. "I made that very clear the last time I saw you."

Gladstone eyed Cash warily but then turned his focus back to Ore, running his tongue between his teeth and lip. He eyed Ore's slender form from top to bottom.

Cash's growl began to grow in the crowded room. If the Enforcer made a single threatening move, he was getting his throat ripped out.

"That's not how it works in our pack, darling, and you know it. Now, be a good boy and go and get your things."

"Ore, please," his mom said softly. "Let's just go."

Cash kept one eye on Gladstone but turned enough that he could see behind him, unsurprised to see Ore jerking away from his parents and closer to Cash.

"Are you kidding? This guy was stalking me. He wouldn't take no for an answer. That's why I had to fucking flee our pack and leave you and the girls behind." Even as he said the words, understanding dawned on Ore's face. His mouth twisted angrily as he looked at Gladstone and said to his parents, "He has the girls, doesn't he?"

"Let's not discuss this in front of strangers," Gladstone said, taking a step forward, but Cash stopped him, a hand to his chest, before he could move any closer to his mate.

"You're going to want to stop right there," he said lowly. "I don't know who you think you are, but you don't come in here and make demands like that, especially not from him."

Gladstone turned his full attention to Cash and eyed him before disgust curled his lips back. "Little slut spread his legs for you, didn't he?"

Strong arms wrapped around Cash's chest before he could lunge forward, the scent of his alpha the only thing keeping him from losing his ever-loving shit. "Watch your fucking mouth, or you can go home without."

"You should leave," Robbie spoke up as he hustled around behind the couch to reach Ore's side. He was the only human in the room, and yet the look on his face was so fierce Cash just knew he'd learned it from his mobster father. "Now."

"I'll leave with my mate and not a second sooner."

"He's not your mate, asshole," Robbie snapped. "He doesn't have to go with you." He glanced at his uncle, who was still holding Cash back. "Right? You aren't going to send him with this piece of shit, are you?"

"He doesn't have a choice," Gladstone said, raising his voice. "Shifter law clearly states?—"

"Shifter law is currently being rewritten," Liam said clearly, speaking for the first time. His grip on Cash didn't lessen at all though. Smart guy. Rage was still boiling inside him, and if he got the chance, he'd rip off Gladstone's arm and beat him to death with it. "If you'd like, I can get Rick Kincaid on the phone right now and ask him his opinion on the matter."

That got Gladstone's attention, wiping some of the haughtiness off his face. He held his hands up in half-hearted placation. "There's no reason to get Kincaid involved. Ore and his parents belong in our pack. You can't keep them here against their will."

"I would never dream of it," Liam said smoothly. "However, I'd like to speak to them about what it is they'd actually like to do." His voice lowered, turning deadly. "Remove yourself from my territory."

The Enforcer pulled himself up to his fullest height to look down his nose at all of them, but he was still an entire head shorter than Cash and Liam. "You'll regret this disrespect."

And then he was storming out, slamming the door behind him.

Ore's parents immediately turned to him, both trying to explain at once.

"All of the hatchlings are being kept at Alpha Barney's house," his mom said, hands fluttering around, revealing just how anxious she and her bird were.

"Right after you left," his dad chimed in, "Louie rounded them all up, saying it was Alpha's orders to keep them safe and protected under his house, and he's refused to let them leave since."

"We've only gotten to see them a couple of times," Debbie cried, tears streaming down her face. "And that was supervised by another Enforcer. We have no idea if they're okay or what's going on inside that house."

Harold put a hand on her shoulder, his eyes wet as well. Their anguish filled the room, nearly choking him.

Ore's dark gaze found Cash's, and as soon as they locked on, Cash ripped himself out of Liam's hold and darted across the room, enveloping his mate in his arms and holding him close. He was trembling, his hands clutching at Cash's shirt as his fear and anguish sank beneath his skin. His panther roared inside him, demanding they go after Gladstone and get justice for their mate and his family.

Soon.

"Are you saying he's doing all of these things without your alpha's say-so or that Alpha Barney is doing the ordering but leaving all the dirty work to his Enforcers?" Liam clarified, pulling out his phone.

"Alpha Barney is old and weak," Ore muttered against Cash's chest. "He's basically been a figurehead for years, but he doesn't have any children, so he hasn't passed the pack on to anybody else."

"And since Gladstone can run the place as an Enforcer, why bother challenging him," Cash surmised.

"Exactly," Ore whispered, arms going around Cash's waist and clinging to him.

"You're not going back there," Cash murmured into his hair, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.

"As soon as I saw his face, it all just flashed back. All of the weeks of him harassing me and following me, trying to corner me whenever I was alone to force the issue. He just kept calling me his mate, telling me we were destined. Even though I kept denying it, he didn't care. He wasn't going to stop," Ore said thickly, his tears burning Cash's throat.

"He wouldn't have," his father added. "That became clear to us. No matter what Ore said or did, Louie wouldn't stop until he'd won. He didn't care what Ore actually wanted."

His rage, which had begun to temper with his mate in his arms, ramped back up. His fangs dropped, and his claws fully extended.

"Dude, chill," Robbie scolded him, and surprisingly, it worked.

He took a few deep breaths, forcing his panther back down but holding Ore tighter. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to let him out of his grasp.

"S-so we told him to leave," his mother said haltingly, and when he glanced up, he saw she was staring at him warily. "We don't have any influence in the pack, and even though people didn't agree with what he was doing, nobody was willing to help us stand up to him." She lightly laid a hand on Ore's upper back. "We'd hoped you would find another pack, start over somewhere safe, but then you never contacted us, and we started assuming the worst."

Ore's grip on Cash tightened. He turned his head and looked over at Robbie. "I remember that too. I was… I was there, in the white room, just like your stepdad described it."

Robbie's eyes widened, and he clutched at Ore's arm. "The place where they made him fight like a gladiator?"

Shrugging, Ore sniffed and wiped his face against Cash's chest, leaving behind a wet spot. "I guess. That didn't happen to me. I only saw the cell they kept me in and the room where they brought me to do their sick experiments. It was all white, just like Caden said. It has to be the same place."

Cash's panther rumbled in his chest, and he crushed his little bird against him so hard he grunted in protest. "Sorry," he murmured, loosening his hold.

Ore patted his chest. "It's okay. I think I was there pretty much the whole time between when I left my family's pack and arrived here. I took a bus north into Oregon and got off at a random stop. I don't know if they were following me or if I just had the worst luck in the world, but I remember going into a cafe to get something to eat, and then the next thing I knew…"

"You were in that place," Robbie finished for him.

Debbie turned into her mate's arms, weeping quietly. Harold's face was slack with shock and devastation as they listened to their son talk about what had happened to him before he arrived in Silver Oak.

"Yeah. But it was kind of weird. They seemed really excited about me being there," he said, glancing up at Cash. He couldn't help but wonder if Ore was deliberately ignoring his parents, if it would be too hard to talk about if he had to deal with their emotions too.

"What do you mean?"

Ore shook his head. "I don't really know. They just kept saying how close I was to something, how it was almost ready."

"It?" Robbie asked, looking over at his uncle. Liam was typing furiously on his phone, probably taking notes or texting his brother everything Ore was remembering.

"I don't know," Ore said, shrugging. "The one witch that seemed to be in charge of the experiments would check me over with magic again and again and then get frustrated. In between the checks, they would… inject me with things."

Ore's mom gasped behind him, and his little bird squeezed his eyes shut, tensing.

"Yeah, it fucking sucked. It… hurt a lot."

"How'd you escape?" his dad asked, stepping forward and placing a hand on Ore's back in comfort.

"I can't remember," he said slowly. "That part's still kind of a blur. I think they gave me something, maybe so I wouldn't remember." He jerked back and stared up at Cash. "So I wouldn't remember. That's what Fern said during my checkup. She thought that could be why my memories were just gone. That somebody had deliberately severed my connection to them. They must have not wanted me to be able to remember how to get back to that place."

"Maybe that memory will return too," Cash said soothingly, cupping the side of Ore's face. "Just?—"

"Be patient, I know." Ore made a cute little growling sound. "I know you're right. It's just… It feels more important than ever to get them all back." He sighed and leaned into Cash's hand. "All I know is that once I got out, I followed… I don't know, like a beacon."

"A beacon?" Liam said, looking up from his phone.

"Yeah, it was like—" Ore pressed a hand to his stomach. "—a tugging on my insides, guiding me."

"And it led you here?" Cash asked, eyebrows raised.

Ore smiled up at him, placing his hands flat on Cash's chest and shaking his head. "No, it led me to you."

"Oh damn," Robbie whispered loudly.

"Your parents are settled upstairs," Liam said, strolling into his office. "They've reluctantly agreed to stay and give us a chance to come up with a plan to help."

Ore nodded, his arms wrapped tightly around one of Cash's. "I'm glad. It doesn't do us any good if we just go back and keep letting the Enforcers coerce us to do whatever they want. Someone needs to hold them accountable."

"Agreed." Liam settled himself behind his desk and surveyed his crowded office.

Rachel, Saint, Finlay, and Fern had all arrived not too long after Gladstone left. Liam had ordered Finlay to follow him and make sure he actually left the territory. He'd come back not too long ago and confirmed that the Enforcer had driven straight out of Silver Oak, past the territory line, and kept going.

Saint had already emailed the pack, letting them know Liam was calling a meeting that evening to discuss some changes that would be happening. Cash tried not to get his hopes up about what that meant since Liam hadn't filled them in yet.

The big lion leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. "Quinten's going to send a plane and some people to help. In exchange, he'd like to be able to talk to you about everything you remember about the place you were held," Liam said, looking at Ore.

"Yeah, that's completely fine. Maybe between Caden and I, we can figure out who these people are and where we were."

Liam nodded. "Excellent, that's what I told him." He turned to his nephew, who was perched on a deep windowsill next to his desk. "You probably shouldn't be here when those reinforcements arrive."

"Yeah, no shit," Robbie said, hopping down. He came right over to Ore and wrapped his arms around him in a quick hug. "Good luck. I'll come back once things settle down, and you can tell me all about everything that happens." He looked at Cash meaningfully and then back at Ore, waggling his eyebrows. "And I do mean everything."

Ore huffed a tired laugh at his friend. "I'll call you later."

"Definitely," Robbie said over his shoulder as he strolled out. "Don't get dead, anyone."

Cash rolled his eyes and refocused on Liam. Sometimes he had to wonder if being raised around parahumans had crossed some wires in the guy's brain.

"Our next call has to be to Kincaid," Liam said, then looked bored when there were some rumbles around the room.

No one flat out disagreed though. As much as they would like to keep things tight and in the family, Kincaid and his people were pretty much the ruling authority in the parahuman world and needed to be read in on the situation as soon as possible.

Cash knew from Liam that Rick was also providing resources to Quinten to help investigate and find who had held Caden captive. He'd want to know they had another survivor from that place.

"Great, glad we're in agreement," Liam said dryly. "As for the pack meeting in an hour…" His eyes cut over to Cash. "I'll be making a few announcements, including that we will be opening our territory to anyone from the Barney Pack who would like to seek refuge here."

Ore's grip on Cash's arm tightened painfully. "Thank you, Alpha Amato," Ore gushed. "Thank you so much. I don't know how many others will want to come, but if we can get my sisters, I know my whole family will want to get out of that place and go somewhere safe like Silver Oak."

Liam nodded in acknowledgment. "I'll also be informing the pack that we'll be replacing the member law that excludes all non-feline shifters, and if anyone has a problem with it, they're welcome to fucking leave."

Cash's panther rumbled approvingly, and he grinned at his alpha. Maybe meeting Ore's parents and hearing what was happening to them had pushed him over the edge, but he could tell that his conversation had left an impression.

"You're going to get pushback," Rachel pointed out. "People are going to argue that we're just going to open our borders and let anyone in, that someone dangerous could come who'd be a threat."

Liam waved a hand. "We all know that's bullshit propaganda. We're not opening our borders; we're opening up the process to apply to be a part of our pack. Too long, we've been sitting on the sidelines, watching as others suffer and get hurt. The parahuman world is changing right now, and we can either sit back and watch it happen or we can be a part of the outcome. We can have a say in new shifter laws and grow in strength and numbers." He glanced at Saint, who grinned back, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Sometimes leaders have to lead, even to places others don't want to go."

Amato looked around at the others, lingering on Cash. His heart was stuck in his throat. Saint had fought for him and Ore. There was no way Liam just happened to use the same argument Saint had when he'd talked to Cash on the beach not long after Ore had arrived.

Fuck, he'd never live it down, but he couldn't be truly upset his friend had stuck up for him and his mate.

"Does anyone disagree with this decision?" Liam asked, voice firm.

No one made a sound.

Liam nodded and dropped his feet to the ground. "Excellent. You all get to keep your jobs."

Ore pressed his face into Cash's bicep and laughed. Saint cackled, slapping his leg.

Liam gave them his pirate smile and pulled out his phone. "We're going to save this pack whether they like it or not, and we're going to go save Ore's family too. Agreed?"

"Agreed," everyone said in unison.

"Alright. Now, get the fuck out so I can call Kincaid."